U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE R, P. LAMONT, Secretary BUREAU OF MINES SCOTT TURNER, Director Bulletin 323 GAS-LIFT METHOD OF FLOWING OIL WELLS (CALIFORNIA PRACTICE) BY H.C. MILLER UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON : 1930 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D, C. - - - Price 30 contsCONTENTS Introduetion .. Acknowledgments. Historieal referonces. Definitions... Principles of gas lift. Mechanics of gas tift ‘Types of expansion. Energy liberated by € gas-lift installations.. pment on derrick floor. ellhead connections. Casing head. Equipment below derrie! floor. ‘Tubing catchers: Foot pices. Production of oil by gas lift Tnerease in production due to gas lift. Gas lift as a means of it inereasing ultimate recovery from reser voir sands... Gas lift increases production of natural gasoline. Shutdown time of g ‘Adverse factors. Gas lift as emulsifier of oi} ‘Treating emulsions... Dehydration by heat Chemical dehydration. Electrical dehydration Deposition of paraffin in gas- wells... Methods of preventing paraffin deposition __ Corrosive effeot of gas lift Equipment used to compress natural gas. - Portable installations. Permanent installetions- Unit installations_ Multiple-unit, compressor plants, . Design and operation of plant Collecting wet gas from fiel Primary or low-pressure com- pressor plant. Absorption plan Gas-lift or high-pi pressor plant.— Description of a gas-engine-driv- en compressor plant. Electrie-motor-driven pressor plant. Steam-driven Cost of Cost oi gas Cost of eg Pressures required Tift. wells. High-pressure meth ing gas-lift wells. _. Starting gas-lift wells by rock ing. - Starting gas-lift by swabbing. Relation between gas circulated and oil produced. - Controlling volume of gas deliv ered to wells_ Methods of varying input gas-oil Tatio-_ Effect of changing volume of input gas on input gosoil ratios ___ Effect of changing length of eduetor tubing on volume of input gas. Effect of changing diameter of eduetor pipe on volume of input gas__ Varying volume of input gas by changing size of flow beans ._- Operating pressures in gas-lift wells_ Relation between pressure and volume of input gas__— Loss of pressure eaused by flow lines and fittings... Back-pressure contr sas-comipressor compressing natural wells as-lift wells tubed above p of producing forma- tion. Back-pressure app gaclift, wells tubed below fop of produeing forma tion. Page 46 47 48 49 BL 52 53 54 55 58 59 59 60 66 66 67 67 70 72 4 7 79 82WV Methods of altering back pres- CONTENTS Pare Heating input gas to gas-lift sure in gas-lift wells. 87 Changing ‘diameter of pr tubing’ to alter back pressure operates gas lift economically. in well. 88 | Intermittent gas-lift methods. - Applying back pressure in gas- Impulse system with surface lift wells by increasing oper- control of input, Fs - ating gas pressure _-.. 89 | Intermittent gas-lift pump. -- Varying volume of input gas to Fluid-displacement, pump_—-~ alter back pressures in gas-lift Flow of compressed gas in pipe wells 92 lines ~ Velocities 93 | Effect of bends and fittings in Use of graduated tubing 96 pipe lines carrying com- Estimating size of comprossor re- ressed gas - quired for gas-lift well...-... 98 | Conelusiuns. ri ILLUSTRATIONS is. 1. Three stages in the operation of a gas-lift well. - 2. Gosift installation in well and fittings on derrick 2 3. Casing-head counections on gas-lift well from whieh flow is s y swabbing... 2 4, Three types of casing heads used on gas-lift wells. . Production graph of well in Santa Fe Springs field, California, which shows increase in production due to gas lift_. 6. Production graph of well in Richfield district, California, which shows that production on gas lift was several times that by pumping —_ 7. Distillation curves of samples of crude oil taken from well pumped and later produced by gas lift. - 8. Relation between output gas-oil ratio and gallons of gas per 1,000 cubie feet of gas from four gas-lft wells iu J Sante Fe Springs eld, Californi: 9. Sketeh of gas-lift installation designed to operate without placing back pressure on producing formation. 10. Sketch of multiple-stage gas-lift installation. 11. Portable gas-compressor unit consisting of a 12 by 6 by 12 inch com- pressor, belt-connected to a 100-horsepower electrie motor. 12. Portable compressor installation mounted on a steel frame resting on wooden timbers . 18. Single-unit electrie-driv pressor inst in Santa Fe Springs fetd, California. 14. Taterior of gas-engine-driven compressor plant, Brea field, California. — 15. Flow sheet of typical gas-lift system _ - 16. Drip for removing condensate from gas-gathering lines. 7 17. Outline drawing of a 5-unit gas compressor plant_ . 18. Gas-control room in modern gas-lift compressor plant. : 19. Electric-motor-driven gas compressor plant _ - 20. Gas-distributing header for gas-lift installations. 21. Manifold or header from which compressed gi manual control to 10 wells. 22. Gas-volume-control installation for wells at whic! take-gas line fluctuates... 23. Automatic gas-volume and pressure-control hook up for three gas] lift wells. 24, Gas-volume and pressure-control and gas-meter installation for gas- lift wells... 25. Close-up of volume-conirol element, adjustable-orifice valve, and pressure-control element. noe 26. Data on well in Santa Fe , Cali g elect of increasing volume of gas ‘pumped indo well on amount of oil pro duced and input gas-oil ratio 27. Production data showing effect of clanging size of flow bean on gas ift well. 28. Relation between drop in pressure per 100 feet of 84 and B inch eductor tubing and output gas-oil ratio. Page 98 100 101 102 106 109 qt Ha 115 Pogo 12 13 14 18 19 27 28 31 al 37 37 39 41 42 44 46 46 47 50 BL 62 63 64 65 nm 74Fig. 29, 30. 31. 32, 33, 34, 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41, 42, 43, 44. 45. CONTENTS Pressure in pounds per square ineh due to a column of compressed gas of 06 (air=1) gravity... Elevated vil and gas separator at gas field, California. Production graphs of two gaslift wells, showing oi! production, pres- sure, and formation gas-vil ratios before and after elevating oil and gas separators and “goosenecking” flow line Average relation between percentage of total oil and total gas recov- ered ultimately from five California wells. Sketch illustrating drainage cone existing theoretically in oil sand about gas-lift_ well when tubed below top. of sand. Sketch illustrating drainage conditions in produeit F ale posed of three oil zones separated by impervious shale when gas- well is tubed into middle zone.. Adjustable flow bean for use at bottom of tubing in flowing and gas- ft wells... Production graphs of two California gaslift Wells, showing results obtained when back pressure in wells was altered by means of Sow ans. Gas heater installec California. ‘Three types of heaters for heating input gas to gas-l Electrically-operated timer controlling opening and closing of valves in gas lines to gas-lift wells. _. Instrument board with tell-taie electric lamps mounted above pressure meters and gauges___ Gas-volume control valves on gas lines to gasift wells: Gas-volume contro! valve, magnetically controlled auxiliary valve, and gas line to wells. - Sketch of the gas-op mittently from small or low-l head wells, Surface equipment of an intermittent gos-iift pamp. Sketeh of subsurface equipment, intermittent gas-lift pump. Section through pump chamber of fluid-displacement pump_ Page 75 78 79 84 88 a1 91 99 100 103 103 104 105 107 108 110GAS-LIFT METHOD OF FLOWING OIL WELLS (CALIFORNIA . PRACTICE) * By H. C. Miter * INTRODUCTION The gas-lift method of flowing oil from wells is a development of the air lift, which was first used for ejecting oil from wells drilled for oil in Pennsylvania in 1864, five years after: the discovery of oil in Drake’s well. The use of compressed natural gas for lifting oil from wells, however, is recent, This method is not perfected. Many fundamental data regarding its operation are unknown, its practice is not formulated, and its possibilities are not entirely recognized. Not- withstanding the short time the gas lift has been used and the lack of thorough understanding of some of the fundamental principles under- lying its operation the gas lift unquestionably has become and will continue to be a recognized method of lifting oil from wells, In connection with studies to increase the recovery of oil from reservoir sands Bureau of Mines engineers are investigating the gas-lift method of flowing cil wells in various parts of the country. The bureau feels that to assist in the development of a method by which the ultimate recovery of oil from reservoir sands is increased. or the cost of recovering oil is decreased is worth any effort that may be made. Accordingly, the collection, analysis, and publication of the resulis of practical investigations made by production engineers and operators in the field should aid further development of the gas-lift method. In this report the author has presented data of actual gas-lift operations in the oil fields of Californie. Wherever theoretical hypotheses and conclusions are given an attempt has been made to support them by field data gathered during consultation with engineers and operators. The impossibility of drawing conclusions that will apply to all wells or even to one well throughout its life is appreciated by everyone who has studied the subject, and the reader is cautioned not to accept all the data presented as being applicable to every well. The gas lift will not operate successfully in all wells, Even in wells where the gas lift apparently should function satisfactorily it will not produce the desired results if improperly installed and operated. Successful operation of the gas lift in any well depends mainly upon study of the conditions in the individual well and proper application of the basic principles that underlie its operation. 1 Work on manuscript completed June 30, 1929 § Senior petroleum enginesr, U.S. Bureau of Mines,2 GAS-LIFT METHOD OF FLOWING OIL WELLS Future development, experimentation, and continued application of the gas lift will undoubtedly add considerable information to the little-known but essential fundamentals of the gas-lift methods of raising oil in wells, and probably some of the data elucidated in this report will in time need revision. However, if the information in this report aids engineers and operators to advance such a worthy development in petroleum technology as the gas lift, the object of this report will be fulfilled. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This investigation was started under the direction of H. H. Hill, former chief engineer, and completed under the guidance of H. C. Fowler, acting chief engineer of the petroleum and natural-gas division, Bureau of Mines. The author wishes to thank the officials of the following oil com- panies for supplying many of the data presented in this publication: Associated Oil Co., Barnsdall Oil Co., General Petroleum Corpora- tion of California, Continental Oil Co., Pan American Petroleum Co., R. & G. Oil Co., Shell Oil Co., Standard Oil Co. of California, Texas Co., and Union Oil Co. of California. . Special recognition for helpful information is due the following ersons: A. C. Rubel, F. W. Lake, and G. W. Black, of the Union il Co. of California; A. H. Bell, of the Continental Oil Co.; T. E. Swigart, E. W. Masters, and H. T. Wyatt, of the Shell Oil Co.; L, Thompson, of the R. & G. Oil Co.; C.N. Beyrle, of the Standard Oil Co. of California; H. L. Eggleston, formerly with the Pan American Petroleum Co.; H. F, Watkins, of the Watkins Intermitting Pump Co.; F. W. dorden, of Jordan & Taylor (Inc.); and W. Warner Thayer, of the National Automatic Pump Co. . Grateful acknowledgment is made to F. W. Lake, of the Union Oil Co. of California; H. T. Wyatt, of the Shell Oil Co.; and, to H. C. Fowler, K. B. Nowels, R. R. Brandenthaler, E. L. Rawlins, Ben E. Lindsly, C. P. Bowie, and G. B. Shea of the Bureau of Mines for reviewing and criticizing the manuscript. J, C. Shumate made the drawings. ‘The author is further indebted to H. C. Fowler for supplying the nogative for Figure 14 and to F. W. Jordan for supplying the print from which Figure 44 was made. HISTORICAL REFERENCES The air lift, of which the gas lift as used to-day is # modification, was one of the earliest methods used for lifting oil: As early as 1846, an American engineer named Cockford used the air lift to pump etroleum from some wells in Pennsylvania’ and as nearly as can Pe determined this pplication of the air lift was tho frst practical one either for lifting oil or water. All of the present methods of producing oil—pumping on the beam and the sir lift—were used duting the early days of the industry. Davis 0. J, and Weiduer, C. R., An Investigation of the Ai-Lift Pump: Unie. of Wisconsin, Bult 667, Madison, Wis., 1014, p. 15, eatHISTORICAL REFERENCES 3 Several unsuccessful attempts were even made in Pennsylvania between 1859 and 1865 to mine oil by means of shafts.* According to Whiteshot the first oil from a well drilled primarily for oil was bailed out of the Drake Well near Titusville, Pa.,on August 28, 1859, by “a bailer made out of a tin rain spout, plugged at one end and lowered with a string.” The following day a pump was installed and the well commenced producing 20 barrels a day. Itis interesting to note that the world’s first oil well did not flow naturally but to be pumped from the start. The first flowing well in America “came in” during May, 1861, on the McElhenny farm on Oil Creek. near Petroleum Center, Pa., flowing 300 barrels of oil a day. Other flowing wells were “brought in” in rapid succession, some producing as much as 3,000 barrels of oil a day. ‘The following historical references show that the first large flowing well was also one of the first wells in which the air lift (air pump or blower) was used to lift the oil to the surface. Bone! gives the early history of the Empire well as follows: ‘The Empire well, close to the Funk well which is on the McElhenny or Funk farm, came in shortly after June, 1861, producing 3,000 barrels daily. "It flowed nearly a year, then dropped to a pumping well yielding about 100 barrels day. Later it stopped, but on the application of an air pump it revived and is now steadily inereasing its product, producing about 126 barrels. In 1864, other wells that had ceased to produce by flowing and pumping were brought back on production by the use of air. Four airlift installations are reported by Wright. Empire well No. 1—Sunk in the summer of 1861; and for a time flowed over 2,000 barrels per day, the yield gradually declining, and then dying out. Last summer a blower was put in with moderate suecess; but with the pump has done better. On some days yields nearly 100 barrels; but the average is between 60 and 70. Flow, steady. Sherman weil—One of the historica) landmarks of the oil regions. Was one of those which inaugurated the revolution of 1861, causing scores of wells to be abandoned, through reduetion in price. First yield, 1,500 barrels per day, by flowing; then fell off to 600; dropped down to 100; and finally stopped altogether last fall. Tried the purnp for a time; but again became unproductive. Next, the proprietor put in a blower, which brought up an average yield of 60 barrels per Gay, sometimes 60. An outsider, who pretends to know, reports the amount at arrels, Noble and Delamater well—Opened in 1862. Flowed from 1,800 to 2,000 barrels per day for about six months, when it began to fall off * * *, About the middle of last winter ceased to flow, when a blower was put in, The triat resulted in a total yield of about 25 barrels * * 4. Ginlet well—Was yielding from 10 to 12 barrels per day before stopping to Tetube. Tried the blower, but had to take it out. Now applying the pump to exhaust water. Bono and Wright do not agree on the success attained by the use of air in the Empire well; Wright reports that better production was obtained by the pump. It is also interesting to note that the use of air was not successful in all the wells in which it was tried. Wright’ gives the following description of the blower used by the early oil producers: _In the chapter on statistics will be found occasional references to the blower, a simple apparatus, first introduced in the Sherman well, and since then tried’in several others with various success. The Sherman well had flowed very largely for a time, but given out; resort was then had to the pump , which also at length { Whiteshot, C. A., ‘Phe Oil Well Driller: Mannington, W_Vo., 1905, p. 721. 4! Bone, JH. A, Potsoleum and Petroleum Wells: 24 ed. Philadelphia, 1965, p. 26, ¢ Wright, Witikim, ‘The Oil Regions of Pennsylvania Showing Where Petroletn 1s Found, How It Is Obtained, fad at What Cost, wita Hints ior Witom It May Concern: New York, 186.4 GAS-LIFT METHOD OF FLOWING OIL WELLS proved incufficient. Finally, the manager introduced the instrument mentioned with quite satisfactory results, the yield coming up to between 40 and 60 barrels a day. The blower consists sisaply of an iron tube, 1 inch in diameter, which is let down into the well outside of the fixed tube, the lower end of the blower bei bent round, so as to pass upward into the orifice of the other. A column of air is then foreed down the small pipe, from which it, passes into the larger, and assists the natural action of the gas in foreing up the petroleum. By virtue of the simple contrivance to cooperate with nature, that well has gone forward for some months without any material diminution that I could learn.” In other cases, however, the result was far from being equally satisfactory. The manager of the Noble’ and Delamater well tried the blower, under which the total yield amounted to 25 barrels, when the oil ceased to flow. In others again, after using the blower with- out suceess, it has been taken out and replaced by the pump, with a decided improvement in the yield. It deserves mention that these instruments are not all similar in design and that some are regarded worthless under all cireum- stances. Before purchasing, it would be well to obtain a guarantee of satis~ factory results, providing it can be proved that oil exists in the well to be sub- jected to the experiment. On this matter, as on every other, the experience of both practical and disinterested men is highly desirable. Bone * describes the air lift as follows: Another plan which is coming into use, and which has so far proved successf il, is to use an ejector or air pump, with two pipes inserted into the tube of the well. The air is forced down one pipe into the vein at the bottom, and the oil rushes up in a steady stream through the other. By the use of these ejectors a number of wells have been restored to a yield ranging from 30 to 140 barrels duily after they had been considered worthlesa by the owners. No record has been found by the author of the use of the air lift in an oil well after 1865 until it was applied successfully to pumping oil out of the wells in the Russian oil fields of the Baku region in 1899. Thompson ° states: Tn 1899, the first successful experiments in the Russian oil fields made with com- pressed air were obtained * * * which excited much local interest and started a new development on a large seale * * *. In the first trials the air was conveyed down the well in a central 1-ineh or 1}inch pipe to the estimated depth, and the liquid rose in the space between this tube and the outer one of Jarger diameter * * *. At the base ot the air tubes was attached a brass nozzle with an annular orifiee, so constructed that it diverted the passage of the air vertically ; but later experiments showed that the presence of this nozzle made little difference to the working, and it was found to be more advantageous to replace it by # plain bell-mouthed ring * * Later experiments were con- ducted by passing the wir down betwoon the two tubes and allowing the liquid to rise in the center one, a suitable gland and stuffing box with side fitting for the admission of air being provided. This latter method is the one generally adopted for the raising of oll, but there are several modifications in the manner of admitting theair * * * When the Texas and Louisiana coast fields were developed in 1901 the air lift was reintroduced into the United States and soon was used widely in the production of oil. _Air-compressor plants were installed in the Gulf coast fields at Sour Lake, Evangeline, Humble, and else- where to furnish air to pump oil wells. At Spindle Top the Spindle Top Power Co. built a large steam-driven air-compressor plant and sold compressed air to individual operators who did not erect plants of their own at so much per well per day or for a percentage of the oil produced,” The air lift has been used continuously along the Gulf coast since 1901, and by its aid many millions of barrels of oil have been raised to the surface. 8 Work ited. + Thompson, A. Becby, The Oil Fields of Russia: London, 1908, p, 247. 19 beonagton, Harry, Litt Efficiency Depends upon Skill in Design and Operation: Oil Weekly, Aug. 1 18H, p.DEFINITIONS 5 ._ The success attained by the air lift along the Gulf coast, especially in those wells that produced large quantities of water, led to the introduction of the air-lift method in the Kern River and Midway- Sunset fields in California. For several years the air lift was used successfully in these fields in wells that produced large amounts of water with the oil, and it was abandoned only after remedial methods excluded most of the water from the wells so that they could be pro- duced more economically by plunger pumps. For several years prior to 1911, the air lift was also used success- fully in the Cat Canyon field, Santa Barbara County, Calif. During 1911 pumping tests were made that involved the use of high-pressure natural gas instead of air to stimulate the flow of oil from wells, and the author believes that these tests were the first in which natural gas was used to lift oil from wells. In 1924 it became necessary to produce certain deep wells in southern California by mechanical means, and operators found that the air-lift method not only helped to increase the production over that obtainable by ‘beam pumping” but also made possible the production, of oil from wells that were too deep or too crooked to pumped by rods. Natural gas was substituted for air in the California installations, thus making it possible to recover gasoline from the gas that accompanied the oil to the surface. If compressed air is used as the lifting medium the gasoline in the gas can not usually be recovered because the air-gas mixture from the wells is too lean to be treated profitably and too explosive to be handled safely in gasoline recovery plants. ‘The gasoline vapors and the natural gas that is produced with the oil when compressed air is used as the lift- ing ‘medium are therefore wasted. Hence the use of natural gas in- stead of air is a more profitable means of lifting oil from wells and is a decided step toward conservation of one of the country’s natural resources. DEFINITIONS The practice of lifting oil by gas has brought certain terms into com- mon usage. Three terms especially are likely to be confused, and the following definitions are given to prevent possible misunderstanding in the text that follows, 1. Formation gas-oil_ratio—The number of cubic fect of gas produced per barrel of oil by a well. 2, Input gas-oil ratio—The number of cubic feet of gas introduced into the well (for gas-lift operations) per barrel of oil lifted. 3. Output gas-oil ratio—The total number of cubic feet of gas formation gas plus input gas) from a gas-ift well per barvel of ol ifted. PRINCIPLES OF GAS LIFT The action of the gas lift may best be studied by reference to sketches illustrating the various stages in the operation of a gas-lift well. Figure 1, A, illustrates a well in which C represents the casing, and T the tubing or eductor pipe. When no oil is being removed from the well and the tubing outlet and the casing are open at the surface the oil level within the tubing and in the annular space out- side the tubing rises to an equilibrium position, the surfaces standing at the same elevation both inside and outside the tubing. The level6 GAS-LIFT METHOD OF FLOWING OIL WELLS to which the column of oil rises above the top of the oil sand depends upon the pressure within the oil sand and the weight of the fluid in the well. The fluid level in a well during equilibrium conditions is therefore an index of the formation (rock or reservoir) pressure within the producing sand. In other words, the maximum expulsive force in the oil sand manifests itself in the height to which the column of fluid rises above the top of the producing sand. In gas-lift practice, the height ab (fig. 1, A) to which the fluid rises above the lower end of the tubing when no oil is being removed from the well is termed the “static submergence” of the eduction tube. Static submergence exists only when a well is standing idle and pressure conditions within the well have reached equilibrium. Figune 1.—Tree stage i the operation of agate well, (After LC. Uren, Nat, Pet, News, March 26,2827, p. 66) In a producing well, whether the fluid is being removed by @ plunger pump, by the gas lift, or by natural flow, the level of the fluid around the tubing and inside the casing will stand at some point below the level of static submergence; the pressure back of the oil in the casing can no longer raise the oil to its former static level. Dynamic conditions prevail in a producing well, and pressure head is lost in the well due to the friction or resistance offered to the travel of the oil through the oil sands by the sand grains that make up the porous-producing formation. Submergence of the tubing or flow line during production is termed ‘‘working submergence.” In a gas-lift well actual fluid submergence does not exist when fluid is Being produced through the tubing because the fluid is withdrawn as fast as it enters the well. The fluid level in an operating gas-lift well remains practically stationary at the bottom of the tubing.PRINCIPLES OF GAS LIFT 7 Submergence, however, exists in every gas-lift well because the reservoir pressure forces the fluid into the well and tends to raise it above the bottom of the tubing. Submergence or its effect may be expressed in feet of fluid (oil, water, oil and gas, or oil, water, and gas) or in pressure in pounds per square inch. ‘The latter nomenclature is preferable, because oils vary in specific gravity, and fluid columns are not of uniform density. Entrained gas and gas pockets in the column of oil in a well aifect the density of the fluid column and render unreliable any calculations based on feet of fluid. When compressed gas is forced into the well through the annuler space between the casing and the tubing the oil level around the tubing is depressed. Simultaneously, the fluid level in the tubing rises. The rate at which the fluid level in the tubing rises with re- spect to the rate of depression in the casing depends upon the ratio of the respective areas of the flow spaces within the tubing and within the annular space between the tubing and the casing. When the gas pressure has depressed the fluid level to the bottom of the tubing the relative positions of the oil surfaces within and outside the tubing are as shown in Figure 1, B. The back pressure against the o: sand, which in Figure 1, A, was equal to the static head of oil above the top of the sand, has now increased and is equal to the head of oil represented by the column of oil above the oil sand to the level within the tubing. If no additional gas is admitted to the casing, the reservoir pressure, gas pressure, and pressure due to the column of oil in the tubing are equal and equilibrium conditions again prevail in the well at the bottom of the tubing. A slight additional gas pressure causes gas to flow into the lower end of the tubing; as the oil becomes aerated the density of the fluid column is decreased, and the oil level is raised. The oil becomes aerated further as more gas is admitted into the tubing, and the oil column expands and lengthens until it finally overflows at the surface. (See fig. 1, C.) The maximum gas pressure is required just before the oil overflows. The amount, of this pressure depends upon the height and density of the column of mixed oil and gas above the lower end of the tubing. Until the gas pressure is maximum the pressure on the oil-producing stratum increases gradually, and at the moment the oil overflows at the surface this pressure is equal to that exerted by the column of oil and entrained gas in the tubing and the column of fluid below the tubing to the top of the producing sand. Additional gas displaces other oil in the tubing, further decreasing the density of the fluid column. Finally, the back pressure on the oil formation due to the aerated column of oil and gas in the tubi and the gas pressure outside the tubing becomes less than the ori static pressure as represented in Figure 1, A; the pressure in the oil formation overbalances the internal resistance within the casing at the lower end of the tubing, and oil flows from the reservoir sands into the well. The gas pressure necessary to maintain a flow of oil from a well is somewhat lower than that necessary to start the flow, Less energy or pressure is needed to keep a column of oil, or oil and gas, moving than is required to start the same column when at rest. Under dynamic conditions of flow the formation pressure in the well also drops and friction losses brought about by the resistance offered to the flow of oil through the porous oil sand and the perforations in8 GAS-LIFT METHOD OF FLOWING OIL WELLS the casing tend to reduce the pressure under which the oil enters the well. Consequently, operating pressures are reduced proportionally. As the oil Hows into the well under the influence of reduced gas pressure at the face of the producing sand its level in the well rises until equilibrium pressure conditions are again established. This balance of pressure does not occur until the oil level has risen past the lower end of the tubing and has sealed the gas passage at the bottom of the tubing. Momentarily, no gas enters the tubing. How- over, because gas is being forced into the annular space between the tubing and the casing at the surface at a nearly constant rate the pressure within the casing immediately increases until it again over- alances the pressure due to the column of fluid above the bottom of the tubing. The unbalanced gas pressure depresses the fluid level within the casing and drives the oil that stands ebove the lower end of the tubing into the discharge line. As soon as the fluid level is depressed gas escapes into the tubing, aerating the rising fluid in the eductor pipe more completely and decreasing its density. Pressures within the well are again unbalanced, oil starts flowing into the well, and the eyele of operations is repeated. ‘The time consumed in com- pleting a cycle is so short in a well-balanced installation as to produce a nearly constant discharge from the tubing, and the variations in the pressure of the compressed gas entering a successfully installed and operated gas-lift, well are so minute as to be practically unnotice- able at the wellhead. Tubing is employed as the eductor or oil-discharge line in nearly alll California wells that are being produced by the gas lift. In general, it is not advisable to flow the production from gas-lift wells through the annular space between the casing and the tubing. Larger volumes of input gas than are ordinarily required to produce a barrel of oil when the tubing is the discharge line are necessary to minimize slippage losses when the annular space outside the tubing is used as the oductor passage, and if water is present with the oil the turbu- lence that results when the rising fluid passes the tubing collars aggra- vates the formation of emulsion. Under certain conditions, however, operators are justified in sacri- ficing efficiency and flowing their wells through the space outside the tubing. For example, leaky casing or the existence of low-pressure sands above the producing horizon and below the top perforations in many wells make it necessary to introduce the gas through the tubing if the wells are to be flowed efficiently by the gas-lift method. As many California gas-lift wells, penetrating very thick producing sands with the flow of oil up through the tubing, become older (especially in wells in which the tubing has been lowered gradually to the bottom of the well to meet conditions of declining formation pressure and fluid level) the operating gas pressure exceeds the formation pressure in the upper part of the thick producing zones. It then becomes necessery to reverse the direction of flow of input gas to prevent it from escaping into the low-pressure depleted sands in the upper part of the oil zone and to obtain production from the deeper and higher Pressure sands without an unreasonably high operating pressure. ‘herefore, during the last stage of gas lift in many California wells the gas is forced down the tubing, and the oil is produced through the annular space between the tubing and casing.GAS-LIFT METHOD OF FLOWING OIL WELLS 9 MECHANICS OF GAS LIFT il is raised to the surface in a gas-lift well mainly by the expansion of gas. A given weight of compressed gas contains a definite amount of energy, which is released and can be made to do useful work when the gas is allowed to expand from a high to a lower pressure. The amount of work that a given weight of compressed gas will do in ex- panding against an external resistance depends upon whether heat irom external surroundings is added to or subtracted from the gas or whether the gas neither receives nor loses heat. Jt also depends upon the conditions under which the expansion takes place. TYPES OF EXPANSION Work done by a gas in expanding from a high to a lower pressure is always at the expense of heat. ‘The temperature of an expanding gas remains constant only when heat from external sources is supplied. to replace the internal heat consumed by the work of expansion. In other words, for constant temperature expansion the internal energy of the expanding gas remains constant throughout the pressure-vol- ume change and the heat, from outside sources is converted directly into work. This type of expansion, in which the heat drawn from outside sources equals the work done is called isothermel. When the work of expansion is entirely at the expense of the internal energy of the gas and no heat is transmitted to or from any external sources the temperature of the gas falls during the expansion. This type of expansion is called adiabatic. ‘As the work performed by an expanding gas is at the expense of heat, evidently more energy is given out inthe form of useful work when the gas expands isothermally than when it expands adiabatically. In an oil well, neither of these types of expansion exists. The actual character of the expansion in an oil well approaches one or the other of these types, depending entirely upon conditions within the well. ‘The higher the ratio of gas to oil in.» gas-lift or flowing well the nearer expansion of the gas in the eduction pipe approaches the adiabatic type. When the quantity of ges compared to the amount of oil lowing from a well is so large that the well is almost a gas well little oil is present in the eductor pipe to add heat to or take heat away from the expanding gas, Moreover, the velocity of flow of the gas in such wells is so great that the mass of gas will have little time to draw heat from the metal walls of the eductor pipe or to give up any of its heat to external masses. ‘I'he expansion will therefore occur without the transfer of heat, and the work of expansion will be accomplished almost entirely by expenditure of the internal energy of the gas. A lowering of the temperature of the gas mass results because the con- tained heat of the gas has been transformed into work and utilized. On the other hand the flow of gas and oil in a well that is being pro- duced with a low-output gas-oil ratio is much slower, and there is longer contact between the minute bubbles of entrained gas and the oil mass. As the gas travels upward and expands it draws heat from the surrounding oil and transforms it into the energy necessary to accomplish the work of expansion. The temperature of the oil de- creases slightly because heat is transferred to the expanding gas, and the temperature of the gas also decreases slightly Because the heat drawn from the oil and some of the beat of the gas are transformed into10 GAS-LIFT METHOD OF FLOWING OIL WELLS work. This type of expansion of entrained gas in an oil mass is not exactly a constant-temperature expansion but approaches isothermal expansion in character. As neither true adiabatic nor ideal isothermal expansion but an expansion intermediate in type between the two and nearer the latter exists in a gas-lift and flowing well, the name “exponential” has been given to the type of expansion that occurs in an oil well." ENERGY LIBERATED BY EXPANDING GAS When gas expands at a constant temperature (isothermally) the work of expansion depends only upon the ratio of pressures or volumes at the beginning and end of the expansion and the pressure-volume product at either the beginning or end, the product being of constant value.” The work done in foot-pounds by a gas in expanding iso- thermally from a volume V, to a volume V; may be expressed by the lOrmuia: Waid PVs tog. Y, 7 in which W=work done in foot-pounds, P,=initial pressure in pounds per square inch absolute, V;=initial volume in cubic feet, and ¥;~final volume in cubic feet. Naperian (hyperbolic) logarithms must be used in this formula. These may be obtained from engineering handbooks or by multiplying common logarithms by the constant. 2.303. The work done by 4 gas in expanding adiabatically from a volume 7, and pressure P;, to another volume V; and pressure P, equals the mechanical equivalent of the cooling. Any formula for work done by a gas expanding adiabatically must take into account not only the initial and final values of pressure and volume but also the ratio of the specific heais of the ens, ‘The specific heat of n ges is the heat required to raise the temperature of 1 pound of gas 1° F., and there are two specific heats for each gas, one at constant volume and the other at constant pressure. The difference between the specific heats repre- sents the heat equivalent of the work of expansion done during the rise of temperature. The work, in foot-pounds, done by a gas expanding adiabatically is expressed by the formula: 4g PY W= a2 in which ‘ork done in foot-pounds, initial pressure in pounds per square inch absolute, ¥1=initial volume in cubic feet, ¥2=final volume in cubic fect, and $= ratio of the specific heats of the gas. The value of s varies with each gas. For methane s=1.32. A commonly accepted average value for the ratio of the specific heats of dry California petroleum gas is 1.266, Although this figure varies for gases of different composition and for different conditions of expansion " Osgood, W. Ii., Some Subsurface Problems of Applied Thermodynamics: Oit Weekly, Apr. 22, 19%7, ‘Lucke, C, E., Engineering Thermodynamics, ist ed., Now York, 1914, p. 26.EFFICIENCY OF GAS LIFT 11 it is usually accurate enough for all calculations based upon data ob- tained at gas-lift wells. ‘As the expansion of the gas rising in the eduction tube of a gas-lift well is exponential and intermediate in type between isothermal and adiabatic, the energy liberated by the expanding gas and the friction of the moving column will vary between the values determined by the above equations. The foregoing discussion is purely theoretical. The formulas can not be applied with any degree of exactness to actual practice because it is impossible to formulate the many interrelated variables that enter into the problem of lifting oil by gas. Losses that result from the slippage of gas through the rising column of fluid in the eductor pipe and those due to pipe friction and to the internal friction of the flowing fluid and gas form only a few of the factors that can not be determined exactly in a gas-ift well. Determination of the magnitude of the forces that tend to cause flow and those that resist the removal of fluid from oil wells by means of compressed gas is further compli- cated by the fact that gas pressures, fluid densities, gas slippage, and usually temperatures decrease, whereas gas volumes, fluid velocities, and friction increase from the bottom to the top of the eductor pipe. Mathematical calculations are also made unreliable because the rates of decrease and incroase are not constant throughout the length of the eductor passage. EFFICIENCY OF GAS LIFT The efficiency of a gas-lift installation in an oil well is the ratio of actual work done in lifting oil (and water) to the theoretical work inherent in the gas when it expands from the pressure at the entrance of the eductor pipe to atmospheric pressure at the surface. The actual work done, in foot-pounts is the product of the weight of the fluid discharged, in pounds, and the distance lifted, in feet. The energy expended by tho expanding gas in the eductor pipe is used not only in doing useful work in lifting fluid but also, in the average gas- lift installation, 70 or more per cent is spent in (1) overcoming the frictional resistance of the rising column of fluid and gas in the eductor pipe, (2) relifting the fluid that has slipped past the ascending gas, and (3) overcoming intake losses at the lower end of the eductor pipe and discharge losses at the surface end. Gas energy is lost. when back pressure is held at the discharge end of eductor tube, and gas is allowed to expand without doing useful work after reaching the surface. For maximum mechanical efficiency the design and operation of a gas-lift installation must be such that the losses due to friction, slippage, entrance, and discharge are a minimum and that the gas reaches the surface completely expanded. Tn general, the mechanical efficiency of gas-lift installations, inde- pendent of the efficiency of the compressors and gas lines to the wells, islow. The efficiency of the gas lift in the average well in California ranges from 5 to 30 per cent and averages about 15 to 18 per cent ina large number of installations, Although the ‘gas lift by itself is relatively inefficient, the over-all efficiency of the gas-lift system. compares favorably with that of other mechanical methods of lifting oil from deep wells. 104768°—30—212 GAS-LIFT METHOD OF FLOWING OTL WELLS TYPICAL GAS-LIFT INSTALLATIONS One of the principal advantages of the gas lift as commonly installed in the California oil fields is the simplicity of its structural features. The gas lift in its simplest form, as illustrated in Figure 2, consists of an eduction tube for the discharge of the oil and gas, a channel of annular cross section outside the eductor pipe through which com- ressed gas is led to the ‘To gas trap, ttom of the eduction tube, and a gas-tight casing head to “pack off” ‘the tubing from the casing. There are no moving parts in the Peesure gage well or on the derrick = floor to wear out or to 3 get out of adjustment. Although tubing is By pase as line the eductor line in the swell when starting majority of gas-lift wells in California, in an in- creasingnumberof wells cog Pressure gage the oil is being raised to 5s al Check valve the surface through the \ annular space between Derrick {look the casing and the tubing. On many wells the casing-head fittings are arranged so that the input gas can be forced either down the annular space between the tub- ing and casing or down the inside of the tubing. The oil is raised to the surface through the corresponding eductor channels. EQUIPMENT ON DERRICK FLOOR By WELLHEAD CONNEC- TIONS Figure 2 shows the Fiouke 2-Casift instalation in well and fktings on deck arrangement of the fit- tings and connections of a gas-lift installation in a California well in which the tubing is the oil-discharge line. The input gas lines are arranged so that the com- pressed gas may be introduced into the well either through the annular space between the tubing and casing or through the tubing. With such # hook up the operator can rock the fluid column in the well to start gas-lift operations under the lowest possible starting pressure. The flow line from the wellhead connections is a long radius bend 8 For a detailed description of the method of starting gav-lift wells by rocking, see p. 58,TYPICAL GAS-LIFT INSTALLATIONS 13 through which the fluid from the well is discharged into an elevated trap or gas separator in the derrick or near the derrick on an elevated platform. In many fields elevated traps make the gravity flow of oil to lease tanks possible, and by avoiding right-angle and other sharp bends in the flow line from the well to the trap the back pressure lous Casing ad omens on get wal. trom wie ow 3 Srabbings eHow le to eevated gas trap bull DIO: hese valve in gas Ine fo well Flow lines d ata” were moved aft this photograph was taken because they were not needed for gas-ift operatons against the flowing column of oil in the well is reduced. Avoiding horizontal flow lines and flow lines with sharp bends and setting gas traps close to the derrick to shorten the length of the flow lines as much as possible also increases the mechanical efficiency of gas-lift installations. Gas separates from the oil in long horizontal lines and flows above the oil in the pipe without all of its contained energy being used in moving the oil. Sharp bends are objectional in flow14 GAS-LIFT METHOD OF FLOWING OIL WELLS lines because they cause turbulent flow and emulsification of the oil when water is present. A check valve (fig. 2 and fig. 3, c) is placed in the gas line from the compressors near the wellhead connections at many wells to prevent damage to the well if the gas line parts or the compressor valves break down. The casing-head hook up shown in Figure 3 is used where gas-lift wells are swabbed to reduce the fluid head in the eductor tubing and thus permit a lower input gas pressure to start gas-lift flow. The orn To B Fiovar 4—Three types of casing heads used on gastift wells flow line to the elevated gas trap is connected to the side outlet a of the welded Y, and the vertical outlet 6 provides an entrance through which the rubber-faced swab and attached cable may be lowered and raised in the well. When it becomes necessary to swab a well the bull plug in the vertical leg is taken out, and the valve below the bull plug is opened... Compressor gas is turned into the annular space etween the casing and the tubing while the swab is run. After one or more runs with the swab the well begins to flow under the impetus of the input gas pressure in the annular space between the tubing and the casing; the valve in leg 6 is then closed, and the flow of fluid fromTYPICAL GAS-LIFT INSTALLATIONS 15 the well is directed through the side outlet of the Y and flow line a to the gas trap. The bull plug and gauge connections are then recon~ nected, and the valve in leg 6 is opened, again. Flow lines d and d’ (fg: 3) are not a part of the gas-lift hook up. They were used while the well was flowing naturally, were inoperative at the time the photo- graph was taken, and were removed shortly afterwards. CASING HEAD A casing head is used at every gas-lift well to seal off the space between the tubing and the top of the casing. Figure 4 shows three common types. These casing heads are all of the packed type and depend for their effectiveness in sealing off the space between the casing and tubing upon a ring of rubber or hydraulic packing. A stuffing box or the weight of the suspended tubing (fig. 4, B) com- presses the packing and makes a gas-tight seal under all pressures, Leaky casing heads waste ges and reduce the efficiency of the gas lift. “Rawlins “ computed the flow of gas into the atmosphere through different sizes of holes for various pressures. Part of his table is repeated here to show the volume of the gas that escapes through small holes in one year. The value of the gas discharged in one year, computed by the author on the basis of 10 cents per thousand cubic feet, is also shown in Table | for each rate of flow. Tawe 1.—Flow of gas through different sizes of holes into the atmosphere and cor- responding monetary loss when gas is 10 conts per thousand cubic feet 100 pounds per_| 200 pounds per_ | 200 pounds per | _ 400 pounds por e Diameter of bole | square-ineb gauge | squsre-inch gauge | square-inch gauge | square-inch gauge 4,000 1,000 1.000 1,000 ieubie eet | PUA Jeyniofeet) Pol leupiefect| PUSS |eubictect| Polars | aol at] 2.70] aso |. 00 84.00 Gas] 78.80] 1,504] 15249) 2.280) 226.00 08:20 3.415 | 3483/8370) esr on} G80) akan | 12980 | 1, 288 00 14870 | 1,487.00 220 | 2,822.00| 42,000 | 4,160.00 | 5.150 | 8515.00 30,830 | 31 688.00] 58,000] 5,800.09 | SS.900 | 8590.00 | 118,400 | 11 340.00 240.00 | 108 250 | 10,425.00 {194,100 | 15,570. 00 | 203,700 | 20, 370.00, 1 See footnote 14, EQUIPMENT BELOW DERRICK FLOOR In most California wells that are producing by the gas lift, especially at the beginning of gas-lift operations, the tubing is the eduction or discharge pipe. Occasionally, the volume of fluid raised is so large that maximum production can not be obtained through the ordinary sizes of tubing, the diameter of the oil string is such that tubing of the required diameter can not be inserted, or the formation pressure in the upper part of the producing sands is Jess than the pressure required to operate the gas lift. It is then necessary to produce the oil through the annular space between the tubing and casing. Usually the tubing is the same diameter from the bottom to the top, although tapered strings have been used with some success in a 4 Rawling, E. L., The Value of Leakage Tests on Natural-Gas Transmission Lines: Repts, of Investi- gations, Serial 2738, Bureau of Mines, 1026, p.8.16 GAS-LIFT METHOD OF FLOWING OIL WELLS few wells. (See section on Use of Graduated Tubing, pp. 96 to 97.) The diameter and length of the tubing depend upon conditions within the well and the amount of back pressure desired on the producing formation. TUBING CATCHERS Some operators suspend the tubing in their gas-lift wells from tubing catchers attached to the tubing about midway between the bottom and the top. Others feel that tubing catchers are not neces- sery, as there is no movement of the tubing in a gas-lift well and consequently the danger of the tubing parting and dropping is practically nil, Tubing catchers are also considered an obstruction to the flow of gas or gas and oil in the annular space outside the tubing, therefore many operators will not use them. R. R. Branden-~ thaler, former petroleum engineer, Petroleum Experiment Station, Bureau of Mines, Bartlesville, Okla., says that tubing catchers are a safety precaution in certain Mid-Continent fields where the tubing is subjected to corrosive waters, but as corrosive waters are not found in the California fields tubing catchers are not needed. FOOT PIECES In some wells the compressed gas enters the eduction line through a device (foot piece) attached to the lower end of the tubing or where the gas is admitted and mixes with the oil in the well. Foot pieces are designed to break up the gas stream so that it comes in contact and mixes with the oil in minute bubbles. Although some wells are flowing successfully with foot pieces, the majority flow through plain. open-end tubing. Often a few small holes are drilled in the tubing a few feet up from the bottom to allow the gas to enter the tubing through openings other than that through which the oil enters, but the majority of operators do not diverge further from the use of plain open-end tubing. The advisability of using foot pieces to break up the gas stream into minute bubbles has not been definitely established. Some engineers and production superintendents believe that foot pieces are beneficial in gas-lift wells while others claim that foot pieces are unnecessary. The preponderance of opinion seems to be that foot: pieces have very little effect on the efficiency of the gas lift. Many foot. pieces are improperly designed and increase the back pressure on the input gas above that necessary when open-end tubing without a foot piece is used. The loss in gas pressure resulting from the frictional resistance of nearly all foot pieces is undoubtedly reflected in decreased mechanical efficiency of the gas lift. PRODUCTION OF OIL BY GAS LIFT _ The current daily production of oil from flowing and pumping wells is usually increased when the gas lift is installed in the wells. Obvi- ously, however, neither the gas lift nor any other producing method can raise oil to the surface faster than oil enters the well. The rate of flow of oil into ® well depends upon the differential pressure at the face of the sand in the well, the viscosity and surface tension of the oil, the thickness and texture of the sand, and its saturation. If a well is cased into or through the oil sand, the rate of flow of oil into thePRODUCTION OF OIL BY GAS LIFT 17 well depends also upon the size and number of effective perforations opposite the producing formation. The gas lift previously described will not operate with working pressures in excess of the formation pressures because no oil will enter the well under those conditions. Kven when conditions in # well are favorable for using a gas lift to raise the oil to the surface, unsatis- factory results will be obtained, unless the installation has been prop- erly applied to existing conditions in the well and is operated efficiently. The gas lift will not increase the rate of production or even maintain production at a rate equal to that obtained by other producing meth- ods if the tubing or eductor pipe is not of the proper diameter. If the fluid inlet to the eductor pipe ts not located properly and the working submergence of the flow line is either too great or not great enough the gas lift may not operate at all or at best inefficiently. Control of the volume of gas circulated in gas-lift wells is necessary for the successful and economic operation of the gas lift. Too great a volume of input gas increases the velocity of flow in the eductor Pipe, increases friction, and adds to the cost of lifting the oil. If the volume of gas circulated is greater than the minimum required to lift the oil to the surface efficiently, the back pressure in the well is increased and oil production will be at a reduced rate, although under high back pressure the efficiency of expulsion of oil from the reservoir sands will be increased. On the other hand, if the volume of gas cir- culated is less than the minimum required to lift the oil efficiently, the density of the fluid column in the eduetor line is increased and high gas pressures are necessary to maintain the flow. The circulation of too small a volume of gas in the small sizes of eductor tubing—sizes up to 3 inches in diameter—causes wells to head, flow spasmodically, and flow inefficiently. In larger sizes of tubing, the circulation of too small a volume of gas allows the oil to slip back through the ascending gas, also decreasing the efficiency of flow. To obtain the maximum current production from a gas-lift well, the operating gas pressure or the operating gas pressure plus the pressure of the fluid column below the bottom of the tubing must be the minimum at which the gas lift will operate. However, when the rate of production is maximum the volume of formation gas that enters the well is usually greater than that required to expel the oil from the reseryoir sands tfliciently. Ultimate production is sacrificed. when wells are produced at their maximum rate and every operator should attempt to recover the maxiraum amount of oil from the sands and not just to produce a high amount daily. A maximum amount, of oil can be produced ultimately only by wells under a certain amount of back pressure. The gas lift provides an easy means for controlling the effective back pressure against producing formations; when so used and when used for supplying the energy required to lift the oil to the surface, the gas lift frequently increases the current rate of production and invariably increases the amount of oil ultimatel; recovered from the reservoir sands above that obtained when back pressure is not controlled or is maintained low to increase daily cur- rent production. Figure 5, a production graph of a well in the Santa Fe Springs field, California, shows the increase in the rate of production due to the use of the gas lift by a flowing well whose daily production had reached a low figure. The ilecline in the production of this well18 GAS-LIFT METHOD OF FLOWING OfL WELLS during the first six months, as is typical of wells in fields where town- lot drilling prevails, was very rapid. The rapid drop in the oil-pro- duction rate was due to the decline in the formation pressure resulting from the rapid dissipation of the formation gas pressure through closely spaced walls. Casing pressures in the Santa Fe Springs field often: repped from over 1,000 to 100 pounds per square inch in six months or less because of the dissipation of gas due to the desire of every operator to produce the maximum amount of oi! from his lease and to prevent any of his share from migrating to a neighbor's well. ‘The well for which the production graph is shown in Figure 5 was placed on the gas lift while it was still flowing naturally at the rate of about 150 barrels a day through 3-inch tubing 4,084 feet long. ‘An average of 3,130 cubic feet of formation gas accompanied e barrel of oil to the surface during the last month of natural flow. During the first six months on the gas lift the volume of gas available for CEE EA CELE € 2 reted AVERAGE DAILY OTL PRODUCTION-BABRELS. MERE ey 18 YEARS en Aaa LaTEAA ‘Fiauge 5.—Produetion graph of well in Senta Fe Springs fleld, California, which shows increase in. production due to gas lft gas-lift work ranged from 100,000 to 200,000 cubic feet a day, which, as was proved later, was insuflicient to affect a material increase in the rate of oil production. When the volume of gas circulated was in- creased to 731,000 cubic feet a day, oil production increased to 530 barrels a day; the formation gas-oil ratio was 536. Forty-six months after the well was placed on the gas Jift, production of oil averaged 590 barrels a day when 613,000 cubic feet of gas was circulated. The formation gas-oil ratio at that time was 655. It is doubtful if a production rate of 600 barrels a day or anywhere near that rate could have been maintained in this well by ordinary pumping methods. Elsewhere in the Santa Fe Springs field, even with a long-stroke pump, production of oil from depths of 4,000 feet and more has rarely exceeded an average of 500 barrels aday. Produc- tion by pumping has more often remained nearer the 400-barrel mark. That formation gas-oil ratios were much lower after the gas lift was adopted is definite proof that under controlled back pressure the