S.

Gerami 1
Well Testing
Module #1: Introduction
Shahab Gerami, PhD
1
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Well Testing
Basic theory and current techniques for well testing

Introduction
Review of basic fluid and rock properties
Basic definitions and concepts
Well Test Objectives
Components of Well Test Models
Characteristics of Inverse Solution
Mathematical Treatment of Reservoir Engineering Problems
Fundamental of Fluid Flow in Porous Media
Flow Tests
Pressure Drawdown Test
Multi Rate Flow Testing
Effect of Wellbore Condition
Build up tests
Derivative Analysis
Fractured Wells
Naturally Fractured Reservoirs
Gas Well Testing
Test Design and Implementation





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References
John Lee, Well Testing (1982)
C. S. Matthews and D. G. Russell, Pressure Buildup and Flow Test in Wells
(1967)
Robert Earlougher, Advances in Well Test Analysis (1977)
Canadian Energy Resources Conservation Board, Theory and Practice of the
Testing of Gas Wells (1975)
Roland Horn, Modern Well Test Analysis (1995)
Selected papers from SPE journals and symposium proceedings


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Well Testing
Basic theory and current techniques for well testing

Introduction
Review of basic fluid and rock properties
Basic definitions and concepts
Well test objectives
Reservoir management
Reservoir description
Decline curve analysis
Types of tests
Drawdown test
Buildup test
Falloff test
Interference tests
Primary reservoir characteristics
Components of well test models
Direct & inverse solutions
Input-system-response
Characteristics of inverse solution
Importance of analytical models
Mathematical treatment of reservoir engineering problems



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Economic Study and
Decision Making for the
Field Development

Reservoir
Information

Production Forecast
Field Data
(i) Well test data

(ii) Production data

Predictive Models
(forward solution)

Production
Analysis Models
(backward solution)
(i) Well test models
(ii) Material balance models
(iii) Decline curve analysis
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
Time (day)
R
a
t e
( M
S
C
F
D
)
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
P
r e
s
s
u
r e
( p
s
i a
)
Gas rate Wellbore pressure
Importance of Production Data Analysis
5
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Formation Evaluation
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Review of Basic Rock And Fluid Properties
The units of B are bbl/STB for oil and
water, and ft3/scf for gas
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Review of Basic Rock And Fluid Properties
8
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Review of Basic Rock And Fluid Properties

This is the value of the oil viscosity at RESERVOIR
CONDITIONS. It is a very strong function of reservoir temperature,
oil gravity and solution gas-oil ratio.

Below the bubble point pressure, the amount of gas dissolved in
the oil increases as the pressure is increased. This causes the in-
situ oil viscosity to decrease significantly. Above the bubble point
pressure, oil viscosity increases minimally with increasing
pressure.

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Review of Basic Rock And Fluid Properties
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Review of Basic Rock And Fluid Properties
The pressure difference between overburden and internal pore pressure is
referred to as the effective overburden pressure. During pressure depletion
operations, the internal pore pressure decreases and, therefore, the effective
overburden pressure increases. This increase causes the following effects:
The bulk volume of the reservoir rock is reduced.
Sand grains within the pore spaces expand.
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Review of Basic Rock And Fluid Properties
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Basic Definition & Concepts
Test: Measurement of (i) Rate, (ii) Time, and (iii) Pressure in controlled conditions.

Homogeneous formation: Formation with rock properties that do not change with
location in the reservoir. This ideal never actually occurs, but many formations are
close enough to this situation that they can be considered homogeneous. Most of the
models used for pressure-transient analysis assume the reservoir is homogeneous.

Heterogeneous formation: Formation with rock properties changing with location in
the reservoir. Some naturally fractured reservoirs are heterogeneous formations.

Isotropic formation: A type of formation whose rock properties are the same in all
directions. Although this never actually occurs, fluid flow in rocks approximates this
situation closely enough to consider certain formations isotropic.

Anisotropic formation: A formation with directionally dependent properties. The
most common directionally dependent properties are permeability and stress. Most
formations have vertical to horizontal permeability anisotropy with vertical
permeability being much less (often an order of magnitude less) than horizontal
permeability.
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Basic Definitions & Concepts
Initial reservoir pressure: Reservoir pressure before any production

Average reservoir pressure: The pressure that would be obtained if all fluid
motion ceases in a given volume of reservoir. It also is the pressure to which a well
will ultimately rise if shut in for an infinite period.

Flowing pressure: The pressure determined at the formation face during the
flowing periods of a well test.

Static pressure: The pressure measured in a well after the well has been closed in
for a period of time, often after 24 or 72 hours. When a reservoir is first discovered,
the static pressure equals the initial pressure. After production begins, the static
pressure approaches the average reservoir pressure.

Drainage area: If a well is flowed until boundary-dominated flow has been reached,
a certain area will experience a pressure drop. This area is called the Drainage
Area of a well. The boundaries of a wells drainage area could be physical
boundaries, such as faults, or no-flow boundaries from nearby producing wells.

Partial Penetration: When a well does not fully penetrate the formation, or the
perforations do not open up the whole formation, the reservoir fluid has to flow
vertically and the flow lines converge near the wellbore.


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Net Pay: This is the thickness of the formation that contributes to the flow of fluids. It is
determined from logs or core, and can be different from the gross pay or the perforated
interval. In the case of inclined wellbores in dipping formations, the net pay is measured
perpendicular to the angle of dip. Several examples of net pay are shown below.
Basic Definitions & Concepts
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The Objectives of Well Test
Reservoir evaluation
Deliverability (conductivity; kh)
Design of well spacing
Number of wells
Wellbore stimulation
Properties (initial reservoir pressure )
Potential energy of the reservoir
Size (reservoir limits)
Closed or open (with aquifer support) reservoir boundaries
Near well conditions (skin, storage and turbulence)
Reservoir management
Monitoring performance and well conditions
Reservoir description
Fault, Barriers
Estimation of bulk reservoir properties
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Types of Test
Type of tests is governed by the test objective.
Transient tests which are relatively short term tests are used to define
reservoir characteristics.
Drawdown Test
Buildup Test
Injection Test
Falloff Test
Interference Test
Drill Stem Test
Stabilized tests which are relatively long duration tests are used to define
long term production performance.
Reservoir limit test
AOF (single point and multi point)
IPR (Inflow Performance Relationship)
19
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Types of Test-Drawdown Test

Conditions
An static, stable and shut-in is opened to flow .
flow rate is supposed to be constant (for using
traditional analysis).
Objective
To obtain average permeability of the
reservoir rock within the drainage area of the
well
To assess the degree of damage or stimulation
To obtain pore volume of the reservoir
To detect reservoir inhomoginiety within the
drainage area of the well.
20
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Types of Test-Buildup Test

Conditions
A well which is already flowing (ideally constant
rate) is shut-in
Downhole pressure measured as the pressure
builds up
Objective
To obtain average permeability of the reservoir
rock within the drainage area of the well
To assess the degree of damage or stimulation
To obtain initial reservoir pressure during the
transient state
To obtain the average reservoir pressure over the
drainage area of the well during pseudo-steady
state
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Types of Test-Injection Test

Conditions
An injection test is conceptually identical to a
drawdown test, except flow is into the well rather
than out of it.

Objective
Injection well testing has its application in water
flooding, pressure maintenance by water or gas
injection, gas recycling and EOR operations.
In most cases the objective of the injection test is
the same as those of production test (k,S,Pavg).
Determination of reservoir heterogeneity and
front tracing.
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Types of Test-Fall off Test

23
A pressure falloff test is usually proceeded by an injectivity test of a long
duration. Injection then is stopped while recording the pressure. Thus, the
pressure falloff test is similar to the pressure buildup test.
As with injection test, falloff test, interpretation is more difficult if the
injected fluid is different from the original reservoir fluid.
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Types of Test

Falloff Test:
A pressure falloff test is usually proceeded by an injectivity test of a long
duration. Injection then is stopped while recording the pressure. Thus, the
pressure falloff test is similar to the pressure buildup test.
Interference Test:
In an interference test one well is produced and pressure is observed in a
different wells.
To test reservoir continuity
To detect directional permeability and other major reservoir heterogeneity
Determination of reservoir volume
Drill Stem Test (DST):
It is a test commonly used to test a newly drilled well (since it can only be
carried out while a rig is over the hole.
In a DST, the well is opened to flow by a valve at the base of the test tool, and
reservoir fluid flows up the drill string.
Analysis of the DST requires the special techniques, since the flow rate is not
constant as the fluid rises in the drill string.


24
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Primary reservoir characteristics
Types of fluids in the reservoir
Incompressible fluids
Slightly compressible fluids
Compressible fluids
Flow regimes
Steady-state flow
Unsteady-state flow
Pseudosteady-state flow
Reservoir geometry
Radial flow
Linear flow
Spherical and hemispherical flow
Number of flowing fluids in the reservoir.
Single-phase flow (oil, water, or gas)
Two-phase flow (oilwater, oilgas, or gaswater)
Three-phase flow (oil, water, and gas)


25
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Flow Regimes
26
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Reservoir Flow Geometry
Hemispherical flow
Spherical flow
Radial flow
Linear flow
28
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Components of Well Test Models
Well
Reservoir
Boundaries
Direction (Vertical, Horizontal)
Storage (Constant, Changing)
Completion (Damaged, Fractured and Acidized)
Homogeneous
Heterogeneous
Composite
Multilayer
Dual porosity
Flow boundaries (No flow, Constant pressure, infinite)
Geometrical boundaries (Circular, Rectangular)
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Direct versus Inverse Solutions
Input system + Output (?)
Direct solution
Inverse solution
Input System (?) + Output
Example of a simple system
Actual measurement compared
to the system
30
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Inverse Solution Compared to Actual System
Inverse solution can be used for the
identification of system characteristics

Inverse solution can result in grossly
erroneous answers

Whereas the mathematics is correct, the
utility of the results derived from this
mathematically process is questionable.
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Characteristic of Inverse Solution
Non-unique solution (the inverse
solution has its limitation)
A good looking history match is not a
good enough answer
32
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Input-System-Response
Reservoir
Mechanism
Mathematical Model
Input Perturbation Output Response
Model Input Model Output
Well test interpretation is essentially an inverse problem and in general is better
suited to analytical solution.
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The objective of well test analysis is to describe an unknown system S ( well +
reservoir) by indirect measurement ( O a pressure response to I a change of rate).
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Importance of Analytical Models
Focus on the main issues
Create a conceptual analysis
Pattern recognition and better understanding
Judgment( cause and effect)
Consistency checks
Groups that control response

Newton's law of cooling
( )
0 @
0
0
= =
=
t T T
dt
dT
Vc T T hA
p

( )
|
|
.
|

\
|
+ =

t
V c
hA
T T T T
p

exp
0

T
) (t T
S.Gerami 36
Mathematical Treatment of Reservoir
Engineering Problems
In the development and application well testing analysis techniques,
the preliminary aim is to come up with some practical methods
which will enable the engineer in gathering accurate information
about some physical reservoir parameters that play an important
role on fluid flow dynamics in porous media.

A properly developed mathematical formulation is a critical facet of
the methodology that will be used in interpretation.

Although the mathematics involved is relatively simple and
straightforward, a good understanding of the mathematical basis
together with the physical laws that control the dynamics of fluid flow
is essential.


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Mathematical Treatment of Reservoir
Engineering Problems


37
Physical model
Simplifying assumptions
Mathematical model
Choosing an appropriate element
Governing equation
Mass balance
Momentum balance (Darcys law)
Equation of state
Initial and Boundary conditions
Infinite acting
Finite acting
Solutions
Application
S.Gerami 38
r
w
r
e
p
w
Physical model
Simplifying assumptions
Single phase fluid flow
Fluid has a small compressibility
Darcys law applies
Flow is radial towards the wellbore
Rock and fluid properties are constant


1-D Radial Steady State Flow

p
e
q
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Average permeability in a region
Not
Permeability at a fixed radius

39
Drainage area: The reservoir area or volume drained by the well .
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Mathematical model Steady State, Radial Flow
Choosing an appropriate element
Governing equation
0 = Output Input
( ) ( ) 0 =
A + r r r
v A v A
r
p k
v
c
c
=

Darcys law
( ) ) ( exp
b b
p p c =
Equation of state
0 =
|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c

|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c

A + r r r
r
p k
A
r
p k
A

0
1
=
|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
c
c
r
p
r
r r
k

.... + A
|
|
.
|

\
|
+
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
|
|
.
|

\
|

A +
r
dr
dp k
A
dr
d
dr
dp k
A
dr
dp k
A
r r r r

Mass balance
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0
1
=
|
|
.
|

\
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
c
c
+
|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
c
c
r
p
r
r r
p
r
r r
k

0
1
=
|
|
.
|

\
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
c
c
+
|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
c
c
c
c
r
p
r
r r
p
r
r
p
p r

p
V
V p
c
c
c
=
c
c
=
1 1

0
1
=
|
|
.
|

\
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
c
c
+
|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
c
c
c
c
r
p
r
r r
p
r
r
p
p r

0
2
=
|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
c
c
+
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
r
p
r
r r
p
cr
0 =
|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
c
c
r
p
r
r
Negligible
0
1
2
2
=
c
c
+
c
c
r
p
r r
p
Governing equation
or
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Initial condition
w i
r r t p p > = = , 0 ,
( )
wf r
p p
w
=
( )
e r
p p
e
=
Boundary conditions
Solution
2 1
) ln( C r C p + =
1
C
dr
dp
r =
|
|
.
|

\
|
( )
) ln(
1
w
e
w e
r
r
p p
C

=
( )
) ln(
) ln(
2 w
w
e
w e
w
r
r
r
p p
p C

=
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( )
) ln(
) ln(
) (
w
w
e
w e
w
r
r
r
r
p p
p r p

+ =
Solution
( )
r
r
r
p p
dr
dp
w
e
w e
1
) ln(

=
w
r
dr
dp
hk r q t 2 =
( )
) ln(
2
w
e
w e
r
r
p p hk
q

=

t
r
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Assignment#1
Considering the flow of a slightly compressible oil (c
o
) in a
constant cross section homogeneous porous medium with constant
porosity, permeability and no initial water saturation (S
wi
=0) (see
the below figure)
1. Derive the governing equation (hydraulic diffusivity equation) for
one dimensional linear flow (X-direction)?
2. Obtain the solution to the above governing equation subjected to
the following conditions
Steady state flow
Constant pressure (p
L
) at X=L
Constant pressure (p
0
) at X=0

p
L p
0
X=L X=0
q