PETROLEUM SOCIETY PAPER 2002-107

CANADIAN INSTITUTE OF MINING, METALLURGY & PETROLEUM

Production Optimization of Liquid Loading

Gas Condensate Wells: A Case Study
G. Coskuner, T. Bogdan
Husky Oil Operations Limited

This paper is to be presented at the Petroleum Societys Canadian International Petroleum Conference 2002, Calgary, Alberta,
Canada, June 11 13, 2002. Discussion of this paper is invited and may be presented at the meeting if filed in writing with the
technical program chairman prior to the conclusion of the meeting. This paper and any discussion filed will be considered for
publication in Petroleum Society journals. Publication rights are reserved. This is a pre-print and subject to correction.

ABSTRACT to flow, the liquid fallback still tends to increase the

Liquid production can be a serious problem in gas
condensate wells nearing the end of their production life.
As the pressure in the drainage area is depleted, the gas
velocity in the production tubing falls below the critical
rate resulting in inadequate energy to lift all the
condensate out of the wellbore. The condensate migrates
down the tubing and collects at the bottom of the
completion increasing the bottom hole flowing pressure
and, in many cases, killing the well. A similar liquid
loading problem can be also encountered in low
productivity gas condensate wells.
average flowing bottom hole pressure thus reducing the
production rate. The paper discusses the process of
selecting the best candidates among such wells for the
next level of intervention which is the installation of
plunger lift systems. As a result, 19 wells were equipped
with plunger lifts and a significant production increase
has been observed. The project has been a technical and
economic success so far and is now being extended to the
rest of the field.
INTRODUCTION

This paper investigates the behaviour of gas
condensate wells in a deep basin fractured sandstone
reservoir in Alberta. Regardless of the initial well
productivity, sooner or later, declining reservoir
pressures and/or poor productivity cause wells to liquid
load. The first and the cheapest solution is to produce
these wells intermittently. Although such wells continue
The presence of a liquid phase during gas production
has long been recognized as detrimental to well flow. In
gas condensate reservoirs, as the gas in the reservoir
travels towards the wellbore, it encounters decreasing
pressures and as a result a liquid hydrocarbon phase
(condensate) is formed below the dew point pressure1.
Furthermore, as the gas travels to the surface, the

1
pressure and temperature decreases causing more liquid
to drop out of the gas phase.
As long as the gas flow rate is sufficiently high to
maintain annular mist flow, these liquids are lifted out of
the well. However, when the tubing velocity becomes too
small to maintain steady flow conditions, loading up of
the well by liquid accumulation becomes a problem. The
problem can be attributed to a low gas production rate
due to low bottom hole pressure in a mature reservoir
and/or low gas relative permeability for given
conditions1. The flow regime in the wellbore switches
from annular mist flow to churning or slug flow and the
liquid lifting capacity of the gas decreases dramatically.
The flow rate for this switch is called the critical flow
rate2,3.
Below the critical flow rate, liquids tend to migrate
down the tubing and start to collect at the bottom. For a
while the well will be able to unload small slugs on its
own. The well will eventually stop flowing continuously
and the fluid is produced in small heads with spikes of
gas. If no remedial measures are taken the problem will
worsen as the liquids continue to accumulate in the
tubing and the production rate continually decreases4,5.
Finally, at a certain fluid level the liquid accumulation
can load up and kill the well due to the backpressure
exerted on the formation and the reduced gas relative
permeability in the vicinity of the perforations1,6.
Various technologies are available to deal with liquid
loading in gas wells7 . They include sucker rod pump,
additional compression, plunger lift, siphon string, gas
lift, intermittent production and velocity strings. Correct
selection of the artificial lift method is important to the
long term profitability of a given well. A poor choice can
reduce production and increase operating costs. For low
rate gas reservoirs, the capital investment and operating
cost associated with the solution must be small. For
instance, sucker rod pumps are too costly to install in
these reservoirs unless they are very shallow.
INTERMITTENT WELL PRODUCTION
One of the lowest cost solutions is to sustain the
natural flow of the well by alternate flow and shut-in
periods. This can either be done manually or automated
2
by installing a controller and an intermitter at the well
head. No downhole modifications are needed. The well is
shut in for specific periods of time so that enough energy
can be built up to lift the liquids out of the wellbore.
Accumulated gas in the casing tubing annulus essentially
blows the liquid to the surface. However, intermittent
well production is only a temporary solution as there are
several problems which cause the daily production time,
hence the gas rate, to gradually decrease.
The condensate is lifted from the well in the form of a
slug. Among other factors, the size and length of the
tubing also influences the slug recovery efficiency. As
the slug moves towards the surface, the tubing walls exert
a certain amount of friction. Thus, a drag on the outer
perimeter of the slug is created while the central core
moves with a higher velocity. At the same time, the gas
underneath attempts to breakthrough. In addition, each
produced slug wets the tubing walls as it is being
produced. This wetting film, together with the portion of
the slug that is bypassed due to the friction, cause what is
known as fallback.
The severity of the fallback is a function of the slug
velocity, which in turn, is a function of the pressure
difference between the bottom hole and the wellhead.
Depending on this pressure difference, the lifting
efficiency can range from 60% to as low as 30%. This
inefficiency also creates an unnecessarily heavy flowing
gradient in the tubing causing higher flowing bottom hole
pressures and reduced drawdown. The reduced
drawdown results in less inflow from the formation.
In an intermittent producing well, there is a minimum
liquid column height (submergence) necessary for a
beginning slug to achieve an acceptable recovery at the
surface. The portion of the slug lost as fallback increases
with depth, thus, the deeper the well, the higher the
submergence necessary for acceptable recovery.
Intermittent well production cannot be used once the
bottom hole pressure decreases below that necessary to
support the required liquid column height.
The inflow from the formation is reduced due to the
backpressure exerted by an increasing hydrostatic
column. The higher columns require longer build up
times. The gas inflow is higher at the beginning of the
cycle, therefore, there is a distinct advantage to working
with smaller liquid slugs. Consequently, increasing the
cycle frequency may result in some additional production
for a period of time.
PRODUCTION WITH PLUNGER LIFT
This method is an artificial lift technique that uses a
free piston or plunger to lift the fluids to the surface using
the reservoir energy stored in the gas. Installation of a
plunger eliminates or drastically reduces all of the
problems associated with intermittent well production by
acting as a mechanical interface between the lift gas and
the condensate4,5,8-10. The efficiency of the lift now
increases dramatically to almost 100%.
The results are the reduced flowing gradients in the
tubing and lower flowing bottom hole pressures leading
to higher gas production rates. It can be expected that a
gas well will re-establish a normal decline as shown in
Figure 1 if loading can be prevented. However, it has also
been observed that the rate of decline changes in many
instances after a plunger installation thereby extending
the life of the well significantly and adding reserves11.
Finally, reduced need for submergence allows for deeper
and lower pressure wells to be lifted as shown in Figure
2. The plunger also has the secondary benefit of
preventing the build up of paraffin deposits in the tubing.
In general, plunger lifts are used in high gas liquid
ratio wells, therefore, they are ideally suited to gas
condensate reservoirs. An advantage over other lift
methods is the relatively small initial cost and low
operating costs. A typical plunger lift installation consists
of a stop and spring set at the bottom of the tubing string
and a lubricator and a catcher on the surface acting as a
shock absorber at the upper end of the plunger travel as
shown in Figure 3. The system is completed with the
addition of a controller and a motor valve with the ability
to open and close the flow line.
Operation of the system is initiated by closing the flow
line and allowing the formation gas to accumulate in the
casing annulus through natural separation. The annulus
acts primarily as a reservoir for storage of this gas. After
pressure builds up in the casing to a certain value, the
flow line is opened. The transfer of gas from the casing to
3
the tubing in addition to the flow of gas from the
formation creates a high instantaneous velocity that
causes a pressure drop across the plunger and the liquid.
The plunger then moves upwards, pushing all of the
liquids in the tubing above it.
Upon arrival of the plunger at the surface, the tubing
string is completely free of liquids. At this point, the
formation encounters the least resistance to flow.
Depending on the productivity of the well, high flow
rates can be maintained for some incremental time by
leaving the flow line open. This period is called the
afterflow. The well is shut in when loading is evidenced
again, allowing the plunger to fall and the cycle is
repeated.
ANSELL GAS CONDENSATE FIELD
Ansell gas condensate field is located 15 kilometers
southwest of Edson in the deep gas basin of Western
Alberta. The Cretaceous Cardium Formation which
makes up the gas pool is comprised of texturally mature,
fine to coarse grained sandstone. The Cardium within the
Ansell area has a gross average isopach value between
10m and 35m and consists of widespread stacked shallow
marine and shoreline cycles deposited on trends which
project to the northwest /southeast. The shallow marine
and shoreline deposits of the Cardium were subsequently
buried and deeper marine shales acted as a hydrocarbon
source. The average reservoir depth is 2300m and log
porosities of 9-12% are common. Permeabilities of less
than 0.1 mD are generally encountered with an average
matrix permeability on the order of 0.01mD-0.1 mD.
Subsequent Laramide compression tectonics have
resulted in areas of thrust faulting in the Cardium at
Ansell. Thrust faulting produces fracture networks within
the Cardium which serve to increase permeability near
the overthrust section. Although targeting areas of
potential faulting and thus fracturing is advantageous to
the Cardium Sandstone play at Ansell and other adjacent
areas, it is not mandatory for success. Having a thrust
fault nearby does increase the potential that the drilled
well will be successful economically. However, there are
also successful wells in non-faulted Cardium settings.
 The average reservoir pressure is 21 MPa and the
temperature is 82 0C. The reservoir has a gas condensate
fluid which yields 170 m3/E6m3 (30 bbl/mmscf) of free
liquids at the well head and further processing yields
another 280 m3/E6m3 (50 bbl/mmscf) liquids for a total
liquid content of 450 m3/E6m3 (80 bbl/mmscf). The
initial reservoir pressure is very close to the dew point
pressure.
IDENTIFICATION OF PLUNGER LIFT
CANDIDATE WELLS
The first step in identification of plunger lift
candidates is to inspect the difference between the tubing
head pressure and the casing head pressure. Wells with
large differential pressure between the casing and tubing,
which indicates liquid loading, are considered prime
candidates for plunger lift installations.
The second step is to estimate the potential flow rate
increase with the plunger lift. Naturally, wells with the
largest impact are given priority for plunger lift
installation. The estimation of a wells performance with
the plunger lift requires at least two important pieces of
information. These are the current reservoir pressure and
the producing liquid-to-gas ratio for the well under
consideration.
The current reservoir pressure is obtained using the gas
material balance equation. The material balance requires
the original reservoir pressure and the original gas in
place (OGIP). These values are then plotted on a graph of
P/Z versus cumulative gas produced. The original
reservoir pressure is usually constant throughout the area.
The OGIP is determined as the reserves available to the
well within its drainage area by analyzing the gas rate
versus time and extrapolation of the decline curve to the
economic limit. Once the original reservoir pressure and
OGIP are known, the current reservoir pressure is
determined from the material balance equation using the
cumulative gas produced to date.
The liquid-to-gas ratios are determined using current
production data. Since the liquid is not removed from a
well on a consistent basis, it is important to have a few
months of liquid-to-gas ratios so that a reliable estimate
can be made. The information is obtained from a database
4
with daily production data. The current gas production
rate is determined using a fourteen day average.
Having obtained the above data, it is possible to
calculate the inflow performance of the well and overlay
the tubing performance curve on it. The operating points
before and after the plunger lift installation yield the
expected gas flow rate increase upon the plunger lift
installation. A comparison of predicted versus the actual
increase in gas flow rates in shown in Figure 4 for the
wells where a plunger lift has been installed in 2001 and
2002. A perfect match would have been the 45-degree
line shown on this plot and the dashed lines indicate a
variation of 10% from it. It can be concluded that the
increase in rate can be estimated using the above
technique with reasonable confidence for the majority of
the wells.
WELL PERFORMANCES
When the wells are put on production, the initial
drawdown causes liquids to drop out in the reservoir and
the gas relative permeability decreases rapidly resulting
in steep production declines1,12. After a certain period of
time (3 to 12 months) a semi steady state is reached and
the rate of production decline is reduced. The decline
rates and time to reach semi steady state flow is
controlled by the permeability of the drainage area as
well as the amount of the drawdown applied at the well.
A typical well is shown in Figure 5 where the initial
rapid decline occurs over the first 9 months of
production. This period is followed by relatively mild
decline when the semi steady state is reached. An
intermitter was installed at 23 months as flow rates
declined to the point where liquids were not being lifted
efficiently. The intermitter worked well for another year.
However, when pressures declined further so that the
liquid submergence could not be handled by the gas
production, then the rate of production decline increased
significantly. Longer and longer build up times were
needed to lift the liquid column.
The higher production declines started at 35 months in
this well and continued until a plunger lift was installed at
47 months. Initial variation in the gas flow rate reflects
the efforts to optimize the plunger operation while a new
semi steady state was being established. Based on the 11 Incremental reserves are 231.4 E6m3 (8.171 bcf) for
months of production after the plunger lift was installed, the wells shown in Table 1 and 176.4 E6m3 (6.229 bcf)
a clear production decline trend has not been established for the wells shown in Table 2. If one includes the
yet. A conservative estimate would be a decline similar to associated liquids with these incremental reserves then
the decline established during the initial semi steady state the cost of adding reserves were 0.126 $/m3 oil equivalent
flow between the months 9 to 34 which is shown on this (0.02 $/boe) and 0.315 $/m3 oil equivalent (0.05 $/boe),
plot. for the wells shown in Tables 1 and 2, respectively. The
wells paid out the investment in plunger lifts in 2 to 4
The reserves associated with this well can be
months. Therefore, the project is considered to be a
calculated based on the exponential production decline
technical and economic success. Currently, Husky Oil
before and after the installation of the plunger lift. This is
Operations Limited have an active work plan to extend
shown in Figure 6. The well would have produced 23.4
the plunger lifts installations to the rest of the field where
E6m3 (0.827 bcf) of gas without the plunger lift. The
it is warranted.
installation of the plunger lift increased the reserves by
50% to 35.0 E6m3 (1.237 bcf).
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
Another example of the well behaviour in the Ansell
Regardless of initial well productivity, wells in the
field is shown in Figures 7 and 8. In this case an
Ansell gas condensate field eventually liquid load due to
intermitter was installed at 19 months and the plunger lift
declining reservoir pressure and/or low gas permeability.
was installed at 29 months. Based on the performance of
The problem can be temporarily remedied by producing
the well for 21 months after the plunger lift installation,
the wells intermittently. However, intermitting is
the reserves increased by 197% to 21.8 E6m3 (0.772 bcf).
inefficient and cannot be used once the bottomhole
Note that, the decline assumed by the well after the
pressure decreases below that necessary to support the
plunger lift installation was significantly less than that
required liquid column height. Installation of a plunger
established during the initial semi steady state that lasted
lift eliminates the liquid fallback problem associated with
between months 4 to 18 for this particular well.
intermittent well production. Consequently, the
It should be noted that, although most of the wells production can be restored with decline rates equal to or
follow a similar trend to the two discussed above, there below previous levels.
were some exceptions. In some wells, the increased rate
The application of the plunger lift technology in Ansell
of production decline prior to the plunger lift installation
resulted in total incremental gas reserves of 14.400 bcf.
was not very prominent. In other wells, the semi steady
These reserves were added at an average cost of 0.03
state was attained very quickly and there was only one
$/boe. The initial project is considered to be a technical
long production decline period prior to the accelerated
and economic success and is now being extended to the
decline that happens due to liquid loading.
rest of the field.

RESULTS
Plunger lifts were installed in one well in 1997, two
wells in 1999, two wells in 2000 and fourteen wells in
2001. There were three additional wells in 2002, but their
performance history with the plunger lift has been brief
and, hence, are not included in the performance analysis
here. Reserves additions attributed to the plunger lift for
the pre-2001 wells are shown in Table 1, and for year-
2001 wells in Table 2.
REFERENCES
1 . Coskuner, G. Performance Prediction in Gas
Condensate Reservoirs, Distinguished Author
Series, J. Canadian Petroleum Technology, Vol. 38,
No. 8, 32-36, August 1999
2 . Turner, R.G., Hubbard, M.G., Dukler, A.E.,
Analysis and Prediction of Minimum Flow Rate for
the Continuous Removal of Liquids from Gas
Wells, J. Pet. Tech., 1475-1482, November 1969

5
3 . Coleman, S.B., Clay H.B., McCurdy, D.G., Lee
Norris, H., A New Look at Predicting Gas Well
Load Up, J. Pet. Tech., 329-333, March 1991
4 . Beauregard, E., Ferguson, P.L., Introduction to
Plunger Lift: Applications, Advantages and
Limitations, Presented at the Southwestern
Petroleum Short Course, Dept. of Petroleum
Engineering, Texas Tech. University, Lubbock,
Texas, April 23-24, 1981
5 . Ferguson, P.L., Beuregard, E., Will Plunger Lift
Work in My Well, Presented at the Southwestern
Petroleum Short Course, Dept. of Petroleum
Engineering, Texas Tech. University, Lubbock,
Texas, April 27-28, 1983
6 . Yamamoto, H., Christiansen, R.L., Enhancing
Liquid Lift from Low Pressure Gas Reservoirs, SPE
55625, presented at the SPE Rocky Mountain
Regional Meeting, Gillette, Wyoming, May 15-18,
1999
7 . Clegg, J.D., Bucaram, S.M., Hein, N.W.,
Recommendations and Comparisons for Selecting
Artificial Lift Methods, J. Pet. Tech., 1128-1131,
1163-1167, December 1993
6
8 . Wiggins, M.L., Nguyen, S.H., Gasbarri, S.,
Optimising Plunger Lift Operations in Oil and Gas
Wells, SPE 52119, Presented at the SPE Mid-
Continent Operations Symposium, Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma, March 28-31, 1999
9 . Avery, D.J, Evans, R.D., Design Optimization of
Plunger Lift Systems, SPE 17585, presented at the
SPE International Meeting on Petroleum
Engineering, Tianjin, China, November 1-4, 1988
10. Neves, T.R., Brimhall, R.M., Elimination of Liquid
Loading in Low Productivity Gas Wells, SPE
18833, presented at the SPE Production Operations
Symposium, , Oklahoma City, Oklahoma,March 13-
14, 1989
11. Ferguson, P.L., Beauregard, E., Extending
Economic Limits and Reducing Lifting Costs:
Plungers Prove to be Long Term Solutions,
Presented at the Southwestern Petroleum Short
Course, Dept. of Petroleum Engineering, Texas
Tech. University, Lubbock, Texas, April 20-21, 1988
12. Coskuner, G., Microvisual Study of Multiphase Gas
Condensate Flow in Porous Media, Transport in
Porous Media, vol. 28, 1-18, 1997
 Table 1. Plunger Lift Installations Before 2001
WELL Reserves Reserves Incremental Incremental
(bcf) (bcf) Reserves Reserves
Prior P/L Post P/L (bcf) (%)

2 0.262 0.772 0.509 194.1%

3 0.363 0.573 0.210 57.8%
4 1.904 7.760 5.857 307.6%
5 0.809 0.475 -0.334 -41.2%
6 0.271 2.710 2.439 899.8%
Total 3.609 12.290 8.171 306.0%

Table 2. Plunger Lift Installations During 2001

WELL Reserves Reserves Incremental Incremental
(bcf) Prior (bcf) Reserves Reserves
P/L Post P/L (bcf) (%)

1 0.827 1.237 0.410 49.6%

7 4.003 5.310 1.307 32.6%
8 1.920 2.696 0.776 40.4%
9 0.915 1.502 0.586 64.1%
10 0.736 2.115 1.379 187.5%
11 0.223 0.299 0.076 34.1%
12 0.378 0.396 0.018 04.7%
13 1.202 1.879 0.677 56.3%
14 0.596 0.703 0.107 18.0%
15 0.991 1.150 0.159 16.0%
16 0.503 0.968 0.466 92.6%
17 0.790 0.823 0.033 04.2%
18 1.071 1.177 0.107 10.0%
19 0.736 0.864 0.128 17.3%
Total 14.890 21.118 6.229 44.8%

7
Figure 1. Typical Gas Well Production Decline Curve
(Reference 5)

Figure 2. Required Submergence in a Low Pressure

Intermittent Gas Well (Reference 5)

Figure 3. Conventional Plunger Lift Installation

(Reference 8)

8
 Figure 4. Incremental Gas Rate Prediction
100

Predicted Rate Increase, %

80

60

40

20

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Observed Rate Increase, %

Figure 5. Well 1 Production Decline

10,000

Plunger Lift Installed

Gas Rate (mcf/cd)

1,000

100
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Months

Figure 6. Well 1 Cumulative Gas Production

1,200
Plunger Lift Installed
1,000
Gas Rate (mcf/cd)

800

600

400

200

0
0 200000 400000 600000 800000 1000000 1200000 1400000
Cumulative Gas Produced (mcf)

9
 Figure 7. Well 2 Production Decline

1,000
Plunger Lift Installed
Gas Rate (mcf/cd)

100

10
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Months

Figure 8. Well 2 Cumulative Gas Production

500

450 Plunger Lift Installed

400

350
Gas Rate (mcf/cd)

300

250

200

150

100

50

0
0 100000 200000 300000 400000 500000 600000 700000 800000 900000
Cumulative Gas Produced (mcf)

10