Wellbore Pressure Boosting Enhances Recovery from Natural Gas Wells

摘要

Gas E&P companies have identified that pressure boosting inrncloser proximity to the source reservoir can accelerate andrnincrease hydrocarbon recovery beyond that possible byrnconventional central gas compression. Downhole pressurernboosting significantly improves the vertical lift performance ofrnthe production tubing and stimulates reservoir flow byrnincreased suction. The greatest economic benefit is gainedrnwhen downhole compression is introduced during thern‘plateau’ production period. From the reference fields studiedrnduring a recent comprehensive feasibility study, incrementalrnproduction gains of between 32% and 41% representingrnadditional recovery of 14 to 20 Bscf per well over 5 yearsrnwere found to be possible. By accelerating rates of production,rndownhole compression may also present an opportunity for therndevelopment of otherwise sub-economic fields.rnThis paper presents the findings of this feasibility study,rnwhich concluded that adapting existing technologies fromrnother industrial sectors to the downhole environment is bothrntechnically and economically viable. For the first time arnfeasible concept exists, that when fully developed, will enablernoperators to extract significantly greater value from their gasrnassets. A description of the key reservoir and well drivers thatrndetermine the level of production acceleration and enhancedrnrecovery is also presented.