Optimization of lift-gas allocation using dynamic programming

The continuous gas-lift method is one of the most used artificial lifting techniques in which the allocation of gas injection rates is a very important optimization problem. In this work, we develop a dynamic programming (DP) algorithm that solves the profit maximization problem for a cluster of oil wells producing via gas lift, with multiple well performance curves (WPCs) and constrained by the amount of lift gas available for injection. The algorithm is a low-cost and high-efficiency decision support tool that outperforms alternative methods found in the literature.