31/03/2019

Koya University
Faculty of Engineering
Department of Petroleum Engineering
Fouth Stage

Well Testing Engineering

Horizontal Well Testing

Farhad Abdulrahman
Assistant Lecturer

Contents

• Definition

• Advantages

• Flow Regimes

• Problems

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Horizontal Well
• A well with a radius of r𝑤
goes through infinite
reservoir over a length (𝐿)
with a thickness (H)
bounded by impermeable
beds. H
𝑟𝑤

• In Horizontal Well Testing,

the following reservoir L
parameters are estimated:

𝐾, 𝑃𝑖, 𝐾𝑒𝑓𝑓 & 𝑆

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Advantages of Horizontal Wells

• Large volume of reservoir can be drained.
• Higher production from thin pay zone
• Able to minimize water and gas coning
problem
• Reduce near wellbore gas velocities and
turbulence
• Provide a higher injection rate in secondary
and EOR Application
• Provide contact with multiple fractures thus
greatly improve productivity.
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Problems

• Non uniform skin effect along the wellbore.

• Selective completions along the horizontal

well.

• Heterogeneities in vertical and lateral

directions.

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Comparison Between Horizontal and

Vertical Well Testing
Horizontal Well Testing Vertical Well Testing

• Permeability in 3D • One average permeability

• Width and Length is • Only vertical h is used

taken into account. • Normal skin factor, S

• Pseudo-skin factor, 𝑆𝑧 is

present

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Horizontal and Vertical Well

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Steps in Evaluating Horizontal Well

Testing

• Identify Flow Regime

• Apply Proper Procedure

• Evaluating uniqness and sensitivity of the data

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Identifying Flow Regime

• Use pressure transient test to identify major and
distinct flow regimes.

• Pressure transient test in horizontal well is more

complex than conventional vertical well (due to its 3D
nature).

• Normally a vertical well centres a single flow regime,

but in horizontal wells, instead of one radial flow
regime that develops after disappearing the effect of
wellbore storage, 3 flow regimes may occur (Radial,
Linear and Pseudo-Radial Regimes)

• Use a semi-log derivative plot of dp & dp Derivative (P

transient test) versus elapsed time.
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Identifying Flow Regime

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Apply Proper Procedure

• Each flow regime can be modelled by an
equation that can be used to estimate
reservoir properties.

• At best, only groups of analytical parameters

can be determined directky from equations.

• Proper analytical and graphical methods

must be used.

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Identifying Flow Regime

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Evaluate Uniqness and Sensitivity

• Uniqness and sensitivity of results
properties must be evaluated, HOW?

– Simulation of the test using properties

determined from the test can confirm the
consistency of analysis and test data.

– Simulation can also help determine if other

tests of formation property data will lead to a
better fit set of data.
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Basic Flow Regimes

• Divided into 3 parts:

– Radial Flow (Early)

– Linear Flow (Intermediate)

– Pseudo-radial flow (Late time)

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Identifying Flow Regime

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Early Radial Flow (y-z Plane)

• Definition:
Occurs before pressure transient caused by this production
encounters the vertical boundaries of the reservoir.

• Presence of upper and lower boundaries are not being felt in

the wellbore (this results the well to become infinite medium).

• Early radial flow is not influenced by reservoir boundaries.

• If there is a large difference between horizontal and vertical

permeability, the flow will be elliptical.

• If there is a small difference between the two permeabilities

the flow cannot be seen.

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Identifying Flow Regimes in

Horizontal Wells

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General Equation
162.6 𝑞 𝐵 𝜇 𝑘𝑥 𝑘𝑧 𝑡
𝑃𝑖 − 𝑃𝑤𝑓 = 𝐿𝑜𝑔10 − 3.227 + 0.868 𝑆𝑑
𝑘𝑧 𝑘𝑥 𝐿𝑤 ∅𝜇𝑐𝑡 𝑟𝑤 2

Slope

The early-radial flow regime may in theory start at time

zero, in absence of wellbore storage effects. The end of the
early-radial flow regime may occur when the transient
reaches a vertical boundary or when flow comes from
beyond the end of the wellbore. The end of the period is
the smaller of these two values.

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Equations used for ERF Regime

Effective Permeability (𝑲𝒛 )

Skin

The End Period of Early-Radial Flow Regime

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The End Period of Early-Radial Flow Regime

• The end of the early-radial flow regime may occur when the
transient reaches a vertical boundary or when flow comes
from beyond the end of the wellbore.
A. When the transient reaches the nearst boundary, dz, from the
well:

1800 𝑑𝑧 2 ∅𝜇𝐶𝑡
𝑡𝐸𝑒𝑟𝑓 =
𝑘𝑧
B. When flow from beyond the end of the wellbore:

125 𝐿𝑤 2 ∅𝜇𝐶𝑡
𝑡𝐸𝑒𝑟𝑓 =
𝑘𝑦
• The actual end is the SMALLEST Valve of the two periods
obtained from these two equations.

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Example 1.0
• From drawdown test data from well ERF-1, the diagnostic
plot indicates the data from approximately 0.24 to 24 hours
may be in early-radial flow.

• The following information is availabe fro this well: 𝑞

𝑆𝑇𝐵 𝑅𝐵
= 800 , 𝜇 = 1 𝑐𝑝, 𝐵 = 1.25 , 𝑟 = 0.25 𝑓𝑡, ∅ = 0.2 & 𝑐𝑡
𝐷 𝑆𝑇𝐵 𝑤
−6
= 15 𝑥 10 𝑝𝑠𝑖 −1

• Centred in box-shaped drainage are:

h=200ft,𝑏𝐻 = 4000𝑓𝑡, 𝑎𝐻 = 2000𝑓𝑡, 𝐿𝑤 = 1000𝑓𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑘𝑥
= 200 𝑚𝑑
• Calculate:
,

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Example 1.0 (contd.)

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Linear Flow (y-plane)

• Top and bottom boundaries exert their inferences
while the horizontal well length is still important.

• Intermediate flow occur when the effects of one

vertical boundary are felt much sooner than the effects
of other.

• Length of well = reservoir thickness

• Pressure transient reaches reservoir boundaries

• Will not happen when:

– Formation is tick and kv/kh is small.
– Pressure maintained by gas cap and aquifer
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Linear Flow (Contd.)

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Linear Flow (Contd.)

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Equations
• Permeability is encountered at y-axis plane:
𝑘𝑦 ∅𝐶𝑡 𝐿ℎ ℎ
𝜇
• Drawdown can be determined by using the equation:
8.128 𝑞𝑜𝑖𝑙 𝐵𝜇 𝜇 141.2 𝑞 𝐵𝜇 𝑘𝑣 𝐿𝑤 𝑘𝑣
𝑃𝑖 − 𝑃𝑤𝑓 = 𝑡+ 𝑠+ 𝑠
ℎ 𝐿𝑤 ∅𝑐𝑡 𝑘ℎ 𝑘ℎ 𝑘𝑣 𝐿𝑤 𝑘ℎ ℎ 𝑘ℎ 𝑧

• Skin can be calculated with:

𝑘ℎ ℎ 𝜋 𝑟𝑤 𝑘𝑣 𝜋 𝑧𝑤
𝑠𝑧 = − ln 1+ sin
𝑘𝑣 𝐿𝑤 ℎ 𝑘ℎ ℎ

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Equations of Linear Flow

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Equations of Linear Flow (contd.)

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Example 2.0

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Late Radial Flow (x-y Plane)

• Definition:
– Flow is radial in the horizontal plane where the horizontal acting
like a point surface.
• The influence of the upper and lower boundaries will cause
another radial flow regime where the exist of the flow is
vertical but flow is still in the horizontal plane.
• Late pseudo-radial flow begins after flows enter the wellbore
from beyond the end of the wellbore.
• Once the area affected is the entire width of the reservoir,
then the late-linear flow regime begins.
• Late radial flow will not occur if the external boundaries are
felt and definitely not occur if the pressure is supported by an
aquifer or a gas cap.

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Equations of Late Radial Flow

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Equations of Late Radial Flow

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Equations of Late Radial Flow

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Example 3.0

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End

Next: SWT

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