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5 - Production From Undersaturated Reservoir
5 - Production From Undersaturated Reservoir
q
k dP
.
A
dL
Darcys Law:
the reservoir can be obtained by modelling the network as an array of cylindrical pores of
fixed diameter.
In the simplest situation we consider steady, one-dimensional flow within an
undersaturated oil reservoir. The following assumptions can be made regarding the flow:
1) Since the oil is undersaturated, a gas phase is not present. For this simplified
analysis, it is assumed that no water is present. Therefore, the flow has a singlephase.
We can write the differential mechanical energy balance for this flow:
The wall shear stress for laminar flow with a Newtonian fluid is:
Combining the equations:
The superficial velocity, Us , is defined as the average fluid velocity over a unit crosssectional area perpendicular to the coordinate axis of interest:
Us is not the physical velocity of the fluid.
It is only used to represent the velocity form of the volumetric flow rate.
A relationship between the interstitial and superficial velocities can be obtained using the
porosity:
Finally, we can combine the Mechanical Energy Balance and Darcys Law equations to
obtain an equation for permeability:
For this analysis, we assume that the variation in flow in the vertical and azimuthal
direction is negligible compared to the radial direction:
Darcys law for a horizontal, one-dimensional flow in radial coordinates can be written
as:
Example calculation:
Determine the drainage radius (re) and the radius at which of the pressure drop in the
reservoir occurs for the following data:
Pe = 3000 psi
h = 10
k = 100 md
= 1 cP
qo = 1860 STB/day
Bo = 1.2 RB/STB
re = 680 ft
rP = 15 ft
rw = 4
Observations: The radius where half of the pressure drop occurs (here 15 ft) is a
benchmark used in industry. For the example considered, the remaining half of the
pressure drop occurs over a radial distance of 665 ft. This emphasizes the importance of
ensuring no damage occurs to the formation region closest to the well. It should be noted
that the entire flow from the reservoir is concentrated in the small area associated with
the wellbore region, ultimately increasing the magnitude of the pressure loss (where ql is
constant but us varies with cross-sectional area).
Skin Effect:
Since the pressure drop within the well is a logarithmic function of radial distance from
the well, the reservoir region closest to the well is a strong determinant of the magnitude
of the overall well pressure drop. We can define an ideal pressure curve which is
associated with a uniform permeability throughout the reservoir. Deviations from the
ideal radial pressure profile in the near well-bore region can be incorporated into the flow
equation using an additive pressure drop term with a parameter known as the skin
effect, S.
This term can be combined with the ideal pressure drop term to give the following
equations:
At the drainage radius: (the limiting radius for the region of constant pressure boundary)
In oilfield units:
The skin effect pressure drop can have either a positive or negative value:
Positive S and Ps : This is an undesirable effect since it reduces the flow from the well.
There are several causes that result in a positive skin effect value:
generation of a gas fraction during flow through the well (causing a localised
restriction of the flow)
Negative S and Ps : Negative values are desirable and can be obtained through:
matrix stimulation in the near well-bore region resulting in higher permeability than
in the natural formation
induced fracturing in the reservoir with the effect of reducing the resistance to the
flow within the reservoir.
Typical Values:
S=5
S = -5
pe pwf
q
r
[ln( e ) s ]
2hk
rw
[ln(
re
r
r
r
) s ] [ln( e ) ln e s ] ln( e s ) ln( e )
rw
rw
rw e
rw
rw rwe s
And: rw = effective wellbore radius
In effect, we model the well such that the skin effect pressure loss is incorporated into the
overall reservoir pressure drop equation by modifying the wellbore radius. It is important
to remember that this is a model which provides the correct overall pressure drop. The
effective well diameter does not represent the actual diameter in the well. Based on the
typical conditions we obtain the following effective wellbore diameters:
Damaged well rw <rw
Stimulated well
rw >rw
Hawkins Formula:
Hawkins (1956) developed a formula which incorporated parameters more relevant to the
effected near well-bore region: rs represents the radius of the region, and ks represents the
average permeability of the effected region.
Consider the following system with the associated pressure profile:
We define two pressure drop values relative to the limiting skin pressure Ps:
Ideal: based on the permeability of the natural reservoir rock, k
Subtracting the real pressure loss from the ideal we obtain the skin effect pressure drop:
ps ( ps pwf ,real ) ( ps pwf ,real )
q
r
q
r
ln( s )
ln( s )
2k s h
rw
2kh
rw
Substituting with our previous equation for the skin effect pressure drop:
ps
q
s
2kh
s(
k
r
1) ln( s )
ks
rw
This approach attempts to model the relative effects of permeability impairment and the
penetration of the damage.
p wf (
1
) qo pe
J
Plot pwf versus qo, draw a straight line, the slope is (-1/J) and intercept is pe
For fixed fluid and reservoir characteristics, the index line is followed and the production
rate can be increased by reducing Pwf, the pressure at the wellbore. This can be
accomplished by incurring additional costs. For example, mechanical lift (pumping)
could be introduced.
J
hk
141.2 B[ln(re / rw ) s ]