Intelligent Gas Lift

Peter Watson, Camcon Oil Limited

37th Gas-Lift Workshop, Houston

February 5th - 6th, 2014

This presentation is the property of the author(s) and his/her/their company(ies).It may not be used for any purpose other than viewing by Workshop attendees without the expressed written permission of the author(s).

Cameron Laing, LETS Limited

Intelligent Gas Lift – Why?

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• Weak equipment design• Weak & inflexible operational design• Requires intervention• Frequent wire-line problems• OK for depletion drive reservoirs

Current “1950s Technology” is no longer fit for purpose

North Sea sub-sea wells - example data

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• ~$15m per intervention (semi-sub)• 1 well lost completely

• 90+% valves failed combined TRO

re-test and reverse flow check test

• Only 1 passed TRO test• Well fluids in dome / de-pressured

dome / cracked mandrel / bent latches / loose latches / one field installed latch not locked in mandrel

13 valves pulled from 4 wells, < 3 years old

Conventional Valve Operating Limits

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Max CHP

IPO Re-Opening

Stability Limit

Injection Rate Flexibility

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3mm Port

4.5mm Port

Intelligent Gas Lift – Flexibility

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• Ideal depth of injection changes• Optimum gas allocation changes

• Recognised in the original 1954 retrievable valve patent

• Continuous injection through IPO valve not “recommended” by vendors but “implied” in designs for many sub-sea wells

• Flexible designs produce more oil

Well Inflow Performance

changes over time

What now ?

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• Further development

of the old ideas?

• High Pressure Gas Lift?

• Casing integrity• Cost

• Hydraulic Gas Lift Valves?• For single point gas cap lift• Out dated technology?

Are there alternatives?

What is the solution?

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• Remote control• Variable rates of injection• Without using injection pressure control• Data acquisition• Retrievable Annular Safety Valves

2013 36Th ASME/ALRDC International Gas Lift Workshop

What the experts said !

Camcon “Apollo” Gas Lift Unit

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• ¼” control line for remote control• 6 independent, electrically actuated,

valves for variable injection rate• Not injection pressure controlled• No temperature sensitivity• Real time pressure and temperature• Real time well and field optimisation• Without intervention

The solution

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First Installation

Apollo Gas Lift: Oman Installation

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• Brought “on line”: in October 2013• Valves run closed on installation

• Valves actuated remotely• Electrical connections secure

• Data transmission ongoing in real time• Operator testing ongoing.• Field challenges experienced and addressed

First unit installed and operational

Original Data PlotApollo Gas Lift: Oman Installation

Downhole Temperature and PressurePick up re-start of gas injection and

unloading valve closure

Chart clearly shows impact of intervention activityApollo Gas Lift: Oman Installation

Well intervention in progress

Tubing Pressure Shows “Unloading Valve Action” & Temperature Tracks Production.

Unloading valve action seen here

Apollo Gas Lift: Oman Installation

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Apollo Gas Lift: Oman Installation

Apollo Gas Lift: Oman Installation

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Plans going forward

• Expand reference base of users• On Shore• Off Shore

• Flow testing • Higher P & T, Longer Reach• Multiple Unit Installation• Intelligent Well and Field Optimisation

What are the applications?

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• Intervention limitations: subsea / high angle / bed space / wireline crew scheduling or

skillset• Dual Gas Lift Completions• Multi well start-up & optimisation acceleration• Liquids removal from gas wells • Unloading control to protect surface separators• Deepwater flow control (fibre optic line built in)

Onshore and Offshore deployments

Intelligence in the Upper Wellbore

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Move to the 21st century with intelligent gas lift

• Surface controlled• Electrically actuated valves• Multi Ported• Real time well and field optimisation• Without intervention

THANK YOU

Copyright

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Rights to this presentation are owned by the company(ies) and/or author(s) listed on the title page. By submitting this presentation to the Gas-Lift Workshop, they grant to the Workshop, the Artificial Lift Research and Development Council (ALRDC), and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), rights to:

– Display the presentation at the Workshop.– Place it on the www.alrdc.com web site, with access to the site to be as directed by the Workshop

Steering Committee.– Place it on a CD for distribution and/or sale as directed by the Workshop Steering Committee.

Other uses of this presentation are prohibited without the expressed written permission of the company(ies) and/or author(s) who own it and the Workshop Steering Committee.

Feb. 6 - 10, 2012 2012 Gas Lift Workshop

Disclaimer

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The Artificial Lift Research and Development Council and its officers and trustees, and the Gas-Lift Workshop Steering Committee members, and their supporting organizations and companies (here-in-after referred to as the Sponsoring Organizations), and the author(s) of this Technical Presentation or Continuing Education Training Course and their company(ies), provide this presentation and/or training material at the Gas-Lift Workshop "as is" without any warranty of any kind, express or implied, as to the accuracy of the information or the products or services referred to by any presenter (in so far as such warranties may be excluded under any relevant law) and these members and their companies will not be liable for unlawful actions and any losses or damage that may result from use of any presentation as a consequence of any inaccuracies in, or any omission from, the information which therein may be contained.

The views, opinions, and conclusions expressed in these presentations and/or training materials are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Sponsoring Organizations. The author is solely responsible for the content of the materials.

The Sponsoring Organizations cannot and do not warrant the accuracy of these documents beyond the source documents, although we do make every attempt to work from authoritative sources. The Sponsoring Organizations provide these presentations and/or training materials as a service. The Sponsoring Organizations make no representations or warranties, express or implied, with respect to the presentations and/or training materials, or any part thereof, including any warrantees of title, non-infringement of copyright or patent rights of others, merchantability, or fitness or suitability for any purpose.

Feb. 6 - 10, 2012 2012 Gas Lift Workshop