Gas lift is an artificial lift method that works by injecting compressed gas (typically natural gas from the field's own production) into the production tubing through a series of downhole valves. The injected gas mixes with the produced fluid, reducing the overall density of the fluid column and lowering the hydrostatic pressure at the bottom of the well. This allows the reservoir's natural pressure to push fluids to the surface. Gas lift is the second most common artificial lift method in many offshore and high-GOR basins, with over 50,000 installations in the Gulf of Mexico, Middle East, and Latin America.
How It Works
A gas lift system operates through the interaction of surface compression, injection tubing, and downhole valves:
- Gas Lift Valves — Pressure-actuated valves installed in mandrels along the tubing string at calculated depths (typically 3 to 8 valves per well). During unloading, gas enters through the uppermost valve first, then progressively deeper valves until reaching the operating valve — the deepest point of injection.
- Continuous Gas Lift — Gas is injected at a steady rate (typically 0.5 to 5 MMscf/d per well) to maintain a reduced fluid gradient in the tubing. Best suited for wells producing above 200 BFPD with adequate reservoir pressure.
- Intermittent Gas Lift — A slug of high-pressure gas is periodically injected to push a liquid slug to surface. Used on low-rate wells producing less than 200 BFPD or wells with high liquid-to-gas ratios.
- Surface Compression — A compressor delivers gas at injection pressures of 800 to 1,500 psi. In large fields, a central compression facility serves dozens to hundreds of wells through a distribution manifold.
- Injection Rate Optimization — The gas lift performance curve shows that production increases with injection rate up to an optimum point, beyond which additional gas provides diminishing returns. Typical optimization targets maximize oil production per unit of injected gas (bbl/Mscf).
Why It Matters
Gas lift is uniquely suited to wells that other artificial lift methods cannot effectively serve — deviated and horizontal wellbores, wells with sand production, high-temperature reservoirs, and offshore platforms where workover access is limited. Because the only moving parts are downhole check valves, gas lift systems have the longest average run life of any artificial lift method (5 to 10+ years). Installation costs range from $50,000 to $150,000 per well (excluding compression), but the shared compression infrastructure can cost $2 to $10 million for a field-wide system. Operating costs are driven primarily by fuel gas and compression maintenance, typically $5 to $15 per barrel of oil produced.
How Netora Handles Gas Lift
Netora E&P Production tracks gas lift operations across every well, capturing injection volumes, casing and tubing pressures, valve status, and production response. The platform helps production engineers optimize injection allocation across multi-well systems by comparing each well's gas lift performance curve and identifying wells where injection gas can be redistributed for maximum total field production. Learn more about Netora E&P Production.