Abstract
A complete analytical solution of the energy equation governing the flow of natural gases in vertical wells is presented here. The pressure drop in natural gas wells is calculated by taken into consideration the kinetic energy term in the energy equation. The parameters which affect the kinetic energy term are: gas specific gravity, gas flow rate, friction factor, bottom-hole temperature, well diameter, and well depth. The effect of each of these six parameters on the calculation of the bottom-hole pressure is investigated. The effect of kinetic energy on the magnitude of the pressure drop in the well increases with gas specific gravity, gas flow rate, well radius, and well depth. It decreases with friction factor and bottom-hole temperature. The parameters, gas specific gravity and well radius, have the greatest effect on the pressure drop in the well. A case study is presented where the combined effect of the six parameters is calculated. The case study shows that when the effects of the six parameters are taken together, the pressure drop in the well calculated with kinetic energy taken into consideration is about 0.2% higher than the pressure drop in the well when the kinetic energy term is neglected. This difference, however, can be as much as 3% in some cases of extreme wells.
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