Patent Document ID: 20070261845
Application ID: 11396533
Patent Flag: 0

Claim One:
1. A method for optimizing the operation of a plunger lift well comprising a well casing, production string within the well casing, a take-off line in fluid communication with the production string, a plunger within the production string, a plunger lift control valve connected between the production and the take-off line, and a controller system having a memory, wherein the controller system serves to open and close the plunger lift control valve according to values calculated or stored within the controller system, said method comprising the steps of: a) entering a predetermined value for well depth, close time, and afterflow time into the controller system memory, wherein the controller system automatically calculates the open time based on the entered predetermined values; b) conducting one or more operating cycles wherein the controller system opens and closes the plunger lift control valve to allow fluids or hydrocarbons to flow into the take-off line, said one or more operating cycles comprising: entering a closed cycle and closing the plunger lift control valve for a period of time equal to the initial close time; entering an open cycle and opening the plunger lift control valve for a period of time equal to the calculated open time and allowing fluids to be artificially lifted by the plunger within the production string and allowing such fluids and hydrocarbons to flow into the take-off line; and entering an afterflow cycle for a period of time equal to the initial afterflow time and allowing hydrocarbons to flow into the take-off line during the afterflow cycle; c) adjusting the close time or the afterflow time based on then current well conditions and previous well measurements after said one or more operating cycles; d) conducting one or more adjusted operation cycles, each adjusted operation cycle comprising: entering a closed cycle for a period of time equal to the adjusted close time and closing the plunger lift control valve; entering an open cycle for a period of time equal to the calculated open time and opening the plunger lift control valve; and entering an afterflow cycle for a period of time equal to the adjusted afterflow time and collecting gas from the sales lines during the afterflow cycle.