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:

Menurunkan gradien
aliran dalam tubing
Memberikan energy
tambahan di dalam sumur
untuk mendorong fluida
sumur ke permukaan

Psep

Pwh

Gradien
?

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

Lw
dp
g
v dv

dZ
gc
g c dZ
dZ
dp
fv 2
(
)f
dL
2 gc d
Pengurangan gradien

aliran dengan menurunkan

densitas fluida

Pwf

2
f

V
g
t
p
n
s
m
{

(
1

H
)
s
i
n

g
L
c
2
g
d
dphL1
c
{L

)cPV
1

H
g(
L
m
sg

PENDAHULUAN GAS LIFT (2)

6

N Re

Gradient Elevasi

Densitas Campuran

Gradient Akselerasi

vd

Gradient Friksi

2
f

V
g
t
p
n
s
m
{
H
(1

H
)
s
i
n

L
g
L
c
2
g
d
dph
c
{L
g(c1P

H
)V
L
m
sg

PENDAHULUAN GAS LIFT (3)

7

Pwf<Psep+dPf+dPt

Psep

Pwh

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
casingtubing 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.
Fluid +
Inj. Gas

Injected
Gas

Sistem Sumur Gas Lift

Separator
Flow Line

Gas Injection Line

Compressor Subsystem
intake system
outlet system
choke
pressure gauge
injection rate metering

Wellhead Subsystem :
Production subsystem
wellhead
production choke
pressure gauge
Injection subsystem
injection choke

Separator Subsystem:
separator
manifold
pressure gauges
flow metering

Unloading Gas Lift

Mandrells

Gas Injection Valve

Valve
Subsystem

Pt

P
c

Wellbore Subsystem:
perforation interval
tubing shoe
packer

12

Compressor Sub-System
Horse Power
Compressor

Pintake

Pdischarge

Pinjection@wellhead
Pgas

Qgas

Qgas

Wellhead

Pinjection@wellhead=Pdischarge - P

Separator

Compressor

Wellhead

13

Wellhead Sub-System
Surface Injection
Pressure

Injection
Choke

Production
Choke

Wellhead
Pressure

Production Fluid
Gas Injection

14

Gas Lift Valve Sub-System

Gas
Injeksi
Pc
P c = Pt

Pt

P
c

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 bottomhole pressure wells
Low PI, high bottomhole 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

Intermittent Gas Lift

A continuous gas lift operation

Intermittent 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.

is characterized by a start-andstop 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

Limited amount of gas

In a field-scale valuation, if

If only a limited amount of

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.

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

Tekanan Alir Dasar Sumur, psi

2000

1500

IPR Curve
Tubing Performance
Curve
GLR formasi

Variasi GLR
IPR

1000

200 scf/stb
400 scf/stb

600 scf/stb

500

800 scf/stb

Plot Qg-inj vs Qliquid

1000 scf/stb
1200 scf/stb
0
0

200

GLR-total (assume)
Qg-inj = Qtotal Qq-f

400

600

Laju Produk si, stb/d

800

1000

Kebutuhan Gas Injeksi (2)

29

Qg-inj >> maka Qliq >>

Pertambahan Qliq makin

700

kecil dengan makin

meningkatnya Qg-inj

600

Laju Produksi, stb

500

Sampai suatu saat

400

dengan pertambahan Qginj, Qliq berkurang

300
200

Titik puncak dimana Qliq

100
0
0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

Perbandingan Gas-Cairan, scf/stb

1400

maksimum disebut
sebagai Qoptimum

Unlimited Gas Injection Case

30

If an unlimited amount of

700
600
500
Laju Produksi, stb

gas lift gas is available for a

well, the well should receive
a lift gas injection rate that
yields the optimum GLR in
the tubing so that the
flowing bottom-hole
pressure is minimized, and
thus, oil production is
maximized.
The optimum GLR is liquid
flow rate dependent and
can be found from
traditional gradient curves
such as those generated by
Gilbert (Gilbert, 1954).

400
300
200
100
0
0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

Perbandingan Gas-Cairan, scf/stb

1400

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
700
600
500
Laju Produksi, stb

gas lift gas is available for

a well, the well potential
should be estimated
based on GLR expressed
as

400
300
200
100
0
0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

Perbandingan Gas-Cairan, scf/stb

1400

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

Qgas

Qgas

Wellhead

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

pv = 100 psi. The required size

of the orifice can be determined
using the choke-flow equations
presented in Subsection
13.4.2.3

Pc
Pc = Pt

Pt
Fluida
Produksi

Pt

P
c

Tekanan Tubing @ Valve Gas Lift

39

Pwf

p @ tubing

Output Gas Pressure Requirement (4)

40
Accurate determination of the

surface injection pressure pc,s

requires rigorous methods such as
the Cullender and Smith method
(Katz et al., 1959).
However, because of the large
cross-sectional area of the annular
space, the frictional pressure losses
are often negligible.
Then the average temperature and
compressibility factor model
degenerates to (Economides et al.,
1994)

Surface Injection
Pressure

Injection
Choke

Production
Choke

Wellhead
Pressure

Production Fluid
Gas Injection

Up-Stream Choke / Injection Choke

41
The pressure upstream of the

Surface Injection
Pressure

Injection
Choke

Production
Choke

Wellhead
Pressure

Production Fluid
Gas Injection

injection choke depends on flow

condition at the choke, that is,
sonic or subsonic flow.
Whether a sonic flow exists
depends on a downstreamtoupstream pressure ratio. If this
pressure ratio is less than a critical
pressure ratio, sonic (critical) flow
exists.
If this pressure ratio is greater than
or equal to the critical pressure
ratio, subsonic (subcritical) flow
exists. The critical pressure ratio
through chokes is expressed as

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

Valve 2 : Terbuka

Valve 3 : Terbuka

Valve 4 : Terbuka

Katup Unloading sudah

dipasang.
Sumur masih diisi
killing fluid
Fluida produksi masih
belum mengalir ke
dalam tubing

47

Tahap I
Pada Gambar 1 ditunjukkan penampang
No flow
Permukaan
Killing fluid
Valve 1 : Terbuka

Valve 2 : Terbuka

Valve 3 : Terbuka

Valve 4 : Terbuka

sumur yang siap dilakukan proses

pengosongan (unloading). Pada tubing
telah dipasang empat katup, yang terdiri
dari 3 katup, yaitu katup (1), (2) dan (3),
yang akan berfungsi sebagai katup
unloading. Sedangkan katup (4) akan
berfungsi sebagai katup operasi. Sebelum
dilakukan injeksi semua katup dalam
keadaan terbuka.
Sumur berisi cairan work-over,
ditunjukkan dengan warna biru, dan
puncak cairan berada diatas katup
unloading (1).
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

Valve 1 : Tertutup
Permukaan
Killing fluid

Valve 2 : Terbuka
Valve 3 : Terbuka

Permukaan
Fluida Res.

Valve 4 : Terbuka

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
kebawah.
Bagian bawah tubing yang semula berisi
cairan work-over ditempati oleh fluida
for-masi.
Pada saat ini gas akan masuk kedalam
tubing, melalui katup unloading (2) yang
terbuka. Dengan masuknya gas injeksi
tersebut kedalam tubing maka kolom
cairan dalam tubing akan lebih ringan
dan aliran cairan work over ke
permukaan akan berlanjut.

49

Tahap III
Pada Gambar 3 gas injeksi mendorong

Valve 1 : Tertutup
Permukaan
Fluida Res.
Valve 2 : Tertutup

Valve 3 : Tertutup

Permukaan
Killing fluid

Valve 4 : Terbuka

permukaan cairan work-over, sampai melampaui katup unloading (1), (2) dan (3).
Setiap saat permukaan kolom cairan
work-over mencapai katup unloading,
maka gas injeksi akan mengalir masuk
kedalam tubing dan aliran cairan workover dalam tubing akan tetap
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).
Selama ini pula permukaan cairan formasi
akan bergerak ke permukaan. Pada saat
cairan work-over mencapai katup
terakhir, yaitu katup operasi (4), maka
katup unloading (3) akan tertutup dan
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
Produksi

Valve 1 : Tertutup
Valve 2 : Tertutup
Valve 3 : Tertutup

Valve 4 : Terbuka

semua cairan work-over telah

terangkat dan sumur berproduksi
secara sembur buatan.
Katup operasi (4) akan tetap
terbuka, sebagai jalan masuk gas
injeksi kedalam tubing. Katup ini
diharapkan dapat bekerja dalam
waktu yang lama. Dimasa
mendatang akan terjadi perubahan
perbandingan gas-cairan dari
formasi, yang cenderung menurun
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

Pt
Fluida
Produksi

Pt

P
c

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:
Pc (1

Gas Lift - Design

Ap
Ab

) Pd Pt

Ap
Ab

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

Pinj

Test Rack
Opening
Pressure

Gas Lift - Design

Pd Pt R
1 R

Diubah menjadi Tekanan

pada Temperatur Bengkel

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

Gas Lift - Design

Temperatur di sekitar
dome

Penentuan Tekanan Dome

70

Tekanan dome @ TD = Pd

pd pc (1 R) pt R

Tekanan casing @ D = Pc
@TD

Test Rack (di Bengkel)

Tekanan dome @ TD
convert
Tekanan dome @ 60 oF
(Tabel 5-3)
Tekanan buka valve, pvo
Gas Lift - Design

Gradien Aliran @ tubin

Gradien gas injeksi

Tabel 5-3

Pd @ 60o F Ct Pd
Pvo

Pd @ 60o F
1 R

Temperatur pada Valve

71
T-surface

Gradient
Geothermal
(oF/ft)

Gradient Temperatur
Aliran

Non-Retreivable
valve

Gas Lift - Design

T-bottom

Retreivable valve

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)

Gas Lift
- Design

PV = ZnRT

@ Tv

PV = ZnRT

@ 60 oF

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

Laju Alir pada kondisi kritik :

Atau dengan menggunakan

Grafik, yang dibuat pada kondisi

Gas
Lift Design

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
Specific Gravity gas
Temperatur alir
Tekanan dasar
k = cp/cv
Discharge coeficient

= 0.65
= 60 oF
= 14.65 psia
= 1.27
= 0.865
78

Penentuan Ukuran Port : R

79

Berdasarkan rate injeksi

(di permukaan Mscf/d),

qgi, sc tentukan rate injeksi
@ TD
Berdasarkan Pt dan Pc,

gunakan Gambar 5-22,

untuk menentukan
ukuran Port
Pt = downstream press
Pc = upstream press
Gas Lift - Design

q gi

q g ,sc ( Tv 460 )
520

Unloading Valve Design

80

PENEMPATAN VALVE UNLOADING

VALVE SPACING

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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

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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.

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