METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROL OF A PLUNGER LIFT SYSTEM

摘要

A method and apparatus for operating a plunger lift system in a well is provided. The methods can include: opening a control valve and allowing a plunger to rise to a top of the well; determining an actual rise time of the plunger based on a time it takes the plunger to rise to the top of the well; using actual rise time of the plunger and a target rise time calculating adjustments to the afterflow time or close time; and allowing the afterflow time to pass before closing the control valve and keeping the valve closed for the close time. The methods are repeated, each time calculating a new adjusted afterflow time or adjusted close time to incrementally alter these times to improve the operation of the plunger lift system.

主权项

1. A method of operating a plunger lift system in a gas producing well, the method comprising:
opening a control valve and allowing a plunger to rise to a top of the well; determining an actual rise time of the plunger based on a time it takes the plunger to rise to the top of the well; using a current afterflow time and a difference between a target rise time and the actual rise time to calculate a change to the afterflow time; using the change to the afterflow time and the current afterflow time to calculate an adjusted afterflow time; allowing the adjusted afterflow time to pass before closing the control valve and keeping the valve closed for a close time.