Distributed delay model for density wave dynamics in gas lifted wells

Oil well instabilities cause production losses. One of these instabilities, referred to as the "density-wave" is an oscillatory phenomenon occurring on gas-lift artificially lifted well. We propose a distributed delay model of this dynamics. In order to interpret the observed oscillations we study the corresponding characteristic equation. Stabilization of this system is performed through a simple control law. Its performance is studied through realistic simulations.