High-Pressure Gas Lift for Deep, Sour Production

Summary An innovative high-pressure N2 gas-lift design has been used to return several wells to production in the Jay/Little Escambia Creek (LEC) field of northwest Florida. The N2 was available from a field tertiary injection project and provided the means for the first continuous N2 lift system, and some of the deepest gas-lifted wells in operation. The design accommodates the unique demands of gas-lifting a deep, sour oil well with high water cuts through the operation of a continuous N2 lift system. Because the project design was not limited to conventional artificial lift techniques, a solution was achieved with the resources available. The high-pressure N2 lift enabled wells to return to production that would not have been economically attractive or mechanically feasible with a standard hydrocarbon gas lift or submersible pump design.