PRACTICAL WELL TEST DESIGN TO EVALUATE

HYDRAULIC FRACTURES IN LOW PERMEABILITY WELLS

A.D. LAIRD L. MATTAR
this article begins on the next page F F
PETROLEUM SOCIETY OF CIM PAPER NO. 85-36-8 THIS IS A PREPRINT - SUBJECT TO CORRECTION PRACTICAL WELL TEST DESIGN TO EVALUATE HYDRAULIC FRACTURES IN LOW PERMEABILITY WELLS by A.0 ' Laird L. Mattar T. Fekete and Associates Consultants Ltd. PUBLICATION RIGHTS RESERVED THIS PAPER IS TO BE PRESENTED AT THE 36TH ANNUAL TECHNICAL MEETING OF THE PETROLEUM SOCIETY OF CIM HELD JOINTLY WITH THE CANADIAN SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM GEOLOGISTS IN EDMONTON JUNE 2-5,1985. DISCUSSION OF THIS PAPER IS INVITED. SUCH DISCUSSION MAY BE PRESENTED AT THE TECHNICAL
MEETING AND WILL BE CONSIDERED FOR PUBLICATION IN CIM JOURNALS IF FILED IN WRITING WITH THE TECHNICAL PROGRAM CHAIRMAN PRIOR TO THE CONCLUSION OF THE MEETING. ABSTRACT When a low permeability well is hydraulically frac- tured, the test time required to acquire meaningful data and estimate both fracture and matrix paramet- ers from a single test is often impractically long. Using today's linear flow analysis techniques, the test can be designed to achieve more reservoir in- formation in less time. The general success of the stimulation, and the fracture half-length can be evaluated from two
short tests, one before and one after the frac. It is necessary to obtain a pre-frac or other in- dependent estimate of matrix permeability which can be combined with the linear flow data to yield an estimate of fracture parameters. By spending time on the pre-frac test, a greater amount of time can be saved by reducing the length of the post-frac portion of the test. INTRODUCTION This paper was written by and for the practising reservoir engineer. It collects and summarizes several important developments in pressure trans- ient analysis and emphasizes how to practically apply them to the
design and analysis of fractured well tests. It has been the authors' experience that quite often fractured wells are not tested properly, that the tests are long and expensive and fail to yield the desired practical evaluation of the success of _ the frac job. This is usually combined with the improper use of drawdown typecurves and semi-log analysis. These well-known conventional techniques need to be supplemented with other techniques that have been specifically designed to account for the flow regimes found in fractured well tests. This paper presents three main ideas; the Tandem- Root-
T plot, and the delta-t-equivalent-radial and delta-t-equivalent-linear type curves. These are all powerful and useful ideas which have been previously published but do not yet seem to be used and applied widely in the industry. The use of these techniques is illustrated with a series of simple and practical examples. -273-
THIS IS A PREPRINT - SUBJECT TO CORRECTION
PETROLEUM SOCIETY OF CIM PAPER NO. 85368
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PRACTICAL WELL TEST DESIGN
TO EVALUATE HYDRAULIC
FRACTURES IN LOW
PERMEABILITY WELLS
A.Dbraird
L. Mattar
T. Fekete and Associates Consultants Ltd.
PUBLICATIDN RIGHTS RESERVED
THIS PAPER IS TO BE PRESENTED AT THE 36TH ANNUAL TECHNICAL MEETING OF THE PETROLEUM
SOCIETY OF CIM HELD JOINTLY WITH THE CANADIAN SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM GEOLOGISTS IN EDMONTON
JUNE 2-5, 1985. DISCUSSION OF THIS PAPER IS INVITED. SUCH DISCUSSION MAY BE PRESENTED AT THE
TECHNICAL MEETING AND WILL BE CONSIDERED FOR PUBLICATION IN CIM JOURNALS IF FILED IN WRITING
WITH THE TECHNICAL PROGRAM CHAIRMAN PRIOR TO THE CONCLUSION OF THE MEETING.
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,- .
ABSTRACT
When a low permeability well is hydraulically frac-
cured, ehe cest eime required to acquire meaningful
data and estimate both fracture and matrix paramet-
ers from a single test is often impractically long.
Using coday's linear analysis techniques, the
test can be designed to achieve more reservoir in-
formacion in less time_ The general success of the
stimulation. and the fracture half-length can be
evaluated from two short tests. one before and one
after the frac.
It is necessary to obtain a pre-Erac or other in-
dependent estimate of matrix permeabilicy which
can be combined with the linear flow data to yield
an estimate of fraccure parameters. By spending
eime on ehe pre-Erac test, a greacer amount oE
time can be saved by reducing the lengeh of the
posc-frac portion of che test.
INTRODUCTION
This paper was writcen by and for the pract1s1ng
reservoir engineer_ It colleccs and summarizes
-273-
several importane developmencs in pressure trans-
ient analysis and emphasizes how to practically
apply them to the design and analysis of fractured
well teses.
Ie has been the auchors' experience that quice
often fractured wells are noc teseed properly, thae
the tests are long and expensive and fail to yield
the desired practical evaluation of the success of
the frac job_ This is usually combined with the
improper use of draYdown typecurves and semi-log
analysis_ These well-known conventional techniques
need to be supplemented wieh other techniques thac
have been specifically designed to account for the
flow regimes found in fractured well tests.
This paper presents three main ideas; the Tandem-
Root-T ploc, and the delta-t-equivalent-radial and
delta-t-equivalent-linear type curves_ These are
all powerful and useful ideas which have been
previously published but do not yet seem to be
used and applied widely in the industry.
The use of these techniques is illuscrated with a
series of simple and practical examples_
......
THE TM"DEM-ROOT-T A.NALYSIS :-[:THOD
Millheim and Cichowicz 0) originally dC'.monscrated
chat for a buildup tesc dominated by linear flow,
cne pressure Lransienc beh.l.Vior could be modelled
as:
allows ehe use of a varieey of drawdoun
type HO!,.lcver, be exercised
since Agarwal's ue is based on the assumpeion of
radial flow. and Hawkes (4) demons traced
thae further refinemenes are needed when
with a linear flow domina red well eest.
..,here
qgBg v<..
h xf koc
o
To emphasize this paine, and to differenelate
between Ag a["\o1a 1 's time function ocher
ones, ie shall be referred co in this paper as
ot
e
(r3.dial) or
DELTA-T-EQUIVALENT (LINEAR)
This equation is presenced Ln Uniced States field
unics and uses pressure to represent gas potential
Converced into metric and using real gas
pseudo-pressure, the equacion reads as follows:
- c
i !,.IS
Samaniego and Cinco-ley (5) published a eime func-
tion thae is similar co Agarwal's delta-t-equlva-
lent-radial but which is based on the assumpeion
of linear flow_ This tIme (Linear).
is also used r:o correct buildup daca fof use with
drawdown type curve where
.'ne re

, l
k=c J.,:
o
Wh3.c chis mean'S is. that, in a fraccured gas well
eese. where ehe pressure eransient behavior can be
adequaeely modelled by chis equacion, a ploe of
pseudo-pressure versus ehe tandem-root-t eime
funceion gives a ser3.ighc line of slope (me) which
is direceLy proponional '[.0 the Er3.ceure haLf-
lengch (xf) and che square rooe of the formaeion
permeaoilicy vk_ The iirs!. scep is co use a
curve to ideneiiy che linear flo\,,' dominaeed porcion
of the test and then dra\.,' it scraighc Line through
that poreion of che eandem--rooe-t plot_
In eheir paper, which is a useful rererence for
engineers dealing ,..,ieh frac:cured wells, Lee and
Holdiech cn examined the theory and applicacion
of che Millheim and Cichow:.cz (N-C) method and
proposed some Eurcher rnodificaeions.
In bor:h ehe modified and original H-C mechod, onl:I
ehe produce of xf (k is given. Therefore. in order
co calculate xf, an escimal.e of k must be made,
ideally from a cest analysis. [n the
3bsr=.nce of a pre-fracture l.est, an independene
t::!stimace of k can be made from core daca, pecro-
physical correlaeions, or Judgement based on
experie.nce .... ith ocher ..,ells in the same area and
formacion.
E:':AMPLES
In practice, all of these three new analvsi& eectl-
niques can easily be combined \lith the conventional
Horner and type curve ploes_ They can be used in
two 1) more information can be excracted
from exiseing data or 2) shoreer eesc programs
C3n be designed to yield the same information.
Some examples are given to illuserate ehe practic.J.l
nature of these eechniques. Simulated
buildup daca was used to allow different test pro-
grams and frac jobs to be run on the same "reser-
voir" _ The pre-frac model is an
homogeneous, isotropic reservoir wieh a posieive
skin, and low matrix permeabiliey co
a drillstem test on a tighe, damaged zone with a
downhole shut-in. The dimensionless solucion for
rhis model was preseneed by Gringareen. Bourdet,
Landel, and Kniazeff (6)_
The posc-frac modeL has che same maerix parameeers
with an infiniee conductivity vereical fraceurc
(ICVF) exr:ending into the reservoir. The dimen-
sionless solution for this model preseneed by
Gringareen, Ramey and Ragahavan (7).
To give more meaning to the specific
reservoir, fluid and time parameters have been
used inscead of the general dimensionless soLueions_
These parameters are:
DELTA-T-EQUIVALl:NT (RADIAL) Field Unies Meeric Units
p.
,
015 ps ia 27 680 kPa
,
T 158 F 70 C
q 0.5-3 :-1Mscf/d L4-85 e
J
m
J
/day

0_ 10 0_10
"., 0_316 fo 0.096 m
h 45 Eo
13,7
m
o
c

e
In an exce.llent paper, (J) presented a
powerful meehod of analyzing pressure buildup by
uSLng pressure dr3wdown type curves_ His meehod
correces che buildup daea an equivalent draw-
down rime funceion, delea-t-equivalenc
e Yo c.t
c
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