Ch.

2
Fundamentals of Reservoir
Oil Flow Analysis
 Basic Fluid Flow Equations in Oil
Reservoir
Equations of:

• Steady-State Flow
• Pseudo-steady state
• Unsteady state

including oil radial diffusivity equation, basic oil

flow equations and various dimensional flow
geometry
 Steady-State Flow
• No change anywhere with time

• Based on the following assumptions:

1. Thickness is uniform and permeability is
constant.
2. Fluid is incompressible.
3. Flow across any circumference is a constant
 Radial Flow
Let pw be the pressure at the wellbore when the
well is flowing q reservoir barrels per day and a
pressure pe is maintained at the external radius
or drainage radius re.
Let p the pressure at any radius r. Then, at this
radius r:

where position q is in the positive r-direction

0
 Separating variables and integrating between
any two radii, r1 and r2 where the pressures are
p1 and p2, respectively,

re = external radius, ft, and is calculated

q0 = oil flow rate, stb/day from well spacing
k = undamaged permeability, mD rw = wellbore radius, ft
h = thickness, ft μ0 = viscosity of oil, cP
pe = external pressure, psi β0 = oil formation volume factor, rb/stb
 Average pressure

For linear geometry

For hemispherical geometry

To calculate undamaged permeability around
the wellbore, pressure drop (∆p)skin (negative),
due to damage or improvement could be
incorporated into the above equations as
 Exercise
A well is producing oil at a rate of 800 bbl/day with
a bottom-hole pressure of 850 psi from a reservoir
with very strong water drive (assume steady state).
What is the improved permeability if a pressure
drawdown analysis indicates that ∆pskin at this rate is
150 psi?
Given:
well spacing = 40 acres; dw = 6.5 in.; μo = 2cp;
βo = 1.255 rb/stb; h = 45 ft and pe = 1350 psi
Solution:
 Pseudo-Steady State Flow
• Pseudo-steady state (PSS) flow occurs during
the late time region when the outer
boundaries of the reservoir are all no flow
boundaries.
This happens when the
reservoir boundaries are
sealing faults or nearby
producing wells cause no
flow boundaries to arise.

The pressure throughout

the reservoir decreases
at the same and constant
rate.
where Vb is equal to pore volume of reservoir in cubic

ft and is equal to

Porosity-
thickness
Flow Equ. for Different Flow Regimes
permeability-
• For PSS: thickness

In general

If P = Pe

If average pressure
for circular drainage
area
Skin factor for PSS
Time to Reach Pseudo-Steady State

Dimensionless time Area-based dimensionless time

Table B-1 in the textbook

Generally, oil wells are developed on 40-acres
spacing and gas wells are developed on 160-acres
spacing.

For a vertical well located at the center of a drainage circle

or a square to reach pseudo-steady-state requires tDA = 0.1
 Example
For an oil well drilled at 40-acre spacing, calculate
the time to reach pseudo-steady state. Given:
μ = 3.75 cP; k = 45 mD; cti = 5.5x10-5 Psi-1;
φ= 12.5%; A = 40 acres
 Unsteady-State (Transient)
Unsteady-state flow occurs while the
pressures and/or rate changes with time.

The greater the compressibility of the fluid,

the more the unsteady-state effect of the
reservoir fluid.
Radial Diffusivity Equation
 Assumptions
1. Homogeneous and isotropic porous
media of uniform thickness;
2. Rock and fluid properties are pressure-
independent;
3. Darcy's law is applicable;
4. Gravity forces are negligible;
5. Single phase and fluid saturation in the
system is constant;
6. The porosity and permeability are
constant
Applying the principle of mass
7. Viscosity and compressibility of the conservation:
fluid are constant
 where is the volume of the small element of
thickness dr.

The equation can be expressed as

By applying Darcy's law for horizontal and radial flow:

 Isothermal
Inverse of compressibility
Radial diffusivity equation: hydraulic
diffusivity

Radial form

Transformation to the linear form in order to

obtain analytical solutions Differentiating with respect to time:

Nonlinear equation
 Laplacian

may be expressed in terms of linear, cylindrical, or spherical

coordinates

Linear Flow
Flow lines are parallel, and the cross-sectional area of flow is constant
which is the rectangular coordinate system in the one-dimensional
form:

Linear flow occurs in some reservoirs with long, highly conductive

vertical fractures.
Radial-Cylindrical Flow Radial-Spherical Flow

Cylindrical flow equation is used for most well test analyses.

It is based on several important assumptions:

(1) The single-phase liquid flowing has small and constant

compressibility

(2) k is constant and the same in all directions (isotropic)

(3) porosity is constant

(4) Pressure gradients are small.

 Example
A well is producing in a radial reservoir at a bottom hole
pressure of 5,500 psi. The reservoir pressure is 6,000 psi.
Oil viscosity is 0.25 cp and the formation volume factor is
1.5 bbl/STB.

If the permeability of the reservoir is 20 md, the thickness

is 30 ft and the drainage radius is 1,000 ft., at what rate
will the well produce? The well bore radius is 6".

If, by applying artificial lift method, the bottom hole

pressure is reduced to 3,000 psi, at what rate will the well
produce?
 Solution

Using Eq.

If the bottomhole pressure is reduced to 3,000 psia, we will get:

 Permeability of Combination Layers

Most porous rocks have spatial variations of permeability

and may be comprised of distinct layers, blocks, or
concentric rings of constant permeability. To determine
the average permeability of such a system, consider the
following cases.

Case of Layered reservoirs

without crossflow
Reservoir rocks are
interbedded with
impermeable shales or silts
such that no crossflow
exists between sand beds
 In this case: qt=ql+q2 +q3 and ∆pt = ∆p1 = …

Substituting Darcy’s equation

which reduces to

Finally
 Example
What is the equivalent linear permeability of four
parallel beds having equal widths and lengths under the
following conditions?

Valid also to average permeability equations for radial flow systems

in parallel beds
 Case II: Composite Reservoirs
A composite reservoir is described by variations in
properties occurring away from the wellbore. These
variations could be induced by drilling and completion
practices (invasion of fluids into the reservoir), by
injection of water during water flooding operations or
could be natural to the reservoir.
The system is simplified to a set of different blocks
arranged in series.

In this case: qt=ql=q2 =q3

∆pt = ∆p1 + ∆p2 + ∆p3
A similar expression can be developed for radial flow of multiple
beds in series
 Example
Consider a radial system comprised of three zones with
the following properties

Calculate the average permeability