The present invention describes a completion system for drilled wells having valves mechanisms, drives, sensors and devices able to promote an exploration of wells, safer, more efficient and, therefore, more economically viable. Specifically, the present invention comprises a system allowing the installation of smart completion in single or multiple producing zones, comprising valves mechanisms, drives, sensors, between other devices disclosed by the present invention. The present invention is in the fields of petroleum engineering and mechanic engineering.

Systems and a method are provided for protecting a gas lift valve (GLV) from erosion. An example system includes a gas lift valve that includes an unloading protection orifice, and wherein the unloading protection orifice unloading protection orifice includes a different open area than a valve seat in the gas lift valve.

Hydrocarbon wells and methods of interrogating fluid flow within hydrocarbon wells. The hydrocarbon wells include a wellbore and downhole tubing that defines a tubing conduit and extends within the wellbore. The hydrocarbon wells also include an interrogation device. The interrogation device is configured to indicate at least one property of fluid flow within the hydrocarbon wells. The hydrocarbon wells also include a downhole location at which the interrogation device is released into the tubing conduit and a detection structure configured to query the interrogation device to determine the at least one property of fluid flow within the hydrocarbon wells. The methods include releasing an interrogation device at a downhole location within a hydrocarbon well and flowing the interrogation device from the downhole location to a surface region. The methods also include querying the interrogation device to determine at least one property of fluid flow within the hydrocarbon well.

A method and apparatus for estimating a down-hole annulus pressure, and/or a down-hole tubing pressure, and/or a down-hole lift gas rate through a gas injection valve of gas lift system, which comprises at least one gas lift choke and at least one gas injection valve and at least one production choke. A state estimator is proposed to obtain the values of these down-hole process variables. The estimator contains a number of local estimators and an interpolation module.

A hybrid hydraulic gas pump system includes a hydraulic gas pump installed on the lower end of a production tubular where the production tubular incorporates a gas lift system. The hydraulic gas pump may be operated using the same gas in the annular region as the gas lift system or may be operated using an independent supply line where the independent supply line is concentric with, or at least within, the production tubular. In some instances, the gas pump chamber may simply be an upper packer including a pickup tube, a check valve, and a pressurized gas supply line or other pressurized gas access mechanism along with a lower packer including a check valve. Each upper and lower check valve allows fluid to flow from below the packer to above the packer.

A method of producing a side pocket mandrel body for use in a hydrocarbon well side pocket mandrel assembly includes providing a continuous, solid piece of material with the through-going main conduit; in the solid piece of material, forming said at least one side pocket by machining a bore, displaying an external entrance opening, into a laterally offset section of the solid piece of material generally parallel to the main conduit such that an internal wall section of the solid piece of material is brought to separate the main conduit from the machined bore; plugging the entrance opening of the machined bore with a fluid-tight plug; providing at least one opening from an outside of the mandrel body into the at least one side pocket; providing at least one opening in the wall section; and providing the solid piece of material with the first and the second connection arrangements, thereby rendering the mandrel body connectable to the up-hole and down-hole sections of the production tubing.

A GLV-gas lift valve that uses dual “Fortress™” seals on both sides of the bellow 19 to protect said bellow from both high dome pressure 3 acting against outside bellow surface and high injection pressure acting against bellow 19 internal surface. When valve is in closed position, after dome pressure 3 is applied, upper-dome side “Fortress™” seal is engaged and prevents high dome pressure reaching said bellow 19 external surface. When valve is in fully open position, when injection pressure 14 is applied, lower seal 10 is engaged and prevents access of high injection pressure into bellow acting against bellow internal surface. This principle allows much higher pressures to be applied in valve dome section and injection section by reducing differential pressure across the bellow 19. In addition, lower “Fortress™” seal allows very high injection pressure 14 more than 10 KSI to be applied without damage to bellow or gas lift valve components.

A method and an apparatus for oil production by increasing resistance of borehole wall for improving an energy utilization rate of injection gas includes injecting gas into an oil reservoir so that a gas pressure in the oil reservoir reaches an initial oil reservoir pressure. The initial oil seepage pressure is present at a position where the inside of the production well is in communication with the oil reservoir. The initial oil seepage pressure is less than the initial oil reservoir pressure. The method also includes monitoring gas production and oil production of the production well and increasing the initial oil seepage pressure to an increased oil seepage pressure when a ratio of the gas production to the oil production is higher than a predetermined ratio. The increased oil seepage pressure is smaller than the initial oil reservoir pressure.

A downhole lift gas injection valve is retrievably connected to a downhole hanger device from which a lift gas injection conduit is suspended within a production tubing of a hydrocarbon fluid production well, wherein the valve receives the lift gas from an annular space surrounding the tubing via a side inlet in the production tubing and a tubular packer device is retrievably connected to an upper end of the hanger device to seal the side inlet from a space in the production tubing above the packer device.

A gas lift system for lifting oil with a production tube positioned inside a well casing with manifolds in the production tube spaced apart from each other; the system including valve assemblies on the manifolds that each have an open position and a closed position, each of the valve assemblies including a biasing device that biases the valve towards the closed position, where pressurizing each valve assembly with a control fluid generates a force that acts against the biasing force of the biasing device to open the valve, and a means to selectively control the pressure of the control fluid in the control line, where each of the valve assemblies includes different biasing forces in each valve, with a topmost valve having a highest biasing force and each sequentially lower valve having a lower biasing force. A method for using the gas lift system is also included.