Introduction to Pressure

Transient Testing
 Lesson Content
Basic concepts of well testing
Diffusivity equation and its boundary conditions
Exponential integral (line source) solution and its
logarithmic approximation
Radius of investigation
Lesson Outcomes

List objectives of pressure transient testing.

Describe the basic types well tests.
Understand fundamental theory and physics of fluid
flow through porous media and its application to
pressure transient analysis.
BASIC CONCEPTS OF WELL TESTING
 What is Well Testing?
During a well test, a transient response is created by a
temporary and controlled change in production/injection
rate.
Then the response (pressure, temperature and/or flow
rate at the bottom hole) of the well to changing
production (or injection) is monitored/measured.
The response is controlled by the characteristic of the well
and reservoir properties and thus it is possible to infer
well/reservoir parameters from the response.
How is PTT conducted?
 Pressure Transient Testing (PTT)
It includes generating and measuring pressure variations with time in wells
and analyse the data to estimate rock, fluid, and well properties:
Wellbore volume
Wellbore damage and stimulation
Reservoir average pressure
Permeability
Porosity
Reserves
Reservoir fluid type
Reservoir and fluid discontinuities,
PTT data analyses or interpretation methods
Interpretation of observed pressure and rate data based on
mathematical well/reservoir model involves inverse problem. i.e.,
Input
Real system Output-Observed
(production/injectio
(reservoir) data (P vs Time)
n rate)

Input
(production/injectio Model (, k, s, C, Output-Model data
n rate) etc) (P vs Time)

Matching of the observed data with the model data allows estimation
of , k, s, C
 Objectives of PTT
Typical objectives of testing and analyzing are to determine:
Initial pressure
Current average reservoir pressure
Absolute open flow potential (AOF)
Formation flow capacity kh (ability of reservoir to transmit fluid)
Reservoir storativity or porosity
Presence of formation damage or stimulation
Size of drainage area
Reservoir boundaries
Existence, nature and extent of boundaries (faults, )
Existence and extent of fracturing (natural or artificial)
Necessity for formation treatment
Effectiveness of formation treatment,
The primary objective is to estimate productivity of a well and formation
properties.
It reflects formation properties such as permeability and porosity under in-situ
dynamic condition.
Types of PTT
Productivity test
Drawdown test
Buildup test
Injection test
Falloff test
Variable rate test
Multi-well test
Interference test
Pulse test
Drawdown test
Is conducted by producing a well at a known rate or rates while
measuring changes in bottomhole pressure (BHP) as a function of
time.
It is designed to determine permeability and skin
If the pressure transient is affected by outer reservoir boundary,
drawdown test can be used to establish the outer limits of the
reservoir and to estimate the hydrocarbon volume (reservoir-limit
test).
If properly designed and analyzed, it can be an alternative to
productivity test. (in case of minimum loss of production time is
required)
Drawdown Contd
Buildup Test
In buildup test, a well which is already flowing (ideally at constant
rate) is shut in, and the bottomhole pressure measured as the
pressure builds up.
Variable rate test
Multiple well test
Diffusivity Equation and Its Boundary Conditions
The Diffusivity Equation
Diffusivity equation is a basic differential equation that describes the
diffusion (transmission) of pressure in a porous media.
For a 1D radial system, it has a form
1
= (1)
2.637104
where, p=pressure, psi 1/
r=radial distance, ft
t=time, days
=viscosity, cp
=permeability, mD
=total compressibility, 1
=hydraulic diffusivity constant
 Equation 1 describes the flow of:
slightly compressible fluid
Laminar (Darcy) flow
Small and constant fluid compressibility
Isothermal conditions
Negligible gravity effects
Homogeneous porous media
Diffusivity equation is derived from three fundamental physical
principles:
1. Conservation of mass (continuity equation)
1

=
(2)
2. Equation of motion (Darcys equation)

= (3)

3. Equation of state (EOS)

For slightly compressible fluid:
= (4)
Boundary and Initial Conditions
The diffusivity equation (Eq. 1) is a second order PDE and it requires initial (@ t=0) and
boundary conditions to obtain solutions for the different flow regimes.
There are two boundary conditions and one initial condition.
o The two boundary conditions are:
1. Inner boundary condition:
The formation produces at a constant rate into the wellbore .
2. Outer boundary condition:
i. Infinite-acting reservoir: the reservoir is so large that the outer boundary is not felt
from the well during transient time.
ii. No-flow boundary: the reservoir may be bounded by a closed (no-flow) boundary.
iii. Constant pressure boundary: the reservoir is bounded by a reservoir with strong
pressure support (aquifer system).
o Initial condition
The reservoir is at a uniform pressure when production begins, i.e., time = 0
Mathematically,
Inner boundary condition:
141.2
=
=

Outer boundary condition:
i. Infinite acting reservoir: , =

ii. No-flow boundary: =0

iii. Constant-pressure boundary: = , = OR = , = 0
Initial condition:
, = 0 =
Exponential Integral (line source) Solution and Its
Logarithmic Approximation
Ei solution
Ei -function solution (line-source solution) is first proposed by Matthews and Russell in 1967. It is
based on the following assumptions:
Infinite acting reservoir, i.e., the reservoir is infinite in size.
The well is producing at a constant flow rate.
The reservoir is at a uniform pressure, , when production begins.
The solution has the following form:
70.6 948 2
, = + (6)

where, p(r,t) = pressure at radius r from the well after t hours

t=time, hrs
k=permeability, md
Qo =flow rate, STB/D


=

 Logarithmic approximation
For x<0.01, the function has the following logarithmic approximation:
= ln(1.781) (7)
948 2
where, =

Substituting Eq. 7 into Eq. 6 gives:

(8)

For the bottom hole flowing pressure, i.e., @r=rw , at any time, Eq. 8 can
be rewritten as:
162.6Q B kt
p p o

o
logo
3.23 (9)
wf i
2
kh c r
o t w
For 0.01<x<10.9, the Table 1.1
can be used.
For x>10.9, = 0
 Example 1
Determine the pressure distribution as a function of radius for time 0.1, 1, 10, and 100 hours
after a well begins to produce from a formation originally at 2000 psi. The well and
formation characteristics are given below:

Q=177 STB/D h=150 ft

=1 cp =0.15
B=1.2 RB/STB = 70.3 106 1
k=10md = 3000
= 0.1
Solution
Step 1: Calculate x for different radial distances between rw and re at a given
time.

Step 2: Determine Ei(-x)

if x<0.01, Ei(-x)=ln(1.781x)

if 0.01<x<10.9, read Ei(-x) from Table 1.1

if x>10.9, Ei(-x)=0

Step 3: Calculate pressure using

70.6 948 2
, = +

70.6
, = + ()

 t=0.1 hr t=1 hr
r, ft x Ei(-x) p(r,0.1), psi r, ft x Ei(-x) p(r,1), psi
0.1 9.99666E-05 -8.6335 1913.691 0.1 9.99666E-06 -10.936 1890.672
0.5 0.002499165 -5.41462 1945.87 0.5 0.000249917 -7.717 1922.851 2020
5 0.2499165 -1.044 1989.563 5 0.02499165 -3.137 1968.639 2000
10 0.999666 -0.219 1997.811 10 0.0999666 -4.038 1959.632 1980
50 24.99165 0 2000 50 2.499165 -2.49E-02 1999.751
100 99.9666 0 2000 1960
100 9.99666 4.15E-06 2000

pressure, psi
500 2499.165 0 2000 1940
500 249.9165 0 2000 t=0.1 hr
1000 9996.66 0 2000 1000 999.666 0 2000 1920
1500 22492.485 0 2000 1900 t=1 hr
1500 2249.2485 0 2000
2000 39986.64 0 2000 2000 3998.664 0 2000 1880 t=10 hrs
2500 62479.125 0 2000 2500 6247.9125 0 2000 1860
t=100 hrs
1840
t=10 hrs t=100 hrs 1820
0.1 1 10 100 1000 10000
r, ft x Ei(-x) p(r,100), psi r, ft
r, ft x Ei(-x) p(r,10), psi
0.1 9.99666E-08 -15.5413 1844.635
0.1 9.99666E-07 -13.238 1867.654
0.5 2.49917E-06 -12.3224 1876.814
0.5 2.49917E-05 -10.019 1899.833
5 0.000249917 -7.71721 1922.851
5 0.002499165 -5.414 1945.87
10 0.000999666 -6.33091 1936.71
10 0.00999666 -4.028 1959.729
50 0.02499165 -3.137 1968.64
50 0.2499165 -1.044 1989.563
100 0.0999666 -4.04E+00 1959.632
100 0.999666 -2.19E-01 1997.811
500 2.499165 -2.49E-02 1999.751
500 24.99165 0 2000
1000 9.99666 -4.15E-06 2000
1000 99.9666 0 2000
1500 22.492485 0 2000
1500 224.92485 0 2000
2000 39.98664 0 2000
2000 399.8664 0 2000
2500 62.479125 0 2000
2500 624.79125 0 2000
Radius of Investigation
Radius of Investigation
Radius of Investigation ( ) is the distance that a pressure transient has
moved into a formation following rate change in a well.
It is related to formation rock and fluid properties and time.

= (10)
948
 Example 2
Determine the radius of investigation for t=0.1, 1, 10,100 hrs in Example 1.
Solution:
t=0.1hr
100.1
= = = 10.002
948 9480.15170.36
t=1hr
101
= = = 31.628
948 9480.15170.36
t=10hr
1010
= = = 100.017
948 9480.15170.36
t=100hr
10100
= = = 316.281
948 9480.15170.36