PRESSURE BUILD-UP TEST

Lecture 4a – Fiki Hidayat, M.Eng

INTRODUCTION

• Pressure Build-Up test is the most frequently used in pressure transient test.
• The test is conducted by producing well at constant rate for some time, shutting
the well in (usually at the surface), allowing the pressure to build up in the
wellbore, and recording the pressure (usually downhole) in the wellbore as a
function of time.
• From this test, it is possible to estimate formation permeability and current
drainage-area pressure, and to characterize damage or stimulation and reservoir
heterogeneities or boundaries.
 Rate and Pressure Behavior for an Ideal Pressure
Build Up Test
flowing
• tp is the production time and t is running
q shut-in time.
Flow rate, q

• The pressure is measured immediately

before shut-in and is recorded as a function
0 Shut-in of time during the shut-in period.
tp t
Time, t • Short-time pressure observations usually
are necessary for complete delineation of
wellbore storage effects.
• Data may be needed at intervals as short as
Pressure, Pw

15 sec for the first few minutes of some

Pwf (t=0)
buildup tests. As the test progresses, the
tp t data collection interval can be expanded.
• Stabilizing the well at a constant rate before
Time, t

testing is an important part of a PBU test.

 PRESSURE BUILD-UP ANALYSIS
q
flowing • The pressure response during the buildup period is
given by the summation of the two pressure drops,
Flow rate, q

which, under an assumption of IARF, gives a resulting

pressure response of
Shut-in
0
162.6𝑄𝜇𝐵 𝑘(𝑡𝑝 +∆𝑡) 𝑘∆𝑡
tp t • 𝑃𝑤𝑠 = 𝑃𝑖 − 𝑙𝑜𝑔 2 − 𝑙𝑜𝑔 2
Time, t 𝑘ℎ ∅𝜇𝑐𝑡 𝑟𝑤 ∅𝜇𝑐𝑡 𝑟𝑤
• This can be rewritten as:
162.6𝑄𝜇𝐵 𝑡𝑝 +∆𝑡
• 𝑃𝑤𝑠 = 𝑃𝑖 − 𝑙𝑜𝑔
Pressure, Pw

Semilog plot of P vs log (tp+t)/t

𝑘ℎ ∆𝑡

Pwf (t=0) Straight-line slope (m)

• This plot is known as a Horner plot, and the time-
tp t
Time, t variable grouping (tp+t)/t is known as Horner time.
PRESSURE BUILD-UP ANALYSIS
 Skin Factor Calculation
• The skin factor still plays a part in a buildup test because the skin
pressure drop is included in the value of pwf at time tp, the last pressure
value before shut-in.
• The skin factor can be estimated by considering the difference between
pwf (tp) and the shut-in pressure pws (tp+t) during the buildup. Assuming
IARF, then,
1 141.2𝑞𝜇𝐵 𝑡𝑝 ∆𝑡 0.000264𝑘
• 𝑃𝑤𝑠 𝑡𝑝 + ∆𝑡 − 𝑃𝑤𝑓 𝑡𝑝 = 𝑙𝑛 + 0.80907 + 𝑙𝑛 2 +𝑠
2 𝑘ℎ 𝑡𝑝 +∆𝑡 ∅𝜇𝑐𝑡 𝑟𝑤

• Substituting the time value t=1 hr and solving for s,

𝑃1ℎ𝑟 −𝑃𝑤𝑓 𝑘
• 𝑠 = 1.151
𝑚
− 𝑙𝑜𝑔 2 + 3.2274 ,
∅𝜇𝑐𝑡 𝑟𝑤

where Pwf is flowing BHP at the instant of shut-in.

Example Problem
• See example 2.4 from Pressure Transient Testing-SPE by Lee, Spivey,
Rollins.
 Example Problem
Solution:
1. Construct a semilog plot of shut-in
pressure, Pws, as a function of the
Horner time ratio (tp+t)/t.
2. Find the slope of the semilog
straight line (m).
3. Calculate the effective permeability
to oil using the slope (m) of the
straight line.
4. The original reservoir pressure (Pi) is
found by extrapolating the semilog
straight line to infinite shut-in time,
(tp+t)/t=1.