Societyof Petroleum Engineers

SPE 39931
.. -. .- . . -. ..-. .-. ,.- .- .,.
Production Analysis of Linear l-low Into Fractureu I lgnt Gas wells
Robefi. A. Wattenbarger /SPE, Texas A&M University, and Ahmed H. E~-Banbi /SPE, Texas A&M University, and
Mauricio E. Villegas /SPEt Chevron Petroleum Technology Company, and J. Bryan. Maggard /SPE, Texas A&M
University

~@9ht Im, society

of P~leum Enginwm, tnc.

This paper w% p~~~ti~ori ti ~~ _ X Rocky Mountain RegionaWLow-

%rmeab~ Resem-r$ SympTurn and ExhWMM held in m, Colorado, S-8 April 1998 kw
This Pawr was sdected for prmontation by an = Pmgmm @mm& Mng mw cf
FCD= ~ ............................................................(l)
-fin contained In n absbact submti by the uthor(s) Contont$ & the paper, as k Xf
presati, havenot been mw8d by the sad~ d Potmleum Enginaam and am subject to
~ by the author(s). The material, s pmwnted, & nd newssarily reflect any
position of the -~ ot Petroleum Engineem, itc Mcers, or members. PaPrs presented at With these conditions, the flow is linear and is
SPE meetings am subject bYpublicationtiw.by Ediial hmti ~ ~ ~~ d
mum Engineers. EIeclrunic mpmduti, dishiution, or storage d ny part & Ws pap6r perpendicular to the fracture.
for wmmerciaI purposes *out
Pmhibti. P0fm18s10n to wmduce
the_ ~w~
in print is Mctad
of the Sociely & -cum
to n b8M
Engineers is
& nor more than ~
The petroleum literature has many complicated cases for
words; illustrations may nd Im *. The k~ mud contin conspicuous hydraulically fractured wells -g. Solutions for these cases are
acknowl~gment & Mere snd by whom rho paper ws presented. Write Librarian, SPE, PO.
Sox ~, Riihardwn, TX 7S0S3-=, USA,, h 01 -972-9S2-9433 presented as type curves, tables, or sometimes as equations.
Usually the cases involve fractures in intinite reservoirs,
Abstract which means that flow eventually leaves the linear regime
Sometimes decline curves for tight gas wells indicate that and becomes pseudo-radial. Almost all of the type curves
linear ftow may last for over 10 or 20 years. These decline are for constant rate flow. There are very few solutions for
mes may show outer boun~ry effects but no pseudo-radial constant (wellbore) pressure, which is of interest for Iong-
flow. This paper presents d&line curve analysis methods for term production analysis.
Apparently, the only solution published for the problem of
such wells. Values for r k X1 and drainage area can be Fig. 1 is for a square with constant flow rateg. This is shown
caltited. Stabilized (bounded) flow equations are also as a special case of a more general set of solutions.
presented for forecasting. me solutions and type curves Miller10 provided solutions for linear flow in aquifers.
developed are for both itilnite-acting and stabilized flow with Millers solutions were for the infinite acting and bounded
either constant pwJ or constant rate. Several field cases are aquifers for both constant rate and constant pressure cases.
shown with example calculations. Nabor and Barhamll generalized these solutions in
dimensionless variabIes. They also added the solutions for
Introduction constant pressure outer boundary case. The mathematics for
Many gas wells have been obsewed which stay in the linear these solutions is also available from Carslaw and Jaeger{z for
flow regime for several years. These are usually wells in very linear heat conduction.
tight gas reservoirs which may have hydraulic fractures Wattenbarger, E1-Banbi, and Maggard*3 have adapted
designed to extend to or n=ly to the drainage boundary of these linear reservoirs solutions to fractured wells in the
the welI. For these wells, no pseudo-radial flow is expected geometry of Fig. 1. They included the constint rate and
nor observed during the production period. Linear flow seems constant pressure cases for linear flow in a rectangle. The
to k the dominant flow regime throughout the wells equations and type curves in the foIlowing seetions are new,
production life. for the most part, and provide tools for analyzing long-term
Fig 1 is a top view of a hydraulically fractured weII production petiormance of tight gas wells.
whose fracture extends all the way to the lateral boundaries.
The weIt is in the center of a rectangular drainage area. The Solutions of Linear Flow Into Fractured Wells
distanm to the outer boundary in the direction perpendicular The following equations apply for linear flow into a fracture.
to the fracture is y,. The fmcture is assumed to have ifilnite These equations strictly apply to the liquid case, but they can
conductivity. This is a g~ assumption for large be used for gas wells with good accuracy if dimensionless real
dimensionless fracture conductivity, FUI >50. gas pseudo-pressure14, mD, (fOr gaS) iS substituted fOr
Dimensionless fracture conductivity is defined by: dimensionless pressure, pD, (for liquid).

265
 R.A. WATTENBARGER, A.H. EL-BANBI, M.E. VILLEGAS, J.B. MAGGARD SPE 39931
2..
.
:--. . .
we *OW the solutions for two inner bounda~ conditions rate and constant pwf by the following equations, respectively:
(cofi~h~f-ami cqgstant pwl) and closed reservoir outer
boundary condition. Eq. 2 is the solution for constant rate
ptiuction ~om a cIosed Iifiear reservoirs. PwD = ~n DxJ
.......................................................(7)

lxzt

~w.=:[:][:+(;),..f] =
qD 2
r Dx,
....................................................(8)

..
.-
UnIike ifilnite radial reservoir solutions5, note that.
constant rate and constant pressure solutions for ;Wlnite
linear reservoirs differ by a factor of d2.
-+[$)~($)exP[-n~(~JtDx,]...(2)
hng-term Approximations. Closed resewoir solutions can
be approximated by the following equations for Iongtirnel:
,,, .- .,
Eq. 3 is the soIution for constant pwf production from a
cIosed linear reservoir. .,
pwD=:[~)tDx,+:[$)
..............(9.
.,~
~
=
;D
.
[l
___.
_____
__
..~ap[--.:(;j;h,l
....
...(3)
;=;[:)exp[;(:]tDx,]
....................
These equations would result in ~fferent expressions for
(10)

productivity indexes. The folIowing equations arc the

where dimensionless variables are defined by:
productivity index expressions for constant rate and. .constant
.
p~f production respectively:

..........m..
., .-.
~wD _=fi(Pi P~)
.............................................(4)
141.2qBp kh
Jm =

~D
=-zh~i
- --- -pti) ..............................................(5]
141.2qBp
141,2Bp
[[)1: :
f

kh
J,, = .....<..................<ti.....(12)
0.00633k/
t
f : #pc, x;
.................................................(6)

Note tit-tie definitions of pw~ and llq~ appear to be the

,,
141.2Bp
[[)1.
2

n
Y.

Xf
i -: :-*--
We see that the ratio of productivity index for con;~nt pwj
production to the productivity index for constant rate
same except that p.f varies in the PWDcase while q varies in
the I/qD ~. ptiuction is x2/12. This difference may be important and
the right equation should be used for long-term production
forecast.
Short-tetiW-Approximations. The solutions given by Eqs. ..
2 and 3 have short-term approximations. These
Type Curves. The most practical way to illustrate our
app-tions are aIso the solutions for intinite resemoir
solutions is through Iog-log type curves, Fig. 2 is a type curve
outer boundary. ~ese approximations are given for constant
for each of the two cases for alI times of interest. These curves

266
SPE W31 PRODUCTION
have been plotted against tx rather than tD#. The y axis
has been m~]ed to ( xj/y~ ) pm and ( Xfi ya ) (1/gD) rather
than P.D and l/q~. fhiS giVeS only one cuIve for each ~,
for any rectangular geometxy, rather than families of curves.
The following equations beeome the solutions for closed
reservoirs for constimt rate and constant pwf respectively:
-+~(+)exP(-'J'~
'~Q.)
............ .('3)
[1q~x
fl
~
z
_~2~2t~,
...........
y,
PI A 1
The dimensionless time, tD>v,is defined by:
2 and the dimensionless time referenced to the distance to the
[)
t).00633kt _ ~
t .......................!.,. (15)
. ##cty: - y*
. ...=. ..: O.. -
It- is Ilgmficant that th& type cu~es (log-log plot of
~erence in pressure or ~e~procal of production rate versus
time) bend upward ._when the outer boundary is reached.
This is ~e-opposite of the downward bend which is seen
when fractured wells tend toward pseudo-radial flow515.This
shape difference may b important in analyzing field data. (It
shotidbe understood that this rule is reversed when we plot
~----
production tie, rather than reciprocal of rate, versus time)..
Figs. 3 and 4 are type curves drawn using Eqs. 2 and 3 for
different aspect ratios, ( XI/y, ). Fig. 5 is a deeline curve
drawn for the constant p~f solution given by Eq. 14.
End of Linear Flow [1/2 slope line). An important feature
of the type curves is the end of the infinite acting linear flow
(seen as the half-slope). This can be used to estimate
reservoir size from field data, Once again, the two cases are
different. The end of the half slope is tLJp= 0.5 for the
constant rate case but is ?Pp+= 0.25 for the constant P.fcase
(seeFig. 2). These values, 0.5 and 0.25, are taken to be values
where the CUIVCS visua/ly depart from straight lines, making
them useful for the purpose of establishing minimum
drainage area from field data (discussed Iatcr).
ANALYSIS OF LINEAR FLOW INTO FRACTURED TIGHT GAS WELLS 3
Application to Gas We!ls
The solutions for liquid flow can be adapted to gas flow by
using the real gas pseudo-pressurel 4. In the liquid solutions,
PwD is replaced by m.D which is defined as follows:
kh[m(pi)-m(pw)] -
m=
WD
............................(16)
1424 qg T
l/q~ has the following definition:
1 k h[m(Pi) - m(pti)]
= .....................i....w-...(l~
;. 1424qgT
. . ..
,-
..(14) where m@) is the real gas pseudo-pressurel 4 defined by:
P
m(p) = 2~~p ...................................... .............(l8)
t reservoir boundary, ye, is defined in terms of initial fluid
J properties as follows:
0.00633kt -
t -- -~19)
................................................
y= (+ PC,)lY.2
The liquid solutions, which have been previously shown
and are pIotted in the type curves, apply very accurately for
gas in transient flow. This has been determined for a number
of weI1 flow problems over the years. Thus, the~.use of Eqs.
16-19 works very well for the infinite-acting t behavior.
Fraim and Wattenbarger normalized timelc should be used to
correct for changes in gas properties for boundary dominated
flow data, if these solutions are used in forecasting. An
alternative procedure for forecasting boundary dominated
flow production will be discussed later.
Analysis of Field Data
With the above solutions, there are several ways to analyze
gas well field data. The following is a description of analysis
methods. An example well will be used later for illustrative
purposes.
Log-Log Plot. The first step is to plot either pseudo-pressure
difference versus time (m@,)- m(pw~) vs. t),for constant rate
267
 .-. ..
4 R.A. WA~NBARGER. A.H. EL-BANBI, M.E. VILLEGAS, J.B. MAGGARD SPE 3w3i

productio% or reciprocal of production rate versus time (l/qg

vs. t), for constant p.f production, on a log-log plot. This is a
simple plot tid wiII show indications of linear flow if the pIot
has a half-slope.
Many weIls may have periods where the well pressure
varies or the well is shut in because of market curtailment,
etc. For these reasons, the half-slope may not always be
apparent or steady for the Iife of the well, even if the behavior
of the well is entirely linear flow. Therefore, the log-log plot
shotid be considered to be a screening method rather than a
quantitative analysis tool.
Square-Root of Time Plot. The next step is to make a more
definitive plot for Iinear flow - the ~ plot. The half-slope
part of a log-Iog pIot is equivalent to a straight line on the
pseudo-pressure difference vs.~plot, for the constant ~te
case, or l/q&vs. tiplot, forthe constant pressuremse.
The slope of this line is given by the following equations
This equation requires that permeability be known to
determine x} Unless k is known independently, it is very
di~cult to determine Xf
It should be emphasized that these two equations differ by
d2.
Calculation of Distance of Investigationn. The distance, y,,
m be calcdated by identifying the end of the ~lf-slo~
line, t.h, and comparing this time, in days, to the
corresponding dimensionless time, tDP.This value of (tDy)#k
is 0,5 for the constant rate case and 0.25 for the constant pwj
-. The corresponding distance to the outer bounda~ is
then given by the following equations for both cases
respectively:
ktek
..............................................(25)
=0113 i (@Wl)i

for constant rate and constant pwf, respectively:

200.8 T gg k teb
mm = ......................................(20) .............................................(26)
hdm fixf = 0159 / ($x,),
:.
i; ?
This boundary distance can be considered to be rninjnlunz
value if all the history data is still on the half-sIope trend. In
315.4T 1 this case, the latest production time is used instead of (/),b in
e h ~m ~b~xf
..........................(21)
Eqs. 25 and 26, This would be the distance of investigation
at the current time. Agai& these equations, require that
where: @rmeability be known. Of course, this may be a weti point
in determining, by this method since k may ~,$~ncetiin. .,
Am(p) =m(pi)-m(pti) .....................................(22)
Calculation of drainage area. The good news, is that the
drainage area can be calculated directly, without knowing
either k or x} For the model of Fig. 1, the d~inage area is
Calculation of ~Xf. We can calculate ~xj from the
given by: .
sIope of the fiploti mm or ma. From this slope, and
knowing vaIues for other resemoir parameters, we can use the A = 4xfy, ..................................................................(27)
foIlowing eqtitions for constant rate and constant pti
p@uction, respectively: Eq. 27 can be used to calculate drainage area from the
slope, nzm or mm, and the end of haIf-sIope time, t,k,for both
Cas
&xf= 200.8Tqg .......................................(23)
h~w mcR
90.8T qg t
A=4xf yc= r eh
.....................(28)
h(@#t)i rnCR ~
{}
fix = 315.4T
.........................(24)
--~da ~i)mcp

268
SPE 39931 PRODUCTtON ANALYSIS OF LINEAR FLOW INTO FRACTURED TIGHT GAS WELLS 5

bottom-hole pressure. Actually, it is seen that the dab-starts

=4x~yc=::::[{~cp~(P)}fi(2) bending downward ~er about fifteen years. Applying our

linear ftow analysis indicates that the well encountered the
outer boundmy at y, at this time. Note that this we~is riot
tendirig toward pseudo-radial flow since that would m&e the
where the drainage ~ A, is in fi2 but can be changed to curve bend upward from the half-slope, not downward.
acres by dividing by 43,560. Once again, if the well For this well, we need fiber analysis and finally
performance is still in the half-slope period, the latest time is confirmation by reservoir simulation since the variation of
- in Eqs. 2$ and 29 and the drainage area is considered to production rates and possible variation of pressures must have
be minimum @rev@. some effect on the decline curve. Nonetheless, the log-log
decline cmve =ma to& a usefil and easy anaIysis=ttiI for
Calculation of Pore Volume, Now we can also calculate the our example well.
pore volume, Vp We get a direet determination of Vp if we
mtitipIy Eqs. 28 and 29 by + and h. This maybe a big help, Fig. 7 shows the lfq~ vs. ~plot for the example well for
since + and h are often not known in tight gas formations. a period of nearIy 23 years. The cumulative production is also
fhe equation for Vpfor the constant rate is given by: a straight line when plotted vs. ~ (not shown in the paper),

~ =90.8T
The slope of the cumulative curve is 21mW. This tends to
smooth the data, but subtilties in the bounda~ effect may not

{}r
4g ~ be seen as easily.
...................................... (30)
(~t)i CR b
This figure was used to obtain both the slope, mm, and
end of half-slope time, t,k. The values are 0.00009 and 5,625
respectively. Other well data are given in Table 1. The results
and for the constant pwfcase by: of the calculations from Eqs. 24, 29, 31, and 32 are as
... follows: ,,

~=t::{~cp~(P)}&
(31)
We notice that the dculation of V does not depend on A = 2,872,000 ftz = 65.9 acres ,.:,. .
..

having good estimates of k, h, and+.

Calculation of OGIP. Once the pore volume is calculated,
then OGIP can be direct.Iy calculated by the following
quation
~G1p= v,(1 - Sw)
..............................................(32)
R system seems to cause linear flow, no pseudo-radial flow was
If gas compressibility dominates c,, the calculation of
OHP becomes insensitive to the value used for Sw.Thus, we
may determine OGIP accurately without actually having good
knowledge of k, h, +, and SW
Example Calculation
We choose to appiy our linear flow analysis techniques to
production data of a hydrauficdly fractured tight gas weIl in a
South Texti fieid. We &dmonthly rates for our plots. There
were no recorded presmtis m the earIy years, but it was
assumed that pressure was constant throughout the producing
time of the well.
3?iE 6 shows a log-log decline curve for the example welI.
The production rate foIIows a half-slope pattern for most of
its life. This is an indication of linear flow with constant
Vp = 3.% x 107rcf .
OGIP = 6.67 X109 SCf=
6.67 Bcf
The above anaIysis should be accurate if aII the assumed
conditions are perfeetly met. In the example \v~lI asweII-as
many other wells in the same field, the reservoir/fracture
deteeted. However, the conditions of constant rate or constant
Pwf were never perfect. In some cases, the actual flowing
conditions were not even close to either case. Therefore, it
was necessary to cotitrm or modi~ the analysis by -history
matching with GAS~17, a single phase gas simulator. The
simulation results were close to the resuIts we obtained with
the simple hand calculation technique. -_,
Discussion
The analysis presented here may be usefil for many fbctured
tight gas wells. This method based on Iinear flow anaIysis has
not previously appeared in the literature aIthough much of the
mathematics was previously avaiIable. We expect that there
will be increasing use of long hydraulic fractures in the future
and closer well spacing as well. These two wiII tend to filtill
the conditions of this linear flow analysis method.
....

269
e R.A. WAUENBARGER,
~ analysis here is simple but may have wide
application. It is worthwhile to discuss several aspects of its
application.
In a recent anaIysis of a field with about 60 wells, long-
krm linear flow was observed in about one-third of the wells.
Many of the other weIIs could not be analyzed because of
severe rate fluctuation caused by gas market problems. But
none of &. wells showed pseudo-radial flow theoretically
_ in weIIs with hydraulic fractures.
Ftite Conductivity Fracture% This analysis has been for
ate fracture conductivity. When formation permeability is
-mely low, the conductivity
... of the fracture will behave as
tiough it is relatively high in most cases. If the fracture
condti~-~ is significantly Iow (Fo less than 50) then this
tid appear as a skinw in long-term production behavior.
This type of behavior was analyzed by Agarwal, et a17. ~Is
tid be recognizable by a non-zero intercept on the y axis of
the 1/q~vs. &plot.
~ intercept was not noticed on any of the well+ in the
field analyzed. It should. be recognized, however, that the
early khavior was sometimes interrupted by the problems of
pu~ng a new well on production. It is interesting that
pressure buildup tests on the example well have shown early
flow to be dominated by hi-linear flow, indicating that the
ticture conductivity was limited. Still, this was not
noticeable on the long-term production behavior.
Possible Causes of Linear Flow Behavior. In Fig. 1 the
ticture length extends all the way to the drainage boundary
(xf = x.), This may not seem to be plausible in some cases,
However, there may be other reasons for seeing this type of
linear behavior.
Stright and Gordon18 reported long-term linear behavior
in tight gas wel[s which did not have particularly large
fracture treatments. They believed that this might be caused
~ natural fticturing in the formation caused by normal
tectonic processes in a relatively hard formation, These
titures would tend to be parallel to the fracture plane and
wotid promote Iinear flow even if the fracture length were
limited.
Fig 8 shows how directional fractures in a reservoir
wotid tend to change the reservoir into an equivalent long,
Skinnyw reservoir. The sketch on the left shows natural
tictures oriented in the x direction. Mer the transformation
which accounts for the anisotropic permeability, the
dimensions in the x direction are changed to:
.
x = xJ~ ...................................................... (3,3)
while the dimensions iri they direction are changed to:
A.H. EL-BANBI, M.E. VILLEGAS, .I.B. MAGGARD SPE 39931
.L
Y = yJ~ ......................................................(34)
It is likely that anisotropy is sometimes much more severe
than this example.
The calculated fixf from either Eq. 23 or 24 would be
ye product of the square root of the equivalent &~;;bility
given by Eq. 35 and the transformed dimension Xl .....
. -<
K=~~ ............................ ................................
..-.(35)
... -. .- ;.
However, the calculated drainage area, A, and consequently
the pore volume, VP,and the OGIP are correctly ... determined
even with the anisotropy.
KohIhaas and Abbott]g reported another possible reason
for linear flow behavior other than the geometry of Fig. 1.
They described massive tight formations which could be
expected to have layers of higher permeability. The pressure
drops in the higher permeability layers would then cause
vertical linear flow into the higher permeability layers. This,
too, would result in long-term linear behavior.
Layered Reservoirs at Linear Flow. The analysis given
here is for a single layer reservoir. If the well. produces from
mdtiple layers, it would still appear as linear flow if. flow is
,,
i~lnite acting= in alI layers. The calculated fix~ product
would be a thickness weighted average summation of these
values for the individual layers as shown by the following
~tion:
fix .
fn
;6 ..................................j .........(36)
j=l
Determination of Fracture Wngth. This is a continual
puzzle for a fractured well. In our fractured well analysis, it is
seen that the A XJ product is determined from the well
behavior. The conventional thought is that &rmcability must
W determined from a pre-fracture buildup test. This would
work in a simple reservoir, but it is eipected tl~at ~ny tight
gas reservoirs will behave like rntitiple-layered resew.oirs, In
these cases, the permeability averaging that takes place before
.
the fracture treatment and the ~k Xj averaging that takes
place after the fracture treatment may not bc related, Some
type curves of complicated cases may help this probIem but
the results may not be unique.
,;
.L
270
SPE 39931 PRODUCTION ANALYSIS OF LINEAR FLOW INTO FRACTURED TIGHT GAS WELLS _. ..- 7
.
-....=- .*
L2/mt3, STBID/psi
Forecasting. Once OGIP bs been determined, forecasting is Jg =gas productivity index, L4t2/m, Mscf,cp~/psiz.
atrai@tiorward. Usethe mostrecent data which has a reliable k =permeability, L2, md
vaIue o[itabilized rate and ~ttom-hole pressure. From this, a kj =fracture permeability, L2, md
productivity index can be determined directly, based on the k. =permeability in the Xdirection, L*, rnd
foIIowing equation: kY =permeability in the Ydirection, L2, md
K = uivaIent permeability for anisotropic reservoir,
?
L,md
J .[mb)-mbti)l mcp = slope of l/q~ vs. &, D12/Mscf
g
..=. ....................................(37)
9g ma = slope of ~ vs.&, psi2/cp D1n
-4

m(p) = real gaspseudopressure, fits, p:iaz[~

If the boundary effects have not yet been observed, this will be m(~) = mo) at average reservoir pressure, fit3,
a conservative forecast. The average pressure, ~, is psiazlep
determined from material balance, using actual cumulative m@Wf) = m(p) at flowing wellbore pressure, fit3, psizlcp
production. Forecasting is then just a matter of selecting time n = number of layers in a linear layered reservoir
intervals and applying material balance and productivity OGIP = Original Gas in Place, m3, scf
index equations at each fiture time interval. _p = absolute pressure, tit, psia
p =average reservoir pressure, fif~, psia
Conclusions PD = dimensionless pressure
1. Many weIIs in tight gas reservoirs have long-term PO =arbit~ry lower limit of nl@) integration, m/Lt2,
production which exhibits only linear flow. These wells do psia
not show pseudo-radial flow as sometimes expected with p~f bottom-hole flowing pressure, m/Lt2, psia
hydrmdic fmctures. qD = dimensionless flow rate
2. The equations for analyzing long-term (constant p.,) q~ =gas flow rate, L3/t, Msc~
linear flow production are different than for buildup analysis q = oil flow rate, L3/t, STB/D
(constant rate). Both sets of equations are presented here. SW= water saturation, fraction
3. Drainage area can be directly determined if the outer t = producing time, days
boundary effect has been observed. (If the resemoir is still ?W = dimensionless time based on Xf
infinite-acting, this would be a minimum value). Knowledge tDY = dimensionless time based on y,
of permeability, k, is not required. T = reservoir temperature, T, %
4. Pore vohune and OGIP can be directly determined if VP= pore volume, L3, ft3
the outer boundary effect has been observed. (If the reservoir w = fracture width, L, R.
is stiIl intinite-acting, these would be minimum values). Xj= fracture half-length, L, ft. ~ ,..
Knowledge of permeability, k, thickness, h, and porosity, @, x= = reservoir half-width, L, ft.
are not required. X. = transformed reservoir half-widtl; because of
5. If gas compressibility dominates cl, the calculation of anisotropy, L, R. ,.
OGIP becomes insensitive to the value used for Sw.Thus, we y. = distance from fracture to outer boun@~, L, R,
may determine OG]P accurately without actually having good z = gas deviation factor, dimensionless
kmowIedge of k, h, +, and SW. ~ =porosity, fraction
g =viscosity, tit, cp
Nomenclature * =gas viscosity, mfLt, ep
A = weI1drainage area, L2, flz.
B = oil FVF, dimensionless, RB/STB Subscripts
Bz =gas FVF, dimensionless, rcflsef ehs = end of half-slope period
Bxi =gas FVF at initial pressure, dimensionless, rcflscf i = initial conditions
c~ gas ~biIity, Lt2/m, psa-l j = layer index
c~= total compressl%ility, Lt2/m, psal
Fm = dimensionless fracture conductivity Acknowledgments
~ =formation volume factor, dimensionless We thank Tai Pham of Coastal Oil and Gas Corp. for sl]aring
h =net formation thickness, L, fit fidd data with us. We also thank the Reservoir Modeling
Jo = productivity index for constant p.f production, Consortium for providing funding for this project.
LZ/mt3, ST13/D/psi
Jm = productivity index for constant rate production,
.,

27i
8 R.A. WATTENBARGER, A.H. EL-BANBI, M.E. VILLEGAS, J.B. MAGGARD .=SPE 39931
.. ..
References Denver. Colorado, March 14-16, 1993.
1. Prats, M., Hazebr~& P. and Stickler, W. R.: Effect of 19. Kohlh&, C. A., and Abbott, W. A.: Application of
Verticrd Fractures on Reservoir Behavior-CompressibIe- Linear and Spherical Flow Analysis Teckiques to Field
Fluid Case, SP~(June 1962), 87-94. Problems-Case Studies; paper SPE 11088 presented at
2. Russe~ D.G. and Trui~ N.E.: Transiat Pressure the 57th Annual Fall Cotimence and Exhibition held jn
Behavior MVerticaIIy Fractured Re-oirsfl JPT (Get. New GrIms, LA, Sept. 26-29, 1982. .
1964), I 159-1170.
3--- Wattenbarger, R A., and Ramey, H. J.: Well Test
Interpretation of ~ertically Fractured Gas Wells: J. Pet.
Tech. (May 1969) 625-32; Tmns., AIME, 246.
4. Morse, R..A. and Von Gonten, D.: productivity of
Verti~y Fractured Wells Prior to Stabilized Flowfl
paper SPE 3631 presented at the 1971 Annual Technical
C@~_a and Exhibition, New Grleans, Ott.3-6.
5. -g= AIain C., Ramey, H. J. , Jr., and Raghavan,
R: Unsteady-State Pressure Distributions Created by a
WeIl With a SingIe ktinite-conductivity Vertical
Fractnr~n Soc.Pet.~.J. (Aug. 1974) 347-360,Trans.,
~.
6. Cinco, H., Samaniego, F. and Dominguez, N..: Transient
Pressure Bhvior for a Well With a Finite-Conductivity
VerticalFracture, ~(Aug. 1978), 253-264.
7. AgarwaI, R. G., Carter, R.D. and Pollock, C.B.:
Evaluation and Pdormance Prediction of Low-
Paability Gas We~s Stimulated by Massive Hydraulic
Fracturing: JPT March, 1979) 362-372; Trans. AlME,
267.
8. Cinco-Ley, H., Smiego, F.: Transient Pressure
Analysis for Fractured Wells: JPT (Sept. 1981) 1749-
1766.
9. Gringarta A.G.:=Xoir Limit Testing for Fractured
WelIs~ paper SPE 7452 presented at the 53rd Annual Fall
Technical Conference and Exhibition, Houston, Texas,
Oct., 1978.
10. Miller, F. G.: Theory of Unsteady-State Influx of Water
in Linear Reservoir, Joumai gj the Institute OS
Petroleum, Vohune 48, Number 467- Nov. 1962,365-79.
11. Nabor, G. W., and Barham, R. H.: %inear Aquifer
Behavior: JPT, (May, 1964), 561-563,
12. Carslaw, H. S., and Jaeger, J. C.: Conduction oJ Heat in
Solids, Oxford University ~ess, Second Edition, 1959.
13. W~barger, R. A., E1-Banbi, A., and Maggard, J. B.:
-y wfi for the Reservoir Modeling Consortium,
Texas A&MUniversity, May, 1996.
14. A1-Hussainy, R., Ramey, H.J., Jr., and Crawford, P.B.:
me Flow of ~ Gas Through Porous Media; JPT
~y 1966) 624-636.
15. Earlougher, R. C., Jr.: Advances in Well Test Analysis,
-graph Vol. 5, Society of Petroleum Engineers of
AIME, New YorkR~lIas, 1977.
16. Fra@ M.L. and Wattenbarger, R.A.: Gas Re~oir
Decline-curve AnaIysis Using Type Curves With Real
Gas P=bpressures and Normalized Timefl SPEl?E
(Dec. 1987) 671-6=.
17. @ W. J. and Watibarger, Robert A.: Gas Reservoir
weeting, SPE Textbook Series, Vol. 5, 19%.
18. Stright, D. H., and Gordon, J, I,: Decline Curve Analysis
in Fracf.ured bw Permeability Gm Wells in the Piceance
Bash paper S-E 11640 prewted at the 1983
SPEiDGE Symposium on Low Permeability held in

272
SPE M31 PRODUCTION ANALYSIS OF LINEAR FLOW INTO FRACTURED TIGHT GAS WELLS 9
.. ..- .

Table 1- Datafor example well.

Initialpressure, Pt
Mom-hole flowing pressure, *
~udo-~ure at p,, rn(pl)
6600
1600
2.67 X 10
p

@~:p
Xf
pseudo-preaaure at M, *) 1.69X108 pailcp
gas specif~ gravity, y~ 0,717
reservoir temperature, T 290 F
formation net pay thickness, h 92 ft.
fornlatii ~oany, + 0.15
averagewater saturath, SW 0.47
totsl cornpreaaibilii et pj, c 3.s3 x 10+ w
Ye

Xe
Fig. 1- A hydraulically fiacturad well in a rectangular resewoir.

100

10

0.1
aol 0.1 10 100
f;ye

Fig. 2- Constant rate nd constant pw solutions for closed linear reservoirs.

273
10 R.A. WATTENBARGER, A.H. EL-BANBI, ME. VILLEGAS, J.B. MAGGARD SPE 39931

-.

10

..
.
A
. .

ill
0.1 1 100 lm
f& ---
Fig.3- Constant production rate type curve for closed linear reservoirs.
9
.2.
,..
,-
.

. .

10

;
0.01 0.1 10 100
.,. ...- t;xf
Ha. 4- Constant ptitype curve for cIosed tinear reservoirs.
.-..
.
SPE 39931 PRODUCTION ANALYSIS OF LINEAR FLOW INTO FRACTURED TIGHT GAS WELLS 11

0.1

0.01
O.wl 0.01 1 10
tDye

Fig. 5- kfine curve for closed linear reservoirs,

Io,oou

,................

10 100 i,Ooo 10,OOO

t (days)
Fig. 6- iog-log decline curve for example well.
f2 R.A. WATTENBARGER, A.H. EL-BANBI, M.E. VILLEGAS, J.B. MAGGARD SPE 39931
. *:_ ~_._, -
.&
..=-

-.
0.035

0.010

0.005

O.m
o 10 m 30 40 80 90 Im
,.
~ (::ys ): 70

m. 7- Square rOOt Of time plot for the reciprocal of rate of the example well.

...

1111



_
1:2

.

1111
kx=16ky

2:1
Fig. 8- Effect of anisotropy from natural fractures, a square with kx = 16 kY transforms to a 4:1 rectangle.