Risk Analysis of Single- and Dual-String Gas-Lift Completions

Abstract

Such classic riskassessment techniques as failure mode and effect analysis (FM EA) and fault-tree analysis (FT A) are in common use by engineers but have a number of shortcomings. Dynamic simulation, a new computer technique, counters many of these deficiencies by introducing a time element that accommodates realistic component-failure characteristics and testing and inspection activities. This paper demonstrates how FMEA and FT A have been used to help design North Sea well completions and how dynamic simulation models complex systems realistically to allow comparison of designs and to provide insight into operating availability and component-testing frequencies.