A method for comparison of lifting effects of plunger lift and continuous gas lift

As a kind of intermittent gas lift, the plunger lift can replace the continuous gas lift in a certain period of time to improve the lifting efficiency. However, the working system of plunger lift is different from that of continuous gas lift, so their lifting effects cannot be compared intuitively. In this paper, taking Zhanaroal oilfield as an example, an experiment to compare the lifting effects of plunger lift and continuous gas lift was designed. Taking the gas consumption under the same liquid lifting volume as the starting point, the stable lifting conditions of them were firstly determined; then, based on the experimental data under the stable lifting conditions, their gas consumption under the same liquid lifting volume was calculated; the lifting effects of them under different liquid volumes were compared, and the feasibility of replacing continuous gas lift with plunger lift in the study block was confirmed; moreover, two wells tested have achieved good effect.