Douglas K. Dietrich, Conoco Inc
As our Industry places an increasing emphasis on natural gas, it is imperative that it's production be maximized. As reservoir pressures fail, many gas wells experience difficulty producrng to their fullest potential. This paper discusses a diagnostic "tool", which was developed to help detect gas wells with the opportunity to increase production. This paper will familiarize the reader with a Lotus spreadsheet, which was developed to evaluate several gas wells in South East New Mexico. Easy to obtain data from each well is entered into the spreadsheet. The spreadsheet then calculates several parameters that are used to evaluate the performance of each well. Using this spreadsheet "tool", the Engineer as well as the Lease Operator can identify wells that have the potential to increase production. Low pressure gas well production is often hampered by pressure restrictions and liquid loading problems. As the reservoir pressures continue to decline, eliminating these restrictions are even more critical. The "Gas Well Spreadsheet" is one way to help combat these operational concerns.