Experimental study of fluid flow in horizontal and deviated wells during the artificial gas lift process

Abstract

Introduction: One of the main objectives of reservoir engineering studies is to increase the production of hydrocarbon reservoirs with an optimal method. One of the artificial lift methods in wells is the gas lift. This system increases the oil production flow rate by reducing the pressure at the bottom of the well and increasing the pressure at the wellhead. In this method, by injection of high-pressure gas into the well’s column, the average density of the well fluid is reduced, and through this, the well is reactivated.Method: In the current study, the simulation of a gas lift system in the horizontal and inclined wells was investigated. The pressure changes at the end of a simulated pipeline with the ability to change the angle from horizontal to inclined when the continuous fluid is water and the injected fluid in the air is investigated.Findings: The results obtained from the current study have been investigated by the PIPESIM Software and the GLR parameter sensitivity analysis. The main objective of the current study is to find the optimal flow rate of the injected gas, which is specified after analysis of the figures obtained from the experiment. Discussion and Conclusion: One of the advantages of conducting this empirical research compared to simulation with PIPESIM Software is that pressure drop fluctuations can be seen along the pipeline in empirical operations, which is not possible in this software.

Keywords

• gas lift
• optimal flow rate of gas injection
• wellhead pressure
• pipesim
• pressure drop fluctuations