Smarter Gas Lift Keeps Mature Fields Alive

New adaptive gas lift tech gives oil producers remote, real-time control of well performance

4 Mar 2026

Oil producers are increasingly turning to digital artificial lift technologies to sustain output from aging wells. As reservoir pressure declines over time, maintaining steady production requires more precise control than traditional gas lift systems can typically provide.

In November 2025, Emerson and Interwell introduced the Adaptive Gas Lift System, or AGLS, which the companies describe as the first retrievable electric gas lift solution designed to provide real-time digital control of downhole operations. The system is built around Emerson’s Roxar Integrated Downhole Network, which links downhole equipment with surface monitoring systems to enable continuous communication and data transmission.

Gas lift systems help sustain production by injecting gas into the wellbore, reducing the density of fluids so oil and gas can rise more easily to the surface. Yet conventional systems depend on fixed mechanical valves that cannot easily adjust to changing reservoir conditions. When those conditions shift, operators often must intervene in the well, a process that can require shutting down production and sending crews to the site.

The Adaptive Gas Lift System replaces those static components with electrically actuated valves that can be programmed and adjusted while the well remains online. Operators can remotely change gas injection rates, valve port sizes and injection depths using real-time data from the monitoring network, according to company statements. The approach allows production parameters to be modified without halting operations.

Such flexibility can be particularly useful in wells that produce from multiple zones competing for injected gas. Programmable valves allow operators to distribute gas more precisely among those zones, potentially stabilizing production and improving reservoir management.

Remote operation may also reduce the number of field interventions required, lowering operational costs and limiting the need for crews to work directly on wells. Still, digital downhole technologies typically require higher initial investment, a factor operators weigh against potential long-term gains.

As many oilfields around the world continue to mature, technologies that combine downhole sensing with remote control and analytics are drawing increasing attention from producers seeking to extend the productive life of existing wells.