A new approach for accurate prediction of loading in gas wells under different flowing conditions

Several authors have introduced various mathematical equations to calculate the critical flow rate necessary to keep gas wells unloaded. The most widely used equation is that of Turner et al.(1) However, Turner's equation required empirical adjustment with different ranges of data which made the application rather questionable. In this paper we present a new approach for calculating the critical flow rate necessary to keep gas wells unloaded. This approach still adopts Turner's basic concepts, but considers different flow conditions that result in different flow regimes. Hence it explains the previous discrepancies of Turner's equation (the droplet model) with different data ranges, and presents a new set of equations that eliminates the need for empirical adjustment and better matches actual data records.