USMS

023546 Supplement to SPE 19341, Inflow Performance of a

Partially Open Horizontal Well
P.A. Goode, Schlumberger-Doll Research; D.J. Wilkinson,
Schlumberger-Doll Research

Copyright /99/ Society of Petroleum Engineers

This manuscript was derived directly from SPE 1'l3¥t ,
which appeared this year in a Society of Petroleum Engineers journal. The material
in this Supplement passed SPE peer review with the published paper. Permission
to copy is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words. Write SPE Book
Order Dept., Library Technician, P.O. Box 833836, Richardson, TX 75083-3836
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 SPE 2354 6

Appendix

In this Appendix we derive the formula for the inflow pressure of a partially open horizontal

well. We consider the geometry depicted in Fig. 2, and define dimensionless coordinates

(AI)

kx t 4>J.LCt 2
tD = --;:--L2
If' J.L Ct x
j SD = -k-sLx
x
(A2)

and dimensionless parameters

(A3)

(A·I)

(AS)

(A6)

Let us define
J.Lq
r;::-z:- PD (t.,X,y,Z,X,y,Z
. I I ') (A7)
27ry kxkyh
to be the pressure response at (X, y, z) due to a point source of flux q located at (x', y', ZI), and

define
J.L
r;::-z:- gD Sj
A (
x, y, Zj X,I YI ,Z' ) (
A8 )
27ry kxkyh
to be the Laplace transform of the pressure response at (X, y, z) due to a unit instantaneous

point source at t = 0 located at (x', y', ZI). The quantities 9D( s) and PD( t) are dimensionless,

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 SPE 2354 6

and PD(t) is the inverse Laplace transform of 9D(S)/S. Having defined these quantities, we will

for convenience drop the subscript D on all the coordinates and variables.

Let us denote by PwD(t) and 9wD(S) the quantities corresponding to PD(t) and 9D(S) for the

pressure response at the well. If we use the uniform flux line source and the pressure averaging

formalism9 ,lO then these quantities are related by

(A9)

(AIO)

where, for a partially open horizontal well, the integrations are over the union of the open

intervals and 2L p is the total open length.

The inflow pressure of a well is related to the long time behavior of the constant rate pressure.

At long times, the difference between the wellbore pressure and the average pressure in the

reservoir approaches a constant value

PwD(t)- <PD(t) > --+ PID as t --+ 00 (All)

where the average pressure grows linearly in time

21l"t
<PD(t) > = LxL y . (AI2)

In the Laplace domain the corresponding result is

9wD(S)-<9D(S»--+PID as s--+O (AI3)

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 SPE 23546

where the average response is

21r 1
< 9D > = L x L 11 -. (A14)
A ( )

S
S

In this Appendix we will derive the inflow pressure (i.e. PID) from the quantity 9wD(S). We

first consider the solution 9D(S) for a point source. If we use Fourier series to represent the

effect of the boundaries in the x and Z directions, then we obtain (when y = y' = Yw)
1r k1rZ k1rZ' n1rX n1rX' 3(sn k)
A

9D(S) = - L00
cos--cos-- cos--cos-- L
00
. (A15)
Lx k=-oo h h n=-oo Lx Lx JSn,k

where

(A16)

and
3(,8) = 1+exp(-2y!j1L y )+exp(-2y!j1yw)+exp(-2y!j1(L y -Yw))
(A17)
1-exp(-2y!j1Ly )

We will divide the pressure response (A15) into two pieces: those with k -::f:. 0, denoted by (A),

and those with k = 0, denoted by (B). Terms (A) represent the effect of partial penetration in

the Z direction. Provided the dimensionless distance from the well to the the outer boundaries

is large compared to the dimensionless height of the reservoir, the pressure will equilibrate in

the Z direction before the effect of the lateral boundaries is seen, and the k #- °terms may be
evaluated as if the reservoir were infinite. In this case the quantity:=: in (A17) is replaced by

unity, the Fourier sum in the x direction is replaced by a Fourier integral, and we obtain

A(A)( ) ~ k1rz k1rz' ( ') (A18)

9D S = 2 L..J cos h C O S -h- F SkiX,X
k=l

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 SPE 23546

where
k 2 7r 2
Sk = 8 + - - (A19)
h2
and the function F((3;x,x') (which is equal to Ko(.J'P Ix - x' I)) is given by
du
1 vu"l +
00
F((3;x,x') = cosu I x - x' I
o (3

oo du
- jvP Ju 2 _ f3 exp(-u I x - x' I). (A20)

When we evaluate the pressure at the well, then F is replaced by

Fw ((3) = 4~2
p
Jdx Jdx'F((3; x; x')
_ ~ [7rL p np ] F*((3) (A21)
L~ 2Vf3
_
2(3 + w

where

vVe see that as the Laplace transform variable s goes to zero, the contribution g~~(s) approaches

a finite limit
A(A)()
9wD s -+
SzD (A23)

where

-h
2L p h
(27rT w . 7rZw)
[ - 1n - - s m - -nph
h
-
Lp
(1---+-
3
Zw Z~)]
h h2

(A24)

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 SPE 2354 6

Note that, provided the perforated segments do not abut, the sum over k converges exponen-

tially.

The remaining terms (B), corresponding to the k = 0 terms in (A15), represent a two-

dimensional problem in the x - y plane. In fact these terms are simply the pressure response for

a set of fractures fully penetrating in the z direction. Note however that we are not using the

uniform pressure solution for these fractures, but rather uniform flux with pressure averaging.

For the point source (when y = y' = Yw) we have

A(B)() 1r ~00 -(
.::. Sn ) n1rX n1rX I
9D s = - L- --cos--cos-- (A25)
Lx n=-oo vs:;Lx Lx
where

(A26)

For the n = 0 term as s --+ 0 we may expand 3( s) to obtain

A(Bd()
9D S "J
21r
- - -
1+ - - [1-3 - -
LxLy s
21rL y
Lx
Yw
Ly
+ y~]
2' .
Ly
(A27)

These terms are independent of x and x' and so they remain unaltered on pressure averaging.

For the terms with n i- 0 we may set s = 0 and do the pressure averaging to obtain

A(B2)( ) 2L x2 ~'::'n
00 - [ ~
np n1rXi. n1r L i ] 2
9wD s --+""22 L- 3 L- cos - - sm - - (A28)
1r L'P n=l n i=l Lx Lx
where
- - ( 2 2/L2)
'::'n=.::.n1r x· (A29)

Combining (A27) and (A28) we obtain as s --+ 0

A(B) 21r 1
9w D '" L L - + PxyD (A30)
x ys

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 SPE 2' 546

where
211"L y
P D=--
xy
[1 Yw Y~]
---+-
Lx 3 Ly L~
2L; ~ 3n [~
+--L.J-
11"2 L~ n=1 n 3
n1l"Xi. n1l" L i ] 2
L.Jcos--sm-
i=1 Lx Lx
(A31)

Thus the dimensionless inflow pressure Pm is given as a sum of two terms

PID = SzD + PxyD· (A32)

Equivalent Wellbore Radius

If the length of the well is short compared to the size of the reservoir, then the system will

go into radial flow in the x - y plane before the effect of the boundaries is felt. In this case

the system may be regarded as a fully penetrating vertical well with an equivalent wellbore

radius. It proves convenient to perform a partial evaluation of the Fourier sum before doing

the pressure averaging integral, so we first consider the point source solution in the x - y plane.

for which we have as s -+ 0 (when y = y' = Yw)

3n n1l"x n1l"x'
+2 I: -cos--cos--.
00
(A33)
n=! n Lx Lx
If we write

(A34)

and use the fact that both x and x' are close to Xw (compared to Lx and Ly) then we obtain

(as s -+ 0)

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 SPE 23546

- In 7r Ix-x'i + In (2 sm--
. 7rX +2~:=::
w ) 2 n7rX
LJ-cos - -
w

Lx Lx n=1 n Lx
(A35)

Note that the only dependence on x and x' (and hence the only dependence on the details of

the well geometry) is in the first term on the second line. For a fully penetrating vertical well

we should set I x - x'I equal to the wellbore radius r w , while for the horizontal well we should

average with respect to x and x' over the open section of the well and add the contribution SzD

representing the partial penetration in the z-direction. Thus the equivalent vertical wellbore

radius r ew for the horizontal well is given by

In r ew = - 5 zD + 4~~ JJ
dx dx' In Ix - x' I

+ 1: [E[Xlln(2XI) - Y,?ln(2l'/)] - 3L i L j ] ] (A36)

j<i 1=1

where
(A37)

(A3S)

Constant Pressure Upper Boundary

Using the formalism of this Appendix, it is easy also to derive the steady-state pressure drop

for the case where the upper boundary is a constant pressure boundary rather than a no-flow

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 SPE 2354' 6'

boundary. Provided again that the dimensionless distance from the well to the boundaries is

large compared to the dimensionless height of the reservoir, the pressure will reach steady state

before the effect of the boundaries is seen, and the boundaries may be ignored completely. In

this case we obtain

9wD S
()

=2~
L.J cos
(2k - 1)1I"z
2h cos
(2k - 1)1I"z' F. ( ')
2h w sk (A39)
k=l

where

(A40)

Substituting (A21) for F w we obtain as s -+ 0

(A41)

where

...!:- [In (~cot 1I" w) _ (1 _zw)]

Z
PuD = nl'h
2Ll' 1I"T
w 2h Ll' h

(A42)

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 SPE 23546

Nomenclature

Eo formation volume factor, RBjSTB [res m 3 jstock-tank m 3 ]

Ct total system compressibility, psi- 1 [Pa- 1 ]

h formation thickness, ft [m]

hD dimensionless formation thickness, LIE

J productivity index, STBjDjpsi [m3 jdjkPa]

kHe effective horizontal permeability Jk:r:k'll' md [m2]

kv vertical permeability (= kz ), md [m2]

k:r: permeability in the x direction, md [m2]

ky permeability in the y direction, md [m2 ]

kz permeability in the z direction, md [m 2]

Li half length of open segment i, ft [m]
Lp sum of open half lengths, I:~~l L i , ft [m]

L 1/ 2 half length of fully open well, ft [m]

L:r: length of the x side of the drainage region, ft [m]
Ly length of the y side of the drainage region, ft [m]

np number of open sections

P pressure, psi (kPa]

Pi initial pressure, psi [kPa]

PID dimensionless inflow pressure

PssD dimensionless steady-state pressure

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 SPE 2354 6

PxyD dimensionless pressure drop in the x - y plane

q production rate at the well, STBJD [stock-tank m 3 Jd]

r ew wellbore radius of an equivalent vertical well, ft [m]

rw wellbore radius, ft [m]

s Laplace transform variable

Sm mechanical skin

S zD dimensionless pressure drop resulting from flow

convergence at the well

t time, hours

x coordinate, ft [m]

Xi distance from the center of segment i to the left

boundary at x = 0, ft [m]

Xw distance from the left boundary to a reference point

on the well, midpoint between open extremities, ft [m]

y coordinate, ft [m]

Yw distance of the well from the boundary at y = 0, ft [m]

z coordinate, ft [m]

Zw distance of the well from the boundary at z = 0, ft [m]

I 0.577215... (Euler's constant)

J.L fluid viscosity, cp [pas]

1r 3.14159265...

1> porosity, fraction

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 SPE 23546

Subscripts

D dimensionless

s skin

w wellbore

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 SPE 2354 6

No-Flow or Constant Pressure Boundary

I 2L1/l
1
: )i:::::::;i!:::F - )1:1::::_ - JIHttW»-
~ J_J _
h ,
," 1 1
,"< x. >1 1
, 1 ~

Li
o x

Fig. 2 - Schematic of partially open horizontal well .

._,u