Schlumberger Fundamentals of Formation TestingForeword Overview Introxtuetion ‘Well testing applications Formation pressure measurement, Permeability and skin Formation fluid characterisation Reservoir characterization Well testing methods Openhole and cased hole, no completion Wireline testing Production or injection test with completion string in place Well testing objectives Exploration and appraisal well tests Development well tests Production and injection well tests Productivity well tests versus descriptive reservoir tests Goals of well test intexpretations Reservoir pressure Steady-state radial flow in reservoirs Transient flow Dyruamie Properties of Reservoin Rock Introduction Porosity Sandstones Carbonates Diagenesis and secondary porosity Natural fracturing Dissolution of limestone by leaching Dolomitization of limestone Diagenesis ancl porosity degradation Pesseabilty Abselute permeability Mobility Effective permeabilities Surface tension and weitability Surface tension Wettability Capillary pressute and saturation profiles in the reservotr Capillary pressure and capillary rise Fundamerals of Farmannn Tasting * Contsnes Contents ewes ernnawenwnw eeeSaturation profiles in reservoirs Inreducible water saturation Displacement capillary pressure and FWL Drainage and imbibition Capillary pressure and wettability ‘Quantifying relative permeabilities References Dynamic Properties of Produced Fluids ‘Components of hydrocarbons Classification of reservoir fluids Phase behavior of single-component systems Phase hehavior of multiple-component systems Phase behavior of reservoir fluids Nonvolatile oil Volatile oil Condensate gas Wet gas Dry gas PVT properties Data sources: Gas compressibility factor BOS: Basics of understanding Solution GOR and bubblepoint pressure FVEs Pind densities Viscosities Compressibilities Modeling fluid behavior and PVT properties PVT correlations References: Pressure Sensors Technology Introduction Mechanical pressure sensors Capacitance pressure sensors Strain pressure sensors Bonded wire sensors ‘Thin film sensors Sapphire sensor Quartz, pressure sensors Hewlett-Packard design Quartzdyne design Crystal Quartz, Gange Paroseientific design Quartztronies design Introduction to metrology of pressure transducers, Static parameters Accuracy Resolution Stability Sensitivity 20 py 2 BDynamic parameters 51 ‘Transient response during temperature variation 51 ‘Transient response during pressure variation 82 Dynamic response during pressure and temperature shock 52 Dynamic temperature correction on the pressure measurement 53 Calibration and evaluation tests 54 Well Testing Operations and Data Collection 55 Openhole wireline testing 35 Pressure profiling 55 Permeability anisotropy profiling 5B Miniproduetion tests 55 Representative fie sampling 56 Modular reservoir power cartridge 56 Modular reservoir hydraulies module 56 Modular reservoir probe single module 56 Modular reservoir sample chamber 60 Modular reservoir packer dual module 60 Flow-contral module MRCP 62 ‘Modular reservoir packer module 63 ‘Modular reservoir pumpout module 64 Modular reservoir fid analyzer module 64 Modular reservoir maltisample module 85 Cased hole wireline testing 67 Drillstern testing 67 Purpose of a DST oT Pressure-cantrolled tester valve 68 Intelligent Remote Iinplementation System 69 Universal Pressure Platform and UNIGAGE recorder 2 DataLatch recorder i DST sample chambers and sazviers 7 Other DST string configurations 7 Simultaneous perforating and testing 6 ‘TCP 8 WP B Well tests for TCP and MWP operations 80 Well tests in production and injection wells 80 Control of wellbore effects while testing 81 ‘Testing in pumping wells 2 Permanent pressure measurements 2 References, a4 ‘Test Design Considerations, 85 Introduetion 85 New wells: DST or wireline testing? % Production and injection wells 86 Workover wells 36 RO versus downhole recording a7 Pressure gauge metrology 37 Fluid sampling options 8 Operational constraints 88 Interpretation requirements 89 Furndamenale ot Formation Testing # Contents‘Test schedule and simulation Sunnunary of test types References Reservoir Fluid Sampling Tntromaetion: Representativity of resewair fluid samples Conditions for representativity Level of contamination Well conditioning ‘The FPE service ‘Wellsite sample validation and properties estimation Assessing bottomhole sample validity FPE analysis on bottomhole samples FPE analysis on separator samples Fluid sampling methods Wireline sampling Sampling during a DST well test Surface sampling. Production well sampling DST and hottomhole sampling of oi reservoirs Preliminary considerations Sampling new wells and undepleted reservoirs Sampling depleted reservoirs Sampling nigh volatility oil reservoirs ‘Sampling near-critical fluids DST and bottomhole sampling of gas reservoirs Preliminary considerations Boitombole versus surface sampling ‘Sampling procedures Sampling new wells and undepleted reservoirs Sampling depleted reservoirs: ‘Surface sampling Wireline tester ftwline fluid resistivity and optical properties Flowline resistivity Optical density Fluid coloration Scattering Gas detection Holdup indicators Wireline tester real-time fluid identification and contamination monitoring. Introduction and summary of methods Oil-hase filtrate contamination monitoring Direct sample methane detection: the LRA tool In-situ determination of PVT properties Advanced wireline sampling techniques Dual-packer fluid sampling Pumpout module performance Minirum permeability requirement Pampout time estimation Flowline and pump volumes m1 93 93 93 93 94 94 4 94 95 96 98 98 98 59 99 100 100 100 100 101 101 101 101 2102 102 102 103 103 103 163 105 107 107 109 110 ui i i 14 16 18 18 18 18 18 119 SchlumbergerControlled drandewa sampling Low-shock sampling Charged-chamber sampling ‘Gontro} of asphaltenes Heavy oil sampling Gas conclensate sampling Water sampling Guard probe sampling and fuid flow modeling References Static Pressure Applications Determination of static reservoir pressure Wireline tester pretests Supercharging Static pressure from buildup tests Reservoir pressure from limit tests Drawdown mobility ftom wireline testers Drawdown mobility Radius of investigation for drawdown Drawdown permeability Buildup mobility Pressure-deptt plots Reservoir flu density ftom gradients Virgin reservoirs Developed reservoirs Pressure probes in tandem or triplex Pressure profiles in horizontal wells Bifect of capillary pressure Applications of statie pressure Depth datum of pressure Reservoir pressure in producing fields IPR, PI and AOF potential Selective Inflow Performance References ‘Transient Testing Interpretation Principles Interpretation methodology IARF Line source solution to the diffusivity equation Wellbore storage and skin effects Wellbore storage effect Skin effect Combined WBS and skin effects Log-log plots and type-curve analysis Semilog approach Log-log approach Pressure derivative Attributes ofthe logslog plot ‘Type-curve matching Succession of events detected during a well test {uterpretation of drawdown tests ‘Validity of interpretation Fundamentas of Futmation Festing Contents 120 121 ww 128 128 123 123 124 124 125 125 125 126 107 128 128 128 129 129 130 131 131 133 135 136 rt 143 148 148 148 149 150 11 153 153 158 154 155 185 155 156 1567 157 167 158 158 159 160 162 162Miller, Dyes, Sutehinson plot and analysis ‘nterpretation of buildup tests Drawdown versus buildup Horner plot and analysis Multirate superposition plot and analysis Changing WBS Convolution and deconvolution ‘The convolution integral Rate noriwalization Deconvolution of afterflow rates Boundary conditions and reservoir flow models Inner boundary conditions Practured well Partially completed well Horizontal well Reservoir flow models Dual porasity reservoir Doutble-permeabitiny reservoir Composite reservoir Outer boundary conditions No-flow boundaries Constant pressure boundaries Mixed boundaries Numerical simulation of boundary conditions Specialized plots Anterpretation of gas well tests Pscudopressure and pseucdotime Pseudoskin References Advanced Applications of Transtent Testing Buildup mobilities from wireline testers Spherical and radial derivatives Buildup mobilities Radius of investigation of buildup Multiple well tests Horizontal interference tests Pulse tests: Conventional vertical interference tests: Anisotropic permeability determination using wireline testers Probe configurations: Rate of flow thiough the sink probe: “superflow” Flow regime identification Estimation of mobilities and storatisity Model verification Sensitivity analysis Influence of invasion MP1s with witeline packer testers PTs with wireline packer testers Multilayer tests. ‘Conventional testing approach 162 163 168 163 164 164 166 166 168 m1 1m im 1 12 12 172 172 173 173 113 173 73 Vid 174 174 175 175 175 16 17 17 17 Wi 180 180 180 182 184 186 186 186 188 188 192 192 195 wi 199 203 203,LRT overview 205 Interpretation of the LRT 206 Complexity ofthe interpretation 206 Model identification and intial estimates 207 History match 207 LRT example 207 Horizontal well tests an Flow regimes : au Interpretation ail ‘Use of simultaneous pressure and flow measurements m2 Bxammple 4 21 Example 2 214 ‘Tests in natueally fractured reservoits 25 Conventional tests 25 Openhole wireline tests 216 Multipoint gas well tests Multipoint well testing Flov-afterflow tests Iscehronal tests Modified istehronal tests 219 Interpretation 22 Impulse tests 223 Impulse vesting theory 23 Surface flow impulse tests 228 Closed! chamber impulse tests 225 Slug tests 226 Other specialized tests 22a Reservoir limit tests 2 Injection wei tests 231 Rod-pumping well tests 2 References 284 ‘Testing Interpretation Software a7 Introduetion 287 Conventional well test interpretation software 237 Data loading and editing facilities 287 ‘Quality-control facilities 238, Fluids and PVT module 238 Basic interpretation functions 2 Test design module... 239 Advanced interpretation functions 240 Changing well 240 Average reservoir pressure 240 Modeling of the variable downhole flow rate during drawdown periods ....240 Multilayer testing 240 Inflow performance analysis 241 Interpretation of multipoint gas well tests 2a Modeling of multiple wells | 2a Artificial intelligence and advanced regression 21 Interaction with a well flow model 242 Wireline test interpretation software 5 242 Fundamontals of Formation Testing @ ContentsSoftware used by Schlumberger Other Applications Rock stress determination oo Introduction... coe voveeeeeesnsenene 243 Operating technique ..... vests eeiteeesseeeeeneeeene 2483, Filtration test. . 244 Fractuving and shut-in decline ern Reopening test 0... 24d Flowack/pressure rebourd Lest 245 Limitations. 245 Bxample. . cece ceceeceeencee BAB Combined answers from wireline testers and NMR logs 3247 Bstimating the capillary pressure... 247 Comelating with MDT permeability... eee AW Identifying reservoir fluids. 250 Selecting samling deat 251 References 252 Symbols a 2 B58 Roman symbols 258 Greek symbols . 256 Marks - 259 Nomenclature . 263 Unit Abbreviations... 263Foreword Cost-effective formation testing is a vital part of modern oil and gas operations. As production companies pursue reserves in high-cost, high-risk environments, formation testing plays an increasingly prominent role in decision making. Complete understanding of reservoir properties and fluids is crucial from the first exploratory well to wells drilled for enhanced recovery in any field. Fundamentals of Formation Testing is the first of a series of Schlumberger reference books produced for current and future oilfield technical professionals, This document illustrates state-of the-art technologies with field examples from well testing applications to test design, sampling techniques, operations, and interpretation, We trust this information will reinforce the value of formation testing, Sami Iskander President, Wireline Clamart, France March 2008 Fundamentals of Formation Testing = Foreword xiIntroduction The general formation evaluation workflow consists uf delineating the reservoir using seismic information and wellto-well correlations, evaluating the volume of reserves, and then determining the fluids present and the ability to produce them. Logs provide initial infor- mation on the fluid type and producibility. Testing pro vides confirmation, detailed fluid properties, accurate pressure measurements and production evaluation. Forniation testing is the final evaluation step before the ‘well is put into production and provides essential infor- mation to design the well completion and production facilities ‘Iwo different technologies can be used for testing = Wireline formation testing uses a sonde that can be positioned at a selected depth in the formation to pro- vide accurate measurements of pressure and fluid type but limited production data, = Well testing uses a packer lowered on drillpipe or tubing. The tested interval is not precisely defined and downhole measurements are limited, but the ‘volume of fluid produced eriables complete evalua- tion of production potential, This book will describe the advantages and limita tions of both formation testing techniques and how they ‘complement each other Fundamentals o Formation Testing # Overview Overview Well testing applications ‘There are many applications of well testing, but they are srouped into four fundamental classes. Formation pressure measurement ‘This class of application uses the direct static formation pressure measurement, It includes static pressure measurement and depletion determination = determination of the inflow performance and pro- ductivity index (PI) of the reservoir and, in gas wells, ‘he absolute open flow (AOF) potential of the reservoir © dovormination of reservoir fuid density fiom gradients ® determination of reservoir Muid contacts = identification of reservoir vertical permeability banviers. = identification of vertical flow through layered sequences in developed reservoirs. = numerical reservoir simulation applications. Permeability and skin ‘The pressure and associated! measurements (e.g, down hole flow) are interpreted te yield reservoir dynamic parameters relevant to lui flow, such as formation per- meability, and any occurrence of skin (¢.g., formation damage) that would impair the flow. The measurements will help determine = reservoir permeability well deliverability ‘damaged or stimulated well condition vertical rock permeability the efficiency of stimulation treatments,Formation fluid characterization ‘The essence of formation testing is flowing the well, ‘which presents the unique opportunity to recover sam- ples ofthe reservoir fluid. It enables collecting representative reservoir samples = characterizing the Muid composition, its phase Uchavior and its pressure-volume-temperature (PVD) properties. Reservoir characterization The pressure response during a well test provides the charactetistic signature of reservoir fluid flow events that will be interpreted in terms af boundaries, hetero- sgeneities and reservoir volume. Tt enables © determining the total reservoir pore volume con: nected to the tested well determining the average reservolr pressure = determining reservoir boundary conditions such as impermeable barviers and constant pressure conditions = characterizing reservoir heterogeneities such as layered systems and natural fractures ‘© quantifying vertical and horizontal reservoir communications Well testing methods ‘The three primary ways to test a well are covered in the following sections. Openhole and cased hole, no completion Conventional deliverability tests, involving extensive sur face and downhole equipment, are designed to simulate the production characteristics of new wells. Figure 1 shows a typical surface offshore layout for an exploration ‘well test and a sketeh of the drillstem test (DST) string of downhole testing toals Wireline testing Wireline tests are performed mostly in open hole using & cable-operated formation tester and sampling tool anchored at depth while rese:voir cormmurtication is established through one or more pressure and sampling probes. Figure 2 shows typical configurations for testing and sampling with the MDT Modular Formation Dynamies Tester tool Production or injection test with completion string in place Production and injection well tests, performed using production logging tools, are conducted to obtain pres. sure and optional flow measurements, Figure 3 shows a skotch of a basic version of the PS Platfortn* new-gener- ation production services platform, equipped with a gas holdup sensor: During « well test, a particular flow rate schedule is applied to the targeted reservoir, using surface or down: hole fow control equipment (in the ease of conventional testing and production or injection well testing) or a. software-selected drawdown routine (in the case of wire: line formation testing). The resulting pressure changes and the flow rates (surface and optionally downikole) are recortled versus time, typically either inthe same well ot probe, or in a nearby well or probe during interference fests, From the meastired pressure response, and from Predictions of how reservoir properties influence this response, one can infer the values of these properties, Which include permeability, skin factor and other para- meters. A particular aspect of Well testing is formation fluid sampling, which is one of the main reasons wells, are tested. Well tests are quite varied in nature, Unlike logging runs, which consist of recordings of static formation properties such as density and resistivity, well tests must be designed before they are executed. Effective well testing must obey the design-execute-evaluate cycle, where the operations are first designed to target the measurement of specific parameters, then executed in the field, then evaluated—the evaluation expectedly yielding the values of the targeted parameters. If the ‘objectives ate not met, the evaluation feeds back into the design of future tests—sometimes also into the design of the test being performed—and the process continues through the design-execute-evaluate cycle to optimize the results versus the expectations. Because well tests can be designed to achieve many objectives under highly varied environmental and reser voir conditions, implementation in the field can be per formed in a number of ways, using manty different hard ware configurations and an extensive suite of interpretation methods. ‘This chapter will discuss the objectives of well testing (including the hardware and the measurement sensors used), testing data acquisition, interpretation, applica tions and software. A separate chapter will discuss for- mation fluid sampling. Schlumbergerm Water m Ol Ges Well steam Fulloore test sing 1. Firing head 2. Pertorated tal pipe 3. Fullbore recorder car 4. PosiTest® revievable ‘compression packer 1, Peessure transfer sub 6. Safety joint 7. Hydraulic jar 8. Fullbore rovorder corrier 8 0 Hydrostatic reference toot Fulbare PCT" Pressure Controlied Testor 11, Single-bal safety valve 12 Single-shot hydrostatic ‘overpressure reverse tool 18, Datalatch* electrical wiretine owmile recordartransmitter 14, Multiple ID roversing valve 18. Dil collar 16. Slip joins Subsea safety equipment 17. E-E Tree” retrievable well contral tree with glycol injection system 18, Retainer valve 19. Deop-sea hydraulic contol pod 20. \ubricator valve Surface equipment 21. Hoso bundle 2. E-Z Tee contrl unr and alyeal injection puma 23, Flowitead 24, Flawhead safety valve 26, Wicaline wellnead oquipment 2, Lagging skid unit offshore wireine ‘unit with COMPUTEST* wellsite ‘computer equipment 7. Date acauision units 28, Emergoncy shutdown system 29. Oata header 30. Choke manifold 31, Heator and steam exchangor 32. Three-phase separator 38. Oilmanifold 38. Surge tank 35. Transfer pump 26, Air compressor 37. Gas manifold 38, Supporting boom 38, Bumer “Wak ot Snumtaraer Figure 1. Typical atfshore layout for an exploration wel test Funeamentols of Formation Testing = Overviewi I a Blectric: Electric: || Electric Electric. Electric: i t - OFA® Optical snnse [gl wate —[E] orn Figure 2. Typical MOT configurations for formation testing and sampling k 24h Hl ' (72m) k ash t aan n ait n sa 4 (252 m) 1158 m1 Ce Cao eee tc) Cate oir Velocity, -¥ caliper cee aad Pena water holdup Reet et one-arm caliper, Cee eee Biren Pty | 3. Sketch of abasic PS Platform ool fr production lagging and testing in production and injection well | 4 ‘Schlumberger ' jWell testing objectives Well tests are conducted atall stages in the life of a reser voir: exploration, development, production and injection. At each of these stages, fests are performed with set objectives, using specific hardware and design options. Exploration and appraisal well tests At the exploration stage, tests are performed both with an opentiole wireline tester, to measure pressures and collect fluid samples, and with the drillstring, to simu- late production at the tine of the completion, A wireline tester is used (0 measure the static pres sures of all the permeable layers of interest, Pressure versus depth plots help establish the formation fluid gra tients and identify the uid contacts in the reservoir ‘The MDT tool can also be used with a packer module to perform a smaller-scale production test conventional DST is necessary because at the explo- ration stage the operator needs to know whether the: discovery is of commercial value. The objectives are to establish a production rate and the volume of the reser- voir, If production rates are low, the operator needs to know if it is because of poor reservoir deliverability or because of a high skin factor. In the latter case, flow rates could be increased if the skin were removed, and the well sould have better potential. If the volume of hydrocarbons in place, inferred from the initial test, was too small, the discovery would lose its eeonomie poten- tial even if production rates were high. A primary reason for testing exploration wells is to recover a fluid sample, This is the best stage at which to characterize the reservoir fluid, because the reservoir is in a virgin state and no fluid has been produced. In later stages of a reservoirs life, the fluid composition changes and the surface fhuid composition may not exactly match the downhole fuid composition. (This is especially true in two-phase situations such as eondensate reservoirs.) Beeause the fluid sampling program in an exploration well is particularly important, it will feature bott a wire. line sampling program (including the collection of PVT ‘quality sampies) and larger volumes produced during the DST operation, Development well tests During the development phase, the text objectives are different from those of the exploration and appraisal stages. Presumably the reservoir deliverability has been assessed and the reservoir fluid has been characterized. ‘The operator now needs to better understand the hydraulic communications in order to relate the reser- voir characterization to the geological model Fundamentals ot Formation Testng = Oveiview Formation testing at this stage predominantly von sists of openhole wireline pressure testing, The empha- sis is on static reservoir pressures, which are used to confirm fluid contacts and fluid density gradients, On that basis, the different hydraulic compartments of the reservoir will be determined and tied into the geologieal model. Often, field production has already started while additional development wells are being chilled. In the now wells, pressure gradients already may reflect the influence of the produetion on the reservoir pressure, On those wells, the reservoir simulator, if in place, will be used to predict vertical pressure profiles to be con- firmed by the wireline tester measurements. Any differ: ences would be used to refine the geological model and introduce suitable compartments in the dynarnie model, ‘This stage is crucial in reservoirs with a large number of stacked layers stich as deltaic deposits (which are the most. prolific hydrocarbon-producing reservoirs), Far these, wireline pressure measurements are an invalu able aid to reservoir dynamies characterization, because there is no other practical way of assessing vertical and lateral communications and the volumetrics of these small individual accumulations, This application cor: luibuted to the immediate acceptance of the first wire line testing tool, the RFT* Repeat Formation Tester. Until this too?’s introduction in the mid-1970s, distxib uted pressure measurements had been unavailable to reservoir engineers. The main objective of conventional testing, if per- formed on tke new development wells, is to measure any skin resulting from formation damage. If skin is absent, the wells can produce at their full potential. If a high skin is detected, it must be corrected before putting the wells on line, Another reason for testing development wells is to prepare them for stimulation operations, which may be necessary to produce them economically. This is common with many reservoirs in low-produeibility areas, where the operator needs an early return on invest- ments, When unstimulated production rates would be tuneconomical, the operator often spends as much as $1 million or more on extensive stimulation operations, such as hydraulic fracturing, Recovering this investment could take months. Conventional well testing is espe cially important to assess the productivity gains achieved through measuring skin, determining fracture length and its hydrautie conductivity, and assessing the financial risksProduction and injection well tests In the production phase, the objectives of testing shift from flow evaluation to reservoir monitoring, data col lection for history matching of reservoir simulators, and productivity tests to assess the need for stimulation. Well tests ate performed to check for skin resulting from migration of fines to the nearvellbore region, and to assess the need for acidizing to remove those fines, Partial completion effects are diagnosed and remedied by repertorating or by extending perforation intervals, Gravel-packed wells are tested to evaluate the gravel pack skin (which is often very large) and decide on any subsequent treatment. Most of these tests are performed using a pressure gauge suspended fom an electric cable or a slickline, or Using a production logging too) that will provide comple: mentary measurements sich as downhole flow rate. The complexity of tests will depend on the well and may vary from a simple buildup test to a series of step-rate tests intended to analyze the dynamie performance of com. plete multilayer systems, Cased hole wireline testing also may be performed to obtain formation pressures in layered sequences, collect samples of bypassed oil detected by saturation measure- rents and, in some eases, measure permeatilily Productivity well tests versus descriptive reservoir tests The interpretation of well tests is une af the most wide spread sources of dynamic reservoir data. Tests on oil and gas wells are performed at various stages of drilling, completion and production, The test objectives range from simple measurements of reservoir pressure to char- acterization of complex reservoir features. Well tests eat be classified either as single.well productivity tests or descriptive reservoir tests © Single-well productivity tests are conducted to ~ determine well deliverability ~ characterize formation damage and other sources of skin — identify produced fluids and determine their respective volume ratios ~ measure reservolr pressure and temperature — obialn representative Mid samples suitable for PVE analysis ~ evaluate completion efficiency — evaluate workover or stimbtation treatment, = Descriptive reservoir tests are conducted w — assess reservoir extent and geometry — determine hydraulic communication between wells ~ characterize reservoir heterogeneities ~ evaluate reservoir parameters. Goals of well test interpretations ‘Table 1 lists the interpretation objectives of typical well tests, Five types of tests have been considered: = opentole wireline test on an exploration or appraisal well = conventional DST on an exploration or appraisal well = openhole wireline test on a development well = conventional DST on a development well = cased hole test on a production or injeetion well, using a pressure gauge or a production logging tool, Reservoir pressure ‘The primary data obtained trom reservwir testing are continvous measurements of reservoir pressure versus tie; flow rate is typically controlled to follow a planned schedule. In effect, formation pressure is probably the single most important measurement in the production history, dynamics and economies of the field, Pressure measurements are used in volumetric calculations (reserves), dynamic reservoir property determinations (permeability), reservoir characterization (compart ‘mentalization), fluid characterization (phase behavior, fluid properties) and well completion design (lifting sys- tems). Pressure also provides information on the: evolu tion of reservoir energy and fluid contacts with time, and it is an essential input to reservoir sirmulation models, Further, repeated and comprehensive use of pressure measurements is fundamental to the suecess of prec: tion optimization programs. Such programs adress not only the well (self but the whole reservoir and even the surface facilities. In addition to well testing applications, reservoir pressure Lesting is used in © determining rock stresses and hydraulic fracturing characteristies © optimizing well flow characteristies and control of hydraulic losses optimizing surface production = determining material balance = characterizing reservoir energy ystemsTable 1. Target Objectives of the Interpretation of Various Types of Well Teste Exploration oF Exploration or Develapment Development Production or Appraisal Well Aparaisal Well Well Well Injection Wel, Openhole Wireline OST Openhole Wireline OST Cased Hole Wireline (Gauges or Production Logging too!) Pressure-dopth profile Yes Yes Vertical permeabilty bariess Yes Yes Reservoir fd densities Yes ‘Not etlerential from gradients pletion Reservoir fuid contacts Yes Nott itferentit depletion Vertical low patterns Yes ves from pressure profile Drawdown and buidup Yes Yes mobilities Anisotropic permeabt Yes Yes determination Fluid samples Yes Yes Yes Yes Representative uid samplos Yes Lie control Needs intial ‘Needs initial Needs initial annualiy reservoir flag eservoir id reservoir Tui6 Reservoir deliverability Kip Yes Skin factor Yes Yes Reservoir heteragensities Yes Yes and flaw model Yes Reservoir boundaries Yes J Yes. Yes Horizontal wel Usualy no Yes Yes exploration horizontal wells Hovzontal intacterence tests Yes Yes Vertical interference tests Yes Average reservoir pressure “es ves Treatment efciency Yes Layered reservoirs testing Yes Determination of Pl and Yes ‘Mutipoint gas well tests __ Yes _ Yes Injection well tests Flow measurements Possible but Yes Recammended Fundamentals of Formation Testing = Over vie‘The measurement commonly known as “reservoir pressure” is a measurement of the pore fluic pressure p, inva porous reservoir: The reservoir pore fuid pressure is the fraction of the overburden pressure that is supported by the fluid system, The other fraction, the effective stress 0," is supported by the rock. The overburden stress (0) is caused by the weight ofthe fhuld and rocks in the lithostatic column above the measured point. Pore pressure is linked fo rock stresses with the relation 6, =0, +p, w ‘The state pressure measurement always cesults from some form of transient test, where a specific volume of fluid is withdrawn from the wel betbre the pressures are allowed to stabilize. The efficiency of wireline testing, where static pressures can be aequired at the rate of possibly one measurement every few minutes, results from the small volume of the uid sample. Conversely, in conventional well testing, static pressures take much longer co stabilize only because of the larger amount of fluid witherawn, which creates pressure disturbances observable at rauch greater distances into the reservoir. ‘The term “sandface pressure” refers to the value of the pressure existing at the boundary between the reservoir and the wellbore, whether the reservoir flows (draw. down or flow tests) or not (shut-in or buildup tests). Ideally the sandface pressure would be the pressure measured by a wireline tester (considering the probe penetration to be nil) or the well pressure—static or flowing—measured at- depth in the well by a hanging pressure gauge ‘Do illustrate the relationship between the reservoir pressuire and the reservoir dynamic proyerrties, this book will review the essentials of steady-state (or stabilized) flow in reservoirs and the propagation of pressure in reservuirs under the effect of transient Now conditions. Steady-state radial flow in reservuirs Plow theough a homogeneous reservoir into 2 wellbore is corisidered radial when the flowlines are horizontal, par- allel and converge toward the wellbore axis, Infinite- acting radial flow (ARF) is a special case of transient flow regime illustrated in Fig. 4. In IARF, an ideatized cylindrical model can be used to calculate flow rates and describe the pressure distribution away from the well- bore Figure 4 nfnie-actng radia flow. Ifh is the thickness ofthe flowing interval, the cross sectional area of flow at distance r from the aus of the wellbore is 2nrh, and the flow velocity v through this area for a production rate @ is Q v= 2avh @) Darcy's steady-state equation can be written to express the flose velocity kay “dr v (3) where & is the reservoir permeability and jt is the reser- voir fluid viscosity Combining Eq. 2 and Bq, 3, we get Qu_dr ae 4 Onkh & By, 4 can be integrated in two different. wayss = From r = ry (te is the wellbore radius, where the pressure is the sandface pressute, Pyy) to" = re (re is the external or drainage radins, where the pressure is the statie pressure, p:), giving the steady-state flow rate 2k |B, — Py | nk = Pay} 6) SchlumbergerIn oilfield units, Tost p, ~ Py} 3) Ko ‘The distribution of pressure versus distance from che wellbore is shown on Pig. 5. The greatest pressure Joss occurs within a short distance (in this example, about 100 ft). The pressure distribution is independent of reservoir permeability. As pressure varies with the loga- rit of radius, the pressure measured at the sandface is little affected by the drainage radius in normal pro duetion conditions. On the other hand, because ty (hich in practice is taken as the easing oniside diame (et) can vary considerably, this parameter has a larger influence on both the pressure distribution and the flow rates, if “Lesnar eae a nl reas hanegtoon teeta . Paw oi 200 ~~ 30S aD Distance th Figure §. Pressure profile in real flow regime ‘This pressure profile applies only t laminar flow and slightly compressible (e.g, liquid) flows. At very high rates, and for compressible fuids (2g, gas), flow near the wellbore may become turbulent and pressure gradi: ents may become steeper than predicted by Fig. 5. In practice, the presence of skin often affects the pressute proiile away from the wellbore. Skin is 2 eondi- tion of flow impairment or enhaneentent close to the Fundamentals of Formation Testing wellbore (the skin") created by various conditions such as formation damage (or stimulation). Skin effect is the equivalent of a pressure drop added to (or subtracted from) the sandface pressure that would exist in the absence of skin. The pressure profile away from the well bore will be affected by the existence or absenee of skin, as illustrated in Fig 6. Pressure distribution fhe with skin damage Pressure distribution without damage Pressure Ps Figure 6. Comparison ofpressure profes with and without skin damage, Transient flow A step change in the production cate of a well causes & pressure disturbance that propagates radially outward into the reservoir at a velocity determined by the hydraulic diffusivity of the (otal reservoir and fluid system: @ ‘where @ is the reservoir porosity and C; is the compress ibility of the total reservoir and fluid system. The veloc ity of propagation is independent af the magnitude of the change causing the disturbance. This is analogous to the observation that the velocity of ripples caused by throw- ing a pebble into a pond is independent of the size of the pebble There are two basic types of pressure transient tests: 1 Pressure drawdown (ests are performed after the well has been shut in for a period sufficient to establish static pressure conditions, The well is opened and pro- dduced at a steady flow while the pressure (and option: ally the rate) change is observed at the sandface. = Pressure buildup tests are performed after the well has flowed for a period sufficient to establish a radial fiow regime, The well is closed while the pressare (and optionally the rate) change is observed at the sandface,Inoilfietd units, T.0skie| v,~ P, Q al) jaln| | 7 From to 7, ging the pressure response at distance 6) o ‘The distribution of pressure versus distance frum the wellbore is shown on Fig. 5, The greatest pressure loss ‘occurs within a short distance (in this exampie, about 100 ft), The pressure distribution is independent of reservoir permeability, As pressure varies with the loga- rithm of radius, the pressure measured at the sandface is little affected by Ue drainage radius in normal pro- duction conditions. On the other hand, because ry (which in practice is taken as the easing outside diame- ter) can vary considerably, this parameter has a larger influence on both the pressure distribution and the flow rates 15 from wellbore Prossure — Half total pressure drop Pressure distribution due to racial flow through a homogeneous formation Pre 10 mS SSO.SSCD Distance (i) Figure 5. Pressure prfile in radial ow ragime This presse profile applies only to laminar flow and slightly compressible (e.g., liquid) flows, At very high rates, and for compressible fluids (e.g, gas), flow near the wellbore may become turbulent and pressure gradi- ents may become steeper than predicted by Pig. 5 In practice, the presence of skin often affects the presstre profile away from the wellbore. Skin is a cond tion of flow impairment or enhancement close te the Fundomontals of Formation Testing # Overview wellbore (the “skin”) created by various conditions stich as formation damage (or stimulation), Skin effect is the equivalent of a pressure drop added to (or subtracted from) the saneface pressure that would exist in the absence of skin. The pressure profile away from the well- tore will be affected by the existence or absence of skin, as illustrated in Fig. 6, Pressure distribution bse with skin damage Pressure distibution ‘thaut damage Figure 6. Comparisor of pressure profes with and without skin damage. Transient flow A step change in the production rate of a well causes & pressure disturbance that propagates vadially outward into the reservoir at a velocity determined by the hydraulic diffusivity of the total reservoir and fluid system: — 8 one, ® where 9 is the reservoir porosity and 6} is the compress ibility of the total reservoir anc fuid system. The veloc ity of propagation isindependent of the magnitude ofthe lange causing the disturbance. This is analogous to the observation that the velocity of ripples cansed by throw ing.a pebble into a pond is independent ofthe size of the pebble. ‘There are two basic types of pressure transient tests Pressure drawdown tests are performed after the well has been shut in for a period suificient to establish statie pressure conditions. The well isopened nd pro- duced at a steady flow while the pressure (and option: ally the rate) change is observed at the sanciace. © Pressure buildup fests are performed after the well has flowed fora period sufficient to establish a radial flow regime. The well is closed while the pressure (and optionally the rate) change is observed at the sandtace,The “open” (or “flow") and "close (or “shut-in’) cycles can be generated at the surface by changing the choke or closing the master valve, or downhole by using a downhole shut-in valve or a wireline tester flow control schedule. Classic transient test analysis is based on solutions to the partial differential equations describing fluid flow through porous media in the period during which the flow around the wellbore is radial and has not encoun. tered any distant reservoir heterogeneities or bound- aries. ‘The radial diffusivity equation atterapts to model the radial propagation of pressure though a reservoir of specified characteristics (permeability, porosity, com pressibility), whore a fluid of specified properties (den- sii, visoosity, compressibility) is flowing, Inthe diffusiv ity equation, time is also a variable, which allows pressure modeling to be made both as a function of time and of distanee from sn observation point (typically the well). ‘The racial difusivity equation results from a combi- nation of three formulas = Darcy's law, presented in Eq. 3 = The mass conservation equation: (99) _ 1 a(pra) aor dr! © where p is the density of the flowing fluid and £ is the running time. = The equation-of state of a slightly compressible fluid: Lap. Pap (10) By making certain assumptions, the systema shown in Bqs. 3, 9 anal 10 simplifies, and the diffusivity equation can then be expressed in its most common form and applied to transient pressure testing. lade _ HG, dp oP uv ae ordr kat o The assumptions governing the validity of the radial diffusivity equation are as follows ® Isothermal conditions exist ™ Thore are negligible gravitational effects, = The Mowing fluid is single phase. = Tho reservoir is homogeneous, isotropic, incompress- ible and of constant porosity. = The permeability is independent of pressure. = The Muid viseesity 1s constant and independent of pressure The pressure gradients are small ® ‘The fluid is slightly compressible = ‘The fw is laminar (the velocity has no component normal to the flow). Whether the final assumption is satisfied depends on the Reynolds number for reserveir flow. The Reynolds number, Ve (Ea. 12) isa dimensionlessfunetion of fluid velocity », fluid density p, fluid viscosity u and eross- sectional diameter of flaw d stated in oilfield units as (2) At values of the Reynolds number less than 2000, the flow is laminar. This is the most common situation in practice. In some very high-rate oil wells, however, and in many gas wells (where fluid viscosity is low), the Reynolds number surpasses the 2000 to 3000 transitional range, and the flaw becomes turbulent, The diffusivity equation can still be used in those situations, provided pseudofunctions of pressure and time are considered to aconmt for the turbulence of the flow. ‘The radial diffusivity equation can be solved in many ‘ways. One of the tiost useful results applies to transient radial flow, where flowlines are horizontal, perpendicu- lar to the wellbore and convergent to it. In this case, the radial diffusivity equation is approximated to t py =2{ In| “2. 0.80907 al Lage |, (3) where ro, to and pp are dimensionless variables related to the corresponding physical parameters 7; ¢ and p by cy (a) and Qnkh =Ap——. 16) B= a0 (16) At and 4p are the elapsed time and pressure change, respectively, referenced to the end of the previous shut= in or flowing period. Schlumberger‘The formulation of pp enables us to calculate the pressure value following an initial disturbance (the trawdown) at any point in space and tine near the oigin ofthe disturbance (ice, the wel) An interesting result i that, at any specific time, the pressure disturbance is inversely proportional to In() ‘Thus, the magnitude ofthe disturbance is at @ maximum neat ils otigin (te wellbore) and rapidly diminishes away from the wellbore. Lowerpermeability reservoirs ‘would generate lower diffusivity 2nd transmit mmessure disturbances more slowiy Also, because the expression, of pp includes ite reservoir deliverability l/u, the higher the reservoir deliverability, the smaller the pres: sure differentials and vice versa. This explains why itis difficult to measure significant pressure differentials in high-deliverability reservoirs, where high-resolution pressure gages must be used. Another meaningful result concerns the radius of influence ofa pressure disturbance asa function of time. Itis intuitive that the longer the well test, the deeper is the region investigated. The derivation of the dimen. sionless pressure py shows that the radius of influence of pressure disturbance is proportional to the square root of time (in oilfield units) ae Es (mt) an Fundamentals of Formation Testing = Overvie This theory is shown schematically in Fig. 7, which explains why testing wells to observe distant reservoir boundaries rapidly becomes prohibitively expensive because of the time invetved. The following chapters describe the measurement technologies and the interpretation techniques of for- ‘mation testing. log t Figure 7. Propagation of a pressure disturbance as a function of time.Introduction Dynamic properties uf reservolr rocks are thuse associ ated with fluid flow. To qualify as a commercial hydro. cathon reservoir, a geologieal formation must exhibit two essential characteristics: capacity for storage and fluid Lransmissibility. The reservoit rock must be able to accumulate and store Muids, and when development wells are drilled, reservoir fluids must be able to flow relatively long distances under stall pressure gradients, Porosity, for example, is defined by opentiole logs as the Muid-filled fraction of a sample of reservoir rock Whether the same porosity would allow fluid flow depends on whether the pores are interconnected. Porosity AAs stated above, porosity is defined in petrophysics as the fluid-filled fraction of a sample of reservoir rock. ‘Typically a “static” parameter, porosity becomes of “dynamic" importance because all porosity is not neces- sarily interconnected. Vags (unconnected void spaces) and other isolated volumes of porosity that may occur in carbonates, do not contribute to the producible reserves. Therefore, it is important to try to characterize the porosity in a dynamic sense. ‘Sandstones Sandstones consist of particles of different sizes, called “grains”, therefore, the porosity is often termed “inter- granular” In sandstones, as long as grain size distribu tion is largely unimodal, porosity does not depend on grain size, Figure 8 shows the rhombohedral arrange- ment, which is the closest packing of spheres, giving a porosity of approximately 26.7%. It is clear that the porosity value does not depend on the size of the spheres. Of coutse the porosity of actual reservoir rocks never matches that model—it is affected by sorting, packing and grain size. Porosity must be determined from core analysis or from in-situ. measurements, acquited by wireline tools. Fundamentals of Formation Testing @ Dycannue Proportiss of Ke Dynamic Properties of Reservoir Rock hombohedrally packed spheres 226% Fiqure & Rhombohedeal arrangement of uniformly sorted grams Sorting reflects the distribution of grain sizes. Li ig. 9, the grain size distribution has four distinct eom- ponents, which are represented by different calors, Packing reflects how much of the pore space between the largest particles has been filled by the smaller patti cles. In Fig. 9, for example, more red particles could have filled the pore space, resulting in a tighter packing and lower porosity Vp Geain sorung, silt clay and ccomentation affect porosity Figure 9. The four components of grain size distribution,Carbonates Carbonates are dierent in texture because of their depositional characteristics, Some carbonates are made of grains (eg,, chalks, colitic limestones) and some are created by precipitation from ion-rich brines (evapor- ites) and do not exhibit a grainy texture, Others consist of the remnants of shells (coquinas) and corals (reefs); in these the porosity is not simply intergranular. Moreover, earbonates are prone to diagenetic effects that create secondary porosity—the porosity developed in a rock after its deposition. Porosity in carbonates is sometimes classified as = incerparticle~same as “intergranclas” in sandstones = intragranular—porosity within individual grains (Gvhen very small, sometimes called microporosity) * inererystalline—ocourring between individual erys- (als of calcium carbonate or dolomite (ean also be ‘categorized as microporosity or secondary porosity) = moldic—ereated by the dissolution of shell fragments and ovids (typfeal vf secondary porosity). Another feature of porosity in carbonates is lange, sometimes extreme, lateral variation. A localy tight ear bonate may be highly porous some distance away because diagenetic processes may create additional porosity by disso\ntion. Conversely, diagenesis may affect a locally porous carbonate by filling existing pores with cement. The scale factor will be particularly impor- tant and local data from core or logs must be interpreted carefully because the information may not be represen- tative of the entire reservoit Diagenesis and secondary porosity Diagenesis constitutes all the chemical and mectanical changes that oceur ina roek alter it has beer deposited. Diagenesis can either enhance or degrade the reservoir quality, depending on the process. Diagenetic processes that enhance the veservoir ‘quality often result in an inerease in porosity. In this case, the porosity és classified as secondary porosi Some secondary parosity ereation processes are natural fracturing, leaching and dolomitization. These are dis- ‘cussed in he sections below. ‘Natural fracturing Fractures are created when the local stress exceeds the fracture pressure gradient. Fractures ean be of strue- tural or tectonic origin, depending on the formation process. The porosity associated with a fracture system Js usually Jow; when a fracture is created, i¢ may subse- quently heal with minerals precipitated from subsurface brines. However, fractures can have very high permte- ability that results from the low tortuosity of the induced fluid flow path through them, Thus, natural fracturing is ‘often very significant for reservoir transmissibility Naturally fractured reservoirs are typical cases of “dual-porosity systems,” which show heterogeneous behavior in low characteristics such as exhibited during well tests (See Chapter Transient Testing Interpretation Principles). Naturally fractured reservoirs often ate characterized by the Warten and Root, model (Warren and Roof, 1962). In this model (Fig. 10), the fluids are stored mostly in matrix blocks that have relatively high porosity and relatively low permeability. These blocks are separated by fractures that have relatively low poros- ity and relatively high permeability. The flow of fluids to the wellbore initiates in the matrix blocks that feed the fractures around them. The fractures, because of their high permeability, in turn can feed fluids to the wellbore over large distances. Figure 10. Worren and Root (1962) model of a naturally fractured reservoir.Dissolution of limestone by leaching Calcium carbonate (CaCO) is highly soluble in water After deposition, waters in hydrodmamie motion through the reservoir can dissolve the rock matrix, leav- ing behind vugs or “solution channels,” which are pref- erential flow paths such as natural fractures that have ‘been enlarged by percolating waters. Solution channels can iiave both high porosity and permeability. They can be favorable to reservoir development, or detrimental, as ‘when the channel constitutes a direct underground con- Gait between two ateas of the reservoir, one water fooded and the other no. Dolomitization of imestone In a typical case of limestone dolomiization, magne- siumtich leaching waters replace limestone (0aC0:) with dolomite (CaMg(COs)2) 2( CaCO, }+Me™* => GaMlg(CO,}, +Ca’™ (a8) When replacement is complete, the resulting dolomite has a volume that is 11% reduced per unit weight of lime. stone. This reduction is caused by the differing density between the to minerals (271 gem? for limestone versus 2.87 gem? for dolomite), which creates a sec- ondary porosity network. The pore space oceurs between Individual dolomite rhombs and is also classified as intererystalline pore space. Dolomite also ean be formed by direct precipitation of the bicartenate moleetile in evaporitic sequences, but this is relatively rare. The increased density of dolomites over limestones creates a stronger, denser tock; so, dolomites can resist fracturing more effectively than limestones. Diagenesis and porosity degradation Diagenetic processes that degrade the reservoir quality include compaction, cementation, precipitation of authi- genic clays or other minerals, and many others of lesser importance. Of all these processes, healing of fractures, by precipitation of minerals can be particularly severe in carbonates. Open fractures may be filled with ior-rich waters, which under specific conditions of pressure and temperature would precipitate CaCO, or other minerals inside the fracture. This process may completely fll the fractures with mineral solids that destroy the fracture porosity and permeability, Under pressure generated by tectonic activity, crystalline quartz may also fil the fr tures, eventually forming quartz seams that destroy the porosity and permeability of the open fractures. Permeability ‘The permeability of a rock is a measure of its specific flow capacity and can be determined only by a flow experiment. Permeability was defined by Henri Darcs’s experiments with water filtration through unconsoli- dated sands (Barey, 1856). These experiments were sub- sequently refined i theoretical terms as derivable from the Navier-Stokes equation of motion of a viscous fluid (Uubbert, 1956). The results of these studies can be writ- {en for horizontal flow (that is, in the absence of gravity effects) as kedp <2. i) udr (1) where v is the How velocity, dp/dr is the pressure gradi cent along the flow, pis the fluid viscosity, and k is the proportionality coefficient that Darcy termed the “permeability.” Absolute permeability Darcy's formulation is written in Fig. 11 and repeated below. yp A a aust PB, Figure 11. Davey formulation tor abst permeaiy. L 7 ee A; (m-”) where py und pe are the pressures at the ore intertaces 1 and 2 in Darey’s experiments, @ is the flow rate {uough the core, 1 is the fluid viscosity, is the perme. ability ofthe medium, J is its length, and Ais the cross- sectional area of flow. Fundamontals of Fametion Testrig @ Oyntmuc Propernes uf Reservow Ruck 6Accoreting to By, 20, a tock has a permeability uf 1D if, for a liquid of L-ep viscosity, a pressure gradient of 1 dyne/em?/em through a core 1 em long induces a flow rate of L em per squate centimeter of cross-sectional area of flow. IC ean be shown that permeability has a mension of length squared, and that a permeability of 1D equals 1 pm ww=10" i) Plow experiments conducted on a sample of porous rmaterial (Such as a core) wil yield practically the same value of permeability regardless of the fluid used, pro- vided the saturation of that fluid is 100%. If the same pressure differential is used and ifa fluid of J-cp viscos ity ylelds a flow rate of L0 cm/s, then 4 fluid of 0.1-cp vis- cosity will yield a flow rate of 100 ems, and a fluid of 10-cp viscosity will yield a flow rate of only 1 exw. Thus, the pruduct Qu will remain constant and so will the eal: culated permeability, which then will be termed absolute. Grain size is a major factor affecting absolute perme. bility because it controls the total wetted surface. Bach grain is surrounded by a wetted surface in which fluid velocity is zero, Sheating forces are created between this, zeto-velocity layer and the passing fluids. Therefore, more energy (pressure differential) is consumed in rnoving a given quantity of fluid through @ fine granular pack (with its larger wetted surface and correspondingly higher frictional losses) than through a coarser gramlar pack of equal porosity. The greater energy loss in the fine Sranular pack translates into a lower permeability Permeability is a physical property of the porous medium, which is independent of the saturating fluid. However, a porous medium such as a reservoir rock may not exhibit the same value of permeability in all flow directions because of the natural heterogeneity of the rock. In moost reservoir rocks, vertical permeability is much less, sometimes by several orders of magnitude, than horizontal permeability. This is ealled permeability anisotropy. In faet, in mathematical terms, rock perme: ability sa tensor, a vector that has a variable scalar mea- sure depending on its orientation in space. ‘Thus, the measure of permeability will vary according to the flaw direction with respect to principal axes that can be taken anywhere arbitrarily as x, y and 2 in space. The permeability to Now in a direction 1, would then be ky, with &, fy and A, being the permeabilities along the x, y and 2 axes, respectively, and 8, 8, and , beleg the angles the w direction makes with the x,y and 1. axes. Ig = her 608 Oy + hy COS By + hy C08, —— (22) in practical applications, the 2 diteetion, is often taken as the vertical, and k, is equated to ky (no hori- ‘onal anisotropy) unless core analysis shows otherwise, or unvess formation dip is very high, in which ease, prin- cipal aves respecting the reservoir geometry can be chosen, In a simplifying case, the permeability anisoivopy is defined as fyi, where ki, anud ky are dhe horizontal and vertical permeabilities, respectively. ky and ky ave usually different from one another, with ky tueing much less that. This is because at the time af eposition the minimum potential energy cequitement caused rock particles to lay lenget-wise. Consequently, flow parallel to the layering would be easier than flow perpendicular to it ny pressure testing applications, the measured per meability is often the horizontal permeability (also called “cadial” because its measurement often stems from detection of radial flow in a reservoir toward a well bore). In pretest measurements with wireline testers, the flow is often spherical because the depth of invest: zation of the pretest is insufficient for the pressure dlis- tuvhance to reach a no-flow boundary such as a shale harrier. In conventional well testing, spherical flow is, also exhibited in cases of partial penetration or partial completion, When detected, spherical flow analysis will yield a “spherical permeability” k,, such that (3) Detecting spherical flow during a wel vest may bea good indication of the vertical permeability if the horizontal permeability can be determined otterwise, sel as from the radial flow period of the same well test. A number of hardware-specific applications such as vertical interference testing and multiprobe MDT test- ing have been developed to independently measure ver- tical permeability Mobility Although the Darey equation directly relates fluid flow rate to formation permeability, high permeability lone does not enable high flow rates, Fluid viscosity also info: ences the reservoir flow rate. The term that is directly related to flow rate is the mobility, the kit ratio. The concept of mobility explains why highsiscosity Muid areas (e.g, tar) are not commercial despite latge forma- tion permeabilities (sometimes several dareies) and why low-viscosity Mid areas (eg., gas) ean be commercial despite low permeabilities (sometimes less than 1 mD). Fortunately, pressure transient test interpretation is governed by the reservoir mobility &/j; in theory, tere should be-o need to input uid viscosity to calculate & from Ayu, This is the approach taken by the interpreta- tion of wireline tests, in which the mobility is considered to be the end product. In conventional well test analysis, ‘Schlumbergercon the other hand, the practice is to consider js as an input embedded in the A/ouC) constant, called the hiydraulic diffusivity. In termi of economics, however, kt isa more realistic indicator of the reservoir performance than just the permeability. Effective permeabilities Absolute permeability is observed when single-phase saturation conditions prevail, Strictly speaking, this ‘would only be realized in water-bearing reservoirs into Which Iydrocarhons never migrated. In hydrocarbon. bearing reservoirs, the measured permeability is close to absolute in single-phase Now conditions. Such conc tions are realized when the reservoir Quid is oll pro- duced abuve the bubblepoint pressure or gas produced above the dewpoint pressure. Furthermore, in these twa cases, water encroachment from any aquifer or injection system must not hare affected the original connate water saturation Inthe presence of more than one saturating fui, all the fluids will eventually become mobile. When more than one of the fluids is mobile, the permeability to any of the saturating Muids, measured in a core by a Darey type experiment, will yield values that are called the effective permeabilities to the flow of oil, water and kas—kiy, iy and Ky, respectively. The effective perme abilities always are less than the absolute permeability and depend strongly on the saturations of the flowing fluids. In practical work the effective permeabilities are normalized to the absolute permeability. The relative permeabilities kp, Kp ad yy t0 oil, water and £38, respectively, are defined as the ratios of the effective permeabilities to the absolute permeability. The relative permeabilities are dimensionless numbers that are always less than 1 by definition Because the effective permeabilities are also song. functions of the wettability of the reservoir rock and thus of the capillary pressure, tiey will be discussed in the Quantification of Relative Permeabilities section of this chapter. Surface tension and wettal Surface tension Surface tension represents a force created at the inter face between two immiscible fluids; for example, Debveen water in a glass and air in the atmosphere. In most of the water, individual molecules arrange them selves so that attraction between molecules is homoge: neous in all directions, as suggested by Fig. 12 ity Vapor Surface molecules pulled toward iquic Surface “bin Liquid Internal molecules atiractee equallyin all directions Figure 12. Surface tensinn at vapersiquid interiace At the surface, however, the water molecules luse a degree of freedom, The resulting effect is seen only at the edge of the glass, because in the center the mole cules of water can still range themselves to globally ‘cancel any imbalanee in attraction forces. On the edge, however, the imbalance createsa meniscus—a local rise of the water against the periphery of the glass. Water, which wets the glass surface more than ai, will show a positive moniscus. Mercury, which wets the glass surface less than ait, will show a negative meniscus (a depres sion instead of a rise). Another known effect of surface tension is to contract a bubble (for example, a drop of rain) in a spherical form. It can be shown theoretically and experimentally that a pressure difference exists across any curved fluid interface, and in the case of the bubble of water, the pressure differential across the water-air interface is 20 @) PrP, » where p andy; (In dynes/em*) are the pressures inside and outside the ubble, respectively; o (in dynes/em) is the surface tension. of the waterair interface; and r, is the bubble radius in centimeters ‘The surface tension ofa liquid can be measured easily, through the "ring" experiment (Fig. 13) in which surface tension exerts itself on twice the circumference of the ring (iwo concentric menisci), sa that fF 2m + (5) where F is the meniscus-breaking force in dynes and d is the ring diameter in centimeters. Fundamentals of Formation Testing # Oran Propsrtvs ot Rusti ow Ruck ”tnd In dynefem where: surface tension, dyne/om foree, dyne d=diameter,cm Figure 13. Measurement of surtace tension by tho “ring” methed Wettability ‘The tendency of a fluid to displace another lui from the surface of a solid is determined by the relative wetiabil- ity of the fluids to the solid. When air and water are placed in contact with a clean glass surface, water will adhere to the glass, showing wettability to water. If the glass surface is waxed, water will be repelled by air and contract into droplets, showing wettability to air ‘The contact angle can be used to express wettability (Fig. 14) because it results fom the molecular adhesion force of Fluic A in equilibrium with the adhesion force of Fluid B. Ifthe contact angle @, measured through Fluid Ais less than 70°, A is the wetting uid and will displace Fluid B from a solid surface. If the contact angle, still measured through A, is greater than 110°, B is the wet- ting fluid, Ifthe contact angle is between 70° and 110%, ‘wettability is termed neutral or mixed Fluid B Contact angle, 8 Figure 14. Contact angle as a measure of we 6 Applied to reservoir rocks, this definition of wettabi ity has several drawbacks. One is that wettability exper- inments are performed on clean rock cores saturated with synthetic crudes or on pure mineral surfaces wetted by reservoir crudes. Moreover, the measurement of the con- fact angle on a rough-surface rock can he misleading For example, as shown by Fig. 15, in the wetting case (top), roughness can cause the apparent contact angle @, to be less than the angle measured on a smooth sur- face, 8. For the nonwefting case (bottom), roughness causes 6, to be greater than 0. For this reason, more involved wettability character zation techniques have been developed. One of these makes use of capillary pressure measurements and will be described further in the Capillary Pressure and Wettability section of this chapter. wetting Nonwetting| Figure #5. Contact angle measured or a rough surface. ‘Schlumberger_ Capillary pressure and saturation profiles in the reservoir Capillary pressure and capillary rise When a liquid (auch as water) wets the surface of a thin ass capillary tebe in a laboratory experiment, surface tension around the periphery of the airwater interface buitis the capillary foree and pulls the interface upward until the capillary force balances the weight ofthe liquid column height (Fig, 16). ‘The capillary force is created by the surface tension acting around the periphery of the tube, and the capil lary pressure represents the effect ofthat force over the surface of the capillary tube so that. 2p C08 @ = Fay’ Pey (26) ‘where fap i8 the radius ofthe capillary tube in centime- tets, and Pry is the capillary pressure in dynesfem®, Then, 26 cos ® en Figure 16. Rise in a capillary tube. Peap 2180 can be expressed as Pou =(Pu~ Pa) May (8) where py and ps are the densities of water and air, respectively; 7 is the acceleration of gravity in envs*, and ica isthe capillary rise in centimeters. By equating the ‘v0 expressions Of Poge in Eqs. 27 and 28, one can express the capillary rise as, a2ocse 1 hi, $$, ‘ap (Pw=Pa) ‘exp (29) -— Fundamentals of Formation Testing = Oynamic Propertios of Resarvoir Rock 9Saturation profiles in reservoirs Similar to the capillary rise experiment described above, ‘when two reservoir fluid pliases such as oil and water are in equilibrium in the reservoir, the difference between the pressure of the water phase and the pres- sure of the oil phase is balanced dy the capillary pres- sure difference (Fig. 17}, One can write 2 p,)ah, = 22.288 (30) 'w p, =0135(p,, where this time pi the reservoie capillary pressure and Dw and Qo are the densities of the reservoir water and oil, respectively; 7» represents the pore throat radius, and it, represents the height above a level in the reser- voir at which capillary pressure is zero. This level is the free-water level (FWL) and is defined as the level at which oi] and water pressure are equal; that is, p, is zero. ‘The FWL may differ from the oil/water contact (OWC), which i the level at which the water saturation starts to Z a r Color Dark Colored Light color Clear, white a guid 2 aca vlan ear rycen pressure Fundamentals of Formation Tsung ® Uyranne Propertieso! Produced Fkads a5,000 bry gas Inst producing GOR [sc¥/STB) Dewpoint gas os 15 Vola oft | ___ FL Nonwolati Bubblepoint oi OP OaNDG BRA cra} 3 Heptanes plus in reservoir fund (mei 96) Figure 30, nita! GOR versus C, fraction for some olleld fds, Phase behavior of single-component systems Single-component hydrocarbons are not found in nature However, it is beneficial to observe the behavior of a pure hydvocarbon substance (lor example, ethane) under vary- ing pressure and temperature to gain insight into more complex hyrocarbon mistures under similar conditions. Figure 31 illustrates the behavior of a single-compo- nent hydrecarbon under a constant temperature in the pressure-volume plane. A PVT cell containing pure ethane is charged at 1,000 psi at 60°F (Point 1), and under these conditions the ethane is in the liquid state. If the volume of the cell is increasod while holding the temperature constant, the pressure will fall rapidly because of the low compressibility of the liquid ethane At Point 2 the first bubble of gas appears—this is the bubblepoint. Further inerease in the cell volume does; not reduce the pressure, although heat must be arlded to the system to keep the temperature constant, The dew point is reached when the last drop of liquid ethane ‘vaporizes, Further increase in the cell volume, still keep- ing the temperature constant, will cause the pressure to deerease hyperbolicaly. A series of similar expansions can be performed at various constant temperatures, as shown by the three dimensional (3D) chart of Fig, $2. The locus of bubble points (and dewpoints) obtained at various tempera- tures, projected on the pressure-temperature plane, forts a line called the vapor pressure curve, Above this line the ethane is liquid and below it the ethane is gas, 2 The vapor pressure curve for a single-component system ends at the eritical point. As the critical point nears, the properties of the gas and the liquid (for exau. ple, their densities) approach each other, and these properties become identical at the critical point Phase behavior of multiple-component systems ‘The Components of Hydrecarbons section above tas shown that hydrocarbons are multiple-component mix tres that can be vary complex. Figure 83 shows that, in multiple-componeat systems, the bubblepoint and the dewpoint eurves no longer are coincident in the pressure-temperature plane. The vapor pressure curve opens into the “phase envelope,” an are ‘where both the liquid and the gaseous phase coexist. ‘The bubblepoint and dewpoint curves meet atthe crit cal point, at which the properties of the gas and liquid become identical, The critical point is not necessarily at the highest pressure or the highest temperature of the phase envelope; rather, the point is at. the criconcen: therm (highest cemperature of the phase envelope) and the cricondenbar (highest pressure of the phase enve- lope). Within the phase envelope, the respective propor tions (in volume percent) of liquid and gas vary on lines of constant concentrations (called isovols) that stem from the eritical point.Alliquid First gas bubble Pressure Last drop of liquid S Allgas 4 Pressure — Figure 2.30 phase diagram ofa single-component system. Reservoir and production engineers tise the phase envelope to design and track the strategy for producing oil and gas fields, One of the most relevant concerns is 10 avoid crossing Ute phase envelope in the reservoir, because this would create a two-phase situation where thie permeability o one of the Muids (e.g, the gas) would be greatly reduced, while the low saturation of the other Fundamentals of Formation Testing # Dynsmic Properties of Produced Fits Gas | Temperature ——» Figure 33. Phase behavior ofa multpto-component gystem, (eq, condensate) would leave it trapped in che pore system, For this reason operators try to collect repre- sentative reservoir fluid samples at the initial produc tion stage ofthe reservoir. To this effect, wireline forma- tion testers are equipped with sensors that monitor phase transitions during filtrate cleanup. 3)Phase behavior of reservoir fluids For all fluids, tne shape of the phase envelope and its position in the pressure-temperature plane are deter- mined by the chemical composition and amount of each constituent present, Each reservoir fluid has a unique phase diagram. In Figs. 34 to 88, Point 1 represents reservoir conditions, Point 2 represents a phase change in the reservoir and Point 3 represents downhole well- bore conditions at the sandface. The point labeled ‘Separator” represents surface separator conditions, ‘The downhole path 1-2-3 has been represented as a con- stant temperature line because observed temperature variations in the reservoir are usually small compared with the temperature drop observed in the upward flow of wellbore fluids. Pressure Bunotepie ie Separate? Figure 34. P-T phase behavior of & nonvolatile ol Pressure poh Nonvolatile vil Also called “low-shrinkage oil,” a nonvolatile oil consists of a wide variety of chemical species including large, heavy, nonvolatile motecules, The phase diagram covers a wide temperature range. The eriticai point is well up the slope of the phase envelope, and ihe isovols are spaced fairly evenly within the envelope. Ifthe pressure path in the reservoir (the vertical line on Fig. 34) crosses the bubblepoint curve, reservoir gas will evolve out of solution, Because gas may eventually reach a critical saturation and become mobile, thereby reducing the permeability to oil, the pressure should be kept above the bubblepoint’ as long as_possitle. Eventually, the reservoir will deplete and its pressure will fall below the bubblepoint, creating a two-phase sit- uation and a gas cap. meet poe Dempolat ine Temperature SchlumbergerVolatile oil Also called “high-shsinkage oil," a volatile oil contains relatively fewer heavy components and more intermedi ate components (defined as ethane through hexanes) than black oils (Fig. 35). A volatile oit has a very high sol ubility to gas and releases large quantities of gas when falling below the bubblepoint pressure ‘The phase diagram fora typical volatile ol is different from that of a nonvolatile oil. The temperature range Pressure path ‘Busdepont ne Pressue Figura 35. PT phase behavior of « volatile ol Fundamentals of Formation Testing ® Dynamic Proper of Fro covered by the phase envelope is somewhat smaller. The critical temperature is much lower than for a nonvolatile oil and is close to reservoir temperature. The isovols are not evenly spaced but are more tightly gathered against the bubblepoint line. In spite of the different characteristics, the phase \vehavior of a volatile oi) obeys the same rules as that of & nonvolatile oil, and the mass transfers between the phases conform to the same physical mechanisms. Dewpoint ine ial point Smee Temperature wad Hunts 2Condensate gas ‘The phase diagram of a condensate gas is smaller than that for oils because the critical point is farther down the left side of the envelope. These changes result from condensate gases containing fewer heavy hyttrocarbons than de the oils. The phase diagram of a condensate gas has a critical temperature that is less than reservoir temperature ‘The condensation process is shown in Fig. 36. At reservoir conditions, the fluid is gas. As the pressure falls below the dewpoint pressure, condensation starts to occur, and increasing percentages of condensate are precipitated as pressure continues to reduce, Then two possibilities present themselves, depending on the loca- tion of the points representing downhole conditions and separator coriditions within the phase envelope: = In natural condensation (the red path in Fig. 36), the percentage of condensate in the total fluid mixture either increases or stabilizes. The fluid path within the phase envelope is roughly patallel to the isovols, especially when reaching the surface, Percentage recoveries of condensate can be fairly high, possibly 25 or 30%. This is the case where the condensate is more highly prized than he gas, and operators attempt t ensure that little, if any, condensation occuts in the reservoir. = In retrogratte condexsation (the blue path in Fig. 36), the percentage of condensate in the fluid mixture reaches a maximum, then any further decrease in pressure vaporizes part of the condensate back into the gas phase. This can be critical for production engineering because if the liguid dropout occurs in the reservoir, iarge amounts of condensate can be lost Defore it can be redissolved into the gas phase. The remedy often involves keeping the reservoir pressure sufficiently high by reinjecting part of the produced gas. The volumes of condensate produced in retro- rade condensate reservoirs are usually much lower than in the natural condensation case == Natural condensation Retrograde condensation Devepin ina Cru pon Pressure Bupnepom line Pressure path Figure 36. P-T phase benavior uf a vondensate go. Temperature Schlumbergereine | Wet gas Ima wet gas reservoir (Fig, 37) the fluid path in the pres sure-temperature plane does not cross the phase enve- lope in the reservoir. As a result, condensate ely pre- cipitates in the production tubing. if the proper tubing size Is used, all this condensate can be recovered at the ‘sutface, If artificial lift is needed to help avoid conden- sate holddown near the well bottom, gas is reinjected into the annulus using the same process asa trahitionl artificial lift completion. ‘The amount of condensate produced by wet gas wells is wsually much less than that produced by gas concen: sate wells, Dewporitine wergas Pressure Temperature Figure 37.P-1 phase behavior of a wet gas Fundamentals ot Formation Testing Dry gas Ina dey gas well (Fig, 88) the fluid path in the pressure- temperature plane never crosses the phase envelope. As a result the surface gas is identical to the reservoir gas, and there is 20 condensate recovery. Presse path ‘ Benpone Bryans Pressure Zia sens Temperature Figure 38, 7 phase bohovior af a dry gas. mic Properties of Produced Puts »PVT properties An exact knowledge of the physical properties of reser- voir fluids is needed to model and predict the reservoir performance and to interpret. well tests and production logs, Datu sources ‘There are three possible data sourves = Laboratory measurements made on a representative reservoir fluid sample. This is usually @ downhole sample, preferentially taken with a wiveline tester, or Jess frequently a DST sample or a production bottom. hholesample. Oil and gas samples can also be Laken at the separator and recombined at the producing GOR in the laboratory, Botlombole sampling is preferred ‘over this procedure, but sometimes recombining in the laboratory isthe only available option, Procedures for sarmpling are detailed in Chapter Reservoir Fluid Sampling. = Correlations are used to estimate the PVT properties in the absence of measured data. Several computer programs offer reasonably accurate simulation of the PVT properties, using a number of published earrela- tions verified empirically with actwal Mids, More sophisticated equation-of-state (BOS) simulators wil be discussed in the section PVT Properties. = Insite measurements are made with production log. ging tools. This option is limited mostly to downhole fluid densities. Sometimes pressure surveys can be performed in the tubing to locate the depth, pressure and temperature of the bubblepoint or the dewpoint. Gas compressibility factor For each of n moles of an ideal gas, the product of the ‘olumne of the gas by ts pressure is equal to the absolute Lernperature of this gas multiplied by a proportionality factor, the real gas constant R: pV =nRT, en) where 2 = 10.71 in oilfield units, Real gases, however, can show considerable deviation from ideal behavior, especially at elovated temperatures and pressures. A deviation factor, Z, is included to model the compressibility of the gas and match the real gas Jaw, such that pl =n2RT (38) Z is invariant for ail gases in a corresponding state, which mezas sharing values of p/P, T/T, and Mey, where Per, Toy and Voy are the critical pressure, tempera- ture and volume (of x moles of the gas). The critical pressure and temperature of pure components are usu- ally found in tables of known physical properties. For ‘mixtures of a known composition, the pseudocritical pressure and temperature, Pp ard Tye, are calculated by alinear mole average of the critical pressure and tern- perature of the individual constituent of type (i): Pee = D(YuyPot (9) and Fy, = S[Haeniy (a0) where Yj is the mole fraction, Peyay ts the eritival pres- sure and Py is the critical eemperature. Figure 99 represents the usual determination of Z from the pseudoreduced properties Pp and Tyr, pub listed by Standing and Katy (1942 EOS: Basics of understanding A more rigorous approach to determining 2 consists of devising an EOS that predicts the variations of Z over a range of pressures atid temperatures. HOSs are also called “cubic” equations because they assume a third- degree polynomial expression such as. ( where 4 and B are functions of the pressure and tem perature, Such an equation has only two physically pos. sible solutions: Zmix, Which corresponds to the liquid phase, atd Znax, Which corresponds to the vapor phase An EOS is built by assuming that the gas pressure results from molecular interaction and is the algebraic sum of & repulsive fern and an attractive term: P= Prepon ~ Paes (2) Bs A-B-B?\2-AB=0, (iy Another consideration, the volume shift implies that tart of the gas volume plays no role in molecular inter- action and is therefore subtracted from the total volume in the B08.Psaudoraduced pressure, p,, Compressitiny factor, 2 10 Pseudoreduced pressure, 2, no BoM Figure 39, Compressibity lector af gases versus pseudoraduced pressure and temperature, A frequently used BOS, the Peng and Robinson (1976) model, is written in one of its variations as (7) RY =o (43) Sctutwaberger uses this BOS type, as well ay a few others, in the PVIY* pressure-volume-temperature soft- ware. This software models the fluid behavior and its properties as needed in PVT laboratory simulation, reservoir numerical simulation, and field charaeteriza- tion of reservoir fuid samples with uid properties eval- uation (PPE) wellste equipment. The PPE, described in Chapter Reservoir Fluid Sampling, is a portable fluid analyzer and PVT simulator used for onsite validation of reservoir fluid samples. An BOS must be calibrated by direct measurements, of physical fluid properties such as viscosities and densi- ties. One of the most important solutions of an BAS is, the phase envelope of a hydracarton sample, drawn in the pressure-temperature plane as described in the Phase Behavior of Reservoir Pluids section above Software simblation of reservwir fluid behavior and PVT properties is discussed in the section Modeling Fluid Behavior and PVT Properties, Fundamentals ut Fermation Testing ® Dynaine Properties ul Peaducdd Fs aSolution GOR and bubblepoint pressure ‘The solution GORs represent the surface gas dissolved in volume of surface oil, One way to undevstand the sofa tion GOR of a tiquid fiydrocarhon and its vaviation with pressure isto picture a surface sample, composed of oil with the associated liberated gas, in proportion to the production, £,, The sample is placed in a PVT cell, and the pressure is inereaser a recombine the sanuple ‘As the pressure in the cell increases, gas dissolves in the oil, Figure 40 shows that the solution GOR increases linearly with the cell pressure, and so does Bo, the oil PVE When all the initial gas has been dissolved in the oil, the pressure in the cell is the bubblepoint pressure of the ofl (atthe cell temperature), Any further increase int pressure will result ina constant solution GOR because no more gas is available. If more gas had been available in the initial saraple, the bubblepoint ofthe oil \would have been higher, and the solution GOR measured at bubblepoint pressure Ry, also would have been higher 2000 Soluvon GOR ‘fovobi FFs ‘The FVFs of oi, water aru gas are termed B,, By, and By, respectively. The PVF of a phase represents the reser. voir volume of the phase yielding a wnit. volume of that phase at stocktank conditions. Values of By range ‘between 1 for a dead oil to 3 or above for volatile oils. Because water is typically incompressible and has a low Solubility to gas, valves of By are always close to 1, depending mostly on pressure and the solubility of gas in water. Values of B, are always smaller than 1 because of the high compressiitity of gas, and they depend primar- ily on the ratio between reservoir press ure and atmos. Pherie pressure (stock-tank conditions), Figure 40 also shows the variation of the oil FVF, under the conditions of the experiment for determining tie bubblepoint pressure discussed in the Wet Gas sec- tion above. As the pressure in the cell increases, B,, increases under the effect of the additional solution ga, When the buhblepoint is reached, B, is at its maxiztuim, ‘because al] the initial gas has been dissolved. Above the { aa t / Fa 1 ! ' 26 1 campesinos 1 terafenisn sau | Ht 22 ou FvE 20 1s 16 a xbbiepit prosire te 10 0 1,000 2000 3000 4000 000 6,000 700 @000 9000 Pressure (osia) Figure 4. Soluton GOR and ol FVF versus reservoir prossurebubblepoint, however, B,, decreases slightly because of the small, positive compressibility of the single-phase, undersaturated oil. The formula for By is then ~0,(p,- Ps), ay where B,y is the oil FVP at reservoir pressure p,,pp isthe bubblepoint pressure, and C, isthe oil compressibility. Oilfield engineers must properly characterize the variation of B, versus reservoir pressure above the bub blepoint. The reason is that in undersaturated oil reser voirs, the driving energy for oil production i the decom: pression of the undersaturated oi. The slope of the By variation is directly related to the amount of oil pro: tals: the measure crystal, exposed to both pressure and temperature, the temperature crystal, exposed only to temperature, and the reference crystal, also exposed only to temperature (Fig 48) raiuieweystal Autoclave for bellows re Prossure inlet Preseure erystal Reference crystal Bellows Sensor Assombly Bollows Assembly Figure #8, Guartadyne pressure sensot ‘The measure crystal (Fig, 49) isa thick-walled, hollow quartz eylinder closed at both ends, The resonating ele. iment Is a disk placed in the center, which clvides the ceylindee in equal halves, Separate conductive plates are con the front and back sides of the resonator disk. Fluid pressure on tle exterior walls hydrostatically com. presses te quartz eylinde', producing internal compres: sive stresses in the resonator: The asciiiating frequency of the resonator changes in response to these internal stresses, Blectrove, Resonating elentent quart} Conductive pate front) /__Quaetz eylinder Figure 49, Quortatyne sensor measure crystal‘The reference crystal, with a relatively low sensitivity tw temperature, is used as a time reference to count the measure-crystal and temperature-crystal frequencies. ‘The temperature crystal, highly sensitive to tempera- ture, is used to correct both the reference-crystal and the measure-crystal frequencies for effects of tempera. ture. This assumes that the three orystals are all at the same temperature. The calibration procedure involves a fourth-order polynomial ‘The Quartzdyne sensor has a small temperature sen sitivity, which enables good compensation in static con ditions. However, the temperature compensation is less efficient in dynamic conditions because the temperature ‘aystal and the pressure sensor are separated in the gauge by the pressure feedthrough bulkhead. Thus, pres sure variations may generate different temperature vari- ations in the two crystals. Crystal Quartz Gauge In the CQG* Crystal Quartz Gauge, the wansducer fea: tures a single quartz crystal structure in which a res- onator is coupled with a dual-mode oscillator (Fig, 50). ‘The resonant frequency of the first mode is highly sensi- tive to pressure, and that of the second mode is more sensitive to temperature Upper etecteode 4— Vibeating plate Figure 50. Schiumberoer COG gauye Fundamentals of Formanon Testuig © Pressure Sensurs Tevhvalagy ‘The sensor consists of a main body with two end caps; the end caps maintain a vacuum inside the sensor. The dual-mode resonator is a plate, etched out of the main quartz body, fitted with shaped surfaces that act as a vibrating lens, The resonant frequencies of the plate vary with changes in pressure and temperature. ‘The electronics also include a reference clock (a crys tal) used for counting frequencies, Another crystal, the dual-mode clock, measures its own temperature (ike the pressure-sensing crystal) and provides a tempera ture-componsated time reference. ‘The main advantage of this design is that pressure and temperature are measured at the same point, thereby minimizing time or space delays for thermal cor rections. Prom a dynami¢ point of view, this design leads to very small peak transient errors in the thermal response. These can be minimized further by using a realtime dynamic compensation. The calibration involves a fifth-order polynomial ‘The main disadvantages of this design are its high cost and the fragility of the dual-mode clock Basges Lower eloctrade Quarts oyinder \\ Lower conductive plate Upper conductive plate 46Paruscientific design ‘The Paroscientific, Ine. design (Fig. 51) uses a quartz ‘aystal operating in flexure mode. The crystal measures force. To derive a pressure output, force-samaming devices sach as a Bourdon tube or bellows are used, ‘Thus, the transducer senses pressure through the force- summing device and is not in direct contact with the wellbore fluid, Although this amangement tends to Improve the temperature characteristics, tt also damp- fens the response and downgrades the measurement metrology. A quartz torsional tuning fork temperature sensor provides temperature compensation, a ——— Vibrating beam Is Aw / Frture rliet 1 spring t Pivot Pressure Figure 51, Paroscientitic quartz pressure sensor Quartztronics design ‘The Quartztronies, Ine. design (Fig. 52) is amodified HP cesigh, with a specially eut resonator that has a non- cylindrical cell geometry. It is small, with a high-pres- sre range and a low cost The gange features 2 temperature-sensing crystal and a reference crystal, both located elase to Ute measure crystal. It provides better pressure and temperature ‘transient responses than the original fP design. These two crystals are set in a presstre-proof package bonded to one of the end caps of the measure sensor and ther mally matched to it, Prassure Crystal Temperature crystal Reference orystel Endcap joint Longitudinal cross section 225i9 Covity Web Resonator Radiat crocs Fat section 1 O78in Prossure rating: 6,000 psi Temperature rating v5 Accuracy (% error} 10 psi + 081% of reading Resolution at 05 s sampling rate: 0.01 asi Repeatability psi Figure 52, Quarutronics pressure sensor.Introduction to metrology of pressure transducers ‘The performance of bottomhole pressure and tempera ture gauges depends on metrological parameters that ‘are ctitical to the measurement. TL is important to understand the severity of the downhole euvironment in which the gauges operate. The pressure and tempera: tre sensors are not the only components that influence the quality of the measurement, The chain of compo- nents in the pressure measurement consisls of the pres- sure sensor, the associated electronics and the teleme- try, each of which can influence the quality of the ‘measurement, ‘There are fwo classes of pressure-measurement per formance parameters, static and dynamic. input Pa ese eres Applied qressure | straight line Static parameters ‘The static metrological parameters describe the perfor mance of the pressure transducer under static condi tions, The main factors affecting performance are aceu- racy, resolution, stability and sensitivity Accuracy Accuracy is the maximum pressure error exhibited by the pressure transducer regardless of the conditions applied. That includes ™ Fitting errot, also called mean quadatic deviation (MQD). The MQD is 2 measure of the quality of the ‘mathematical fit between the calibration model and the true sensor response. This parameter isa function of the transclucer linearity (i, the closeness of the calibration curve (0 a specified straight line) and of the calibration procedure (ie, the coefficient grid and the polynomial function used). The MQD is cal crlated on the basis of couples of data values, 1% (caleulated pressure) and p, (applied pressure), as shown in Fig. 53, For a given temperature T Po Output Computed pressure Figure 3, Mean quadratic deat. Fundamentals of Formation Testing # Pressure Seusurs Tectinology a& Hysteresis. Hysteresis is the maximum discrepancy between the increasing and decreasing pressure excursions of the transducer output signal. It depends ‘on the amplitude of the pressure excursion. Reported pressure hysteresis characteristics typically are mea- sured on pressure excursions across the operational (or calibrated) range, as shown in Fig. 54 = Repeatability. Repeatability is the discrepancy between two consecutive measurements of a given pressure at the same temperature, As shown in Fig.56, the repeatability is not affected by hysteresis. because both measurements are performed using the same procedure, Input Applied pressure Figure 54. Hysteresis Input Applied pressure wp Figure 95. Repeatability As defined above, repeatability is a manufacturer ert Cerion that each user often perceives in a different way. In the field, repeatability affects the pressure measure: ments in many ways, especially in wireline formation testing. Hydrostatic wellbore pressures may differ before and after a pretest, Formation and mud pressures taken on the way down the hole may differ when they are repeated on the way up. In conventional well tesis, buildup pressures measured before and after a series of flow periods may not be the same. This difference may be an indication of reservoir depletion during the test. Ibis important to know the conditions of the experi- ‘ment that led to quantifying the repeatability for a spe- cific gauge. Fora given temperature T Hysteresis = Ap Pos Dutput For a given temporature T Repeatability = p- of Output ‘SchlumbergerFesolution Resolution is the minim pressure change that the sensor ean detect, as shown in Fig. 56, When refenving to the resolution of a bottomhole pressure gauge, it is important to consider the associated electronies, as the two are always nsed together. Its also important to eval: uate the resolution with respect to a specific sampling rate; an increased! sampling rate will deteriorate the res- olution. Manufacturers should specify the sampling rate hat applies Lo the stated resolution of a gauge. Gauge resolution isa function of four factors: ‘= sensor sensitivity, also called the “gauge factor” digitizer resolution, illustrated by Fig. 56 = electronic noise induced by the amplification chain. = thermal resolution, Output Sensor output Sin Be ‘The last parameter is the produet of the resolution of the temperature measurement performed by the gauge, ruttiplied by the pressure thermal sensitivity of the gauge, For example, if the resolution in temperature is (.1°C and the thermal sensitivity is6 psi/°C, the thermal resolution is 5 psi/°C x 0.1°C = 0.5 psi. Furtherinore, ‘when temperature is fluctuating (e.g, because of fuid movernents), pressure resolution $3 aifected by the errors induced by the temperature lag between the pres- sure and temperature sensors. This is the case for all gaatges except the CQG sensor: In the case of strain gauges, eleetxonte noise is often the predominant factor affecting the resclation. [n addi tion, mechanically Induced noise may further limit reso lution because some gauges behave as raterophones or accelerometers. This may be an important cousideration uring tests in Which there is Maid movement oF tool movement downhole Fora given temperature T B Input Applied pressure Figure $6 Resolution undamernals of Formation Testing Pressuie Sensors Technology 9Stability Stability is the ability of a pressure sensor to retain its performance charactetisties for a relatively long period of time. Stability is usually quantified by the sensor max- imum drift, in psi per day, obtained at.a given pressure and temperature, Three levels of stability can be defined: = short-term stability for the frst day of a test = medium-term stability for the following 6 days long-term stability for a minimum of 1 month. In Fig 57, Gauge A shows good stabilty as the mea. sured pressure tracks atmospheric pressure, while Gauge B is drifting. Sensitivity As shown in Pig. 58, sensitivity, or “gauge factor" is the ratio of the transducer output variation induced by a change of pressure, to this change of pressure. The sete sitivity represents the slope of the transducer output versus the pressure input. Ideally, the sensitivity should be linear, but nonlinearity isnot detrimental to the mea- surement because the sensitivity is modeled over the sensor’s entire dynamic range with a polynomial fime- tion obtained when performing the calibration. ‘A. Convemons quarts gauge sana —L 149 6821. | monte yippee a7 Pressure -~ reer | Atmospheric (sia) garg Ty pressure i 45 (psia) e207 143 . = © © & m wo Time (ve) Figue 57 Stabily Sensor output Siw Figure 58 Sensitivity 50 For a given temperature T Sonsitvity= slope as 30 Paro Input Applied pressureDynamic parameters Dynamic: metrological parameters describe the perfor- mance of the pressure sensor under dynamic conditions. ‘There are four aspects in the evaluation of the dynamic metrology of pressure gauges as discussed in the follow. ing sections. Transient respense during temperature verition ‘The sensor yesponse is monitored under dynamic tem- perature erations while the applied pressure is kept constant, AS shown in Fig. $8, the peak error represents the maximum discrepancy betsveen the applied pressure and the stabilized sensor output. By general consensus, tie stabilization time represents the time needed to retum to Within 1 pst of the stabilized pressure. The offset represents the difference between the initial and the final pressure, This parameter provides the time required to acquite @ teliable pressure measurement for a given temperature variation Temperature Pressure Figure 69. Trancient sensor rasporse during temperature variation Funlamontels o rormation Tasting = Pressure Sensors Technology Time 5Transient response during pressure variation Dynamic response during pressure The sensor response is recorded before and after a pres- and temperature shock sure Variation while the temperature is kept constant An example of sensor response recorded before and (Fig. 60). Peak error and stabilization time are measured after a temperature shock is shown in Fig. 61. as previously desoribed for a temperature variation A Pressure Time Figure 60, Tensient sensor response during pressury variation 5,180 | Eee eet C6 evystal gauge 5140 | Slickine Sapphire recorder Pressure (ps) JNIGAGE® pressure HPA Hostile Environment | 9@uge system 5120 Pressure Recorder | Time (or) Figure 61. Cynamnic response during pressure and temperature shack. a SchlumbergerDynamic temperature correction on the pressure measurement ‘The most advanced quartz gauge sensors are based on a single crystal design. The crystal is interrogated on wo distinct resonating modes that are sensitive to both pressure and temperature, albeit with different sensitiv- ities. This design has the advantage that the measured temperature actually is the temperatare of the crystal itself. ‘Thas raises another possibility for improving the mea- suremont—tynamic temperature correction. In the CQG gauge, the pressure measurement is corrected in real time for any remnant temperature effect induced by the nonuniform temperature of the crystal, especially ‘while undergoing strong pressure or temperature varia- tions, sometimes simultaneously. Dynamic correction is achieved by adding to the pressure measurement a cor: rective term that i @ function of the time-derivative of the temperature measurement. Another, smaller correc: tive term is a funetion of the second time-derivative of the temperature. Figure 62 shows the effect of temperature on two caystal quartz. gauges. Gauge A morsurement does not have a dymamte correction. Measurements from Gauge B are presented with and without dynamic temperatuce correction WCOR-6 No. 228 and Weil Test Usartz Recorder [WTOR) No, 40685 125,000 psito pan 21 25°C 0 - 1258 6 _+ 4 | | 1256 wos | Terperauce wo |. sani anprein is 16 < 1252 Presswe ‘wear. fos 10) Sian veo Temperate symaric ro compensation 124 5} souge 8 8 1248 ama -10 | raz 5140 T4824) —T4SGMD 145440 145540 1aseAD «185740 145840 Tine (or) Figure 62 Effect of temperature on two crystal quartz gages Fundamentals of Formatior Tasting ® Pressure Sensors Tectuwluny 3Calibration and evaluation tests Calibrating a pressure transducer requires establishing, the transfer function that converts the raw outputs from the pressure and temperature data channels into scaled pressure and temperature readouts These transfer func- tions are two-dimensional (2D) (jt pressure and tem: perature) polynomial models, the degree of which is a function of the accuracy required for the measurement. ‘The calibration process consists of applying known pressures and temperatures covering the required oper- ational ranges. The raw pressure and temperature output signals are detected and fed into a polynomial optimization routine. Input pressures are applied with a pressure generator called a dead-weight tester. Input, temperatures are generated by an oil bath or an oven Oil baths are preferred to ovens in the case of a long pressure tool because of the greater thermal condvetiv- ity of oil and because itis easier to control temperatures: ina bath, ‘The following steps comprise a complete master cal bration, 1. Choose the pressure-temperature calibration couples, [tis obvious that the more couples, the more accurate the calibration, Nevertheless, the inertia in tempera- ture is a limiting factor, A minimum of 100 pressure temperature coupies is recommended, distributed in ‘ schediiled time routine such as shown in Fig. 63 2. Derive the pressure calibration function, The pres- sure calibration function is a polynomial of order Nin pressures and order in temperatures, so that in which the calibration coefficients Ai are deter ‘mined by least-squares fitting, S, and S, are the pres- sure and temperature outputs, and Sy and Sie are off sets, The nuaber of Afj coefficients ean be limited to about 15. During this step, the peak error and the MQD are determined. 4, Calibrate the temperature function. It is not always necessary to calibrate the transducer to output @ scaled temperature measurement, but it is often useful. The temperature calibration funtion is poly- nomial of order Nin temperatures and order Mf in pressures, so that oS" aals,-5,)( Fo (49) Jn which the calibration coefficients 4°f are deter: mined by least-squares fitting, and Sp, 5, Spy and Sy, are as deseribed above, 4. Determine nonlinearity in pressures and tempera. tures, 5. Determine the pressure thermal sensitivity. As described previously, the pressure thermal sensitivity represents the error in psi that will result if the tem- poraiure measurement has an error of 1°C 6, Determine the maximum hysteresis during the cal: bration cycle, 7. Check the calibration. A calibration check is per formed to verily the consistency of the sensor read: ings when the applied pressures and temperatures are different fom those used during a calibration cle. The calibration eheck is almost like a rerun ot a master calibration. Other procedures and tests. In evaluating pressure transducers, standard procedures are often used to compare different technologies and certify the cali bration parameters. The most cormmonly used stan: dard procedures inclucie = complete master calibration calibration check iddle- and long-term stability tests tepeatability test resolution test noise or short-term stability test dynamic tests such as temperature shoxk, temp: erature transient, temperature response time and pressure shock. A T. A AAJ temperature eyo Pressure cyelos A Ty A i Time Figure 63. Schevuied time routine for a pressure gauge calibration test.Qpenhole wireline testing ‘The history of wireline testing began in the L950 with single-test tools; the main objective was to collect a fuid sample. These tools had no “repeat” capability and were pulled from the well and redressed eseh time a sample ‘was taken. The last single-test tools in service with Schlumberger were the Formation Tester (FT), an open. Kole tester with snorkel or shaped charges, and the Formation Interval Tester (FIT), a shaped-charge tool for both open and cased holes. Multiple (repeat) wire line pressure testing was introduced in 1974 with the RFT foo), which had the capability to take a theoretically infinite number of pressure points and tivo uid sam ples. The MDT tool was introduced in 1988 as a full: fledged reservoir engineering tool designed to take, in addition to distributed pressure measurements, multiple fluid samples per run under downhole PVT conditions. ‘The hardware also included a packer module for interval testing and a multiprobe design to describe the horizon tal and vertical components of the permeability and to perform interference testing, Reservoir engineers welcomed repeat wireline pres: sure testing when it was introduced in the mid-1970s because it) immediately provided large amounts of data static reservoir pressures—that were until then largely unavailable, especially in layered systems pro- ducing into & commingled wellbore. Such data ¢an now be taken in a short time at high density over the entire stratigraphic sequence of interest. Wireline pressure measurements are of great interest to reservoir engi neers and have a high level of aceeptanee in the oil industry. ‘The SRFT* Slimhole Repeat Formation Tester, a 3%in, outside diameter (OD) tool, brought wireline formation testing to small-diameter boreholes (Sin. maximum) and to dificult environments such as swelling shales, crooked holes and horizontal wells ‘The SRET tool can be set repeatedly and retracted ‘during a single trip in the hole. It has a 5.cu® pretest chamber volume and is equipped with the CQG pressure ‘gauge, It can take one segregated fiuid sample by means of a 2%gal dump chamber and a 450-cm® segregated chamber, Alternatively, the two chambers can be filled Fundamentals of Formatinn Tasting Well Testing Operations and Data Collection at different depths, The flow rate during sampling is cou trolled by optional water cushions, ‘The MDT tool was introduced with a number of inno: vative features. The applications of wireline testing with the MDT tool are covered in the following sections, Pressure profiling Formation pressure is obtained by withdrawing a small antount of fluid to generate a short transient test, called a “pretest.” The pressure is then recorded until it stabi- lizes, In thick reservoirs with relatively high permeabil ties, vertical pressure profiles are used to determine the in-situ reservoir fluid density and fluid contact levels. Individual well pressure profiles, in virgin or developed reservoirs, can be correlated with the profiles of other wells to deseribe vertical and lateral communications. Figaro 64 shows a typical pressure profile in a new well. ‘These applications will be described in Chapter Static Pressure Applications, Permeability anisotropy profiling ‘The spherical nature of the single-probe pressure tran: sient propagation means that the permeability estimate from a. singie-probe tool represents a combination of horizontal and vertical permeability. Some undesirable factors affecting single-probe response may be mudeake blocking, non-Darcy flow, fines migration and formation damage, These effects can be reduced by observing the pressure response some distance from the sink probe and increasing the pretest rate or volume to maximize pressure differentials. The MDT options that address these issues are the dual-probe and packer modules, and the CQG quart gauge. These applications will be described in Chapter Advanced Applications of Transient Testing. jproduction tests Wireline testers have reached a performance level that sometimes can emulate the requirements of DST tests, Such requirements are lange sampled volumes, deep investigation and versatility inthe flow rate schedule. nd Data Calleetun 6Depth x10 |. vo 7200 Density-neutron 2710 Pressure (ost) Figu ‘Tests performed with witeline testers to evaluate the productivity of a reservoir interval are called minipro- duction tests (MPT). The prefix “mini” refers to the shal- lower dept of investigation of a wireline test compared to a fullscale DST, although MPTs are production tests in their own right. This means that beyond measuring permeability and skin, and taking fluid samples, a wire- line tester can be used to evaluate the deliverability of a reservoir interval, just like the full DST. Representative fluid sampling Major issues in fluid sampling are whether the samples are truly representative ofthe reservoir fluids, and their ‘degree of contamination by mud filtrate. The MDT tool is ‘built with options to overcome tltese issues and deliver samples that truly represent the reservoir fluid. These options are uid vesistivity measurements, the pumpout module, the OFA module, the LRX* Live Fluid Analyzer for MDP tool, the CEA* Composition Fluid Analyzer, the packer module, and the multisample module. Sampling applications will be diseussed in Chapter Reservoir Fluid Sampting. ‘The MDP tool is built as a string of nodules selected according to the design of the test, with each module performing a specific function. The hydraulic and flow- lines ave built as a separate bus running through the entire string of modules, so the contiguration can reach a high degree of versatility. This is because the modules 2730 Resistivity 64, Vortical pressure profile obtained with « wireline tester in a new well can be placed in almost any position with respect to each other, depending on the targeted application. Figure 65 iustrates this and presents typieal configura tions. ‘Modular reservoir power cartridge ‘The electric power module converts alternating current (AC) power from the surface to provide electrical direct, current (DC) power along a common electrical bus nun: ning through the entire string of modules. The modular reservoir power cartridge (MRPC) is used in every con: figuration and always atthe top of the tool string. ‘Modular reservoir hydroulies module ‘The modular reservoir hydraulics module (MRHY) deliv: ers hydraulic power to deploy and retract probes. A fixed displacement pump allows the volume of oi] pumped by the motor to be estimated, This enables us to determine the pretest volume anc flow rate. Modular reservoir probe single module The single-probe module is an assembly with a packer and telescopic backup pistons. It has one pretest cham- der with a maximum capacity of 20 em®. The actual pretest volume, flow rate and flowing pressure are con- trolled from the surface. The pretest sampling options ScbiumborgerSample chambers Single-orobe ‘module Power Power Powe Power amide cartridge cartidge cartridge Hydric Muitisernle module Pumpout modules ‘odie Single probe Single probe | modula ‘module 5 j j sydroute Sarge Nadia hambaes Singlo: proba Single-pobe module module . Pompout Single-prove mode module Dust pote modula Sample ia sx, | cuipas Wo, Flow convol module Frow-conrol ‘module Hydrate Sample s, modal Shenbers Sample vs chambers Basie MDT configuravon ——-Muluprabe vertical Veruco!inverterence Low-shook for pressure, permesbilty _intarforoncetesting rest with grobe-packer ——_—PVT-quality sempling end sampling Figure 65 Versatility of MOT configurations Fundamantals of Formation Testing = Wol Testy Operatiis and Dats Guiectons 5ave conslant pressure, constant flow rate, or ramped pressure and rate, Figure 66 shows a typical time log of an MDP pretest. ‘The single probe generally is equipped with both the Sapphire and the CQG gauges. Additional features include a flowline resistivity measurement, a tempera- ture measurement and an isolation valve, Figure 67 shows a skeich of the modular reservoir probe single module (MPS). In water-base mud environments, the Slowline resis- tivity measurement helps discriminate beoween fluid contaminated by mud filtrate and formation hydrocar- bons or fresh water (Fig. 68). The resistivity cell consists of five ring electrodes spaced along the flowline between the probe and the pretest chamber. Two electrodes are used to measure a potential difference while a fixed cur- rent flows between two other electrodes. The fifth elec: tiode functions as a guard. As the tool stands vertically, fluids enter the cell feo the bottom. Interpretation of the flowline resistivity measurement will be covered in Chapter Reservoir Fluid Sampling. tie ee enna e050 5 eeeeeevEeagEH Ses SoURLEy SHAT “i ee Figure 66. Time log ofa typical protest. 8 Isolation vale Equalizing valve Wellbore pressura Strain gauge Pretest Resistivity cell Packer Prove Flown bus Figure 67, Sketch of the single-prabe module. There are temperature measurements for the strain gauge sensing element and the flowiine fluid, ‘The isolation valve minimizes the flowline volume ani its impact (“storage effects”) on the pressure tran sients generated by ive probe pretest. This is needed because the total flowline volume could be considerable, for long combinations of modules, and can render pretests uninterpretable unless prohibitive station times, ‘were incurred ‘Schlumberger2-gal sample 13,000 - 2 Floid resistivity 12.000 oo Sampling — Fy / sans \\ reservoir pressure \ sample non a chamber full Pressure Resistivity (os {ohm 4,000 J. et 9000 — a Hydrocarbon towing 000 124 1272 1700 1288 12865 1308 Time(s} Figure 68, Example of fowline resistivity measurement during # sampling operatinn, ‘The single-probe module can be fitted with a number of options suitable for diferent ranges of environmental conditions: ® standard probe—applies to consolidated formations. of moderate permeability ™ large-area. packer—features a flow area 26 times greater than the standard packer, resulting In improved sampling in lower-permeability formations = large-diameter probe—used to open a yet larger area to flow, compared to the large-area packer: Examples are Jow-permeability formations with good tole con- itions or in unconsolidated formations to reduce ow velocity and contro! formation erosion '® gravel pack option—features an epoxy filter to exclude fines from the flowline. It is most effective in shaly sands or fine-grained, unconsolidated formations ™ longnose probe—can penetrate deeper through the mudeake before opening the filter valve It is used in unconsolidated formations. = Martinean probe—developed in the field Balikpapan, Indonesia) by Jacques Martineau, It uses @ large-area filter similar to an automobile filter Formation material is allowed to enter the chamber and callect on the filter, which is periodically retrieved and cleaned. This probe is suitable for low- pressure dilferential tests in unconsolidated sands, and has a gravel pack option, Fundamentals of Formation Testing = Well Testing Operations and Data Coisctions 9‘Modular reservuir sample chamber Conventional modular reservoir sample chambers (MRSC) are available with volumes of 1, 2% or 6 gal without water cushion, and 1 or 2% gal with a water ‘cushion, The 6-gal chamber is expandable in multiples of 6 gal. Practically speaking, the number of chambers, used is limited only by tool length and weight considers. tions. Sample chambers may be connected above or below the probe, except for the 6gal chamber, which has no through flowiine and must be the bottom module of the whole string. However, 6-gal chambers may be run in rvultiples to collect very large-size samples as required. Each chamber is equipped with a manual drain valve, transport valve, recycling valve, and throttle-seal valve (Fig. 69). The throttle-seal valve is electromechanically actuated and directs sampled fini to the selected cham- ber in any oder. In seal made, the valve is either fully open or fully closed. in throttle mode, it operates as a variable orifice that automatically opens or closes to maintain the flowline pressure constant within a speci- fied band, predefined by the engineer. The throttle valve should only be considered a coarse control of the sam- pling pressure, especially wiven sampling high-perme- ability reservolis at high pressure. Thro(lling is often replaced now by fow-shock sampling, which aliows much better control of drawdown pressure, Low-slock sant pling will be discussed in Chapter Reservoir Pludd Sampling Modular reservair packer dual module ‘The dual-probe module, modular reservoir packer dual module (MRPD), consists of twn probes (sink and hori- zontal) mounted diametrically opposite one another. ‘The sink probe is connected t0 the flowline. The Hori- zontal probe is not; it is used only as an vbsexvation probe, The sink probe has features ideatical to those of asingle probe (MRBS), except that it can only be fitted with a strain gauge. The korizontal probe can house both tie strain gauge and the CQG gauge. Motor-ériven thretle seal valve Manual twansport valve Manual rain valve Roeyeling valve Flowtine bus Figure 69. Sketch of te 1- and 2%-gal sample chambers.The dual-probe module does not operate in stand: alone mode, but functions as a slave to the single-probe module, In this configuration, they form a multiprobe system (Fig, 70) in which the vertical probe is 2.5 fe from the sink probe along the tool axis, Vertical and horizon tal mobilities can be determined by performing a local interference test, in which the sink probe draws Quid at preseribed rate, while the vertical and horizontal probes monitor the pressure responses, Pretests of 20 ‘cm? are first performed at each of the three probes to confirma a seal, establish communication with the forma: COG gauge Isolation valve Wetbore pressure Verticai probe Sma prabe Isolation } valve Figure 70. Mui-probe wireline tester configuration Fundamentals of Formanon Testing # Well T ing Operations ana Dac tion, and estimate drawdown and buildup mobilities in the vicinity of the probes. Permeability anisotropy mea- surements, which require larger initial pressure distur tances, are then performed using a modular reservoir control flow module (MRCF) that can withdraw larger pretest volumes of fii. ‘An example of a multiprobe system pressure data set, is shown in Fig 71, Permeability anisotropy measure- ments will be discussed in Chapter Advanced Applications of Transient Testing. Flowing bus: fines single prove | mares dual probe Pretest Equatzing Swain rn gauge (006 gauge° Vertical observation + probe \ 0 | Horizontal 7 observation probe Pressure change fs) 18 1,000 1500 2000 4 Flowing probe Quaree gauge 2500 \ Lo Strain gauge 8 0 % 50 % 100 125 150 Time sh Figure 71, Pressure response from a multinenbe system, Flow control module MACE ‘The MRCF (Fig. 72) provides « maximum pretest valume of 1,000-ene%, and thus ean create pressure disturbances of a greater depth of investigation in the reservoir, so that measurable pressure responses can be recorded at the observation probes. Of equal importance is the abil- ity to control and measure the fluid flow rate. The flow: control module pravides a means for performing pres- sure pulse tests at a specified constant rate, at a constant pressure at the sampling probe, or ina rode to provide a user-specified ramped flow rate or pressure. ‘The pretest volume, at a maximum volume of 1,000 em? per pretest, is either pumped from the chamber (if a pumpout module is available) or dumped inty a larger sample chamber for repeated pretest capability. After a test, the fluid in the receiving chamber may be dumped and the flow-conttol piston reset ‘The flow rate is regulated by running clean bytraulic oil through coarse and fine surface-conirolled metering valves, The metered fluid acts on a stepped-down piston with a ratio of 1:35. Thus, the oil is displaced by forma- tion fluid acting at hydrostatic pressure on the sample- chainber piston, while on the other side of the stepped- down piston the oil pressure is at J:3.5 of the hydrostatic, pressure value.ee Y Mowor-orven seal valve Vines sample f Coarse and fine metering valves Step piston weilvore pressure Flowine ous Figure 72, Storch ofthe Hlow- contre} module Modular reservoir packer module ‘The dual modular reservoir packer sualule (MRPA), sketched in Pig. 73, features two inflatable packer ele: ments that isolate a borehole interval for testing and sampling The spacing between the packers is flexib'e, but the minimum distance is about 8 ft and the maxi mum distance is about 11.5 ff. The entire borehole wall is open to flow, and so the flow area is several thousand times larger than with conventional probes. Fundamentals of Formation Tasting = Wt! Testy Operations and Data Golectons ‘The MRA configuration lows peessuxe measure meni and Maid sampling in laminated, vuggy or frac tured formations. The range of permeabilities for testing ‘is extended to much lower values than with conventional protes, and the depth of investigation of the tests is extended to tens of eet, depending on formation perme- ability and flowing times. In addition, the larger flow area allows sampling with lower pressure differentials, which is useful for sampling stratified, tight or unconsol idated formations, and for sampling near the saturation point of Duis Additional applications of tie duakpaeker module ‘will be discussed in subsequent chapters. They include vertical interference testing when combined with a single probe, miniproduction tests (MPTS), and deter mining rock property characteristics by creating mini- fractures in the formation. The MRPA has no separate flowline vesistivity cell, but a proceiure allows use of the single-probe module cell while testing and sampling with the packer module. Bypass ne Iniiaoble packers ' Measured interval Inewval sample point Packer smendeel Inxeeval somate valve pressure gauge swan qouye Wellbore Autodeflate valve Flowtine bus Figure 73. Sketch ofthe dual packer moduleModular reservoir pumpout module ‘The first requirement in recovering representative for- ‘mation fluid samples is to delay the procedure until the flovwiine fhtid has reached a minimum level of contami- nation with mud filtrate, While the flowline fluids are still contaminated), they must be fused from the flow: line and returned to the mud column, This is the main funetion of the modular reservoir pumpout module (RPO). ‘The pumpout module can operate in one of three modes, In “pumpout® mode, fluid is pumped from the formation to the borehole. In Spump-in” mode, fluid is, pumped from the wellbore to the flowline, such as when inflating the packer elements of the dual-packer module, Tn “internal” mode, fluid is pumped from any point of the lowtine to any other point of the lowline. ‘The tool must be configured accordingly before running in the hole. The interaal mode is used for low-shock fluid sampling, a technique in which the fuids are pumped against hydrasiatic pressure, guaranteeing that: draw- down stays minimum and the fluid sativation point is never reached. The rate of pumping depends on the differential pres- sure against whiel the pump is working, At about 95% duty eyele (efficieney), the pump delivers approximately 05 gaVimin against a 1,000-psi pressure differential, and approximately 0.3 gal/min against a 2,500-psi pressure differential. The cumulative volume is measured by counting the number of pump strokes and is displayed on the log Figure 74 illustrates the sequence of pumpout module operations. In this example, the resistivity curve shows that initially, most of the fluid in the flowline was filtrate, Alter moving 25 gal of flowline fluid out into the bore- hole, the sample unit was opened to recover an uneonta- inated sample, as confirmed by the flowline resistivity ‘Modula reservoir fluid analyzer module In representative formation fluid sampling, & second requirement is a detection system to indicate fluid type. Besides the owline resistivity measurement, a series of ‘optical measurements is performed in the OFA tool, the modular reservoir fluid analyzer module (MRFA) module, These optical measurements help characterize the lowiline Mud, including data to differentiate hycro- carbons from oil-base drilling mucflteate, Modeling the ‘optical properties af the lowline finié in relation to those of the filtrate allows us to determine, with a high degree of arcuracy, the percentage of contamination of the sample, which indicates if it is representative, Figure 75 shows a sketch of the OFA tool. The fist of the OFA sensors is @ spectrometer that analyzes the near-infrared spectrum of light passing througie the flos'- line fluid, The second sensor is a gas refractometer that confirms the presence of gas. The third is the LRA sensor, whieh is @ detector for monitoring the presence of methane in the flowline fluid, whether itis dissolved in the liquid or in the gas phase. ‘The OFA measurements are performed in real time. Figure 76 shows log ofthe optical fluid properties when sampling a dark-colored oil in a well drilled with oil-base nud, After the pumpout is started at B15 5, the fluid col- oration curve decreases quickly as the mud in the flow line cleans up and then stabilizes for the rest of the log. Methane detection, on the other hand, clearly shows an increasing response even after the fluid coloration indi cator (mnemonic Fluid COLoration log channel [FCOL]) becomes stable, This means that cleanup is still occurzing, The contamination levels of the first and second samples were 12% and 7.5% after 21 min and 60 min of pumpout, respectively. Four more samples ‘were subsequently taken Interpretation of the OFA and LRA measurements and their use in contamination monitoring will be dis- ‘cussed in Chapter Festing Interpretation Software ‘SchlumbergerCumulative Flowline Probe volume vesistivty prassure pumped lohm-m) (psi (gal) Ea 147000 30 121 6009 % vo 5000 » 08} 4000 15 06} A009 0 os} 2,000 5 02} 100 \camutve voume pumped 0 00 L L o © 6 8 1 i 10 Time {min} Figure 74, Fxample ota pumpaut medule tme log shnwing probe pressure, lowlive resistivity and cunnatve volume pumped. juid low ge Foowiine (o- Water Ml Oil Ml Gas Figure 75 Skotch ofthe OFA maéule wit ts liquid and gae detectors Liquid ‘etector Fundamentals of Formation Testing Testing Operations and Data Collections 16) 6onamianion Five samples were collected aiter 82 mu pumping out the contamination change. This is not {- Monitoring the methane peak co show [ ‘evident with the flu color response. ‘One sample was taken after 21 min ‘pumping aut | temas fluid enty is seen on color and meitiane peak channels. Pumpout started Figure 6. OFA tine log when sampling anol formation dries with i-base mul, ‘Modular reservoir multisample module ‘The third requirement for a PYF-quality sample collec- tiom is to have an appropriate sample receiver available. ‘This ean be satisfied with either conventional sample chambers, or with the multisample module, The modular reservoir multisample module (MRMS) contains six sample chambers mounted on a single carrie, Bach sample chamber, called the modular pressure sample receptacle (MPSR), collects a 450-cin! sample suitable for PVT analysis. Surface-controlled valves open and close specific sample receptacles as required. This makes it possible to take multiple samples during one tool set ar various times of fluid flow, or to fill single sample bottles at different depths. A throttling valve, acting as an inlet choke, provides pressure control while sampling, Additional control devices, such as a water ccashion, ean be used in each of the sample receptacles. ‘The MRMS module can be placed above or below the sampling probe. 6 At the surface, the sampie receptacles easily detach from the carrier. The bottles meet US. Department of ‘Transportation (DOT) regulations for shipping presstr- ized containers, so there is no need for high-pressure transfer at-the wellsite ‘The single-phase muultisample chamber (SPMC) cant be used for sampling fluids near their bubblepoint or when there is a risk of crossing the phase envelope uring or after the sampling operation. SPMEC, developed by Gilphase, is a 250-cm® sample receptacle that replaces the MPSR in the MEMS. The sample is over pressured during sample retrieval by releasing a preset nitrogen charge, which increases the sample pressure in the chamber by 1,600 psi. Thus, the sample remains in a singlesphase stale at all times, which suppresses the need for lengthy recombination of two-phase samples, Another advantage is that the high chamber pressure prevents asphaltene precipitation, which is an ire versibie process. Asphaltenes would remain in solid form even after recombination of the sample into a single liquid phase. Applications of the SPMC will be described in Chapter Reservoir Fluid Sampling SchlumbergerCO ee eee en ee ee ene eg Ne nO Rete ee ee ae Segoe a Cased hole wireline esting ‘The CHDT* Caved Hole Dynamics Tester uses the modu: lar design of the MOT tool. It incorporates a rotary design that drills Unrough casing (0.28-in, hole), cement and formation (6-in, penetration) te measure formation pressw'e and take samples, Whenever these operations are complete at any setting depth, a steel plugs forced through the casing hole, providing a seal holding a pres. sue differential of up to 10,000 psi. Up to six holes ean be plugged per descent. ‘The CHDT tool is equipped with the OQG pressure sauge. It features a pretest volume of up to 100 em? and is combinable with the MDT modules (in casings 7 in, and larger). The same pressure testing and sampling options are provided as are in openliole: flowline resis tivity monitoring, pumpoet of sampled fluid into the wellbore, OFA monitoring, and sample chamber options, including the 450-cm’ MRMS receptacles Drillstem testing Purpose of a DST A DSP string is « multiple array of downhole hardware used for the temporary completion of a well, or somes times for longer-duration produetion tests in which the completion is semipermanent, DSTs are a sale and efi cient method of controlling the flow while gathering essential reservoir data in te exploration, appraisal and sometimes development phase of well. DSTS ate also Used to perform essential preconditioning or treatment, services prior to permanent completion. Table 5 lists the functions of the coniponents that make up atypical DST string with simultaneous tubing-conveyed perforating (ICP), as shown in Fig. 77 Modern DST strings are fullbore, which means that they have a flush opening (2¥4-in. inside diameter (ID]) running through the entire string of tools, allowing pres sure gauges and other slim (typically, 1!e-in.) tools to be run, usually in surface readout (SRO) mode DST strings include pressure gauge carriers, These are special collars that may contain up to four pressure gauges burled together, thus providing tedundaney in Jong tests in which one or more gauges could fail. These gauges only perform downhele-recorded (DER) type measurements, except for the UNIGAGE pressure gauge system, described later in this chapter Fundamentals uf Formation Testing Wet Tasty Operas 2 Tubing a cnitpipe Sip ints (2 oF mare} —— Dull collars _— Redundant circulating valve _—— rit collars Primary cieauny valve Radioactive markey Ori colars Surface readout Downhole valve | __— Hydrostatic reference to! Pressure cecorderst2.0r more) Hydraulic jar Safety joint Packer Stores vlppe ___ Debris su Tubing |_____ Flnng neaa Safety spacer | Perforating gua igure 11. Typical DST-TCP tasting string, ‘ata Collections orTable 5. Typical DST or TCP String Components aed Functions Tool Function Tubing or ‘ariline Provides flav path to surface ‘Sip joint Dail coir Provides weight fr downhole tools Cieulating valve sing contents at end ofthe test Correlates depth during TOP Radioactive sub Surface readout Compensates for expansion or contraction ofthe sting Pravidas an independent method of eiulation and secondary reversing; circulates out “Monitors downhole pressure and temperature events Downhole valve Controls formation flow isolates cusion an perform other functions Roference tol Minimizes surge or swab affects and vaps reference hydostatic pressure in PCT valve Recorder Records pressure and tamporature versus time during the est. vn Provides upsvan to ire stuck tools — Satety joint Packer Perforated pine Avoids accumulation of debri Isolates between annulus and formation Provides flow path for formation fluids Provides backoft fecliy i sing becomes stuck Debris sub ntop ofthe ing head Tubing ——SS‘Spacesouttools TL Firing head Initates the fring sequence Spacer Separates guns from the fring head salty device) Porforatinggun Contains perforating charges Pressure-controlled tester valve ‘The DST string shown in Fig. 78 is one of the most common assemblies used. The heart of the system is the pressure-controlled tester (PCT) valve, which is oper- ated by annulus pressure to control formation flow. By operating the PCT valve, the reservoir can be opened to flow or shut-in, according to the test design. Figure 79 shows a typical DST test pressure sequence, where the downhole pressures were continuously moni- tored in a downhole-recorded time log. From time 0 to time 1.6, the string is lowered into the well. From time 1,6 to time 34, the packer is set and the string is pres- sure-tested. Ai time 3.4 the reservoir is opened for a short test. This initial flor period serves the purpose of leaning the formation éainage and measuring an initial shut-in pressure after a short buildup (from time 3.5 to time 4.3). The reservoir is then opened fora longer dura tion, sometimes called the “final low period” (from time 43 to time 5.3), when the valve is closed for a final buildup (ftom time 53 to time 7.1). The packer is then unseated and the DST string is retumed to the surface. ‘The PCT valve normally is run in conjunetion with a hydraulic reference tool, which traps hydrostatic pres sure inside the PCT and serves as an independent pres sure generator,Drilipipe —__ tt Sp spes Sint use Dri colts Radioective marker | Single-shot reversing valve Orit covers DataLatch surfece reacout IRIS dual valve UNIGAGE recorcer carries Hydraulic jar Safety joint FlexP ac” high-periorniance service packer holddown FlexPac pacter Perforated ale obs sub Tubing —— Fring head Satety soacer Figure 78. 10,000-psi PCT string with Databatch recorder and TOP guns. Fundamentals uf Furmabon Testing Wet! Tesung HSD* High Shot Density gue Intelligent Remote Implementation System ‘The IRIS* Intelligent Remote Implementation System is a recent development for operating the downhole tools ofa DST string. Itis built around a pulse-operated tester valve, the Intelligent Remote Dual Valve (IRDV). Low. intensity commands are sent down the annultis and detected by the intelligent controller in the tool. The pulses, recognized as IRIS system commands, trigger the operation of the IRDV by means of the liydrostatic pres- sure available in the reference pressure tool. Figure 80 shows two series of IRIS system command pulses used to control the [RDV during typical DST and TCP tests. The record colored in red shows the annulus pressure when the guns are fired with a drop bar, while the record col- ored inc blue shows the annulus pressure when it is also used to fire the guns. ‘The IRIS system has mary advantages. One of them is that the annulus pressure is no longer used to actuate the main tester valve, This provides additional flexibility, especially in the case of complex DSY strings where the operating window of the tester valve is narrow because of the large namber of components carried by the string, Another aelvantage is that the IRDV is used both as the tester valve and as the primary reversing valve. A revers- ing valve is needed to circulate the contents of the pipe out of the DST string after a test. 1s 409 Data Cotecuous ea3.000 Downhole recorder | | Bortomnole pressure 2.000 tH losis! o 1 2 & 4 § 6 7 8 3 Elapsed une the) Figure 78. ample a UST test pressure sequence. = TOP guns fires using annular pressure 1.200 = TOP guns fied using op bar +000 _ | | tr guns are Applied 800 7 =e | annular Drop bar pressure TCP guns fra Main ow period (os) 600), Test valve closos \ ww “\\ / eee "Ul Wil | 0 Test valve opens, Tine Disable Circulating sequential made sequential vaive enabled made opens Figure 80. Typical annulus pressure records on DST-TCP tests n ‘SchlumbergerFigure 81 shows a complete 10,000-psi fullbore string equipped with an IRIS tester valve, DataLatch xecorder/transmitter and a UNIGAGE recorder carter: In this figure, the packer is the Schlumberger FlexPac* high-performance service packer. The FlexPac packer is designed for testing and TCP operations. Fundamentals of Formation Testing = Drillpiae | 1 _~ Slip joint open Stipjint half closed Slip joint closed Dri collars |___ Matticyole circulating valve Dail cotars | Radioactive marker Singfe-shot covorsing valve DateLatch suriace readout Dri collars Oovwnhole tester valve Hydrostatic eterence tool UNIGAGE cevecder carrier Hydraulic jar Sofaty joint FlexPac packer system Perforated pipe Debris sub Tubing Firing hoad Safety spacer 14D gun Figure 81. 10,000-psi IRIS string with DstaLatch recorder and TCP. Testing Operations and Data Gallestions nUniversal Pressure Platform and UNIGAGE recorder ‘The Universal Pressure Platform (UPP) syster uses the latest Schltunberger pressure measurement technology for downhole well testing. The UPP can handle any test configuration, from a slickline test to a DSI, and is based around the UNIGAGE recorder, supporting the following pressure sensors: = 0Q6 quartz gauge = Quartzdyne quarte gauge, customized by Schlumberger = Sapphire strain gauge = H-Sapphire* hostile environment pressure gauge. Figure 82 shows that the UPP can be used in DHR mode, suspended on a slickdine or in a DS carrier; or in SRO mode, suspended on an electric cable, in the DataLatch system, or in a permanent installation. Figure 83 shows the architecture of the UNIGAGE recorder, which is common to the entire family of UPP gauges. It features a processor with intelligent firmware k ost Slektine Downhole Recorders: Figure #2. Versatay of the UPP, n loctric ‘ine for data processing and) programming, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) chip to store data, and an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chip for signal processing. The UNIGAGE recorder can be used both in SRO and DAR modes, so changing the test program ‘on the fly” does not require changing gauges. This option provides additional flexi bility’ in conducting DST tests. Rugged construction allows the UNIGAGE system to withstand shocks gener- ated by TOP perforating and jarring, Data scanning rates in the UNIGAGE recorder can be as fast as 0.1 s, ‘enabling it to capture even the most rapid pressure ‘changes. Memory capacity can accommodate up to 480,000 triplets of (time, pressure and. temperature) values. Data-storing algorithms include a “mentary guard” that allows the time to fill the last 20% of the recorder capacity to be stretched, typically up to 300 hu. ‘The OD of the recorder is only 2 in,, enabling the use of up to four individual recorders in the DataLatch DST cartier, Figure 84 shows the architecture of the UNIGAGE system CQG recorder: Datalatch tool Permanent ‘gauge Surfaon ReadoutsUNIGAGE recorder section 1 C6 quartz Customized sensor Guartzdyne sensor Figure 83. Architecture of he UNIGAGE reorder. Fundamentals ofFormatinn Testing = Wel Testing Operations and Data Collections Battery section {single- or sdouble-tte pack) H-Sapphire ‘sensor Blectne line section Microcontroller EEPROM data memory asic Sensor subsection Sapphire ‘sensoria 11,608 in} Electric Ine rmadiule — Batery section Recoraer section Sensor section Figure 84. Architecture ofthe COG UNIGAGE recocder 4 DataLatch recorder ‘The DataLatch recorder is a downtole data acquisition management system that is part of modern DST strings, It combines the advantages of downhole recording (ty ically during flow periods) and those of surface readout (typically during shut-in periods). ‘The interpretation of pressure data recorded during flow periods is best performed when the measurement of downhole flow rate is available, so a production logging tool must be mun through the testing string to monitor pressure and flow rate in teal time. However, it is often undesirable to run cables through the DST string during flow periods, mostly for safety’ and operational reasons. Therefore, downhole rate measurements are frequentiy ‘omitted, and downhole pressure measurements are per formed in DAR mode. When the well is shut-in, however, cables are run into the well and it is desirable to observe the pressure buildup in real time. The DataLaatch recorder offers this possibility by means of the LINC* Latehed Inductive Coupling tool, which latches into the recorder section of the DataLatch too}, Th’s allows memories to be read out, the gauge acquisition schedule to be reprogrammed if necessary, and continued monitoring of the buildup in real time ‘The LINC tool also can be run and safely latehed during flow periods without choking the flow. ‘The components of the DataLateh system are shown in Fig. 85, Note that in this figure the “Test Valve” repre sents the main DST tester valve (PCT tester or IRIS system) and is not part of the DataLateh sysiem, The ‘components include ™ the Databatch gauge adaptor (DGA), shown in Pig, 86. The DGa is a recorder carrier that can accom- iodate up to four recorders of the UNIGAGE fail ‘These recorders are set in the walls of the DGA body, which preserves the fullbore feature. Bach of the four pressure recorders can be indifferently targeted to measure any of the “rathole” (reservoir) pressures, the tubing pressure or the annulus pressure. This ver- satilty allows full control of the operating and mea suving environments at all times, = the DataLatch wireline adaptor (DLWA), a fullbore tool that serves as the interface between the gauges and the powerlatched inductive coupling, the LING tool = the LINC downhole coupling adaptor (LDCA), shown in Fig. 87. The LDGA is a fullbore eleetrical wireline connector designed to establish communication between the gauges inside the DGA and the surface computer system, using an induetive coupling. The communication is Via electromagnetic transmission. ‘without electrical contacts, ‘Schlumberger1 [ec Wireline "SMART* Schlumberger Modular Acquistion Recording Tecminal Func rina ot Downnole couplor __ UNE wireline adaptor DST gauge adaptor Testvalve Figure 25, Qatal atch system configuration Fundamentals nf Formation Testing = 19 Operations ard Data Collectionsthe LINC running too, shown in Fig. 88: 1!Y-in-OD tool run with an electric line, consisting of an electri- cal cartridge and a latching mechanism, The running too! latches into the latched downhole coupling adap- tor (LDGA) profile during the operation, while two- way surface-to-downhole communication is. estab- lished. —_—_Fiser sine Top sub, 3)b:n, For Bibsin, PH Nimans No-go profilo latch / LBS voce t Biank LING female coupler } Annular fuid bypass Annvivs Tubing _/ \ Pressure adzptors Std Slots 1,2 and u Bottom sub, 31¢-n, [For 3). PHS To the gauges Figure 87, Latched inductive downhole coupler. Figure 85. DataLatch gauge adaptor % SchlumbergerWeight bars 4J-slot ndex mechanism LUNG corning too! latch \__ Selecve profile taten keys 1 LINC running — UNE male coupier 00! eanvidge Figure 8, Latched inductive enning too DST sample chambers and carriers ‘The fullbore annular sampling chamber (FASC) was designed to ensure representative samples. It consists of a 5¥4in, annular sampling chamber, water cushion and piston. The FASC takes a sample of the flowing fluid at the end of a drawdown test. ‘The latest technology features a DST sub capable of housing up to six single-phase reservoir sampler (SRS) tools. The SRS is a 1¥in, 600-cm?, nitrogen-charged sample charaber similar in principle to the SPMC devel oped ty Oilphase. This 7¥-in, DST sub is called the SRS samiple cartier (SCAR). It functions by means of TRIS commands triggering the openting and closing of the SRS sample chamubers. The IRIS commands ate received by the IRIS sampler trigger (ISFT), which is a Pisin. trig: set sonde coupled to the SRS in the SCAR, Each SRS is equipped with its own ISPT. Other DST string configurations Openhole DSTs were once performed with the multiflaw evaluator (NFB) system, which is now obsolete. DST strings for TCP aperations are discussed in the Simultaneous Perforating and Testing section. Other available DST strings are for hostile environment appli cations: high pressure (15,000 an 17,500 psi), high pres sure and high temperature, and slim hole. Fundamentals of Formauon Testing Wel Tesrny Upetauons aid Data Collections ”Simultaneous perforating and testing ‘There are many advantages in combining perforating and testing operations. Most significantly, perforating can be performed underbalanced, resulting in clean per- forations and an undamaged formation before testing. ‘Two procedures can be used: TCP and measurements while perforating (MWP). TeP ‘The TCP mode is ideal for Lesting flowing wells in tem- porary completions. Perforating guns are ran at the bottom of the DST string, a configuration that provides complete flexibility in the selection of gun system type, size, shot density and phasing. Also, TCP and DST oper= ations allow the possibility to perform downhole shut-in, thereby greatly reducing wellbore storage (WBS) effects. Figure 81 represents a typical 10,000-psi DST-TCP testing string, based around the [RDV system as the main DST valve. Figure 89 represents a simplified ver- sion of he same string, operated in DER mode and with out slip Jeints, used for *shoot-and-puil” applications. ‘The main purpose of these strings is to convey the TOP guns and provige the means to set the underbalance prior to perforating the well, Pressure gauges are usually run to monitor the pressures before and after perforat- ing, but surface readout. can be provided as required by the DataLateh recorder or optionally (but less tte quently) by hanging gauges at the end of the cable, In another application of the DST-TCP concept, the Dig-bore IRIS (Fig, 90) isa DST string specially suited to high fow rate, long-duration ests and through-tubing ‘operations in 9%4-in, casing, The large diameter of this string can accommodate 27-in, guns, By setting large Doce plug in @ nipple befow the packer, the well can be suspended to avoid exposing the formation to damaging Kill uid before being put on production. Mwp In MWP mode, the guns are run with the wireline eable through the produetion tubing and a measurements: while-perforating tool (MWPT) is connected above the gun, MWP is performed! in surface readout mode, and the measurements include gaia ray radioactivity, a casing collar locator, wellbore pressure and temperature, Early versions of the MWPY tool also included a spinner flowmeter, to measure downhole rates on flow tests ane, during the afterflow period, on buildup tests. This option is rarely used because of potential damage to the spinner by the mush of finids. In the MWPT tool, suitable shock absorbers help to mechanically decouple the guns from the measurement system. Ifnecessary, 2 bottom adaptor can fire the guns electrically. Drilpipe Redioactve marker Single-shat caversing vaiwe Datipe IRIS dual vaive UNIGAGE recorder caviar Hydraulic jar Safety joint FlexPac holddown FlexPac packer Perforated pipo Debris sub Tubing Firing head Safety spacer HSD gun Figure 89, Simpitied IRIS 10,000-psi sting for DST-TCP operations. ‘The MWP option is ideal for reperforating a zone with underbalance or for placing additional perforations in completed wells. The drawbacks of the MWP through: tubing configuration are the limited options available in the choice of the gun system and the lack of a downhole shut-in option. MWP and DST-TCP perforating are repre- sented side by side in Fig. 91fl Tubing Tubing ilvtest valve Single-shot reversing valve Crassover IRIS dual valve UNIGAGE recorder cartier ‘Seal assembly — Nipple profile Figure 91, Sinutaneous perforating and testing: MUP (left) and DST-TCP ight options. Figure 90, Big-bore IRIS sting for simultaneous perforating and testing, Fundamentals of Formation Testing # Well Testing Operations and Data Collections aWell tests for TCP and MWP oper In simultaneous perforating and testing operations, the fuids may flow to the surface, or the reservoir energy may be t00 weak, in which case the well dies under the hydrostatic pressure of the lui filling the tubing or DST string (this is called a slug test). In another option, the fluids are deliberately prevented from flowing past the vvellhead by perforating with the main wellhead valve closed, This i called a closed ehamber test (CCT). ‘A slug test occurs when the reservoir pressure is depleted and the produced fuids cannot reach the sur face, The fluid cushion hydrostatic head must be reduced to achieve the desired undertalance. The hydrostatic pressure of the column of produced fluids eventually balances the reservoir pressure, and the well stops flowing The interpretation technique calls for extracting flow rates from the differentiation of the pres sites, asstiting a constant wellbore fluid compressibility In a high-energy CCT, the main surface valve is closed. The produiced Muids compress the cushion, chosen to be of @ compressibility near that of the reservoir fluid. Because of the high reservoir pressure, the cushion reaches the surface without dead volume and the well- hore compressibility can be considered constant. In a low-energy CCT, the cushion volume has to be avlapted to reservotr pressure. Therefore, the cushion ‘does not reach the surface artd the wellbore fluid com: pressibility varies. Flow rates can no longer be: derived by differentiation of the pressures, and downhole flow ‘rates measured by a spinner must be used for the inter- pretation of the test, A favored operating technique that applies to either ‘How, slug or CCT tests is “impulse testing,” which was introduced by Ayoub et al. (1988). [tis relatively easy to implement and extremely quick in terms of operating time. Immediately after perforating, the well is put in production for a short period, typically a few minutes. A shut-in time follows, its duration being equivalent to between @ and 20 times the length of the production time Because af the short production time, the reservoir response is assimilated to its response under an ideal “impulse"—a Dirac function in mathematical terms ‘Theory shows that the resulting pressure changes follow the derivative of the reservoit's drawdown response. & prerequisite for impulse testing interpretation is that the reservoir pressure p, be known, Interpretation of slug tests, closed chamber tests and innpulse tests will he discussed in Chapter Advanced Applications of Transient Testing. ns eo ‘Well tests in production and injection wells In completed wells, producing or injecting, testing is usually performed by running the measurement gauges to depth through the tubing. It is Duportant that the pressure measurement be performed at a depth as close as possible to that of the owing interval. This is to avoid any effects caused by an unknown Iiydrostatie ecluran of wellbore fluid separat ing the measurement and flow depths, as any change in fluid density would be interpreted by the pressure in terms of reservoir response. Although present in all tests, this effect is particularly acute in gas wells. Ths is, because changes in yas compressibility with varying pressure, and the precipitation of condensate when the desspoint is reached during a buildup, often misiead the interpretation even when measurements are taken at reservoir depth ‘In production and injection wells, measurements are taken in SRO or DAR mode, as seen fit by the operator. ‘The Schlumberger UNIGAGE pressure platform fits both SRO and DHR modes. Downhole-recorded tests are per formed by ranning the gauges on slickline for simple applications. These can be the acquisition of a pressure gradient, or a buildup test conducted mainly to measure he static reservoir pressure. SRO tests are performed using att electric line or a slim conductor line, Another alternative to the UNIGAGE platform in production and injection wells is the MWPT tool. When the downhole flow rate measurement is required, the only options are to run the MWPT tool (if equipped with a spinner), or better yet, a production Jogging tool stich as the PS Platform (ool, [n well testing applications, the PS Platform (ool is run in a simple con iguration featuring at least pressure, flow and wellbore temperatare. The gradiomaniometer should be added to measure fluid density, model wellbore effects and mea- sure any hydrostatic pressure loss between the pressure gauge and the ceservoir interval, The PS Platform tool can be run in either SRO or DER mode, Bottombole sampling in prociuction wells is discussed in Chapter Reservoir Fluid Sampling. It is usually per formed with the SRS.Control of wellbore effects while testing Im conventional tests, DST tests, or it production or injection wells, storage effects are created by wellbore volume. In wivetine tests, storage effects are created by the combined volumes of the pretest chamber and the section of the flowline separating the probe from the pressure gauge WBS effects are analogous to a pedestrian taking shelter under a tree when it begins to rain (the flow period). Initially, rain water is absorbed by the foliage of the tree and the shelter is effective, When all of the foliage has been saturated with water it rains as much under the tree as it does in the street. When the shower stops (the shut-in period), it still rains under the tree because of the accumulation of water (etorage) in the foliage. It is only later that the leaves stop dripping and it is as dry under the tree as it is in the street. ‘In conventional tests it usually is desirable to reduce the WBS effects by limiting the wellbore volume, This can be done by downhole shut-in, or by simultaneously measuring downhole flow rates together with the pres- sure during the afterflow period ‘The main tester valve, operated by annulus pressure, provides downhole shut-in in DST and DST-TCP tests. It allows as many open-clase eyeles as necessary, Aseparate downhole shut-in valve must be run in pro- ducing well tests. These are tubing valves run either on the electric line or aslickline. The tubing must have been equipped with nipples that will lateh in the correspond: ing profile of the valve, retaining it in place. Figure 92 ‘shows a downhole shut-in valve fitted with the UNIGAGE. pressure recorder, latched in place in the tubing above the packer, The WBS has been reduced to the volume color-coded grey. Schlumberger downhole shut-in valves can be oper ated by battery systems, mechanical action or a clock mechanism. The valves currently used are ™ the multishot downhole shut-in tool (MSDST), oper- ated by pulls on the line, in SRO or DAR mode = the battery-operated shut-in tool (BOST), in DHR made only = the multishot operation shnt.in tool (MOST), oper ated by pulls on the line (up to 12 cycles), in SRO or DHR moile. = the explosive-ee shut-in tool (EFST), elockoper: ated, in DAR mode only. It is a single-shot tool, free of explosives, which operates without batteries or elee tronics It is also possible to control wellbore effects during transient tests by simultaneously recording dowahole pressure and rates with a production logging tool Fundamentals ef Fermation Testing Shestne ____ UNIBAGE recoraer Downhole sharia t00| Figure 82 Downhole shun valve latched inthe wing ck pra ducing well In drawdown testing, the simultaneous measurement of downhole pressutes and rates allows flow tests to be interpreted with greater accuracy than in the absence of a flow rate measurement, Flow rates are constantly changing during drawdown tests, a result of factors including reservoir heterogeneity, varying depths ot investigation of the pressure disturbance, and variable skin as the well cleans up, AS a consequence, the mea- sured pressures are also fluctuating and the pressure response calunol be interpreted by assiiming a constant flow rate, With the addition af the downhole flow rate ‘measurements, however, the pressure and rates can be decoupled (or decanvolved) from each other to establish an equivalent constant rate presse function. This pro cedure is termed “pressure-rate deconvolution,” and will be discussed in Chapter Advanced Applications of Transient Testing. In buildup testing, deconvolution can also be used provided downhole rates are available, to correct for the effects of WBS during the afterflow. As its name iraplies, alterflow represents the sandface reservoir flow that ‘occurs after shut-in. With a spinner flowmeter in place during the buildup, the afterflow rates will be measured and deconvolved from the measured pressures. Because the afterflow sibsides and because of the inherent limitation of spinners at low ow rates, the Testing Operators and Data Cotactions 8