Summary
The Penguins field comprises of a cluster of reservoirs in the northern
North Sea. The need for gas lift was foreseen during the early stages of
field-development planning. Five oil wells were completed for gas lift service.
A 65-km 4-in. gas lift line was laid in 2006, running alongside the production
line and tied into the drill centers by flexible 2-in. jumpers.
Because of the unconventionally long distance of the field from the
platform, it was necessary to carry out transient modeling of the full
commissioning and gas lift startup process. Particular attention was required,
both in design and operating procedure, to avoid hydrates and excessive
velocities in the high-pressure, low-temperature system.
Dynamic simulation with the industry-renowned transient software package
(OLGA v5.1 2006) has proved to be valuable for the commissioning of this gas
lift system. It also explained discrepancies between anticipated behavior of
the shear orifice valve and the actual behavior seen in the field.
The overall project outcome was a success, with excellent improvements in
field stability and production. The project was justified on the basis of
kickoff capability only, but continuous gas lift is required to maintain stable
flow from all of the wells.
© 2009. Society of Petroleum Engineers
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History
- Original manuscript received:
26 September 2008
- Revised manuscript received:
29 December 2008
- Manuscript approved:
5 January 2009
- Published online:
22 October 2009
- Version of record:
25 November 2009
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