Pseudosteady-State Flow Equation and Productivity
Index for a Well With Noncircular Drainage Area
Most reservoir engineering flow equations and calcula-
tions assume radial geometry. Radial geometry implies
that the drainage area of a well is circular and the well is
located at the center. In many cases, the drainage area of a
well is rectangular, triangular, or some other noncircular
shape. Applications of equations based on radial geom-
0149-2136178/0011-7108$00.25
1978 Society of Petroleum Engineers of AIME
1630
etry to noncircular drainage area could lead to appre-
ciable error.
In many wells, pseudosteady-state flow occurs during
most of their productive life. The productivity index (PI)
concept is used in a pseudosteady-state, depletion-type
reservoir to predict the oil well's performance as a func-
tion of the difference between the average reservoir pres-
sure and expected flowing bottom-hole pressure of the
JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY
well. The PI concept is not used for gas wells. The most and
common equations used by the reservoir engineer to 7.08x 1O-3 kh
describe pseudosteady-state flow and productivity index (PI)o = %
=----
= -------~-------,
p,. - Pu'f BolLoO n re/ru' - 0.75 + s)
are
3
................................ (3)
qo = 7.08 x 10- kh(jJ,. - P,rf) , ........ (1)
BolLo (Inrelrw - 0.75 + s) where
qo = oil production rate, STB/D
703 X 10-6 kh (jir2 - p~ qq = gas production rate, MscfID
qg =ILgT,z (lnrelru' - 0.75 + s + D qg) , k= effective permeabiI ity, md
................................ (2) h= thickness, ft

SYSTEM X SYSTEM X

0
I
re 2
-rw E:} 0.966
rw
A~

[J 0.571 Az
rw E~]
2
1.44 A"2
rw
I

0
I 2 1
0.565Az 2.206 Ai
rw f-+~i' rw
I 4
,
B
1.925 Ai
0.604Ai
rw
E--!--3 1
rw
4 1
I 6.59 Ai
E}60 0
0.61 Ai
rw
f---t-.. -j' rw
4 I
9.36 Ai
f---t 3
j~
1
-!-
0.678A~ rw
rw I

[ill,
H 1
1.724Ai
2
0.668Ai
I
-.- rw
0 1
rw

rn
2
4 1 1
1.368 A2 1.794Ai
I II
rw -
- -+---
- T - -- I
rw
s I
2.066Ai
I II
"w 1
2
, I 4.072 A~
I

1 ---t--+-+
, .. I
rw
F-H
1 I
0.884 Ai
rw
2
I
I
: : I 9.523 Ai

EB
1
1.485 A"2 tt++t+-+-- I
-t- 1
rw
, I I rW

,
ill
10.135 Ai
rW

Fig. 1-Factors for different shapes and well positions in a drainage area where A = drainage area of system shown and A V2/r U' is
dimensionless.

NOVEMBER,1978 1631
 Pr = average pressure, psi with noncircular drainage area.
Pwf = flowing bottom-hole pressure, psi q= 41Tkh (fir - Pwf) ..... (5)
Bo = oil formation volume factor, RB/STB f.t(ln A/C4 r w 2 + 0.809 + 2s)
f.t = viscosity, cp
Tr = reservoir temperature, oR Here, Eq. 5 is reduced, for various drainage areas, to
Z = gas deviation factor the standard form ofEqs. 1 through 3, commonly used by
s = skin factor the reservoir engineer. Thus,
D = non-Darcy flow constant 3
q = 7.08 X 10- kh (fir - Pwf) ....... (la)
r w = well bore radius, ft, and o Bof.to (lux - 0.75 + s) ,
r p = an effective drainage radius, ft.
703 X 10-6 kh (fi/ - Pw/) (2a)
If the drainage area is circular, re is the radius; however, qg= f.tgTrZ(lux - 0.75 +s +Dg) ,
if the drainage radius is not circular, re usually is calcu- and
lated by
(PI)n = ~~= 7.08 1O- kh
X
3
,
rp = (~_t2, ........................ (4) P,. - Pwf Bnf.to{lux - 0.75 + s)
(3a)
where A is the drainage area in square feet.
where x is given in Fig. 1 for various drainage areas and
The use of Eqs. 1 through 3 together with Eq. 4 when
well locations .
the drainage area is not circular can lead to an appreciable
error. A. S. Odeh, SPE-AIME
Matthews and Russell* presented the following equa- Mobil Research and Development Corp.
tion to describe the pseudosteady-state flow for a well Dallas

Original manuscript received in SOCiety of Petroleum Engneers office Feb.20, 1978.

'Matthews, C. S. and Russell, D. G.: Pressure Buildup and Flow Tests in Wells, Paper (SPE 7108) accepted for publication Aug. 1, 1978. Revised manuscript received
Monograph Series, Society of Petroleum Engineers of AIME, Dallas (1967) 1, 110. Aug. 8,1978.

1632 JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY