Babbk. Beghery ye WORLDWIDE PRACTICAL PETROLEUM RESERVOIR ENGINEERING METHODS H.C. “Slip” Slider Penne Well Books PennWell Publishing Company Tulsa, OklahomaCopyright © 1983 by PennWell Publishing Company 1421 South Sheridan Road/P. O. Box 1260 Tulsa, Oklahoma 74101 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Slider, H.C. Worldwide practical petroleum reservoir engineering methods. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Oil reservoir engineering. 2. Oil fields—Production methods. I. Title. TTN871.$557 1983 0000 622'.3382 0000 83-4067 ISBN 0-87814-234-7 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transcribed in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photo- copying and recording, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of AmericaDedicated to Jennie, who continues to be an understanding wife—most of the time.Contents Dedication Preface Preface to Practical Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Methods List of Problems 1 Acquiring Reservoir Engineering Data Reservoir data requiring predrilling planning 2 Reservoir data obtainable early in the life of a well 4 Obtaining routine reservoir data 5 2 Reservoir Fluid Flow Fundamentals Characteristics of the Darey equation 11 Characteristics of various flow regimes 26 Steady-state flow 33 General problems in fluid flow calculations 46 Correcting for static pressure differences 55 Additional problems 61 Notes 66 Additional references 67 3 Unsteady-State and Pseudosteady-State Flow Physical description 69 Radial diffusivity equation 72 Constant-terminal-rate solution 79 Pseudosteady-state flow 93 Constant-terminal-pressure solution 103 Effective compressibility 115 Superposition 118 Linear unsteady-state flow 133 Spherical unsteady-state flow 133 Additional problems 135 Notes 140 Additional references 141 4 Well-Pressure Behavior Analysis Productivity-index tests 143 Constant-rate drawdown tests 154 Reservoir limit tests 159 Pressure-buildup analysis 168 Interpreting drillstem-test data 220 Type-curve matching 229 v xi xv xix W 143viii Contents Pulse-test interpretation 233 Additional problems 245 Notes 252 Additional references 254 Gas Reservoir Engineering 257 Natural gas properties 259 Material balance 273 Fluid flow in gas reservoirs 298 Equipment capacity limitations on deliverability 344 Predicting reservoir performance. 361 Predicting the behavior of microdarcy reservoirs 362 Determining the size of a gas reservoir 366 Additional problems 371 Notes 380 Additional references 380" Fluid Distribution and Frontal Displacement 383 Initial saturation distribution in a reservoir 384 Reservoir saturation distribution during displacement 405 Interface tilt during displacement 430 Additional problems 440 Notes 443 Additional references 444 Material Balance 445 A general material-balance equation 447 Pressure-volume-temperature (PVT) relationships 453 Behavior of produced GOR 457 Material balance with gas liberation 462 Pore-volume changes in material balance 464 Modifications of the general material-balance equation 468 General difficulties in applying material-balance equations 470 Predicting gas-drive behavior 474 Predicting water-drive reservoir behavior 486 Increasing primary recovery 500 Additional problems 507 Notes 511 513 Decline-Curve Analy: Decline-rate definition 514 Constant-percentage decline 517 Hyperbolic decline 523 Harmonie decline 540 Additional problems 541 Notes 542 ‘Additional references 543 Waterflooding and Its Variations 545 The waterflood displacement mechanism 546 Predicting total flood recovery 551 Predicting rate versus time performance 580 Predicting waterflood performance by analogy or from pilot-flood results 598 Waterflooding variations 608Contents. Additional problems 617 Notes 623 Additional references 623 10 Enhanced Oil Recovery ‘Steam and hot-water injection 629 In situ combustion 640 Micellar and surfactant floods 647 Miscible displacement 651 Polymer flooding 659 Feasibility analysis of EOR processes 661 Notes 664 Additional references 665 44 Computer Modeling of a Reservoir Preparing a reservoir modeling study 668 ‘An incompressible flow model 669 The general reservoir model 672 History matching 677 Notes’ 679 Appendix A Reservoir Engineering Symbols 681 Appendix B Empirical Reservoir Engineering Data 691 Appendix C Problem Solutions 733 Index 821 667Preface Reservoir engineering in the U.S. emphasizes the problems associ- ated with solution-gas-drive reservoirs. In fact, there are very few reservoirs in the U.S. currently producing under primary production that approximate steady-state conditions. Many years ago when only five or six days of capacity production were permitted per month, there were many water-drive reservoirs in the U.S. that produced under steady-state conditions. However, as we approached capacity produc- tion rates, most of these water-drive reservoirs became dominated by solution-gas drive because the production rates under this drive exceeded the water encroachment capabilities of the reservoirs. Thus, today most of the reservoir engineering techniques taught in the U.S. emphasize solution-gas-drive problems. Most non-U.S. production is from reservoirs that produce under steady-state conditions, but these reservoirs are operated by U.S. per sonnel trained in U.S. reservoir engineering methods that emphasize nonsteady-state conditions. Thus, it is common for pseudosteady-state and other methods to be misapplied in non-U.S. areas. For example, the Horner method is based on infinite-acting equations but is routinely applied to wells that are in steady state at the time of shutin; the Mat- thews, Brons, and Hazebroek method of determining average pres- sures, devised for pseudosteady-state reservoirs, is used to determine average pressures in steady-state reservoirs; and reservoir computer models utilize only one outside cell for the water drive. In addition to the misapplication of nonsteady-state methods to steady-state reservoirs, other conditions arise overseas that are not common to U.S. operations. Commingling production from different reservoirs is often done. Production ‘at very low drawdowns (20-30 psia) also is common. Fresh water may be produced from depths of as much as 5,000 ft, and hemispherical flow is frequently encountered. Also, wells may produce at 5,000-10,000 bid with almost no gas in solution (less than 60 scf/stb), The reservoirs may be so permeable that the producing gas-oil ratio from a solution-gas-drive reservoir can be controlled simply by raising or lowering the tubing. Wells may be com- pleted with an open hole because the explosives needed for perforating require military supervision. Natural reservoir temperatures at 5,000 f may be 300°F. In general, producing rates are in a completely differ-xii Preface ent range than those in the U.S. where a 1,000-b/d well is unusual, while such a well overseas would represent a marginal economie situ- ation. There, 50,000-b/d wells are not unusual, and 100,000-b/d wells are frequently encountered. Practical Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Methods was first pub- lished in 1976, based on the author's 25 years of experience in the U.S. oil patch with limited foreign- experience. Since that time, the author has gained extensive overseas experience through consulting and teaching in Japan, Germany, Colombia, Canada, Indonesia, Saudi Ara- bia, Nigeria, Angola, and England. From 1979-80 he spent eight months in overseas reservoir engineering assignments while on a pro- fessional leave from his duties at Ohio State University. This experi- ence convinced him that the current emphasis on reservoir engineering education and reservoir engineering methods does not adequately emphasize non-U.S. reservoir conditions. Consequently, Practical Pe- troleum Reservoir Engineering Methods has been expanded extensively so it will more properly emphasize operations outside the U.S. There- fore, engineers using this book can be better prepared to solve reservoir engineering problems worldwide. In addition, Practical Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Methods was written as a self-teaching book for practicing reservoir engineers, However, the book was used as a text in the petroleum engineering departments of several universities. Therefore, to facilitate its further use in formal education, the author has included additional problems following most chapters that can be used in teaching. Generally, one or more problems similar to the example problems in the text, which have complete solutions in appendix C, have been included at the end of each chapter without solutions. These problems have been designed for use as homework assignments The author also recognized that several subjects had been omitted from the first edition that were necessary to the general knowledge of the practicing reservoir engineer. Therefore, three new chapters are included. Chapter 1, “Acquiring Reservoir Engineering Data,” has been added because of the dire need for reservoir data and the general problems associated with obtaining such information. It tells the engi- neer specifically what data should be obtained and when it should be collected. A chapter has also been added on enhanced oil recovery so the engineer can learn to recognize reservoirs with EOR possibilities. This chapter provides methods to eliminate all but the most promising pos- sibilities by showing ways to obtain the most optimistic predictions of the behavior of proposed EOR projects. Promising prospects should then be referred to EOR specialists in the company or in a consulting firmPreface xiii A chapter also has been added on computer modeling of a reservoir. Here, the objective is to teach the engineer the fundamentals of com- puter modeling so he can intelligently and effectively use a reservoir model. No effort is made to teach the engineer to design and program a reservoir model since this is a highly specialized task. In addition, the book has been expanded to include the following subjects: + Waterflood predictions when a slug is used * Calculation of drive indices + Computer calculations of gas deviation factors + Capillary-pressure/residual-oil relationships + Applications of Qi functions to the infinite-acting prediction of gas-well behavior + Analytical prediction of combination water- and solution-gas- drive reservoir behavior + Rate-versus-time predictions for gas reservoirs + Vogel IPR data + Use of an apparent well radius to account for well damage with constant-pressure methods ‘Type-curve methods Pulse-test analysis + Real-gas functions + Spherical and linear infinite-acting flow and their applications + Analysis of microdarcy gas reservoirs * Gentry and Fetkovich methods of decline-curve analysis The biggest single objective of this book is still understanding.Preface to Practical Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Methods Petroleum reservoir engineering deals with the problems of maxi- mizing producing rate and ultimate recovery of oil and gas reservoirs. We face a constant threat of an energy crisis through gasoline short- age, curtailment of natural gas deliveries, shortage of home heating oil, manufacturing plant shut downs due to fuel shortage, and periodic electrical service interruptions. But few realize that all of these prob- lems could be pushed many years into the future by some major break- through in reservoir engineering. It is amazing, with the ever-increasing energy demand, that so few persons, even scientists, are aware of the inefficiency in oil and gas production. Most people believe that oil and gas are produced from underground caverns or holes and that once a well quits producing all of the oil and gas has been removed from that particular hole. Not so. Practically all oil and gas is produced from the almost microscopic-size pores that exist in underground rocks. These rocks have a texture almost like concrete. Imagine a block of concrete % mile on each side and 30 ft thick that is saturated with oil. Now, imagine drilling a 6-in. hole in the center of this oil-saturated block from which you remove the oil as it-flows into the hole. It does not require much imagination to recognize that very little of the oil would flow into the hole, that flow would be at a very low rate, and that when the flow stopped we would have produced a very small fraction of the oil from the cement block. This is the problem of reservoir engineering. Most commercial oil reservoirs contain oil that has gas in solution in the oil when production is initiated. As the pressure in the oil declines, the gas will come out of solution just like the carbon dioxide bubbles out of soda pop when the bottle is opened. This expanding gas helps push the oil toward the well. Nevertheless when the oil quits flowing only about 15% of the oil in the reservoir may have been pro- duced. It is seldom that as much as 25% of the oil can be produced from such a reservoir. ”xvi Prefai to Practical Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Methods Some oil and gas reservoirs may have water moving into them from one or more sides. This water helps to move the oil toward the well, but. the displacement is very inefficient. A reservoir such as this may produce as much as 50% of its oil before the produced fluid is 100% water. The job of the reservoir engineer is to produce oil and gas reservoirs in such a way that the recovery is maximized and the rate at which the petroleum is produced is maximized. Control of the amount of gas or water produced with oil, proper placement of wells, use of the proper distance between wells, injection of water or other fluids into the res- ervoir, and many other means are used to help maximize the recov- ery. Nevertheless, with the present state of the art today, it has been estimated that when all of the reservoirs that have produced oil in the U.S. are abandoned only about one-third of the oil that we know existed in the reservoirs initially will have been produced. In other words, twice as much oil as has been produced will remain unproducible in reservoirs. We know where this oil is; in most cases wells already exist, but we do not know how to produce it. This book provides the basic fundamentals and many of the useful practical reservoir engineering methods that can be used today. Some engineer or scientist who learns his reservoir engineering from this book may be the one to discover the key to unlock economically the capillary, interfacial tension and other forces that hold the petroleum in our reservoirs today. Such a breakthrough would fulfill the energy demands in this country for many years to come. In the meantime, practicing reservoir engineers throughout the world will carefully con- trol the production of the existing reservoirs to coax from them as much oil and gas as possible. This book is written for engineers and students who wish to learn and understand the methods of reservoir engineering. It is also aimed at the practicing petroleum engineer who unknowingly misuses reser- voir engineering techniques such as the Horner plot, Stiles prediction of flood behavior, gas-well testing procedures set forth by state control agencies, productivity index tests, and others because he does not understand them. When misapplied, these techniques yield more wrong answers than right. Most practicing engineers would prefer to do their engineering work on a “cookbook” basis that simply requires filling out forms. These engineers may not find this book to their liking because the author believes such an approach to reservoir engineering is impossi- ble and often dangerous due to the wrong answers obtained. On the other hand the engineers who are intrigued by theory, math- emathical methods, and computer analysis but have very little knowl- edge of what is required of the practicing engineer may find that thisPreface to Practical Petroleum Re: rvoir Engineering Methods xvii book is too practical and contains too many rules of thumb for their taste in engineering. However, it is believed that they too will profit from this book by gaining a better understanding of the practical and physical limitations on the reservoir engineering methods. The author’s objective is to provide the simplest possible method for obtaining accurate answers to practical problems. Unfortunately these methods cannot generally be applied by simply following a “cookbook,” filling out a form, or supplying data to a canned computer program; On the other hand the author has tried to avoid the presentation of math- ematically intriguing or scientifically interesting ideas that have little possibility for practical application. Several practical but unpolished computer programs dealing with reservoir engineering techniques will be presented or discussed in this book. The author feels that the digital computer is a godsend for res- ervoir engineering since so many of the practical problems must be solved by trial and error. Nevertheless, a computer program is pretty much of a “cookbook” solution to a problem, and consequently, only those computer programs that are completely understood by the engi- neer should be used by him. If the engineer cannot make the same calculations by hand given enough time, he should avoid use of the program. Any engineer who answers “a computer method” to the ques- tion, “What technique did you use to make this calculation?” is grossly overestimating the ability of the computer. A computer printout has a tremendous influence in convincing managers that your analysis is correct. Except for this political advantage, the digital computer should be looked upon simply as a very fast calculator. A considerable amount of time and effort will be spent in this book in “unlearning” many of the well-known reservoir. engineering con- cepts. For example, most engineers feel that a Horner plot should be used in virtually all pressure-buildup analyses, when actually, there are very few cases where the Horner plot is necessary or even theoret- ically correct. Everyone “knows” that if a pressure builds up to an unchanging value during a shutin period that this unchanging value is. the average reservoir pressure for the drainage area of this well. How- ever, it will be shown that this simply is not true. There are many such misconceptions that, are well known and widely misused in the practice of reservoir engineering, and it thus becomes necessary to discredit such ideas in order to avoid wrong answers. Little effort has been expended in providing the book with a formal logical organization. Rather than having each subject fit beautifully under a particular concise heading, it is the author's opinion that it is much more important to have the sequence of subjects introduced in such a way that the opportunity for understanding is maximized. This, it appears, is seldom the same presentation sequence that would result. from a formal, concise, logical, outline-type organization. The onlyxvilt Preface to Practical Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Methods thing that appears to be gained by a formal organization is the ability of the reader to find the subject material he desires. This objective will be attained by use of an extensive subject index. Thus, the sequence of subjects covered in this book conforms to the sequence the author has found most effective in teaching the material presented, and the out- line organization based on the most popular criteria leaves much to be desired. ‘There is no effort in this book to cover everything that is known on a particular subject or even to reference all of the useful information ona particular subject. The author has simply tried to present the methods that he has found most effective in nearly 25 years of reservoir engi- neering practice and industry teaching. This does not mean that only the methods presented herein or referenced are good reservoir engi- neering methods. But it does mean that the methods presented herein are good, useful, practical reservoir engineering methods. ‘The author has attempted to keep the working equations presented in this text to a minimum since development of a multitude of special equations for all possible special situations adds considerable confusion. to any scientific field. For example, the general material-balance equa- tion presented herein will provide the answers for more than 95% of the problems dealing with material balance without a multitude of special equations for conditions above the bubble point, with water drive only, with gas-cap drive only, ete. ‘The reader will note that problems are interspersed throughout the text. It is suggested that these problems be solved as they are encoun- tered and the solution compared with the complete solution presented in appendix C. If the text is conscientiously used in this fashion, the reader will find that a minimum of instructor guidance will be required. The text was prepared in this way so that it could be used by the many engineers who work on reservoir engineering or even petro- leum engineering in general. The extensive nomenclature list, com- plete with specific units, will be found helpful for self-teaching. Readers who desire a much easier (but much less effective) learning experience, can use the problems and appendix C problem solutions as example problems. However, in taking the easy mental route, he will end up with a lesser practical working knowledge of the material than his more ambitious colleague who attempts to work all of the problems before turning to thé prepared solutions. One additional note should be made concerning this book. The author has inserted.many personal opinions, evaluations, conclusions, etc. He is often criticized for doing this without specifically stating that these are personal thoughts. If the reader does not find a reference or logical proof of a particular statement he can safely assume that it is a personal opinion based on the author’s experience and knowledge of the subject.List of Problems Problem 2.1: Problem Problem Problem 2.4: Problem 3.1: Problem 3: Problem 3.3 Problem 3.4: Problem 3.5: Problem 3.6: Problem 3.7: Problem 4.8: Problem 4.9: Problem 4.10: Problem 4.11: Problem 4.12: Problem 5.1: Problem 5.2: Problem 5,3: Calculating permeability data from lab test 16 Radial steady-state flow from a damaged well 41 Determining average permeabilities 55 Correcting for static pressure differences 58 Application of the Pip function 82 Application of the Ei function 85 Calculating the time needed to obtain a particular pressure drop in a reservoir 87 Choosing a pressure-function solution 92 A pseudosteady-state flow-test analysis 101 Water disposal in an aquifer 114 Pressures resulting from multiple wells in a reser- voir 121 Accounting for variations in producing rates 126 Simulating boundary effects 130 Productivity-index evaluation 151 Using the Vogel IPR curve 152 Constant-rate drawdown tests 156 Determining the distance to a reservoir barrier from a drawdown test 163 Pressure buildup from an unchanging well pres- sure 176 Pressure-buildup analysis of an old well 178 Determining the average pressure in the drainage area of a pseudosteady-state well 199 Analysis of a two-rate pressure buildup 204 Pressure falloff analysis 208 Pressure buildup in a North Sea well demonstrating spherical flow 219 Analyzing DST data 225 Pulse-test analysis 239 Determining gas characteristics 273 Determining gas production for use in material bal- ance 278 Calculating the static bottom-hole pressure from sur- face pressure measurements 283xx Problem 5.4: Problem 5.5: Problem 5.6: Problem 5.7: Problem 5.8: Problem 5.9: Problem 5.10: Problem 5.11: Problem 5.12: Problem 5.13: Problem 5.14: Problem 5.15: Problem 5.16: Problem 6.1: Problem 6.2: Problem 6.3: Problem 6.4: Problem 6.5: Problem 6.6: Problem 6.7: Problem 7.1: Problem 7.2: Problem 7.3: Problem 7.4: Problem 7.5: Problem 7. Problem 7.7: List of Problems Application of graphical gas material-balance tech- niques 288 Calculating water encroachment in a gas reser- voir 297 Simultaneous solution of reservoir pressure and water encroachment 298 Turbulence effects in gas wells 302 Conventional gas-well back-pressure test 309 Adjustment of a gas deliverability curve for a change in well spacing or depletion 311 Using isochronal data 321 Determining approximate isochronal data from con- ventional drawdown data 329 Pressure drops in the producing system 350 Determining gas-well spacing for completing a pipe- line purchasing contract 355 Predicting rate versus time behavior for a gas reser- voir 362 Predicting the pseudosteady-state flow rate for a mi- crodarcy gas reservoir containing a massive nydraulic fracture 366 Evaluating a pr voir 370 Determining the static saturation distribution from reservoir capillary pressure data 394 Conversion of laboratory capillary pressure data to reservoir capillary pressure data’ 397 Using the J function to average capillary pressure data 400 Calculating a fractional flow eurve 415 Application of the Buckley:Leverett equation 419 Evaluating the frontal position by material bal- ance 420 Using the Welge graphical method to calculate dis- placement ina waterflood 428 Gas material balance 449 Gas-cap expansion 449 PVT lab data exercise 456 Determining gas-oil ratios 461 Material balance in a solution-gas-drive reser- voir 463 Calculating oil-zone shrinkage 463 Determining the original stock-tank barrels of oil in the reservoir 464 ure-buildup is a gas reser-List of Problems Problem 7.8: Problem 7.9: Problem 7.10: Problem 7.11: Problem 7.12: Problem 8.1: Problem 8.2: Problem 8.3: Problem 8.4: Problem 9.1: Problem 9.2: Problem 9.3: Problem 9.4: Problem 9.5: Problem 9.6: Problem 9.7: Problem 9.8: Problem 9.9: Problem 9.10: xxi Determining PVT data empirically 472 Predicting the behavior of a gas-drive reser- voir 479 Analyzing an undersaturated oil reservoir with a water drive 491 Analyzing a combination solution-gas-water-drive reservoir 498 Calculating drive indices 504 Using constant-percentage decline to calculate the fu- ture life and rates of a well 520 Using a plot of rate versus cumulative production dur- ing constant-percentage decline 523 Application of the hyperbolic decline curves 533 The change in reserves and life following a work- over 540 Saturation distribution in a waterflood 550 Evaluating gross swept volume 560 Calculating the total displacement efficiency and re- covery from a waterflood 575 Calculating reduced-time curves for use in a water- flood prediction 586 Calculating oi] and water production rates from re- duced-time curves 588 Calculating individual strata recovery curves 590 Calculating individual _— strata _injectivity curves 595 Predicting total flood recovery by analogy 600 Predicting the rate versus time performance by anal- ogy 606 Calculating injectivity curves when using a slug 6161 Acquiring Reservoir Engineering Data One of the biggest problems in reservoir engineering is having reliable, accurate data to work with. Much of the data requires prior planning to obtain, and much of the data must be obtained during completion of the well or during the initial stages of production. Although most data are relatively inexpensive to obtain, its economic value is difficult to explain initially. However, later in the life of the reservoir when such data are needed to predict the reservoir performance accurately or to determine the economics of a proposed enhanced oil recovery scheme, the economic value becomes clear and the cost of the data becomes inconsequential. Then it is too late to determine some of the most important data accurately.* It is the responsibility of the production manager to keep costs at a minimum. He has a staff of engineers that are paid to guide him so he does not do something foolish from an engineering standpoint. As indi- cated, much of the reservoir data must be obtained during drilling or during the initial testing of the well. However, consider the production manager's position. He has spent years and literally millions of dollars of the company’s money in exploring, drilling, and completing an explo- ration well. Now that he is in a position to start putting oil in the tanks, some engineer wants to produce the well at a very low rate and even suggests shutting in the well for an extended period to get reservoir data that may have some vague economic value 5-10 years from now. Obviously, the manager will often forego the reservoir engineering tests. To ensure that the engineer realizes the importance of reservoir data acquisition and has the knowledge necessary for the proper planning of such acquisition, the first chapter is devoted to this problem. It is realized that students and many inexperienced petroleum ‘engineers do not have sufficient background to be able to use this chapter until they have studied some of this book. It is recommended that such persons use this chapter as an appendix and come back to it-as needed.2 Worldwide Practical Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Methods The manager's situation is easy to understand, but will our posi- tions as responsible engineers be as easy to explain 5-10 years later when it becomes clear that we did not insist on the appropriate tests? We must put forth our best efforts to explain just what this lack of data can mean later when we cannot model the reservoir to explain where the excess water or gas is coming from or when we cannot conclusively show that a waterflood will work or when we cannot evaluate the appli- cability of some-as-yet undiscovered process to this particular reser- voir. At the time of drilling and completion, the engineer must be pre- pared with his best arguments and his most persuasive (but tactful) manner to influence the production manager. One argument is to show the possible financial gain: “If these data make it possible to recover just one-tenth of 1% of additional oil, the company will gross X addi- tional dollars.” This technique is usually impressive. If the tests are not made, the engineer should then write a letter to the file, with a copy to the manager, explaining his ideas. When he is later asked why the data were not obtained, the engineer can go to the file and indicate that the proper tests were requested. Reservoir Data Requiring Predrilling Planning Log data, core data, and perhaps drillstem-test (DST) data can only be obtained if plans are made to acquire the data prior to drilling the well. All of these data can be extremely important in reservoir stud- ies Logging programs should be carefully designed cooperatively with the company logging engineer, the geologist, and a representative of the logging service company. The engineer should plan to determine net-pay thickness, porosity, and saturations from the well logs. A suite of logs designed for this purpose must of course consider the particular type of reservoir rock, geographical area, anticipated reservoir fluids, and drilling methods employed. Most reservoir engineers do not have the detailed knowledge of logging methods necessary to perform such a design on their own, so use all of the help that is available. A word of caution is probably worthwhile. Geologists are not nearly as interested in porosities and saturation data as is the reservoir engi- neer—the geologist’s interest is principally in the indicated lithology. Consequently, we should be very careful that the logging company has quantitative capabilities. In general, it is dangerous to try to save money in logging when quantitative log data are needed. Obtaining accurate logs and accurate log interpretations is difficult under the best conditions, so be leery of “cut-rate” logging services. The need for core data is most often felt when enhanced oil recovery studies are made late in the life of a reservoir. When cores are availableAcquiring Reservoir Engineering Data 3 from storage, lab data applicable to a particular reservoir ean often be obtained by using restored-state lab methods. Otherwise. analyses must be based on empirical data and analogy with a corresponding amount of uncertainty. At such times cores and core data may be invaluable. Routine reservoir work requires a knowledge of the absolute per- meability, statistical permeability variation, and position of the origi- nal water-oil and gas-oil contacts. The permeability data are available ‘only from core analysis, and the original water-oil and gas-oil contacts are generally best evaluated from a study of core saturations. In addi- tion, the porosity values obtained from logs are backed up by core data, and core data often clearly indicate deficiencies in the logging program. Saturation data from conventional cores are of course relatively useless in terms of the absolute values obtained (see chapter 5). Core data do not make quantitative log data unnecessary because the log data are obtained on each well and a log samples a much larger portion of the reservoir.* Drillstem tests (DST) may be included in a drilling prognosis, The point that needs to be made is that a DST should be run in a quanti- tative manner that permits determining as much reservoir data as pos- sible. This problem is discussed in detail in chapter 4, but we should perhaps emphasize a few of the important points here. A DST provides a unique opportunity to obtain some good reservoir data early in the life of a well. Nevertheless, it is surprising the number of DST that are run in such a manner that these data cannot be obtained from the test data, i.e., only the production data are measured with sufficient accu- racy to be useful. Consequently, the engineer's first responsibility on a DST is to make clear to the service company that pressure data are desired of sufficient accuracy for quantitative analysis. Also, make sure the DST is designed in such a way that every effort is made to record the initial reservoir pressure directly. Briefly, this requires an initial flow period long enough to relieve the reservoir around the wellbore of the super pressure caused by the static mud pressure but a flow period short enough to avoid having to use a Horner plot to determine the reservoir pressure. A surface readout of the bottom-hole pressures and the multiple flow-rate capabilities of most DST equipment minimize the problems associated with the direct mea- surement of the initial well pressure. This equipment permits us to start with a very short flow period of perhaps 5 min, observe the pres- sure buildup, run another short flow period, observe the buildup, and continue this procedure until we are satisfied that we have observed the initial reservoir pressure. “The problem of how many development wells to core to obtain a good description of the reservoir is beyond th scope of this book. The most important point to establish is the need for a coring program.4 Worldwide Practical Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Methods When run with sufficient accuracy and care, DST pressure buildups allow us to determine the undamaged effective permeability and a measurement of the damage, e.g., the skin factor or the damage ratio. If the well completion plans include massive well treatments such as a massive hydraulic fracture, a test run before the treatment may be the only chance of determining the undamaged permeability. If well logs or other information indicates the presence of a gas-oil or water-oil contact in the producing reservoir, care should be taken to determine the position of such contacts as accurately as possible before production is initiated. Sidewall samples should be taken to see if the contacts can be accurately defined. If these results are questionable, sidewall fluid samples should be employed to define the contacts. Remember that when production is initiated, coning may take place and in some cases the ability to define the contacts from this well may be lost forever. in the Life of a Well ‘The undamaged effective permeability, measurement of well dam- age, initial gas in solution, initial reservoir pressure, distance to the closest reservoir barrier, and description of the drainage area can be most accurately determined during the initial flow period or buildup period of a well. Also, a fluid sample for laboratory analysis of the oil formation volume factor, gas in solution, reservoir oil viscosity, and gas deviation factor (PVT data) can best be obtained soon after the initial flow test. Initial flow tests represent one of the best but most overlooked sources of reservoir data. Initial fiow tests are run at a time when the conditions in the reservoir are best known. After a well has been pro- duced for a period of time, the gas saturation, reservoir pressure, and fluid viscosities may be questionable. However, during the initial flow period, all of these values can be accurately ascertained. Also, the well is infinite acting at this time, which may be questionable later in the well life. All of these things make it possible to evaluate a drawdown or buildup test accurately to obtain the undamaged permeability, a mea- surement of the damage, and some description of the drainage area (see chapter 4). Care should be taken to measure the initial produced gas-oil ratio accurately. This generally represents the most precise measure- ment of the original gas in solution. An initial flow test is not always easy to obtain, There may be a lot of pressure from management to get the well to peak production, and any delays such as a controlled flow test may be bypassed. In addition to this political difficulty, there are generally testing difficulties to overcome. The biggest problem is that during the drilling of the reser- voir section of the well, mud filtrate, mud particles, and cuttings are Reservoir Data Obtainable Ear!Acquiring Reservoir Engineering Data 5 forced into the reservoir, which damages the permeability around the wellbore. This damage would cause no testing difficulty, except that the debris is not stable initially and continues to move out of the for- mation during the initial flow period. This means that the Apskin—the additional pressure drop caused by damage around the wellbore—is being reduced continually during the initial flow period. An analysis of the pressure data under these conditions is impossible. With the well flowing at a constant rate, the bottom-hole pressure may be increasing instead of decreasing as it would if Apsxin were constant. Then it is necessary to continue to produce the well and observe the bottom-hole pressure until the pressure becomes constant or is declining. Then if a constant-rate drawdown test is desired, the well should be shut in until the pressure approaches the initial pressure and the constant-rate drawdown test can be initiated.* Once the reservoir pressure has declined to a value less than the saturation pressure—the pressure at which the first bubble of gas is liberated—it is very difficult to obtain a representative sample of the original hydrocarbons in the reservoir. This is caused by the difficulty of obtaining a sample with the correct ratio of free gas to oil. Bottom- hole sampling devices and sampling techniques are available for attempting to obtain a representative sample under these conditions, but the fact remains that it is very difficult to do. However, a sample of the oi] can be taken with a bottom-hole sam- pler while the well is flowing at a bottom-hole pressure greater than the bubble-point pressure with little or no difficulty. Thus, it is very important for the engineer to make certain that a PVT sample is obtained from a reservoir soon after production from that reservoir begins. Here again, there will probably be a reluctance on the part of management to approve shutting in the well or restricting production to get the flowing bottom-hole pressure as high as possible. However, this technique is required to obtain the PVT sample. Obt: g Routine Reservoir Data Meaningful reservoir studies must be completed so the ultimate oil and gas recovery and the production rates can be maximized. Such studies are based on material balance, which requires the average res- ervoir pressure and the corresponding cumulative production of oil, gas, and water by wells and reservoirs. Probably the only set of these data that is apt to be correct without any effort on the engineer's part is the total oil production. Since oil is "The design and analysis of a constant-rate drawdown test are discussed in chapter 4, Here, we simply want to point out that a properly run initial flow test provides useful reservoir information that may be auch mote difficult or impossible to obtain later in the life of the well.6 Worldwide Practical Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Methods sold, an accurate measurement of the amount of oil produced is obtained. When gas is sold, the total gas production also is known accu- rately. However, on a worldwide basis most gas produced as a result of oil production is flared—burned in a flare. The engineer should also take careful note of when gas sales begin because gas sales often are initiated sometime during the life of the reservoir when the demand for natural gas reaches a point that makes gas sales economical. Prior to the time when gas sales were initiated, the engineer should view the recorded gas production with considerable skepticism. It is generally accepted that in the absence of continued supervision, the field personnel responsible for measuring and recording gas production do not view this as an important task. Thus, measurements are seldom carried out with care and may even be boiler housed, i.e., recorded without actually having been measured. This is sometimes apparent from the nature of the data. For example, on one foreign offshore pro- duction platform that was handling several wells producing from a solution-gas-drive reservoir, the same produced gas-oil ratio figures were recorded for several months. Obviously, the gas production had not been measured during this period, although the total gas produc- tion was dutifully recorded. The engineer should be continuously concerned about the accuracy of the gas production being recorded when gas is not being sold, lique- fied, or used in some other manner. It is strongly recommended that constant-displacement direct-reading gas meters be used when pres- sures and capacities permit. It is much easier to check such readings than it is to check calculations from an orifice-meter chart. One production figure that is generally known even less accurately than flared gas is the produced water. However, water production is just as important in material balance calculations as gas and oil pro- duction. Of course, there is never any economic value to the water pro- duced with the oil. Consequently, the pumper—the person generally responsible for maintaining production records—worries little about the numbers recorded for water production. Generally, only a half- hearted effort is made te measure the water produced, and it is not unusual to find daily water production figures reported exactly the same year after year. Here again, the use of positive-displacement meters on tanks that are dumped periodically is strongly recom- mended, and the engineer should be continuously concerned about the accuracy of the water production being recorded. Even when the total oil, gas, and water production recorded for a field is accurate, the engineer must be concerned about the manner in which the production is allocated to the individual wells in the field. The allocation of production to the different wells should be on the basis of well tests that are carefully run periodically (perhaps every month)Acq ing Reservoir Engineering Data 7 on each well. Unless carefully supervised, the pumper may not put the wells on test each month and may use last month’s test as the basis for the test reported for this month. When excess production capacity exists, the pumper may be tempted to obtain his assigned production from one well rather than from ail of the wells covered by the alloca- tion. Picture the reservoir engineer madly trying to juggle lateral per- meability and porosity variations to match the pressure distribution when the production recorded for four wells was actually taken from one well. Here again, the engineer should have a continued obligation to ensure that well tests are carried out as designed, that production is taken from the well to which it is assigned, and that production is allocated to the individual wells as accurately as possible. Even when the total production of oil, gas, and water for a field is correct and the allocation of the production by wells is accurate, the reservoir engineer still has a very difficult task in allocating produc- tion from a well to the individual reservoirs if production is commin- gled. In the U.S., commingling production from two or more separate reservoirs in a common tubing string is carefully controlled. In most producing states commingling production is permitted only when it is necessary from an economic point of view. However, in non-U.S. areas it is common practice to produce as many as four or five separate res- ervoirs through one tubing string so little is known about how much of the oil comes from each reservoir. This technique is often used although each reservoir would support a well or dual or triple comple- tions—in effect, running two or three strings of tubing in one well—to avoid commingling Capacity production rates can be greatly reduced by commingling production from reservoirs of different permeabilities. Since essen tially the same well pressure must exist in each of the commingled reservoirs, it is impossible to produce each reservoir at its maximum rate. Also, when reservoir studies are necessary to determine how best to produce the reservoir, there is almost no logical means of determin- ing how much of the production has come from each reservoir. Then the total ultimate recovery must surely suffer. Therefore, when develop- ment wells are drilled, inform the manager of the difficulties that result from commingling production and design the development so each reservoir is produced individually. Ifa reservoir contains an initial gas-oil or water-oil contact, one of the biggest unknowns associated with the reservoir behavior is the amount of oil left behind the advancing gas-oil or water-oil contact. Perhaps the best way to determine these values accurately is to observe the advance of the contacts as the reservoir is produced. In very per- meable reservoirs produced with small pressure drawdowns, or pres- sure drops, the advance may be observed from the produced gas-oil