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Downhole Gas Separation Concepts Downhole Diagnostic

1. The document discusses how to design a downhole gas separator (DHGS) to avoid gas interference during pumping operations. 2. Key recommendations include designing the DHGS placement and entry ports to allow gas to naturally bypass the mud anchor, ensuring downward fluid velocity is slower than gas bubble rise velocity, and using specialty pumps or sand screens if full gas removal cannot be achieved. 3. The document also provides equations and tables to help calculate fluid velocities and design the DHGS for efficient gas separation based on factors like pump placement, casing size, and flow rates.

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949 views1 page

Downhole Gas Separation Concepts Downhole Diagnostic

1. The document discusses how to design a downhole gas separator (DHGS) to avoid gas interference during pumping operations. 2. Key recommendations include designing the DHGS placement and entry ports to allow gas to naturally bypass the mud anchor, ensuring downward fluid velocity is slower than gas bubble rise velocity, and using specialty pumps or sand screens if full gas removal cannot be achieved. 3. The document also provides equations and tables to help calculate fluid velocities and design the DHGS for efficient gas separation based on factors like pump placement, casing size, and flow rates.

Uploaded by

Downhole Diagnostic
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Downhole Gas Separator (DHGS):

How to Avoid Gas Interference:


1. Design the DHGS (and its placement) so that gas naturally bypasses the Fluid Entry Ports on the Mud Anchor.
- Best achieved by sumping the pump. If pumping above perfs, it might be benefcial to decentralize the DHGS (set the TAC 2-4
jts above SN), & since no well is 100% vertcal: the gas will ride the high side while the DHGS (& liquid) occupy the low side.
2. Design the DHGS so the downward fuid velocity is slower than the Gas Bubble Rise Velocity: allowing the gas to escape.
3. If the gas cannot be adequately removed look to install a specialty pump that is beter equipped to pass gas.
- Managing gas: close pump spacing & long SL; hold more TP (to prevent gas from heading the top of the tbg dry).
4. Sand-Screens or other frictonal restrictons can strain the gas out of soluton leading to gas interference.
5. In certain situatons (depending on the producing zones, TAC placement, & more), the TACin conjuncton w/ a col-
umn of fuid (providing back-P.)can botle up high-pressure gas below the anchor leading to severe gas interference.
Entry Ports
Mud Anchor
Gas Anchor
Quiet Zone
(Want <6 in/sec.)
2-7/8 MA 3.5 MA
2-3/8 MA
3/4 GA
1 GA

2
2 2
60
p DH
fluid
MA GA
d SL SPM
V
ID OD


Downward Fluid Velocity in DHGS:
OD ID
GA: Gas Anchor (always listed by ID
+
)
3/4" GA 1.05 0.82
1" GA 1.315 1.05
1-1/4" GA 1.66 1.38
1-1/2" GA 1.90 1.61
MA: Mud Anchors (Mother Hubbard)
2-3/8" 4.7# 2.375 1.995
2-7/8" 6.5# 2.875 2.441
3-1/2" 9.3# 3.5 2.922
Casing as ID of Mud Anchor
4-1/2" 11.6# 4.5 4.000
5-1/2" 17# 5.5 4.892
7" 26# 7 6.276
Comparison of
X-Sectonal Area
(drawn to proporton)
How to Design DHGS:
Efcient gas separaton requires that the downward fuid velocity in
the Quiet Zone be less than the gas bubble rise velocity.
Gas Bubble Rise Velocity occurs due to the density diference be-
tween gas & liquid and is proportonal to the diameter of the bubble.
Industry Rule of Thumb: a 1/4 gas bubble rises at 6 inch/sec. Thus,
design to achieve a fuid velocity <6 in/sec (& the slower the beter).
The best separaton can be achieved by sumping the pump.
To improve performance: increase X-Sec Area & reduce the
bbls/sec pumping rate (compensate by increasing run-tme).
Area of Quiet Zone, in
2
: 2.3 5.4 3.3 1.8
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2014 by Downhole Diagnostc | Midland, TX. Free for unaltered distributon. 1.0

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1
Sumped Pump (with 1 GA in Csg), in
2
: 11.2 (in 4-1/2 Csg); 17.4 (in 5-1/2 Csg)
Decentralized DHGS: when a
crooked hole has its benefts.
+
GA: API Line Pipe (standard weight).

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