Field Trial Evaluation of Daily Production Analysis (DPA) Software for Real-Time Liquid-Rate Surveillance of Offshore Gas-Lifted Wells in Egypt

Abstract

Abstract Offshore mature fields operated by GUPCO/Dragon Oil in Egypt rely predominantly on gas lift as the primary artificial lift method. In such environments, achieving accurate and frequent liquid-rate measurements remains challenging due to limited well-testing availability, separator measurement uncertainties, and complex multiphase flow behavior (gas-lifted wells represent one of the most complex three-phase flow regimes among artificial lift systems). These challenges are further compounded by offshore operational constraints, including adverse weather conditions that restrict access to wells for routing to test separators or MPFMs, as well as crew changes and limited manpower to support continuous well testing programs. Conventional production testing is capital-and labor-intensive, operationally disruptive, and often unavailable under offshore conditions, particularly during bad weather. As a result, testing frequency is reduced, leading to delayed production surveillance, suboptimal optimization actions, and increased oil deferment. These inefficiencies directly translated into higher operating expenditure (OPEX) per barrel of oil produced. Consequently, operators are increasingly adopting virtual flow metering and digital oil field solutions to enable continuous, real-time production surveillance, reduce dependency on costly physical testing, minimize oil deferment, and ultimately lower OPEX on a per-barrel basis while sustaining production from mature offshore assets. This paper presents the field trial evaluation of a Digital Oil Field (DOF)–based software solution, Daily Production Analysis (DPA), which is developed to provide real-time virtual liquid-rate and well performance surveillance for different well types (natural-flow, gas-lifted, ESP and sucker rod pumping). The study demonstrates how DPA contributes to reducing OPEX per barrel of oil produced by minimizing well downtime and oil deferment, reducing dependency on costly and infrequent physical production tests, and enabling continuous validation of production test results and separator measurement accuracy. The evaluation was conducted over 18-months period on 11 offshore Gas-lifted wells operated by GUPCO, covering 27 production tests with a cumulative tested liquid rate of approximately 45,000 BFPD and a total oil rate of 22,600 BOPD (Table 1). The trial encompassed a wide range of operating conditions, including variations in water cut, gas lift injection rates, productivity index (PI), formation tightness, and choked and fully open production choke operating conditions, as well as diverse well production profiles ranging from 180 to 4,000 BFPD (Table 2). DPA virtual liquid-rate results were independently evaluated by the GUPCO surveillance team through direct comparison with physical production test measurements, in addition to a secondary benchmarking exercise against third-party nodal analysis software (PIPESIM), as illustrated in Figure 1. Field trial results demonstrated strong performance, with approximately 85% of the evaluated-approved wells’ tests (17 out of 20 tests) achieving liquid-rate accuracy better than 90%, and 95% of wells’ tests achieving accuracy better than 85% (Figure 2), even under non-ideal operating conditions as surging and foamy produced fluid. The system also successfully detected deviations related to changes in formation productivity and surface network performance (flow line pressures ups/downs and P. choke plugging), enabling early identification of underperforming wells and potential operational issues. Categorized difference percentage of liquid rate between DPA and Testing units by GUPCO: Platform Fixed Separator: ± 3%MPFM: ± 8%PIPESIM software: ± 2% The trial confirmed that DPA can significantly enhance real-time production surveillance, reduce dependence on frequent well testing, and support proactive decision-making for offshore gas-lifted assets. The deployment of such DOF solutions represents a practical and scalable approach for improving production optimization, reducing deferment, and increasing operational efficiency in mature offshore fields like those operated by GUPCO.