Simple Mandrel Spacing

Burney Waring

Burney Waring 1
 Mandrel spacing is different from the careful
valve designs that you should make for your
wells:
•The mandrel design must work over the life
of the completion.
•Well performance will change over time.
•Prediction of how these conditions will
change is error-prone.
Thus, there is no such thing as a perfect
mandrel spacing.

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 In order to avoid a bad spacing make sure
that you have mandrels where they are
needed. Use these 4 checks on any mandrel
spacing:
1) Can unload by u-tubing completion brine
back to surface.
2) Can unload to the operating depth
expected initially.
3) Mandrels are spaced correctly in the
operating range, never so far apart that
significant revenue is lost or deferred.
4) Mandrels are spaced deep enough, so
that later in life you can still lift as deep as
possible. Usually this is two joints above
the packer (for ease of fishing the
packer).

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 This is a graphical technique.
This is not difficult. It can be done in 10
minutes with a pencil and paper.
The resulting mandrel depths are going to be
in TVD. Convert them to MD before sending
to the rig!
This spacing works for both IPO and PPO
valves.
Some people will think that there are too
many mandrels. It is important to discuss how
many additional barrels of production each
mandrel costs. Having a mandrel in the right
place at the right time will be worth more at
least 10 bopd at some point in time (probably
at many points in the well life). It could be
worth considerably more than this.
And that much production is worth more than
all the mandrels in the well.

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 First, draw in the injection pressure gradient
starting with the design injection pressure 50
psi less than the available injection pressure at
the wellhead.

Pressure Design CHP

Design injection
pressure
Depth

If you do not have a gas

gradient handy, you can
try this which works for
typical Gulf of Mexico
shelf conditions: At
10000’, the approx. gas
pressure (psi)= (1.28*CHP)
- 52
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 Draw an unloading gradient equal to the
completion brine gradient starting from the
expected FTP under gas lift conditions.

FTP Design CHP

Unloading
gradient = brine
gradient
Depth

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 The intersection with the design injection
pressure gradient is the top mandrel depth.

FTP Design CHP

Mandrel #1 Depth
Depth

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 Find a surface pressure 20% of the way
between the FTP and the design CHP.

20% 80%
FTP Design CHP
Depth

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 Draw a line down to a point 200 psi less than
the injection pressure at the packer (or the
perforations, it does not matter).

20% 80%
FTP Design CHP
Depth

The design
line

The design line has no

psi/ft basis. It is just a 200 psi
line for spacing.

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 Draw a line at the unloading gradient down
from the intersection of the design line to the
design injection pressure.

FTP Design CHP

Depth

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 Draw the second mandrel depth where dP
exists between the design injection pressure
and the unloading gradient. For a system
pressure between 1000 and 1400 psi, use dP =
50 psi. Lower system pressures may use less,
and higher pressures more.

Mandrel #2 Depth
dP
Depth

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 Draw in another unloading gradient. Draw the
third mandrel depth where 2 times dP exists
between the design injection pressure and
the unloading gradient.

dP
Mandrel #3 Depth
Depth

2x dP

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 Draw in another unloading gradient. Draw the
fourth mandrel depth where 3 times dP exists
between the design injection pressure and
the unloading gradient.

dP
Depth

2x dP
3x dP

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 The mandrels are getting progressively close
together. We need a minimum spacing or we
will end up at the bottom with nothing but
mandrels screwed together.
A practical minimum mandrel spacing is 500
feet.
In very high productivity wells, you might go
as low as 300 feet.
In very low productivity wells, you might stop
at 1000 feet between mandrels.
The minimum mandrel spacing should be
appropriate for the benefit of lifting one
mandrel deeper, compared to the cost and
risk of changing the gas lift valves to a new
design.

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 When the minimum spacing is reached,
space the mandrels to the packer at this
minimum spacing.
Position the bottom mandrel 60’ above the
packer by either adding one more mandrel,
or by adjusting the minimum spacing.

dP
Depth

2x dP
3x dP

Minimum
spacing

60’ above the

packer
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 Check the design with the 4 rules of good
spacing design:
1) Can u-tube liquids to the surface facilities.
2) Can unload to the operating range.
3) Have mandrels spaced correctly in the
operating range.
4) Have mandrels spaced deep enough.
Depth

Don’t forget these are

True Vertical Depths!
Convert to Measured
Depth before supplying
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to the rig. Burney Waring
 This spacing is independent of the valve
design.
Use the best information possible and be a bit
conservative in making the valve design.
Place the operating valve, usually an orifice,
a bit higher the maximum depth you think you
can reach.
It is better to get the well producing in a
stable manner at first, then get measurements
of well performance, then make an optimum
valve design for maximum production.

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