Chapter2 Well Testing Basics

Lecturer: Wang Fei

Institute of Petroleum Engineering
China University of Petroleum, Beijing
Outline

• Principle of Fluid Flow in Porous Media

• Wellbore Storage
• Skin Factor
• Solution to the Diffusivity Equation
• Dimentionless Variables
• Superposition in Space/in Time
• Radius of Investigation
• Time Regions on Test Plots
Diffusivity Equation for Radial,Single-phase Flow
of a Liquid with Small, Constant Compressibility
Diffusivity Equation for Radial,Single-phase
Flow of a Gas

(Al-Hussainy et al,1965)

The pseudopressure was defined as: p

p
Pp  2  dp
p0
z
Assumptions
vRadial flow.
vLaminar(or Darcy) flow.
vPorous medium has constant permeability and compressibility.
vNegligible gravity effects.
vIsothermal conditions.
vFluid obeys the real gas law.
Diffusivity Equation for Radial, Multiphase Flow

1  p  Ct  p
(Martin,1959) (r )   
r r r  t  t
ko k w k g
total mobility: t     o  w  g
o  w  g
total compressibility: Ct  S oCo  S wCw  S g C g  C f
Assumptions
vRadial flow.
vLaminar(or Darcy) flow.
vUniform porous medium.
vNegligible gravity effects.
vIsothermal conditions.
vFluid obeys the real gas law.
vEffectivity permeability varies with saturation, but not pressure.
vSmall pressure- and saturation-gradient terms.
vNegligible calpillary pressure.
 Initial and Boundary Conditions

Initial Conditions
Assume that the reservoir is initially at a uniform, constant
pressure throughout the reservoir at a time t=0.

pr ,0   pi
 Outer-Boundary Conditions

Infinite-Acting Reservoir pr  , t   pi

No-Flow Boundary p / r r e

0

Constant-Pressure Boundary pr  re , t   pi

Inner-Boundary Conditions

 p  qB
Constant-Rate Production r  
 r  r  rw  2kh

Constant-Pressure Production prw , t   pwf  cons tan t

Wellbore Storage Concept
Simplified Model of Liduid Wellbore Storage
WBS Coefficient

For a falling liquid level wellbore storage coefficient, in

bbl/psi
144 Aw
Cs 
5.615 
Aw : cross-sectional area of wellbore, in ft2
 : density of the liquid in the wellbore,in lbm/ft3

For a fluid expansion wellbore storage coefficient

Cs  CVw
Vw: volume of the wellbore
C : compressibility of the fluid in the wellbore
Skin Factor Concept
Fig1.7.1
Skin Factor Concept
Pseudo-Skin Concept,
Situations in Practice
Limited Entry
Sp Calculation
s  (h / hp )sd  s p
Effective Wellbore Radius Concept,
Situations in Practice
Flow Efficiency
Another measure of an altered zone near the wellbore is flow
efficiency, which is defined as:

J actual q /( p  pwf ) p  pwf  ps

E  
J ideal q /( p  pwf  ps ) p  pwf
where the productivity index(PI), J is defined as:

J  q /( p  pwf )
the additional pressure drop due to the damage zone, in
field unit, is
 p s  141 .2 qB  / kh s
Solution to the Diffusivity Equation
Transient Radial,Constant-Rate Production
from a Line-Source Well

The line-source solution is an approximation of the more

general cylindrical-source solution, so we must define limits of
its applicability. It has been shown to be accurate for the range

3.975  10 c r
5 2
t w
t
948ct re2
k k
When x  0.01
 qB  1688Ct rw
2

Pwf  Pi  70.6 ln( )  2s 
kh  kt 
Dimentionless Variables

for transinet linear flow, a fractured well

Transient Linear Flow,Constant-Rate Production
from a Hydraulically Fractured Well

qB t
p wf  p i  4 .064
hL f kct

L
f
Pseudo-steady state(PSS)
PSS flow occurs when all the boundaries are felt in a closed
reservoir.( t  948 c r
t e
2
)
k

t≥tpps，dp/dt=C
PSS Flow, Constant-Rate Production from a
Cylindrical-Source Well in a Closed Reservoir

The solution in terms of field variables, is

qB  0.000527 kt re 3 
pi  pwf  141.2   ln( )   s 
 ct re
2
kh rw 4 
Replace original reservoir pressure, pi, with average pressure
within the drainage volume of the well ,

qB  re 3 
p  pwf  141.2 ln( )   s 
kh  rw 4 
Further, we can define an average permeability, kJ, so that

qB  re 3
p  pwf  141.2 ln( )  
k J h  rw 4 
qB  re 3 
 141.2 ln( )   s 
kh  rw 4 

 re 3   re 3 
from which k J  k ln( )   / ln( )   s 
 rw 4   rw 4 
q kJ h
J 
p  pwf  re 3
141.2 B ln( )  
 rw 4
Steady state(SS)
SS flow occurs at large times, when the pressure distribution
of the whole reservoir keep constant. t≥t ，dp/dt=0
ss
SS Flow, Constant-Rate Production from a
Cylindrical-Source Well in a Reservoir with
Constant-Pressure Outer Boundaries

qB re
p wf  pi  141 .2 ln( )
kh rw
Pressure Regime Solutions
Superposition in Space
Consider the pressure drop at Well A
( pi  pwf ) A  ( pi  p) A
 ( pi  p ) B
 ( pi  p ) C
q A B  1688  C t rw2 
( pi  p ) A   70 .6  ln( )  2s A 
kh  kt 
q B B 948 C t rab2 
( pi  p ) B   70 .6  Ei (  )
kh  kt 
qC B   948C t rac2 
( pi  p ) C  70 .6  Ei (  )
kh  kt 
pwf , A
Methods of Images
1.6 Superposition in Space
Example - Modeling a Well Near a Fault
Suppose a a well is 350 ft due west of a north-south trending
fault. From pressure transient tests, the skin factor, s, of this well
has been found to be +5.0. This well has been flowing at a constant
rate of 350 STB/D for 8 days. The following data describe the well
and formation. Calculate the pressure at the flowing well.

h  50 ft ; ct  2 10 5 psia 1 ;
B  1.13RB / STB;
  0.5cp;
re  3000 ft ;
k  25md ;
pi  3000 psia;
rw  0.333 ft
  0.16;
Superposition in Time
Variable-Rate Problem
Pressure-Buildup (Two-Rate Problem)
Example - Use of Superposition in Time
A flowing well is completed in a reservoir that has the following
properties. What will the pressure drop be in a shut-in well 500 ft
from the flowing well when the flowing well has been shut in for 1
day flowing a flow period of 5 days at 300 STB/D?

h  43 ft ;
B  1.32 RB / STB;
pi  2500 psia;
  0.16;
ct  1.8 10 5 psia 1 ;
  0.44cp;
k  25md ;
Radius of Investigation Concept
 Definition of Radius of Investigation
The radius of investigation is a measure of how far a transient
has moved into a formation following any rate change in a well and
physically represents the depth to which formation properties are
being investigated at any time in a test.
 3 Time Regions on Test Plots
According to the test time sequence：

v Early-time region(ETR);
v Middle-time region(MTR) ;
v Late-time region(LTR).

ETR：near wellbore conditions(damaged or stimulated,etc)；

MTR：overall reservoir dynamics，i.e. flow capcity(kh),etc；
LTR：boundary conditions，i.e. average pressure，r.geometry.
 ETR MTR LTR
d,Re,A
Xf,, K,S,P*
C

artifical frac,
natural frac,
perferation,
and multi-layer homogeneous R.boundary
WBS
conditions radial flow

Semilog Plot- Pressure drop vs Log(t)

Thank you.