SPE DISTINGUISHED LECTURER SERIES

is funded principally
through a grant of the

SPE FOUNDATION
The Society gratefully acknowledges
those companies that support the program
by allowing their professionals
to participate as Lecturers.

And special thanks to The American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical,

and Petroleum Engineers (AIME) for their contribution to the program.
Why Shut the Well In?
You already have the data.

Production Data is Enough.

Dr. Jim Crafton

Performance Sciences, Inc.
Why is it a good well?
Good Reservoir
Good Completion
Large Drained Area
The Real Question is…
Have you gotten as much
production as possible?

We need a measuring device:

a standard of comparison
Maybe you could get more….
Some Issues:
„ Geology
„ Condensate/Water Mgmt.
„ Wellbore Damage due to:
‹ Shut-in

‹ Change in Skin

‹ Relative Perm Change

‹ Perm * Thickness Change

„ Lateral Failure
„ Interference
„ Artificial Lift Problems
What to do about it…
„ Use correct measures of
performance to
„ Recognize patterns by
„ Focusing on behavior
rather than method to
yield a
„ Practical diagnosis

An Oil Well
A Different Way to Look at It…
Initial Pressure minus
Flowing Pressure
divided by Rate
(called RPI)
vs Log Time

Slope ~ Perm * Thickness /

Viscosity
“Elevation” ∼ Skin

MDH Plot
See: SPE 37409
Another Viewpoint…

RPI
vs Equivalent “Horner” Time
(Cum Eq Prod divided by qρ)

Slope ~ Pore Volume

Like P/z vs Cum
See SPE 49223
Pseudo-Steady State Plot (PSS)
Finally, a verification…
Agarwal and Gringarten’s
Type Curve

A Log-Log Type Curve

Preconceived Notion:
A Serious Mistake!

Original Interpretation:
Small Bounded Reservoir
Consequence:
Leasehold Abandoned
 More Information:
The MDH Plot

The Log-Log Type Curve

New
Interpretation:
Reservoir Size
Unknown,
Severe Damage
Consequence:
New Basin
Developed
Disappointment and Frustration

Actual is 60%
of Goal
But Look Carefully…

Straight Line on
Square Root of Time

Data Sitting on
Half Slope Line

The MDH Plot

Conclusion:
“Under Performance”
partially due to geologic
environment The Log-Log Type Curve
The Result:

Book 33% Reserve Increase

and Drill Two Offsets
Because the Interpretations are Quick…
Effective Fracture Length
45

40
71% Increase after
Pump Installation
35

30
Frequency

25

20

15
Wells Prior to Pump
Wells After Pump Install

10 Log of Permeability * Thickness

25

5
75% Increase after
0
Pump Installation
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 20 800
Effective Fracture Length Bins

15

Frequency
Effective Fracture
10

Length Before and Wells Prior to Pump

Wells After Pump Install

After Artificial Lift 5

Installation
0
-1.1 -0.9 -0.7 -0.5 -0.3 -0.1 0.1 0.3 0.5 0.7 0.9 1.1 1.3
Log(Perm * Thickness) Bins

Log of Perm * Thickness

Before and After Artificial Lift Installation
You can even find rivers…
A Map of Perm *
Thickness and Flow
Geometry

The River Runs Through It

Wells with Linear

Flow Geometry
In Summary…
You can:
• Use routinely available production data.
• Obtain more information than a build-up.
• Use the production data like a “test.”
• Get quick, theoretically rigorous results.
• Focus on characteristics of many wells.