Surface · Gas Lift
Injection Gas Control
The surface valve, meter and controller that set how much gas goes into each well.
What it does
Holds each well at its assigned injection rate. Continuous systems inject steadily; intermittent systems inject in timed cycles to push liquid slugs up.
Basics
| Modes | Continuous or intermittent flow |
| Set by | Optimization of the whole well network |
| Watch | Casing (injection) pressure and gas rate |
Common failures
- Too much gas: wasted compression with no extra oil
- Too little gas: liquid builds up and the well loads
Troubleshooting
- Symptom
- More gas but no more oil
- Likely cause
- Well past its optimum injection rate
- What to check
- Re-run the well curve and lower the rate
- Symptom
- Production and pressure oscillate
- Likely cause
- Gas entering below critical velocity
- What to check
- Review injection rate and orifice size