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Energy Sources Part A-recovery Utilization and Environmental Effects, Vol.37, No.5, 453-461, 2015
A Nonlinear Programming Approach to Gas Lift Allocation Optimization
An attempt is made to model a gas lift allocation problem as a nonlinear optimization form with a wide range of constraints covering deficiencies carried out by past studies. In this article, a rigorous nonlinear programming approach is used to maximize daily cash flow of a group of production wells under gas lift operation. First, an appropriate model is prepared for gas lift performance curve of each well by use of nonlinear logarithmic and polynomial regression. Afterward, a model is constructed and solved for daily cash flow under capacity and pressure constraints. Results show a significant increase in cash flow for an optimized case compared with the current gas allocation plan. Moreover, sensitivity analysis was performed for different variables showing that oil price and compressing cost must be considered in long-term gas lift allocation optimization.