A gas well's life is a race between declining reservoir pressure and rising liquid load. Early on, gas velocity is high enough to carry liquid easily. As pressure and rate fall, the well passes through a period of instability and slugging, and then begins to load. Each stage has its own remedies, and applying them at the right time is what keeps the well producing to its economic limit rather than dying prematurely.

Compression is the most powerful lever. Lowering wellhead pressure increases drawdown, raises gas velocity and directly attacks liquid loading, and in many gas fields the compression strategy determines total recovery more than anything done downhole. It is also the most capital intensive option, which is why the sequencing of cheaper measures, such as foamers, velocity strings and plunger lift, matters.

Gas operations bring their own hazards and problems. Hydrates form at chokes and in flowlines, freezing occurs across pressure drops, glycol systems need maintenance, and gas must meet water dewpoint, hydrocarbon dewpoint and contaminant specifications to be sold. Measurement is fiscal and unforgiving of error. This course covers the whole picture as it applies to gas field operations.

By the end of this training, participants will be able to:

• Analyse gas well deliverability and tubing performance over field life.
• Predict condensate and water production and their effects.
• Calculate critical velocity and predict the onset of liquid loading.
• Diagnose liquid loading from production, pressure and surveillance data.
• Select and apply deliquification methods appropriate to well conditions.
• Evaluate wellhead and field compression options and their timing.
• Manage hydrate and freezing problems in gas production systems.
• Meet gas measurement and sales quality requirements.
• Design gas well surveillance and testing programmes.
• Manage gas wells at end of life and decide abandonment timing.

Organisations sending participants to this training will:

• Extend the productive life of gas wells and increase recovery.
• Reduce production lost to liquid loading.
• Time compression and deliquification investments correctly.
• Reduce hydrate and freezing related downtime.
• Improve gas measurement accuracy and sales specification compliance.

Participants will:

• Understand gas well performance and how it changes with depletion.
• Be able to predict and diagnose liquid loading.
• Know the deliquification options and their operating ranges.
• Understand compression, hydrate management and gas quality requirements.
• Be able to manage gas wells through to their economic limit.

• Production engineers in gas fields
• Operations engineers and supervisors
• Well surveillance and optimisation engineers
• Facilities and process engineers
• Field technicians working on gas wells

Upon successful completion of this training course, delegates will be awarded an official Certificate of Completion issued by the Petroleum Engineers Association (PEA), an ISO 9001:2015 certified training organization. The certificate carries 10 Credits and formally records the total learning hours completed.

Each certificate is signed by the Course Facilitator and the CEO of the Petroleum Engineers Association, and serves as verifiable proof of professional training that delegates can present to employers and professional bodies worldwide.