Surface · Gas Lift
Gas Compressor
The surface unit that raises produced or field gas to the pressure needed for injection into the well.
What it does
Supplies high pressure gas to the casing annulus. Gas availability and compression cost largely decide whether gas lift is viable.
Basics
| Gas source | Gas from nearby wells, recycled after separation |
| Key cost | Compression |
| Not needed in | Auto (natural) gas lift, where a gas zone feeds the tubing |
Common failures
- Compressor downtime stops lift on every well it feeds
- Gas supply below what the network needs
Troubleshooting
- Symptom
- Several wells drop at once
- Likely cause
- Low injection pressure from the compression system
- What to check
- Check compressor discharge pressure and gas allocation