Artificial Lift Methods

GAS LIFT
SUCKER ROD PUMP
ELECTRIC SUBMERSIBLE PUMP
OTHERS
 PENDAHULUAN (1)
2

Pwh Psep Psep Pwh

Pwf<Psep+dPf+dPt

Flowing Well No - Flow Well

Pwf=Psep+dPf+dPt

Pwf Pwf
 PENDAHULUAN (2)
3
Untuk mengangkat
fluida sumur: Psep Pwh
 Menurunkan gradien
aliran dalam tubing
 Memberikan energy
tambahan di dalam sumur Gradien
?
untuk mendorong fluida
sumur ke permukaan No - Flow Well

Energy
?

Pwf
 PENDAHULUAN (3)
4

Gas Lift Well ESP Well Sucker Rod Pump Well

 PENDAHULUAN GAS LIFT (1)
5
 Persamaan Umum
Pressure Loss Psep Pwh

dp g v dv Lw
  
dZ gc g c dZ dZ

dp fv 2
( )f 
dL 2 gc d

 Pengurangan gradien
aliran dengan menurunkan
densitas fluida Pwf
 PENDAHULUAN GAS LIFT (2)
6

vd
N Re 


? Gradient Elevasi Gradient Friksi

Densitas Campuran

f tp  nsVm
2
g
{ L H L   g (1  H L ) sin  
dp gc 2gc d

dh { L H L   g (1  H L )VmVsg
1
gc P
?
Gradient Akselerasi
 PENDAHULUAN GAS LIFT (3)
7

Pwf<Psep+dPf+dPt Psep Pwh

2
g f tp  nsVm
{ L H L   g (1  H L ) sin  
dp gc 2g c d

dh { L H L   g (1  H L )VmVsg
1
gc P

Pwf>Psep+(dPf+dPt)

Berkurang Pwf
GAS LIFT (1)
8
 Gas lift technology increases oil
production rate by injection of
compressed gas into the lower
section of tubing through the
casing–tubing annulus and an
orifice installed in the tubing
string.
 Upon entering the tubing, the
compressed gas affects liquid
flow in two ways:
 (a) the energy of expansion
propels (pushes) the oil to
the surface and
 (b) the gas aerates the oil so that
the effective density of the
fluid is less and, thus, easier to
get to the surface.
SURFACE COMPONENTS

SUB-SURFACE COMPONENTS

RESERVOIR COMPONENTS

9
10
Detail Gas Lift Surface Operation
11

Res. Injected
Fluid + Gas
Inj. Gas
Sistem Sumur Gas Lift Separator

Flow Line

Gas Injection Line

Wellhead Subsystem :
• Production subsystem
• wellhead Separator Subsystem:
• production choke • separator
Compressor Subsystem
• pressure gauge • manifold
• intake system
• Injection subsystem • pressure gauges
• outlet system
• injection choke • flow metering
• choke
• pressure gauge Unloading Gas Lift
• injection rate metering Mandrells

Gas Injection Valve

Pc
Valve Pt Wellbore Subsystem:
Subsystem • perforation interval
• tubing shoe
• packer

12
 Compressor Sub-System

Horse Power
Compressor

Pintake Pdischarge Pinjection@wellhead

Pgas
Wellhead
Qgas Qgas

Pinjection@wellhead=Pdischarge - P

Separator Compressor Wellhead

13
Wellhead Sub-System
Surface Injection
Pressure

Production
Choke
Injection
Choke

Wellhead
Pressure

Production Fluid

Gas Injection

14
Gas Lift Valve Sub-System

Gas
Injeksi

Pc
Pc Pt
Pc = Pt
Pt

Fluida
Produksi

15
 Gas Lift Valve

Gas
Injection

Tubing
Pressure

Close condition Open condition

16
 Kriteria Operasi Sumur Gas Lift
17
There are four categories of
wells in which a gas lift can
be considered:
 High productivity index
(PI), high bottom-hole
pressure wells
 High PI, low bottom-
hole pressure wells
 Low PI, high bottom-
hole pressure wells
 Low PI, low bottom-hole
pressure wells
 Wells having a PI of 0.50 or
less are classified as low
productivity wells.
 Wells having a PI greater
than 0.50 are classified as
high productivity wells.
 High bottom-hole pressures
will support a fluid column
equal to 70% of the well
depth.
 Low bottom-hole pressures
will support a fluid column
less than 40% of the well
depth.
 2 Types of Gas Lift Operation
18
Continuous Gas Lift
 A continuous gas lift operation
is a steady-state flow of the
aerated fluid from the bottom
(or near bottom) of the well to
the surface.
 Continuous gas lift method is
used in wells with a high PI
(0:5 stb=day=psi) and a
reasonably high reservoir
pressure relative to well depth.
Intermittent Gas Lift
 Intermittent gas lift operation
is characterized by a start-and-
stop flow from the bottom (or
near bottom) of the well to the
surface. This is unsteady state
flow.
 Intermittent gas lift method is
suitable to wells with (1) high
PI and low reservoir pressure
or (2) low PI and low reservoir
pressure.
 Materi Perencanaan Sumur Gas Lift
19

This chapter covers basic system engineering design

fundamentals for gas lift operations.
Relevant topics include the following:

1.Liquid flow analysis for evaluation of gas lift potential

2.Gas flow analysis for determination of lift gas compression
requirements
3.Unloading process analysis for spacing subsurface valves
4.Valve characteristics analysis for subsurface valve selection
5.Installation design for continuous and intermittent lift
systems.
 Evaluation of Gas Lift Potential
20

Evaluation of gas lift potential requires system

analyses to determine well operating points for
various lift gas availabilities.
The principle is based on the fact that there is only
one pressure at a given point (node) in any system;
no matter, the pressure is estimated based on the
information from upstream (inflow) or downstream
(outflow).
The node of analysis is usually chosen to be the gas
injection point inside the tubing, although bottom
hole is often used as a solution node.
 Gas Injection Rates
21

Four gas injection rates are significant in the

operation of gas lift installations:
1. Injection rates of gas that result in no liquid (oil or water)
flow up the tubing. The gas amount is insufficient to lift the
liquid. If the gas enters the tubing at an extremely low rate, it
will rise to the surface in small semi-spheres (bubbly flow).
2. Injection rates of maximum efficiency where a minimum
volume of gas is required to lift a given amount of liquid.
3. Injection rate for maximum liquid flow rate at the ‘‘optimum
GLR.’’
4. Injection rate of no liquid flow because of excessive gas
injection. This occurs when the friction (pipe) produced by
the gas prevents liquid from entering the tubing
CONTINUOUS GAS LIFT
22

THE GAS IS INJECTED CONTINUOUSLY TO ANNULUS

Continuous Gas Lift Operation
23
The tubing is filled with
reservoir fluid below the
injection point and with
the mixture of reservoir
fluid and injected gas
above the injection point.
The pressure relationship
is shown in Fig. 13.4.
Gas Lift Operation
Pressure vs Depth
24
 Parameter Design
25

Jumlah gas injeksi yang tersedia

Jumlah gas injeksi yang dibutuhkan
Tekanan Gas Injeksi yang dibutuhkan di setiap
sumur
Tekanan Kompresor yang dibutuhkan
Gas Injeksi yang diperlukan
26

GAS LIFT PERFORMANCE CURVE

 Availability amount of Gas Injection
27
Unlimited amount of lift
gas
 In a field-scale valuation, if
an unlimited amount of lift
gas is available for a given
gas lift project, the injection
rate of gas to individual wells
should be optimized to
maximize oil production of
each well.
Limited amount of gas
 If only a limited amount of
gas is available for the gas
lift, the gas should be
distributed to individual
wells based on predicted well
lifting performance, that is,
the wells that will produce
oil at higher rates at a given
amount of lift gas are
preferably chosen to receive
more lift gas.
 Kebutuhan Gas Injeksi (1)
28
Nodal Analysis:
2500
 IPR Curve
2000
 Tubing Performance
Curve
Tekanan Alir Dasar Sumur, psi

1500  GLR formasi

Variasi GLR
1000 IPR
200 scf/stb  GLR-total (assume)
400 scf/stb

500
600 scf/stb  Qg-inj = Qtotal – Qq-f
800 scf/stb
1000 scf/stb
1200 scf/stb
Plot Qg-inj vs Qliquid
0
0 200 400 600 800 1000
Laju Produk si, stb/d
 Kebutuhan Gas Injeksi (2)
29
Qg-inj >> maka Qliq >>
700 Pertambahan Qliq makin
600
kecil dengan makin
500 meningkatnya Qg-inj
Laju Produksi, stb

400 Sampai suatu saat

300 dengan pertambahan Qg-
200 inj, Qliq berkurang

100 Titik puncak dimana Qliq

0 maksimum disebut
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400
Perbandingan Gas-Cairan, scf/stb
sebagai Qoptimum
 Unlimited Gas Injection Case
30
 If an unlimited amount of
gas lift gas is available for a 700

well, the well should receive 600

a lift gas injection rate that
yields the optimum GLR in 500
the tubing so that the

Laju Produksi, stb

flowing bottom-hole 400

pressure is minimized, and 300

thus, oil production is
maximized. 200

 The optimum GLR is liquid 100

flow rate dependent and
can be found from 0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400
traditional gradient curves Perbandingan Gas-Cairan, scf/stb
such as those generated by
Gilbert (Gilbert, 1954).
 Unlimited Gas Injection Case
31
After the system analysis
is completed with the
optimum GLRs in the
tubing above the
injection point, the
expected liquid
production rate (well
potential) is known.
The required injection
GLR to the well can be
calculated by
 Limited amount of gas injection
32
If a limited amount of
gas lift gas is available for 700

a well, the well potential 600

should be estimated 500

based on GLR expressed

Laju Produksi, stb

400
as
300

200

100

0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400
Perbandingan Gas-Cairan, scf/stb
 Gas Flow Rate Requirement
33

The total gas flow rate of the compression station

should be designed on the basis of gas lift at peak
operating condition for all the wells with a safety
factor for system leak consideration, that is,

where
qg = total output gas flow rate of the compression station, scf/day
Sf = safety factor, 1.05 or higher
Nw = number of wells
Point of Injection
34
 Output Gas Pressure Requirement (1)
35
Kickoff of a dead well
(non-natural flowing)
requires much higher
compressor output
pressures than the
ultimate goal of steady
production (either by
continuous gas lift or by
intermittent gas lift
operations).Mobil
compressor trailers are
used for the kickoff
operations.
 Output Gas Pressure Requirement (2)
36
Horse Power
Compressor

Pintake Pdischarge Pinjection@wellhead

Pgas
Wellhead
Qgas Qgas

Pinjection@wellhead=Pdischarge - P

Separator Compressor Wellhead

 The output pressure of the compression station should be designed on the

basis of the gas distribution pressure under normal flow conditions, not the
kickoff conditions. It can be expressed as Sf
Pout 
PL
COMPRESSOR
37
 Output Gas Pressure Requirement (3)
38
 The injection pressure at valve
depth in the casing side can be
expressed as:
Pc ,v  Pt ,v  Pv Gas
Injeksi

 It is a common practice to use

P
pv = 100 psi. The required size Pc Pt
c
of the orifice can be determined Pc = Pt
using the choke-flow equations Pt
presented in Subsection
13.4.2.3 Fluida
Produksi
Tekanan Tubing @ Valve Gas Lift
39

p @ tubing
Pwf
 Output Gas Pressure Requirement (4)
40
 Accurate determination of the
surface injection pressure pc,s Surface Injection
requires rigorous methods such as Pressure
the Cullender and Smith method
(Katz et al., 1959). Production
 However, because of the large Choke
Injection
cross-sectional area of the annular Choke
space, the frictional pressure losses
are often negligible.
 Then the average temperature and Wellhead
compressibility factor model Pressure
degenerates to (Economides et al.,
1994)

Production Fluid

Gas Injection
 Up-Stream Choke / Injection Choke
41
 The pressure upstream of the
Surface Injection injection choke depends on flow
Pressure condition at the choke, that is,
sonic or subsonic flow.
Production  Whether a sonic flow exists
Choke depends on a downstream-
Injection
Choke toupstream pressure ratio. If this
pressure ratio is less than a critical
pressure ratio, sonic (critical) flow
Wellhead exists.
Pressure  If this pressure ratio is greater than
or equal to the critical pressure
ratio, subsonic (subcritical) flow
exists. The critical pressure ratio
Production Fluid through chokes is expressed as
Gas Injection
Gas Lift Injection Parameters
42

Compressor
Pressure

Pwf
Point of Injection
43

Pc ,v  Pvf  Pv
 Point of Balanced
44

Pc,v  Pvf  Pv

Unloading Valves Design
45

UNLOADING PROCESS
GAS LIFT WELLS
Persiapan Operasi Sumur Gas Lift
46
 TAHAP O
Choke
Tutup No flow

Permukaan
Killing fluid
Valve 1 : Terbuka  Katup Unloading sudah
dipasang.
Valve 2 : Terbuka  Sumur masih diisi
killing fluid
Valve 3 : Terbuka  Fluida produksi masih
belum mengalir ke
Valve 4 : Terbuka dalam tubing

47
 Tahap I

 Pada Gambar 1 ditunjukkan penampang

sumur yang siap dilakukan proses
No flow pengosongan (unloading). Pada tubing
telah dipasang empat katup, yang terdiri
Permukaan dari 3 katup, yaitu katup (1), (2) dan (3),
Killing fluid
yang akan berfungsi sebagai katup
Valve 1 : Terbuka unloading. Sedangkan katup (4) akan
berfungsi sebagai katup operasi. Sebelum
Valve 2 : Terbuka
dilakukan injeksi semua katup dalam
keadaan terbuka.
 Sumur berisi cairan work-over,
Valve 3 : Terbuka ditunjukkan dengan warna biru, dan
puncak cairan berada diatas katup
unloading (1).
Valve 4 : Terbuka
 Gas mulai diinjeksikan, maka gas akan
menekan permukaan cairan work over
kebawah, dan penurunan permukaan
cairan ini akan mencapai katup unloading
(1). Pada saat ini gas akan mengalir dalam
tubing melalui katup (1) yang terbuka.
48
 Tahap II

 Pada Gambar 2 gas injeksi mendorong

permukaan cairan work-over, dan telah
me-lampaui katup unloading (1) dan
mencapai katup unloading (2). Pada saat
ini katup unloading (1) tertutup dan gas
injeksi mendorong permukaan cairan
Valve 1 : Tertutup
kebawah.
 Bagian bawah tubing yang semula berisi
Permukaan Valve 2 : Terbuka cairan work-over ditempati oleh fluida
Killing fluid
for-masi.
Valve 3 : Terbuka  Pada saat ini gas akan masuk kedalam
tubing, melalui katup unloading (2) yang
Valve 4 : Terbuka
terbuka. Dengan masuknya gas injeksi
Permukaan tersebut kedalam tubing maka kolom
Fluida Res. cairan dalam tubing akan lebih ringan
dan aliran cairan work over ke
permukaan akan berlanjut.

49
 Tahap III

 Pada Gambar 3 gas injeksi mendorong

permukaan cairan work-over, sampai me-
lampaui katup unloading (1), (2) dan (3).
Setiap saat permukaan kolom cairan
work-over mencapai katup unloading,
Valve 1 : Tertutup maka gas injeksi akan mengalir masuk
Permukaan kedalam tubing dan aliran cairan work-
Fluida Res. over dalam tubing akan tetap
Valve 2 : Tertutup
berlangsung. Jika per-mukaan kolom
cairan work-over mencapai katup
unlaoding (3), maka katup unloading (2)
akan tertutup, dan gas injeksi akan masuk
melalui katup unloading (3).
Valve 3 : Tertutup  Selama ini pula permukaan cairan formasi
akan bergerak ke permukaan. Pada saat
cairan work-over mencapai katup
Valve 4 : Terbuka terakhir, yaitu katup operasi (4), maka
Permukaan
katup unloading (3) akan tertutup dan
Killing fluid
seluruh cairan work-over telah terangkat
semua ke permukaan, dan hanya katup
operasi yang terbuka.

50
 TAHAP IV
51
 Pada Gambar 4 ditunjukkan bahwa
Fluida semua cairan work-over telah
Produksi terangkat dan sumur berproduksi
secara sembur buatan.
 Katup operasi (4) akan tetap
Valve 1 : Tertutup terbuka, sebagai jalan masuk gas
injeksi kedalam tubing. Katup ini
Valve 2 : Tertutup diharapkan dapat bekerja dalam
waktu yang lama. Dimasa
Valve 3 : Tertutup
mendatang akan terjadi perubahan
perbandingan gas-cairan dari
formasi, yang cenderung menurun
Valve 4 : Terbuka serta peningkatan produksi air,
maka jumlah gas injeksi dapat
ditingkatkan dan diharapkan katup
injeksi dapat menampung
peningkatan laju injeksi gas
tersebut. Dengan demikian
pemilihan ukuran katup injeksi
perlu direncanakan dengan baik.
52
Unloading Valves Design
53

GAS LIFT VALVE

GAS LIFT VALVE MECHANICS

 Gas Lift Valve
54
 Gas Lift Valve
55
 Contoh Penampang
Sumur Gas Lift

} Gas Lift Mandrell

Gas Lift Valves

Gas Lift Valves:

• Mandrell + Dummy Valves
• Mandrell + Valves

Valves Operating Conditions:

• Casing pressure
• Test Rack Opening Pressure
• Port Size
• Temperature @ Lab.
• Jenis Valves

56
 Gas Lift Valve
57

Gas
Injeksi

Pc
Pc Pt
Pc = Pt
Pt

Fluida
Produksi
Penampang Gas Lift Valve
58
Jenis Gas Lift Valves
59
 Gas Lift Valve
60

Gas
Injection

Tubing
Pressure

Close condition Open condition

Valve Mechanics
61

MEKANIKA VALVE

CLOSING & OPENING PRESSURE

 Mekanika Valve (Membuka+Menutup)
62

 Dome berisi gas Nitrogen

yang mempunyai tekanan
tertentu.
 Gas Nitrogen ini menekan
bagian dasar dome, Pd, pada
luas penampang bellow, Ab
 Port terbuka untuk dilalui
gas masuk kedalam tubing,
jika ujung stem tidak
menempel pada port.
 Jika gaya membuka sedikit
lebih besar dari gaya
menutup.
 Posisi Valve Tertutup
63
 Perkalian antara tekanan dalam
dome, Pd, dengan luas penampang
bellow, Ab, menghasilkan gaya
kebawah yang mendorong stem
dan ujung stem kebawah, sehingga
menutup port. Gaya ini disebut
sebagai gaya menutup.

Gaya menutup= Fc = Pd Ab

Gas Lift - Design

 Posisi Valve Terbuka
64
 Gaya membuka ini berasal dari
tekanan gas injeksi dari anulus,
Pc yang menekan bellow ke
atas, pada luas penampang
efektif sebesar (Ab-Ap) serta
tekanan fluida dari tubing, Pt
(melalui port) yang menekan
ujung stem keatas.

Gaya membuka =
Pc (Ab - Ap) + Pt Ap

Gas Lift - Design

 Keseimbangan Gaya Membuka dan Menutup
65

 Dalam keadaan seimbang, yaitu sesaat katup akan

membuka, gaya membuka sama dengan gaya menutup, hal
ini dapat dinyatakan sebagai berikut:
Pinj ( Ab  A p )  Pt A p  Pd Ab

 Untuk tekanan tubing, Pt tertentu, gas akan mengalir

kedalam katup apabila:
Pc ( A b  A p )  Pd A b  Pt A p

 Jika persamaan (2) dibagi dengan Ab, maka diperoleh

persamaan berikut:
Ap Ap
Pc (1  )  Pd  Pt
Ab Ab

Gas Lift - Design

Penentuan Tekanan Injeksi Katup Terbuka/Tertutup
66

Apabila R = Ap/Ab, maka

Harga tekanan injeksi, Pc, dapat ditentukan dengan

persamaan berikut :

Persamaan diatas dapat digunakan untuk

menentukan tekanan gas injeksi yang dibutuhkan
untuk membuka katup dibawah kondisi operasi.
Gas Lift - Design
 Contoh Soal
67

 Katup sembur buatan ditempatkan di kedalaman 6000 ft.

 Tekanan dome dan tekanan tubing di kedalaman tersebut masing-
masing sebesar 700 psi dan 500 psi. Apabila Ab katup sebesar 1.0 in2
dan Ap = 0.1 in2, tentukan tekanan gas di annulus yang diperlukan
untuk membuka katup.
 Perhitungan:
R = Ap/Ab = 0.1/1.0 = 0.1
Pd = 700 psi
Pt = 500 psi
 Dengan menggunakan persamaan (5), tekanan gas injeksi yang
diperlukan untuk membuka katup sebesar:
Pc = (700 - 500(0.1) / (1.0-0.1) = 722 psi

Gas Lift - Design

 Penentuan Tekanan Dome
68

Pd = ?

Pada Temperature
Di kedalaman Valve
Pd  Pt R
Pinj 
1 R

Test Rack
Diubah menjadi Tekanan
Opening pada Temperatur Bengkel
Pressure

Gas Lift - Design

 DOME PADA GAS LIFT VALVE
69

Dome pada Gas Lift Valve, diisi gas Nitrogen

sejumlah mole tertentu, sehingga dapat memberikan
tekanan tutup valve yang sesuai.
Sesuai dengan

P V=Z n R T
P-dome
Vol. dome Temperatur di sekitar
dome

Gas Lift - Design

 Penentuan Tekanan Dome
70

pd  pc (1  R)  pt R
 Tekanan dome @ TD = Pd
 Tekanan casing @ D = Pc
@TD Gradien Aliran @ tubing

Test Rack (di Bengkel) Gradien gas injeksi

 Tekanan dome @ TD Tabel 5-3
convert
 Tekanan dome @ 60 oF Pd @ 60o F  Ct Pd
(Tabel 5-3)
 Tekanan buka valve, pvo Pd @ 60o F
Pvo 
Gas Lift - Design 1 R
 Temperatur pada Valve
71

T-surface

Gradient Temperatur
Aliran
Gradient
Geothermal Retreivable valve
(oF/ft)
Non-Retreivable
valve

Gas Lift - Design T-bottom

Penentuan Opening/Closing
Pressure di Bengkel
72
 Penentuan Test Rack Opening Pressure
73

P1 = Pc
P2 = 0

Gas Lift - Design

 Ptro (1)
74

 Keseimbangan Gaya Buka

dan Gaya Tutup, pada Pt =
Patm :

 Dimana Pvc = tekanan tutup

di bengkel
 Jika R = Ap/Ab, maka

 Maka P-dome di bengkel :

Gas Lift - Design

 Ptro (2)
75

 Gaya Buka hanya dipengaruhi

oleh Pvc, yaitu:

 Pd di set pada temperatur

bengkel (60oF)
 Perlu dilakukan koreksi
terhadap temperatur pada
kedalaman valve

Gas Lift - Design

 Faktor Koreksi Tekanan
Gas Nitrogen Dalam
Dome
(pada Temperatur Bengkel
60 oF)

PV = ZnRT @ Tv

PV = ZnRT @ 60 oF

Gas Lift
- Design 76
Perhitungan Tekanan @ Bellow
secara Analitis
Gas
Lift -
Design

P(x) = tekanan rata-rata yang bekerja

pada bellow
Pvi = P(x) yang diperlukan untuk
membuka katup
z = pergerakan stem dari posisi tertutup
k = cp/cv
Ab = luas permukaan bellow
Pdi = tekanan dome awal
Pd(x)=tekanan dome jika stem bergerak
sejauh x

77
 Penentuan Ukuran Port Valve
Gas
Lift -
Design
Laju Alir pada kondisi kritik : Q = laju alir gas, MCF/d
Cd = discharge coefficient
Ap = luas penampang port
Pu = tekanan injeksi gas dalam
annulus, psia
k = cp/cv
R = perbandingan antara
tekanan upstream dengan
downstream
T = temperatur aliran
g = specific gravity gas

Atau dengan menggunakan Specific Gravity gas = 0.65

Grafik, yang dibuat pada kondisi Temperatur alir = 60 oF
Tekanan dasar = 14.65 psia
k = cp/cv = 1.27
Discharge coeficient = 0.865

78
 Penentuan Ukuran Port : R
79

 Berdasarkan rate injeksi

(di permukaan – Mscf/d),
qgi, sc tentukan rate injeksi
@ TD
q g ,sc ( Tv  460 )
 Berdasarkan Pt dan Pc,
q gi 
gunakan Gambar 5-22,
untuk menentukan
520
ukuran Port
 Pt = downstream press
 Pc = upstream press

Gas Lift - Design

Unloading Valve Design
80

PENEMPATAN VALVE UNLOADING

VALVE SPACING
 81

 Various methods are being used in the industry for

designing depths of valves of different types. They are the
universal design method, the API-recommended method,
the fallback method, and the percent load method.
 However, the basic objective should be the same:
1. To be able to open unloading valves with kickoff and injection
operating pressures
2. To ensure single-point injection during unloading and normal
operating conditions
3. To inject gas as deep as possible
 82

 No matter which method is used, the following principles apply:

 The design tubing pressure at valve depth is between gas injection
pressure (loaded condition) and the minimum tubing pressure (fully
unloaded condition).
 Depth of the first valve is designed on the basis of kickoff pressure
from a special compressor for well kickoff operations.
 Depths of other valves are designed on the basis of injection
operating pressure.
 Kickoff casing pressure margin, injection operating casing pressure
margin, and tubing transfer pressure margin are used to consider
the following effects:
 Pressure drop across the valve
 Tubing pressure effect of the upper valve
 Nonlinearity of the tubing flow gradient curve.