Multiphase gas compression to boost unconventional production and reserves
Robert Perry A C , Jeffrey Martini A and Pandurang Kulkarni BA Hicor Technologies Inc., 4140 World Houston Pky., Suite 100, Houston, Texas 77032, USA.
B Equinor, 6300 Bridge Point Pkwy, Blg 2 Suite 100, Austin, Texas 78730, USA.
C Corresponding author. Email: RPerry@Hicor.com
The APPEA Journal 59(1) 268-276 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ18139
Submitted: 10 December 2018 Accepted: 1 March 2019 Published: 17 June 2019
Abstract
Hydraulic fracturing has significantly increased well inflow performance in unconventional reservoirs, enabling their economic development. This improved inflow performance has opened up the possibility of leveraging further reserves and production gains through artificial lift or similar production enhancement techniques. A ‘multiphase compressor’ has been developed with differentiating characteristics: compression ratios of up to 40 : 1 (an order of magnitude greater than conventional compressors), ability to handle a broad range of multiphase conditions, and significant operational flexibility. This makes it very well suited for deployment in unconventional reservoirs at the wellhead, either on its own in a multiphase boosting capacity or in conjunction with other forms of artificial lift (such as gas lift, plunger lift, and potentially downhole pumping). The multiphase compressor has been deployed in the field on naturally flowing wells, and wells with plunger lift. Production rate increases of up to 300% were achieved, and production was maintained in wells that would have otherwise loaded up and died. Wells were unloaded by reducing wellhead flowing pressures to atmospheric pressure at the compressor suction – similar to flowing the well into an ‘open topped’ tank. The multiphase compressor demonstrated a very broad operating range and the ability to handle slug flow conditions. Further applications to be tested include gas lift and downhole pumping in shale wells, gas wells that have received fracture hits and require clean up from invaded fracture fluids, and coal seam gas production. Multiphase compression has significant potential to increase both production and reserves from unconventional reservoirs and wells.
Keywords: coal seam gas, downhole pumping, fracture hit, gas lift, high compression ratio, multiphase gas compressor, operational flexibility, plunger lift, unconventional reservoir production enhancement, unconventional well artificial lift, wellhead compression or boosting.
Robert Perry holds a BSc (Hons) in Chemical Engineering from Loughborough University and an MBA from London Business School. He is CEO and President of Hicor Technologies, and previously worked for BP and FMC Technologies in several senior leadership positions, including Technology Vice President, Global Director, Chief of Staff, and Board Member. He has around 30 years of experience working across multiple disciplines, including engineering, operations, commercial, and mergers and acquisitions. He is a professional engineer and a member of the Institute of Chemical Engineers, Society of Petroleum Engineers and the International Council of Systems Engineering (steering committee member for Oil and Gas). |
Jeffrey Martini holds a BA in Management from Gettysburg College and has earned his Certified Public Accountancy licence. He currently serves as COO and CFO of Hicor Technologies, and previously worked for Stewart and Stevenson and a variety of oilfield technology concerns in several senior leadership positions, including President, Vice President, and CFO. He has over 20 years of experience working with publicly held organisations as well as middle market and start-up companies in the oilfield services space. Specifically, his breadth of experience has included service to organisations focused on artificial lift, directional drilling, energy delivery, field service, and equipment manufacturing. He also currently serves the Houston CFO Leadership Council as a Steering Committee Member. |
Pandurang Kulkarni holds a BE in Chemical Engineering from University of Mumbai and a PhD in Chemical Engineering from City College of New York. He is Principal Researcher for Shale Oil and Gas at Equinor. He previously worked for Halliburton and several research organisations in roles such as Senior Technical Professional and Research Associate. He has around 10 years of experience investigating research topics ranging from hydraulic fracturing and recovery methods in shales, artificial lift for horizontal wells, multiphase flow, and numerical simulations. |
References
Gupta, A., and Pitts, J. (2017). Simplifying wellhead facilities for multiphase production. In ‘SPE Liquids – Rich Basins Conference – North America, 13–14 September 2017.’ (Society of Petroleum Engineers)Von Flatern, R. (2017, June 7) Tackling the tight oil recovery challenge, upstream online. Available at https://www.upstreamonline.com/upstreamtechnology/1275866/tackling-the-tight-oil-recovery-challenge [verified 5 March 2019]
