An improved model for the prediction of liquid loading in gas wells

• A new model for predicting gas-well load-up is proposed.
• The model considers the effect of differences in the liquid amount.
• The model considers the deformation and size of the liquid droplets on the minimum flow rate for removing the liquid.
• The mechanism explains why the critical flow rate of various gas fields differs significantly.

Liquid loading is a major limiting production factor for maturing gas wells, whereas the modeling of liquid loading behavior is still quite immature and the prediction of the critical gas rate is not very reliable.On the basis of Turner's model, a new approach for calculating the critical gas flow rate is introduced in this paper, which takes into account the liquid amount in addition to the deformation and size of the liquid droplets. A dimensionless parameter is introduced in the new model to account for the deformation, distribution and maximum size of the liquid droplets. Well data from Turner's paper and Li Min's paper are used to validate the model. The prediction results agree well with both of the data.