Journal of Scientific & Industrial Research

Vol. 63, December 2004, pp 979-984

Productivity index in horizontal wells
Charles Ibelegbu
Department of Petroleum & Gas Engineering, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Received 19 September 2003; accepted o4 November 2004
The study investigates the effect of reservoir and well parameters on the Productivity Index (PI) of a well. It analyses
the effect of skin due to partial completion on PI using the three partial well completion configuration of Brons and
Mathews. PI increases with increased well length and anisotropy value; also horizontal wells are better united for thin beds.
The wells that are perforated at equal intervals along the well bore experience little or no skin effect, thereby enhancing
productivity.
Keywords: Productivity index, Horizontal wells

Introduction
In horizontal wells, the well bore remains in high
angle trajectory roughly parallel to the formation,
thereby exposing significantly more attention zone to
production than would be exposed by a vertical well.
In the presence of a one-phase flow, the production in
a horizontal well is directly proportional to the
pressure difference between the reservoir and the
wellbore
1
. The constant of proportionality being the
productivity index (PI).
PI =
P
q

(1)
where q = flow rate
P = Pressure difference.
The PI of a well is a function of the pressure
losses between the reservoir boundary and the well
bore. The factors that affect PI are reservoir drainage
area, pay zone thickness, anisotropy (Kv/Kh), well
length, fluid velocity and well completion method.
Productivity Index (PI) Prediction
In case of a wildcat well, some data on
reservoir permeability (k) and thickness (h) can be
obtained from offset wells. Then the well spacing,
well bore size and fluid type and the estimated kh can
be used in the radial flow equation to calculate the PI.
0
0
0.00708
ln( / )
w WF e w
q Kh
PI
P P B r r
= =

(2)
With this, the inflow performance of the well can
be predicted. A higher PI shows a better inflow
performance. PI of the well under zero skin condition
is called ideal PI. When skin occurs, there is a
deviation from normal condition due to skin either
caused by drilling or by completion practices. In fact,
it is difficult to obtain an ideal condition and,
therefore, PI ideal can only be calculated
2
.
PI Test
PI can be measured by producing the well at a
constant, stabilized rate and measurement of the
corresponding flowing pressure at bottom hole. Well
completion efficiency after initial completion or at
other time during the production life of the well can
be carried out by calculating the well inflow quality
indicator (WIQI)
3
.
WIQI =
ideal PI
actual PI
. (3)
In many oil and gas wells, the observed flow rate
is different from that calculated theoretically. The
concept of skin was developed to account for
deviation from the theoretical rate. During pseudo-
steady state flow, the oil flow rate can be calculated
as
3
:
0
0.00708 ( )
ln ( / ) 3/ 4
w WF
e w T
Kh P P
q
B r r S

=
+
(4)
where S
T
is the total skin factor, which includes the
effect of partial penetration, perforation densitys well
J SCI IND RES VOL 63 DECEMBER 2004





980
stimulation, mechanical skin damage due to drilling
and completion, etc. A positive value of S
T
would
result in a reduction of flow rate while a negative
value of S
T
would result in flow enhancement.
The mechanical skin factor (S
m
) represents well
drainage caused by drilling and completion fluid. The
change in well PI to these parameters is described by
assigning an equivalent skin factor called Pseudo skin
factor.
For a partially penetrating well,
S
T
= Sp
b
Sm
+
1
(5)
where S
m
= mechanical skin factor,
Sp = pseudo skin factor caused by partial
penetration,
b
l
= penetration ratio.
Brons and Mathew Method
Brons and Mathew suggest that the additional
pressure drop caused by restricted fluid entry
resulting in the deviation from radial flow can be
expressed by the correlation
3

Sp = (1/b

-

1) [In(h
D
)G(b
l
)] (6)
where b
I
= h
p
/h (penetration ratio)
G(b
I
) is a function of penetration ratio,
G(b
I
)

=

2.948

-7.363b

+11.45(b
l
)
2
-

4.675(b
I
)
3
(7)
h
D
=
v
h
w
K
k
r
h
(8)
h
D
= dimensionless pay zone thickness (Fig. 1) for
each configuration.
Methodology
For a 3-D mathematical solution for flow into a
horizontal well, a combination of two 2-D scenario is
required: (i) Oil flow into a horizontal well in a
horizontal plane; and (ii) Oil flow into a horizontal
well in a vertical plane.
The solution adds, the horizontal and vertical 2-D
solution to arrive at the well flow equation.
0 0
0.00708
ln ( / )
e w
K P
q
B r r

= (9)
The horizontal well oil production is thus
calculated as
( )
2
2
0.00708
2
2
2
H
W
kh P
q
L
a a
h
h
o Bo In In
L
L
r

=
( (
+
( ( (
+
( ( (
( (
(
(10)
for L > h and L/2 < 0.9
reh


Fig 1Three types of partial well completion configuration
IBELEGBU: PRODUCTIVITY INDEX IN HORIZONTAL WELLS





981
where
a =
2
L

5 . 0
4
2
4
1
2
1
(
(

\
|
+ +
L
r
eh
(11)
reh = b a' (12)
where a and b are the major and minor radii of a
drainage ellipse. Assuming that a horizontal well
drains in an elliptical pattern in the horizontal plane
and a circular pattern in the vertical plane
4
,
For h/L < 1, and L/2a <1
It implies that a = r
eh

Therefore,
( )
2
0.00708
2
2
H
k p
q
a
h h
o Bo In a In
L rw
L

=
(

(
+ +
`
(

)
(13)
0.00708
H
o
kh P
q
Bo

=

( )
rw
h
In
L
h
reh
In
2
2
2
1
+ |

\
|
(14)
Flow Regimes in a Horizontal Well
In a reservoir, there is an initial pressure drop
between the well bore and the boundary. The pressure
drop decreases with time and similarly, the
production rate from a well decreases with time.
Theoretical studies show that there are possibly four
transient flow regimes depending on the well length
relative to the reservoir thickness and well length
relative to the drainage area.
Early-time radial flow develops when the well is
put initially on production. This flow period ends
when the effect of the top or bottom boundary is felt
or when flow across the well tip affects pressure
response. If isotropic ratio (k
h
/k
v
) is large, the flow
regime may not develop. The well bore pressure
response is given by
5
:
|
|

\
|
+
|
|

\
|
= S
r Lt
t K K
L K K
B q
P P
w
h v
h v
WF i
87 . 0 23 . 3 log
162
2

(15)
The equation implies that a graph of Pwf vs log t
gives a straight line with slope
M
I
=
L K K
qB
h v
6 . 162
(16)
From this, the equivalent permeability in the
vertical plane
h V
K K can be calculated. thus:
h v
K K =
L M
qB
1
6 . 162
(17)
In an already isotropic reservoir
Kx = Ky = Kz, if the effective reservoir
permeability
h v
K K is known.
The principal application of horizontal wells is to
increase the area of contact with the reservoir, hence,
increasing PI of the well. However, the equation
differs with reservoir thickness. Thick reservoirs have
a greater productivity than thin reservoirs
6
.
The influence of reservoir thickness on horizontal
well productivity can be estimated using steady-state
equation:
( ) ( )
2 2
0.00708
( / 2)
2
2
H
k p
q
a L
h h
oBo In a In
L rw
L

=
(

( + +
`
(

)
(18)
a =(L/2)[0.5+
5 . 0 4
] / 2 ( 52 . 0 L r
eh
+ (19)
for a reservoir with different vertical and horizontal
permeabilities (Kv and K
h
) the effective permeability
K
eff
is given as:
K
eff
=
h
v
K
K
(20)
The influence of reservoir anisotropy can be
accounted for by modifying the reservoir thickness.
h = h
v
h
K
K
(21)
Thus, the productivity of well can be modified to
include the effect of reservoir anisotropy.
( )
( )
2
2
2
0.007078 /
2
2
2
H
w
khh p oBo
q
a a L
h h
In In
L r
L

=
(
+
| |
(
+
|
( \

(22)
J SCI IND RES VOL 63 DECEMBER 2004





982
where =
v
h
K
K

Result and Analysis
PI increases with increasing lateral length
(Fig. 2). Thus, longer horizontal well length enhances
productivity. This is explained by the fact that a large
portion of the reservoir has been contacted and the
pressure drop along the well bore is reduced, thereby
enhancing productivity. In the case of anisotropy
(Table 1), it shows that horizontal wells are more
suitable for reservoirs with high vertical permeability
(Kv) as this increases horizontal well PI.
The incremental gain in productivity is higher in a
thick reservoir (Table 2, Fig. 3) than in a thin
reservoir. But considering productivity ratio J
h
/J
v
for
reservoir thickness, a thin reservoir produces more
than a thick reservoir. This is as a result of more gain
in contact area, which can be achieved in a thin
reservoir than in thick reservoir. Hence, horizontal
wells are more productive in thin reservoir than in
thick reservoir. In a thick reservoir, a horizontal well
behaves like a vertical well because of the small
exposure of the borehole to the formation.
Smaller drainage area with higher anisotropy
causes an increase in productivity index as against a
large drainage area (Table 3, Fig. 4).

Fig 2 (P1) Variation with well length and anisotropy

Table 1 PI variation with well (Thickness, 25ft) length and
anisotropy, J (Stb/d/psi)
Length
Kv/Kh = 0.1 Kv/Kh = 0.5 Kv/Kh = 1
100 2.15 3.13 3.46
500 5.58 6.66 6.92
900 8.19 9.45 9.73
1,300 10.94 12.39 12.68
1,700 14.02 15.978 16.47
Table 2 PI variation with well [J (anisotropy, stb/d/psi)]
thickness
Length Thickness = 25ft Thickness = 50ft Thickness = 100ft
100 3.46 5.48 7.54
500 6.93 12.52 20.77
900 9.77 18.25 30.93
1,300 12.81 23.76 41.37
1,700 16.42 30.64 53.30

Table 3 PI variation with drainage area and anisotropy
[J (stb/d/psi)]
Drainage area Kv/Kh = 0.1 Kv/Kh = 0.5 Kv/Kh = 1
20 7.3304 9.3226 9.8855
40 6.3274 7.7586 8.1446
60 5.8590 7.0658 7.3845
80 5.5302 6.6423 6.9232


Fig 3 (P1) Variation with well length and thickness


Fig 4 (P1) Variation with drainage area (ft)
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983
With increasing penetration ratio, PI increases
(Table 4, Fig 5). The analysis carried out for well
configurations (Fig. 1), shows that the Case C, i.e.,
well with N intervals open to production is the best
configuration for any partial well completion. The
number of opened intervals on the liner allows for
less pressure drop and allows for easy fluid entry into
the well bore.
An important feature of partial penetration is that
pseudo-skin factor (Sp) is always greater than zero
(Table 5) and restricted entry always reduces the well
productivity (Fig. 6). Larger the skin, lower the PI of
well. This effect will be, however, more pronounced
for the vertical well situation than for a horizontal
well. This is due to the multiplier h/L on the
horizontal well skin. As L increases, the effect of
horizontal well skin on PI reduces appreciably.
Conclusion
The factors (well length, permeability, reservoir
thickness, drainage area, penetration ratio etc.) that
affect the pressure drop (between the reservoir and
the well bore) affect PI in horizontal wells.
Productivity in horizontal wells does not only depend
on the well length but also on the type of completion
used and the efficiency of the completion job. Skin
also affects productivity. Higher the skin, lower the
PI of a well.
Recommendations
The following field practice is recommended for
increased well PI and better economic returns:(i)
Productivity in horizontal well, depends on the length
of the horizontal section embedded in the reservoir,
therefore, longer well section should be planned; (ii)
For a reservoir with reduced vertical permeability, Kv
Table 4 PI variation with penetration ratio [J (stb/d/psi)]
b
Case A
configuration
Case B
configuration
Case C
configuration
0.2 0.675 0.7513 1.1098
0.4 1.137 1.2276 1.5073
0.6 1.552 1.6245 1.8235
0.8 1.899 1.9394 2.0391


Fig 5 (P1) Variation with penetration ratio for three different
well completion configurations (Case A, B, C)
Table 5 PI variation with pseudo-skin due to penetration
[J (stb/d/psi)]
Case A PI (stb/d/ psi)
16.254 0.675
6.635 1.137
2.878 1.552
0.992 1.899
Case B
13.848 0.7513
5.5956 1.2276
2.4157 1.6245
0.8185 1.9394
Case C
6.977 1.1098
3.1803 1.5073
1.3423 1.8235
0.4160 2.0391


Fig 6Variation of (P1) with pseudo skin penetration (sp)
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984
can be increased by fracturing the reservoir, thereby
reducing the anisotropy value and increasing
horizontal well PI; (iii) Because high pressure drop
reduces PI, the pressure drop along the well length be
minimized. Production should be controlled by
manipulating the area open for fluid entry into the
well bore.
Acknowledgement
Special thanks to F West and E I Asuoquo for
providing help in this work.
References
1 Ajienka J A & Opara P A, Well completion and performance
efficiency principles, evaluation and application,
Monography ser, Vol 1, 1997.
2 Ajienka J A, Fundamental, of multiphase flow in pipe
(Department of Petroleum Engineering, University of Port
Harcourt) 1999, p24.
3 Brons F V & Mathew V E, The effect of restricted fluid
entry on well productivity, Trans AIME, (1961) 222.
4 Jones L G, Use of short Term Multiple rate flow test to
predict performance of well having turbulence, SPE 6133
SPE of AIME, 1976.
5 Joshi S D, Horizontal well technology (Penwell Publishing
company, Tulsa, Oklahoma) 1991, p 75.
6 Mcleod H O (Jr), The effect of perforating Conditions on
well performance, J Petrol Technol, January (1983).
Nomenclature
P = Pressure drop between the reservoir and well bore, (psia)
Pr = Average reservoir pressure (psia)
Pwf = Flowing well bore pressure (psia)
A = total area open to flow (ft
2
)
= Average liquid viscosity (cp)
q = Total liquid flowrate (b/d)
S
T
= Total skin factor
Sm = mechanical skin factor
B
l
= penetration ratio
r
e
= well drainage radius
r
w
= well bore radius
h
p
= perforated interval
h = total pay zone thickness
= Porosity
C
t
= Total system compressibility
L = horizontal well length