Pig lift: A new artifical lift method
Artificial lift of oil wells is a fairly broad subject. There are many different methods available but in a few cases none of them turns out to be a fit option. Some specific situation such as high viscosity or waxy oil, high gas-to-liquid ratio (GLR), horizontal and/or very deep well generate artificial lift problems that causes high reservoir back pressure, and, consequently, low production rates. Pig lift is a new novel artificial lift method developed to solve some of these problems. It uses a U-shaped double completion string in the wellbore, with a full bore bottom hole connector, and a surface piping and control system. This physical arrangement is put together to allow the cyclic and automated launching of a low density foam pig from the surface, pushing along with it the liquid phase accumulated into the tubing string. The method is, therefore, cyclic. High pressure gas is used to displace the pig. The system was successfully installed in five wells in Brazil, increasing the production flow rate significantly, as compared to conventional artificial lift methods. This paper presents the description of the pig lift method, and reports the results obtained in these field trials. Discussions of its technical and economical advantages and potential areas of application is also given.
- OSTI ID:
- 468221
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-961003--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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