CTGL Case Study

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IPTC-19930-Abstract

Coiled Tubing Gas Lift: An Innovative Solution for Reviving Dead Wells in
Southern Pakistan

Aizaz Khalid, Nestor Molero, Ghassan Hassan, Eric Lovie, and Rao Shafin Ali Khan, Schlumberger

Copyright 2020, International Petroleum Technology Conference

This paper was prepared for presentation at the International Petroleum Technology Conference held in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, 13 – 15 January 2020.

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Abstract
In southern Pakistan, most wells in mature fields do not flow naturally and require delivery of supplemental
energy into the wellbore through an artificial lift system. The existing portfolio of techniques, however,
faces technical and economic challenges. Operators have tried numerous methods of deliquification such
as soap injection, jet pumps, electrical submersible pumps, and conventional gas lift (GL). Those solutions
differ in methodology and efficiency, but they unfortunately have failed either technically or economically
in Pakistan.
Because reviving dead wells is key to maximizing production with the most efficient and cost-effective
method in Pakistan, a detailed screening of candidate wells was carried out to identify innovative artificial
lift solutions. The deployment of GL valves using coiled tubing (CT) soon emerged as the best option,
because it offered the highest returns in a cost-benefit analysis. Coiled tubing gas lift (CTGL) is a rigless
solution that enables setting GL valves at the required depth, during any stage of a well life. It allows
gas to be injected through CT with production through the CT-to-tubing annulus. This technology is also
retrievable and replaceable when needed.
Two pilot wells, that had been shut in since 2015, were selected from four shortlisted candidates through
nodal analysis. Each system consisted of one CT string with multiple stations of unloading and orifice
valves, spaced out at depths engineered to maximize each well’s productivity. In addition to a GL valve,
each station included two CT external connectors and one self-aligning connector, which enabled efficient
and safe connection between both CT ends during the deployment of the CTGL station.
Additionally, specific CT pressure control equipment and wellhead adapters were used to secure and hang
the CT string in the production tree and provide connection with the gas injection facilities at the surface.
The first installation was conducted in a vertical well originally completed 4 1/2-in. monobore, deploying
1 1/2-in. CT string with four CTGL stations. The second installation was performed with 1 1/4-in. CT and
five CTGL stations in a well originally completed with 7-in. liner and 2 7/8-in. production tubing. The wells
were commissioned using existing surface infrastructure and were unloaded smoothly until the production
stabilized at optimum rates near 420 B/D and 325 B/D respectively.
2 IPTC-19930-Abstract

This innovative artificial lift technique represents an effective and economical solution to restart
production in mature fields where conventional artificial lift methods challenge well economics. This
approach greatly rests on a thorough candidate selection process. The design and installation of two new
CTGL systems was a first in the Middle East region and helped identify numerous best practices and lessons
learned, which will speed up implementation of the methodology in other parts of the world.

Introduction
Pakistan is a developing country and therefore, is heavily dependent on energy sources to keep the pace
of economic growth at par with the objectives. However, over the past decade, Pakistan has been facing a
major energy crisis that is affecting the overall growth of the country. The comparison of the current energy
mix of the country with previous years shows that the original sources of energy are depleting with time
and there is increasing reliance on hydrocarbons to meet the growing energy needs of the country. The
domestic production of hydrocarbon (82,000 B/D of oil, 3.7 BCF/D of gas) hardly meets a quarter of total
hydrocarbons demand in Pakistan (Ministry of Planning Development & Reform, Government of Pakistan
2019). Therefore, the energy mix is heavily skewed towards imported hydrocarbons, which is creating
severe disbalance in the country trade accounts and thus severely crippling country's economy (Ministry of
Finance, Government of Pakistan 2019). Natural gas accounts for estimated one-third of Pakistan's primary
energy consumption. However, the major gas-producing fields are on a natural decline, and some of the
fields are even shutdown due to non-economic flow rates, especially in the south of Pakistan.
Realizing these challenges, the Government of Pakistan has recently prioritized resolving the energy
challenges by proposing to boost hydrocarbon production by actively exploring new horizons, developing
mature fields, and optimizing production in the declining fields.

Challenges
The exploration and production companies in Pakistan are struggling with multifaceted challenges including
immense pressure from regulatory bodies to increase oil and gas production to meet requirements of an
energy-stricken country and in a period of historically low oil prices. With almost no new significant
discovery, operators are challenged to produce from mature and declining fields economically. Several fields
in southern Pakistan have been forced to shut down due to non-economic production rates, and only limited
efforts could be put into place to because of restrictions on capital expenditures. Most the wells in mature
fields are not flowing naturally because reservoir pressure is not enough to overcome hydrostatic column
in wellbore for hydrocarbons. Therefore, these wells require supplemental energy through an artificial lift
system to flow. The existing portfolio of techniques have their own challenges and conventionally have
a very high associated cost. The operators, therefore, were looking for cost-effective solutions to resume
production from these fields in an attempt to meet ambitious production targets.

Selection of the Optimum Artificial Lift System


Based on this overriding requirement to bring dead wells back into production, an in-depth artificial lift study
was initiated to evaluate the different possible options in a mature field in southern Pakistan. Alternative
pumping methods (rod pumps, progressive cavity pumps, and jet pumps) were eliminated, leaving the
traditional options of electrical submersible pumps (ESP) and gas lift (GL). However, in both cases, the
overriding factor preventing progression was overall well economics in general and rig cost in particular.
An alternative, innovative approach of installing an artificial lift method had to be found.
Rigless deployment options are possible for both ESP and GL, but the presence of an existing GL
infrastructure in the field increased the likelihood of GL providing an economic artificial lift solution. The
deployment of GL valves using coiled tubing (CT) emerged as the best option, offering the highest returns
IPTC-19930-Abstract 3

in a cost-benefit analysis. Coiled tubing gas lift (CTGL) can be installed as a rigless completion, adding
the GL capability by installing a small CT string inside the existing production tubing. Gas lift mandrels
(GLM) and valves are added to the CT, in a similar fashion to any traditional GL completion. A workover
rig is not required and installing the CT string also provides the opportunity to modify well cross-sectional
flow areas, thus improving well hydraulics and production flow. Two flow configurations are possible: (a)
tubing flow (i.e., production flow up the insert tubing string, gas injection down the newly created annulus)
or (b) annular flow (i.e., gas injection down the insert string, production flow up the newly created annulus
between parent tubing and CT insert string).
Candidate evaluation was carried out to identify possible candidates wells for a pilot trial using the
workflow presented in Fig. 1.

Figure 1—Candidate selection workflow.

The screening process consisted of the following steps:

• Collect well data; information on 10 wells was gathered initially.

• Classify whether oil or gas production wells.

• Review parent tubing size; a larger tubing provides more options for insert string sizing.

• Review parent tubing condition; several wells were filtered out due to old well tubing integrity
issues.
• Model each well to estimate production potential for (a) an oil production well using the inflow
performance relationship (IPR) method and (b) gas production well by analyzing critical velocity
calculations (Fig. 2).

Figure 2—Sample plot from gas well critical velocity calculation review.
4 IPTC-19930-Abstract

From this initial review, prospective candidate wells (both oil and gas) were selected for detailed, in-
depth nodal analysis.

Coiled Tubing Gas Lift Design


An in-depth review including nodal analysis was used to select wells for the pilot CTGL project. Criteria
included:

• Availability of lift gas on wellsite

• Parent tubing size

• Static reservoir pressure and well productivity

• Formation gas

• Deepest injection point for GL

• Lift gas response (production vs gas injection rate)

• CT size availability

For GL installation, depth of injection is critical to maximize production. The deeper the injection point,
the higher the drawdown and thus higher production rate, for a given volume of injection gas. However,
injection depth depends on well geometry, well productivity and available lift gas injection pressure. An
early component of the study included sensitivity analysis to injection pressure to determine if delivering a
higher gas injection pressure to the wellhead could be justified. As an example, Fig. 3 highlights different
lift points possible based on different surface injection pressures for a candidate well, and Fig. 4 shows the
forecast production rate based on deepest injection point and specific gas injection rate.

Figure 3—Sample plot, depth of injection vs. surface gas injection pressure sensitivity analysis.
IPTC-19930-Abstract 5

Figure 4—Sample plot, production forecast vs deepest injection point at target gas injection rate.

After the deepest point of injection has been ascertained, nodal analysis curves (Fig. 5) and lift gas
response curves (Fig. 6) can be generated to evaluate insert CT sizing, confirm optimum lift gas injection
rates, and thus determine maximum theoretical production gain from the different wells.

Figure 5—Sample plot, inflow / outflow curve vs. insert CT size sensitivity analysis.
6 IPTC-19930-Abstract

Figure 6—Sample plot, GL response vs gas injection depth.

After the in-depth nodal analysis review was completed, two wells were selected for the pilot CTGL
project. Details of the final GL installation design (including mandrel and valve depths) are provided in the
case study section. Because this was the first CTGL operation in Pakistan, a detailed feasibility analysis
was conducted for deployment through CT followed by the onground implementation of the system. There
were multiple factors that had to be taken into consideration.

CT Material.
Typically, CT pipes are manufactured with low carbon steel, which is susceptible to corrosion in the presence
of CO2 and H2S. The corrosion impact due to H2S and CO2 is more pronounced in the presence of water and
higher temperatures. In a permanent installation, the exposure to corrosive environment is greater than in
conventional CT operations, and specifically for a GL system, pumping corrosion inhibitors through CT pipe
is not considered a financially feasible option. Therefore, assessment of serviceable life of the pipe in the
specific environment must be assessed before deployment of CTGL string. Specialty CT pipes (chrome CT)
can be used to tackle the corrosion problem; however, using specialty CT pipes will significantly increase
the cost of technology and is not a suitable option on a tight budget. Thus, lower CT grades of 80 or 90
kpsi yield steel are recommended for permanent installations and minimize potential sulfide stress cracking
(SSC) occurrence (Almeyda et al. 2018).

Software Modeling
CT simulations were conducted to understand the tensile and compressive forces on the CT string along the
deployment phase and during actual operation of the GL system. The target was to ensure that the CT string
would be able to withstand the stresses while hanging in the well. Fig. 7 shows the tensile forces on the CT
string under various possible scenarios: initially, when the CT string had to be deployed with 8.43-SG brine
both inside and outside the CT (case 1); during kickoff with 50% of both brine and gas inside the CT (case
2); and after the well was continuously offloading and having only injected gas in CT (case 3). Similarly,
Fig. 8 shows the operating envelope of the CT string, and the colored dots represent the condition of worst
section of CT pipe for the previously mentioned cases.
IPTC-19930-Abstract 7

Figure 7—Tubing forces simulation for CTGL.

Figure 8—CT working envelope for CTGL.

Downhole Assembly
The GL equipment portion of the CTGL system is effectively the same as for any traditional GL installation.
It includes lift gas control and metering equipment on the surface and several GL injection points downhole.
Each downhole injection point consists of a GLM containing a GL valve. The quantity, type, and installation
depths of each valve are unique for the individual well and are designed to accommodate the range of GL-
assisted production rates anticipated. In the pilot wells, several injection-pressure-operated (IPO) unloading
valves were installed in the shallower mandrels, and one operating orifice valve was installed in the deepest
mandrel. All valves incorporated reverse flow check valves to prevent production fluid flowing through the
mandrel back into the injection string.
Conventional GL valves were selected for the CTGL installations but installed in a special internally
mounted (IM) GLM (Fig. 9). Different sizes of IM mandrels are available to be compatible with the
selected CT, and specifically designed so that the valve can be mounted internally. This minimizes running
8 IPTC-19930-Abstract

outer diameter (OD), facilitates running in limited inner diameter (ID) completions, and maximizes valve
protection.

Figure 9—IM conventional GLM with IPO valve installed.

Unlike conventional installation of GLM with a rig, where GL valves can be easily connected to the
completion tubulars by making up in between different joints of pipe, connecting GLMs on a continuous
CT pipe requires cutting the string at the required depths and making connectors on both ends of the cut
CT section. During deployment of GLM, the downhole end of the CT pipe is secured by the CT blowout
preventer (BOP), and the uphole end of the pipe is held by injector head chains. As illustrated in Fig. 10,
a swivel connector is required to allow a connection because both CT ends are rotationally locked. The
CT connector at the uphole end is pull tested and pressure tested as per the standard operating procedures.
However, the inverted connector located at the downhole end of the pipe cannot be pull and pressure tested
using conventional methods. Thus, custom designed CT connectors were used to allow pressure testing of
the sealing element of CT connector separately.

Figure 10—Bottom hole assembly for one GL station.

Surface Equipment
The wellhead setup of the CTGL system is installed on top of the existing configuration. The surface
arrangement bypasses existing master and swab valves, and additional gate valves are installed as new
master and swab valves above the CT hanger, which is used to hang the CT in surface, and provide an annular
seal on the surface to isolate injection and production paths. Fig. 11. shows the wellhead configuration
during installation of the GL system and shows that utilizing a customized CT hanger with integrated slips
and sealing elements can help to remove the work window from the stack. Fig. 12 shows the wellhead stack
configuration when the pipe is cut above the quick pressure test sub (to make up GLMs). Fig. 13. shows
the final configuration of wellhead after deployment of CTGL system.
IPTC-19930-Abstract 9

Figure 11—Wellhead stack during CTGL deployment.

Figure 12—Wellhead configuration while making up GLM.


10 IPTC-19930-Abstract

Figure 13—Final wellhead configuration after CTGL installation.

Installation Procedure
In the initial stage, the well goes through a preparation phase, which includes drifting and then killing the
well prior to conducting any work on the wellhead. Upon confirmation the well has been killed, the CT
hanger is installed immediately above the wellhead swab valve. In the second stage, standard CT pressure
control equipment is rigged up with the wellhead stack as per Fig. 11. The quick test sub is provided above
the BOP to enable making up the CTGL assembly during the deployment and pressure testing only the
relevant connections, without need of pressure testing the complete wellhead stack repeatedly. The bull
plug nozzle is connected at the bottom of the CT pipe before running in hole (RIH). Then, CT is RIH to
the required depth of GLM and is secured in pipe/slim rams of the BOP in preparation to the GLM station
and deployment process as follows:

• Step 1: The wellhead stack is disconnected on the quick test sub, and the CT pipe is cut.

• Step 2: The CT connector is installed in both CT ends.

• Step 3: The uphole-end CT connector is pull tested to 5,000 lbf above the recorded CT weight.

• Step 4: The uphole-end CT connector is pressure tested for 10 min.

• Step 5: The downhole-end CT connector is pressure tested through the pressure test sub for 10 min.

• Step 6: The GLM is connected to the uphole-end CT connector, and then the swivel self-aligning
connector is connected to the GLM. At this point, the GLM station is completed by connecting the
downhole-end CT connector to the upper assembly through the self-aligning connector.
• Step 7: After the GLM station is fully assembled, the downhole-end CT connector is pull tested
to 5,000 lbf above the recorded CT weight against BOP slips.
• Step 8: The wellhead stack is connected and then pressure tested at the quick test sub. Upon
successful completion of the pressure test, CT is RIH until next GLM station.
After installation of all GLM at the designed intervals from each other, the CT is carefully RIH and is
hung in the wellhead CT hanger after proper spacing out is done for accurate depth correlation. The hanger
hexagonal nuts are tightened to engage slips, and slackoff weight is applied to ensure slips are holding the
CT pipe. The sealing element of the CT hanger is energized and then pressure tested. Finally, the CT pipe
is cut through BOP shear rams, and the BOP is removed. Additional gate valves are installed as new master
and swab valves, and the gas injection line is connected between those gate valves for offloading the well. As
shown on Fig. 13, original master and swab valves become disabled under this new wellhead configuration.
IPTC-19930-Abstract 11

Case Study – Well-A


Well A was drilled in 2015 as a development well in a mature oil field in southern Pakistan. The well was
completed with a 4 1/2-in. single-string, monobore completion in attempt to reduce completion cost. The
well was perforated in three zones (Table 1) and produced oil slugs with water and a weak blow of gas
during cleanup and then loaded up.

Table 1—Well-A data.

Well type Oil and gas

Well trajectory Vertical

Completion type Perforated cased hole

Completion size 8,506 ft MD of 4 1/2-in casing 12.6#

Minimum restriction 3.958 in

Perforated intervals 6,244 – 6,254 ft MD – Zone-C


6,472 – 6,482 ft MD – Zone-B
8,184 – 8,194 ft MD – Zone-A
8,230 – 8,250 ft MD – Zone-A

Total depth 8,430 ft MD

Bottom hole temperature 231 °F

Reservoir pressure 1,800 psi

The well required some sort of artificial lift system to revive its production. However, there was no pre-
installed provision of GL system in the well completion and thus a workover rig was required to intervene
the well. The operator, therefore, was forced to shut-in the well until a cost-effective solution was available.

CTGL Design.
Installation of a GL system with CT was shortlisted because of the maximum offerings in terms of technical
efficiency and cost benefits. Initial design was performed on the available data (Table 2) and to optimize
it, slickline intervention was conducted prior to installation, to minimize error in design data. Sensitivity
analysis was conducted with different CT pipe sizes, to install the deepest injection point for GL considering
the surface injection pressure limitations.

Table 2—Input data for CTGL design.

Maximum Maximum
Reservoir wellhead available
Tubing Water PI(bpd/ LiftGas
GLR FLP (psi) SBHP (psi) temperature Oil API injection injection
size (in) cut(%) psi) SG
(°F) pressure rate
(psi) (MMSCFD)

4 1/2 80 2,000 50 1,800 0.5 0.678 231 44 1,000 1.0

A 1 1/2-in. CT was found to be the most reliable option with four GL stations placed at different depths
across the length of CT in the well. This configuration offered ~422 B/D liquid production with the surface
injection pressure of ~800 psi and ~1.0 MMSCFD gas injection rate (Table 3). Each GL station was designed
to operate at a different pressure drawdown, enabling each one to contribute to the lifting of the fluid from
the wellbore as shown in Fig. 14.
12 IPTC-19930-Abstract

Table 3—CTGL design results.

Operating
Deepest Kickoff Operating
Operating No. of GL injection Production
CT size (in) injection pressure injection
FLP (psi) stations rate rate (B/D)
point (ft) (psi) pressure(psi)
(MMSCFD)

1 1/2 6,420 50 4 1,000 808 1.0 422

Figure 14—CTGL design output.

Fig. 15 shows the output of liquid production rate against different gas injection rates. Considering the
surface gas injection rate limitation, the design was optimized around the available gas injection rate of 1.0
MMSCFD to have the maximum liquid production rate.
IPTC-19930-Abstract 13

Figure 15—Liquid production rate against injection gas rate

Execution.
A total of two CT runs were performed during the entire rigless intervention. The first run was performed
to check wellbore accessibility and clearance before RIH the GL completion. The second run consisted
of running the CT completion consisting of four GL stations deployed on 1 1/2-in. CT string. The final
configuration of the deployed CT string is shown in Fig. 16.

Figure 16—CTGL completion schematic.


14 IPTC-19930-Abstract

Results.
The well was commissioned after deployment of CTGL string. A gas injection line was connected to the
wellhead, and gas pressure was slowly increased to reach ~1,000 psi. After wellbore fluids were offloaded,
the gas injection rates were stabilized, and constant return was established from the well. The gas injection
rate was optimized to get maximum production. The production rates from the well were in line with the
forecast, and near-constant production rates of 420 B/D had been attained at the time this paper was written.
Fig. 17 shows the production data during the commissioning and testing phase of the well.

Figure 17—Well A production after the CTGL installation.

Case Study – Well-B


Well B was completed with 2 7/8-in. production tubing in 2004 and was initially perforated in zone A
intervals (Table 4). The well flowed at initial oil rates of 1,000 B/D and 0.8 MMSCFD of gas, but over time,
water production increased with decline in oil and gas production until loading up in 2016 due to high water
cut and low gas rates. Remedial workover operations were conducted aiming to revive the well, including
perforation wash and nitrogen kickoff, without any success.

Table 4—Well-B data.

Well type Oil and gas

Well trajectory Vertical

Completion size 5,730 ft MD of 2 7/8-in tubing

Minimum restriction 2.310 in (@) 5,679 ft MD (F-Nipple)


2.310 in @ 5,728 7 ft MD (F-Nipple)

Perforated intervals 5,754 – 5 764 ft MD (Zone-B)


5,854 – 5,859 ft MD (Zone-B)
5,980 – 5,985 ft MD (Zone-A)
5,996 – 6,002 ft MD (Zone-A)
6,010 – 6,016 ft MD (Zone-A)
6,044 – 6,058 ft MD (Zone-A)

Total depth 6,075 ft MD

Bottom hole temperature 210 °F

Reservoir pressure 800 to 900 psi


IPTC-19930-Abstract 15

CTGL Design
Like previous case, slickline intervention was carried out prior to CTGL installation to minimize errors in
design data. Due to the small tubing size and minimum ID of 2.39 in, the CT size was limited to only 1 1/4
in. and 1 1/2 in. for sensitivity analysis based on the data in Table 4 and Table 5. Design simulations were
conducted with these two CT pipe sizes to install the deepest injection point for GL considering the surface
injection pressure limitations. The results of the simulations are summarized in Table 6.

Table 5—Input data for CTGL design.

Maximum
Maximum
Tubing Water Lift Reservoir available
FLP SBHP PI(bpd/ Oil wellhead
size cut GLR Gas temperature injection
(psi) (psi) psi) API injection
(in) (%) SG (°F) rate
pressure(psi)
(MMSCFD)

2 7/8 80 6,000 50 1,800 0.5 0.77 210 44 1,050 0.3

Table 6—CTGL design results.

Operating
Deepest Kickoff Operating
CT size Operating No. of GL injection Production
injection pressure injection
(in) FLP (psi) stations rate rate (B/D)
point (ft) (psi) pressure(psi)
(MMSCFD)

1 1/4 5,600 50 5 1,000 962 0.3 233

The 1 1/4 in. CT was found to be the most feasible option with five GL stations placed at different depths
across the length of CT in the well. This configuration offered ~233 B/D liquid production with the surface
injection pressure of ~962 psi and ~ 0.3 MMSCFD injection rate. Each GL station was designed to operate
at a different pressure drawdown, which enabled each one to contribute to the lifting of the fluid from the
wellbore as shown in Fig. 18.

Figure 18—CTGL design output.


16 IPTC-19930-Abstract

Execution.
The operation was conducted as per design, and all five GLM were deployed successfully at respective
depths (Fig. 19). Installation was completed in 5 days including rig up and rig down compared to 8 days
in the previous installation due to the implementation of lessons learned from well A. Two GLM/day were
deployed compared to one GLM/day on the previous operation, showing marked increase in efficiency of
operation.

Figure 19—CTGL completion schematic.

Results.
After the well was commissioned, production was optimized by adjusting the injection gas pressure and
rates. The production rate of the well was found to be higher than the designed values, and the well produced
at a near constant rate of ~ 325 B/D. Fig. 20 shows the production trends during the testing phase of the
system after commissioning.
IPTC-19930-Abstract 17

Figure 20—Well B production after the CTGL installation.

Best Practices and Lessons Learned


• Accuracy of the well performance modeling is very sensitive to the input data. Production results
for the well A were very similar to the production forecast; however, the actual production for well
B was much higher than the production forecast since very conservative numbers were considered
for the input data.
• A pipe straightener is strongly recommended to straighten the CT pipe and get better alignment
of both CT ends for CTGL installation.
• Bead removal from interior of CT pipe is required before the inverted slip connector is pressure
tested using pressure test sub (seals on the ID of CT pipe). Removing bead results in metallic debris
dropping inside the CT, which has the potential to damage/plug the GL valve. A debris catcher (like
dipper ladle) was manufactured to fit inside the CT pipe to allow grinding inside the CT without
cuttings dropping in the well.
• Tungsten carbide bits with a pneumatic grinder are recommended for efficient weld bead removal
while keeping dipper ladle type tool inside the CT.
• A swivel self-aligning connector enabled efficient and safe connection between both CT ends
during the deployment of the CTGL station.
• Downhole CT connectors should be equipped with a pressure test sub to facilitate the pressure
testing process upon installation to the CT pipe.
• Lower injection pressure at the GL compressor can lead to delays in well kickoff. In such cases,
nitrogen pumping equipment can be used to provide initial lift, and then it can be commissioned
on the GL compressor.

Conclusions
• This CTGL project was the first of its kind in Pakistan, and also the first one in the Middle East
region. Suitable candidate selection, including data accuracy for nodal analysis and production
forecast, and proper planning played fundamental roles for the project success.
18 IPTC-19930-Abstract

• This innovative artificial lift technique represents an effective and economical solution to restart
production in mature fields where conventional artificial lift methods challenge well economics.
• Production results were in line with original forecasts from the performance modeling. The
production gains of this project resulted in short payback period and have encouraged the operator
to further implement this artificial lift technique in Pakistan.
• CTGL is a highly versatile artificial lift solution because CTGL strings can be installed without
making any permanent changes to already existing wellbore tubulars, and therefore it can easily
be installed in wells with either monobore or through-tubing completions.

References
Almeyda, O., Castaneda C., Higuera J. et al. 2018. Back to Life by a Coiled Tubing Gas Lift Pilot Project in Colombian
Foothill Wells. Paper presented at SPE/ICoTA Coiled Tubing & Well Intervention Conference and Exhibition, The
Woodlands, Texas, USA, 27–28 March. SPE-189950-MS. https://doi.org/10.2118/189950-MS.
Ministry of Planning Development & Reform, Government of Pakistan, 2019. 11th Five Year Plan https://pc.gov.pk/
uploads//plans//Ch19-Energy1.pdf. Planning Commission (accessed 21 October 2019).
Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan, 2019. Pakistan Economic Survey. http://www.finance.gov.pk/survey/
chapters_19/14-Energy.pdf (accessed 21 October 2019).

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