Granted Patent B2

US 12,612,847 · App. 19/206,779 · Granted Apr 28, 2026

Inventors: Mitchell A. Boyd (Haslet, TX); Garrett S. Boyd (Granbury, TX)

Assignee: Flowco MasterCo LLC

E21B43/122E21B43/128G01F1/38

Abstract

Claims (46)

1 . A control system for a gas assisted plunger lift system, the control system comprising:

a sensor configured to measure a production flow rate; and

a processor circuit, configured to perform operations including:

receiving user input that defines a minimum gas injection rate and a maximum gas injection rate; and

automatically adjusting a gas injection rate parameter at a first time based on a measured production flow rate such that the gas injection rate has a value between the minimum gas injection rate and the maximum gas injection rate.

2 . The control system of claim 1 , wherein the operations performed by the processor circuit further include adjusting one or more secondary parameters at a second time later than the first time.

3 . The control system of claim 2 , wherein the secondary parameters consist of a close time, an after-flow time, a flow rate, a load factor, a tubing pressure, a casing pressure, and a tubing/casing differential pressure.

4 . The control system of claim 3 , wherein the controller is further configured to adjust multiple parameters simultaneously upon receiving a user instruction to do so.

5 . The control system of claim 3 , wherein the processor circuit is further configured to perform operations comprising:

receiving additional user input that defines one or more set points consisting of a flow rate set point, a flow rate low value, a flow rate high value, a flow rate gain, a flow rate deadband, an open value, a fast arrival rate decrease, a slow arrival rate increase, a cycle skip option, and a simultaneous optimization option; and

controlling one or more parameters based on the received additional user input.

6 . The control system of claim 5 , wherein the simultaneous optimization option instructs the control system whether to simultaneously optimize all parameters or to optimize one or more sub-sets of parameters.

7 . The control system of claim 2 , wherein the processor circuit is further configured to perform operations comprising:

adjusting one or more parameters; and

skipping one or more plunger cycles before making further adjustments.

8 . The control system of claim 1 , wherein the processor circuit is further configured to perform operations comprising:

increasing a gas injection rate when a production flow rate is below a first pre-determined value; and

decreasing the gas injection rate when a production flow rate is above a second pre-determined value.

9 . The control system of claim 1 , further comprising a sensor configured to measure a plunger speed, wherein the processor circuit is further configured to perform operations comprising:

increasing a gas injection rate when a plunger speed is below a first pre-determined value; and

decreasing the gas injection rate when the plunger speed is above a second pre-determined value.

10 . The control system of claim 9 , wherein the processor circuit is further configured to perform operations comprising:

receiving additional input from the user that defines one of a fast arrival rate decrease and a slow arrival rate increase, and

controlling one or more parameters based on the received additional input.

11 . A processor-implemented method of controlling a gas assisted plunger lift system, the method comprising:

receiving, by a processor circuit, a signal from a sensor indicating a production flow rate; and

performing, by the processor circuit, operations including:

receiving user input that defines a minimum gas injection rate and a maximum gas injection rate;

adjusting a gas injection rate parameter at a first time based on a measured production flow rate such that the gas injection rate has a value between the minimum gas injection rate and the maximum gas injection rate.

12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the operations performed by the processor circuit further include adjusting one or more secondary parameters at a second time later than the first time.

13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the secondary parameters consist of a close time, an after-flow time, a flow rate, a load factor, a tubing pressure, a casing pressure, and a tubing/casing differential pressure.

14 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the processor circuit is further configured to adjust multiple parameters simultaneously upon receiving an instruction to do so.

15 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the processor circuit is further configured to perform operations comprising:

adjusting one or more parameters; and

skipping one or more plunger cycles before making further adjustments.

16 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising the processor circuit receiving a signal from a sensor indicating a plunger speed, and wherein the operations performed by the processor circuit further comprise adjusting the gas injection rate based on the plunger speed.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the operations performed by the processor circuit further comprises:

receiving additional input from the user that defines one or a fast arrival rate decrease and a slow arrival rate increase, and

controlling one or more parameters based on the received additional input.

18 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the processor circuit is further configured to perform operations comprising:

receiving additional user input that defines one or more set points consisting of a flow rate set point, a flow rate low value, a flow rate high value, a flow rate gain, a flow rate deadband, an open value, a fast arrival rate decrease, a slow arrival increase, a cycle skip option, and a simultaneous optimization option; and

controlling one or more parameters based on the received additional user input.

19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the simultaneous optimization option instructs the control system whether to simultaneously optimize all parameters or to optimize one or more sub-sets of parameters.

20 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the processor circuit is further configured to perform operations comprising:

increasing a gas injection rate when a production flow rate is below a first pre-determined value; and

decreasing the gas injection rate when a production flow rate is above a second pre-determined value.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (4)

References Cited (187)