Identifying the optimal operating regime of production wells based on the analysis of wellhead pressure fluctuations

Abstract

The article presents the results of field experimental studies of wellhead and bottomhole pressure fluctuations at different operating modes of gas-liquid lift. As a result of the research, it was found that at the optimal operating mode of gas lift well there is minimum amplitude and maximum frequency of wellhead and bottomhole pressure fluctuations, which agrees well with the results of previously, conducted theoretical and experimental laboratory studies. It is shown that the increase in the amplitude and decrease in the frequency of wellhead and bottomhole pressure fluctuations is observed when gas injection deviates from the optimal one, both in the direction of increasing and decreasing gas injection. The possibility of assessing the optimal operating mode of gas-lift and flowing wells on the basis of analyzing the fluctuations of technological parameters during normal operation without special testing operations has been established. A methodology for assessing the efficiency of gas-lift and flowing wells operation mode based on the application of various methods of time series analysis was created. Keywords: gas lift well; gas-liquid flow; optimal rate; wellhead pressure; fluctuation.