Control for Frac and Formation Water Removal

Transcription

1 Appalachian Basin Gas Well Deliquification Seminar Marietta College, June 7-8, 2010 Automated Use of Soap Sticks with Flow Control for Frac and Formation Water Removal Mark Mulkern, Senior Completion Engineer - EQT Production Zach Allman, Production Engineer - EQT Production Dan Casey, Project Manager - Pro-Seal Lift Systems, inc

2 Study Area 2

3 Study Area 3

4 Issues and Goals Issues Wells will perform better on a more frequent Soap & Blow / Soap & Go schedule Typical soap schedule is once per 3-4 weeks. Additional operator time is required per well to let well build pressure before flowing. Operators typically have wells to tend to per route. Goals Reduce operator time per well. More aggressive e and regular soap schedule. Reduce liquid loading on low pressure reservoir. Produce more gas. 4

5 Issues and Goals Issues Wells will perform better on a more frequent Soap & Blow / Soap & Go schedule Typical soap schedule is once per 3-4 weeks. Additional operator time is required per well to let well build pressure before flowing. Operators typically have wells to tend to per route. Goals Reduce operator time per well. More aggressive e and regular soap schedule. Reduce liquid loading on low pressure reservoir. Produce more gas. 5

6 Current Options Available More frequent trips to well to S&B / S&G. Install 2-3/8 velocity string. Install 2-3/8 tubing string with plunger. Capillary string. Swabbing program.

7 Typical Well Characteristics Horizontal Casing: 4-1/2, 11.6 lb/ft (4.00 ID) Sources of water: Fracture treatment / formation Flowing line pressure: +/- 30 psi 24 hour shut-in pressure: +/ psi Flow Mcfd 7

8 Use of Automatic Soap Launcher Solar Power Compressor Device Installed On Wellhead 8

9 Use of Automatic Soap Launcher Question to be answered: Cycle time? Frequency of the soapstick launch Will higher frequency allow S&G alone to be effective 9

10 Example Well #1 (Lower Huron Shale) 10

11 Lessons Learned From First Well Inadequate solar panels installed for operation of ASL and compressor. Mountains and winter sunlight conditions did not generate enough power. Identified the need for use of flow control routine. Wells needed to be shut in for a period of time to allow soap to function (allowing well pressure to build). High volumes of water needed to bypass separator once well is reopened (divert flow to location tanks). ASL can be programmed for these functions. Control box mounted on unit. Wellsite or future remote capability to reprogram. 11

12 More Questions From Lessons Learned Questions to be answered: Cycle time? Frequency of the soapstick launch Shut-in duration? Pressure build in production string Delay of stick launch? Manipulate soapstick resident time Head gas sales time? Sends pressure build into sales line Tank open duration? Water produced directly to the tank 12

13 New Wellsite Setup Soap Launcher Flow control to sales Flow control to tank 13

14 New Wellsite Setup 14

15 New Wellsite Setup 15

16 Soap Launch Cycle (48 Hour) Stick Drop Event Shut-In Time, 2 Hours High Volume Sales Gas, 5 Minutes Tank Flow Time, 2 Hours Sales Flow Time (~44 hrs) 16

17 Example Well #2 (Berea Sandstone) 17

18 Example Well #3 (Lower Huron Shale) 18

19 Test Well Economics Uplift Project Payout Cost Example Well #1 25 mcf/d $9,244 5 months Example Well #2 62 mcf/d $12,245 3 months Example Well #3 86 mcf/d $12,245 2 months

20 Overall Economics Total of 13 wells to date with ASL installation. Current Economics based on 13 wells IRR 165% Project Payout 12 months Note that economics do not take into account the savings in well operator s time or increased efficiency.

21 Conclusions The results that we have obtained thus far are from the correct positioning of the soap stick within the production string plus very specific timing of the dual flow control valves tailored to the characteristics of each well. Well received by field operations Proving to be a valuable tool in the initial clean up of low pressure horizontal wells Future remote functionality will allow more precise tailoring of system settings

22 Questions? Mark Mulkern, Senior Completion Engineer - EQT Production Zach Allman, Production Engineer - EQT Production Dan Casey, Project Manager - Pro-Seal Lift Systems

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24 Disclaimer The following disclaimer shall be included as the last page of a Technical Presentation or Continuing Education Course. A similar disclaimer is included on the front page of the Gas Well Deliquification Web Site. The Artificial Lift Research and Development Council and its officers and trustees, and the Gas Well Deliquification Workshop Steering Committee members, and their supporting organizations and companies (here-in-after referred to as the Sponsoring Organizations), and the author(s) of this Technical Presentation or Continuing Education Training Course and their company(ies), provide this presentation and/or training material at the Gas Well Deliquification Workshop "as is" without any warranty of any kind, express or implied, as to the accuracy of the information or the products or services referred to by any presenter (in so far as such warranties may be excluded under any relevant law) and these members and their companies will not be liable for unlawful actions and any losses or damage that may result from use of any presentation as a consequence of any inaccuracies in, or any omission from, the information which therein may be contained. The views, opinions, and conclusions expressed in these presentations and/or training materials are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Sponsoring Organizations. The author is solely responsible for the content of the materials. The Sponsoring Organizations cannot and do not warrant the accuracy of these documents beyond the source documents, although we do make every attempt to work from authoritative sources. The Sponsoring Organizations provide these presentations and/or training materials as a service. The Sponsoring Organizations make no representations or warranties, express or implied, with respect to the presentations and/or training materials, or any part thereof, including any warrantees of title, non-infringement of copyright or patent rights of others, merchantability, or fitness or suitability for any purpose. 24