Application of Cyclic Gas Lift Comprehensive Recovery Technology in a Gas Field

In a certain gas field, the volcanic gas reservoir exhibits well-developed edge/bottom water, with complex gas-water relationships in structurally low areas. Approximately 10% of the gas wells experience water flooding, rendering them unable to produce normally. In such wells, liquid accumulation in the wellbore, under the combined effects of hydrostatic backpressure and micro-channel capillary forces, undergoes reverse osmosis into the near-wellbore formation, leading to increased water saturation and a reduction in gas-phase permeability by over 90%. Conventional gas lift techniques (liquid nitrogen gas lift, compressor gas lift) can only remove wellbore liquid accumulation but fail to establish sufficient production pressure differentials through continuous drainage, thereby unable to improve near-wellbore flow characteristics, restore gas well productivity, or enable sustained production. To address the challenge of stable dewatering-gas production in high-water-cut gas wells, this study proposes a technical approach of “cyclic gas lift for well restoration + inter-well interconnected gas lift for stable production.” Cyclic gas lift effectively removes liquid accumulation from both the wellbore and near-wellbore zones, restoring gas well productivity, while inter-well interconnected gas lift ensures stable long-term production, transforming water-flooded “dead wells” into productive “live wells.” A pilot test was conducted on Well 1 in the gas field, achieving an initial liquid drainage rate of 300 m3/d and an average gas production rate of 4.27 × 104 m3/d. Compared with conventional gas lift restoration techniques, this method increased daily gas production by over 70%, providing a novel solution for the efficient revival of high-water-cut flooded wells.