Production Engineering I

code: PRE03273

College of engineering - UOZ

Department of petroleum engineering

Lecturer/Visitor: Vin J. Mohammed

Lecture 1: Inflow performance relationship (IPR)
Term: Fall 2022
Stage: Four
 Contents: 2
• General Questions ?
• Petroleum Production System
• Introduction – Inflow Performance
• Inflow Performance Relationship (IPR)
• Inflow Performance Relationship (IPR) – Types
1. Single Phase 2. Two Phase: with Examples
• Inflow Performance relationship - Methods
1. Vogel’s Method 2. Fetkovich’s Method: With Examples
• Future Performance – Methods
1. Standing’s Method 2. Fetkovich’s Method
General Questions ? 3

Q/ What exactly is Q/ Petroleum engineers separate

petroleum engineering? themselves into certain groups,
what are they?
1. Drilling engineers: they design and drill
Petroleum engineering the well.
is a field of engineering 2. completion engineers: they prepare the
that is concerned with well for production after the drilling rig is
moved off location.
the activities related to
the production of 3. Production engineers: they are
hydrocarbons, which can responsible for optimizing the
hydrocarbon production from the well.
be either crude oil or
natural gas. 4. Reservoir engineers: they must find the
best effective ways to develop the entire
reservoir.
 General Questions ? 4

Q/ What exactly does petroleum production engineering imply?

• Petroleum production engineering is that part of the petroleum

engineering that attempts to maximize oil and gas production in a
cost effective manner. To achieve this objective, production engineers
need to have a thorough understanding of the petroleum production
systems with which they work.
• To perform their job correctly, production engineers should have a
solid back ground and sound knowledge about the properties of fluids
they produce, and working principles of all the major components of
producing wells and surface facilities.
 petroleum production system.
5

The production system is indeed a

broad common phrase that covers
the whole production process and
contains the following key
components:
1. The reservoir
2. The wellbore
3. The wellhead
4. Separator
A sketch of a simple
petroleum production
system
 Introduction – Inflow performance 6
• Inflow performance represents behaviour of a reservoir in producing the
oil through the well.

• For a heterogeneous reservoir, the inflow performance might differ from one well
to another.

• The performance is commonly defined in terms of a plot of surface production rate

(stb/d) versus flowing bottom hole pressure (Pwf in psi) on Cartesian coordinate.

• This plot is defined as inflow performance relationship (IPR) curve and is very
useful in estimating well capacity, designing tubing string, and scheduling an
artificial lift method.
Inflow Performance Relationship (IPR) – Types 7

1. Single-phase inflow 2. Two-phase inflow

performance (Liquid). performance (Liquid + Gas).
Inflow Performance Relationship (IPR)- Single phase flow (Liquid) 8

• The simplest IPR equation is the straight

line IPR which states that rate is directly Inflow performance relationship of
proportional to pressure drawdown in the single-phase oil reservoirs.
reservoir. (Pi or pr > pb)

• The magnitude of the slope of the IPR

curve (constant of proportionality) is called
the productivity index (PI or J).

• The straight line IPR is used for under

saturated reservoir (single phase flow),
where reservoir pressure (pi or pr) and
(Pwf) both are above the bubble point
pressure (Pb).
Inflow Performance Relationship (IPR)- Single phase flow
(Liquid)-Under saturated reservoir – equations 9
• Productivity index, usually denoted by the symbol J, is commonly expressed in
practice for well performance. It is mathematically defined as follow:
𝑸𝒐 𝑸𝒐
𝑱= =
(𝒑𝒓−𝒑𝒘𝒇) ∆p

J= productivity index, stb/day/psi

Qo= oil flow rate, stb/day
Pr=Reservoir pressure (static pressure), psi
Pwf=bottom hole flowing pressure, psi
∆p= (pr-pwf)= pressure drawdown, psi
Inflow Performance Relationship (IPR)- Single phase
flow (Liquid)-Under saturated reservoir – Notes 10
𝑸𝒐 𝑸𝒐
𝑱= =
(𝒑𝒓−𝒑𝒘𝒇) ∆p

1. When pwf=pi or pr, the Qo=0.

2. There would be a Maximum flow
rate or AOF (Absolute open
flow), when pwf=0.
−1
3. The slope of the line is =
𝐽
Inflow Performance Relationship (IPR)- Single phase flow
(Liquid)-Under saturated reservoir – measurements 11
• The productivity index is generally Darcy's law for radial flow
measured during a production test on the
well. 1) The well is shut-in until the
static reservoir pressure is reached. 2)
The well is then allowed to produce at a
constant flow rate (Q) and a stabilized
bottom-hole flowing pressure (pwf).
• The productivity index is a valid or is an
exact correct value or measure of the
well productivity potential only if the
well is flowing at pseudo-steady (semi-
steady) state flow conditions, where the
productivity index, J can be calculated
using the following equations as:
Inflow Performance Relationship (IPR)- Single phase
flow (Liquid)-Under saturated reservoir- stages for the 12
Flow regimes
1. First stage: wellbore storage effect: the production is not from the
reservoir yet, it is either form the tubing or the casing that has been
stored in the well.
2. Second stage: infinite or transient: after your formation detects the
pressure pulses, the oil will come from the your formation. At this
moment we can say this is the end of the wellbore storage effect and the
beginning of the transient or infinite stage and it will last for a period of
time.
3. Pseudo steady state/ or semi steady state: after a period of time, and
after a long history of production the pressure pulses would be moved
even more and would detect the boundaries of the reservoir, at this
moment another stage starts which is semi steady state or pseudo steady
state.
Inflow Performance Relationship (IPR)- Single phase
flow (Liquid)-Under saturated reservoir- stages for the 13
Flow regimes
Q/ why pseudo steady state or semi
steady state is considered the best
stage of flow regime to calculate (J)
with than other two stages?
Answer: because at the pseudo
steady state the delta p ( ∆𝑝) is
constant, which means there is
stability in pressure. So constant
drawdown pressure leads to constant
production rate, in conclusion the
reservoir would end up having a
constant (J) as well.
Inflow Performance Relationship (IPR)- Single phase
flow (Liquid)-Under saturated reservoir – Example (1) 14
Example (1): A productivity test was conducted on a well. The test
results indicate that the well is capable of producing at a stabilized flow
rate of 110 STB/day and a bottom-hole flowing pressure of 900 psi. After
shutting the well for 24 hours, the bottom-hole pressure reached a
static value of 1300 psi.

Calculate:
1. Productivity index (J)?
2. AOF (absolute open flow)?
3. Qo at Pwf= 600 psi?
4. Pwf at Qo=250 STB/day?
Inflow Performance Relationship (IPR)- Single phase
flow (Liquid)-Under saturated reservoir – Example (1) 15
solution:
Given: 3. Qo at Pwf= 600 psi
Qo= 110 stb/day Qo at pwf (600)= J(pr-pwf)
Pwf= 900 psi Qo= (0.275)(1300-600) = 192.5 Stb/DAY
Pr= 1300 psi
4. Pwf at Qo=250 STB/day
Solution: Qo= J(Pr-Pwf) →
𝑄𝑜
= 𝑝𝑟 − 𝑝𝑤𝑓
𝑸𝒐 𝐽
1. Productivity index =(J) 𝑱 = 𝑄𝑜
110
(𝒑𝒓−𝒑𝒘𝒇) Pwf= pr-
𝐽
J= = 0.275 Stb/day/psi 250
1300−900 Pwf= 1300 -
0.275
Pwf= 390.9 psi
2. AOF (absolute open flow) when pwf=0.
𝑸𝒐 𝑸𝒎𝒂𝒙
AOF=Qmax=? 𝑱 = (𝒑𝒓−𝒑𝒘𝒇)  𝑱 = 𝒑𝒓
Qmax= (J)(pr) = (0.275)(1300)= 375.5 Stb/Day
Inflow Performance Relationship (IPR)- Two phase
inflow performance (Liquid + Gas). 16
• When a reservoir pressure is below
the bubble point pressure, the
simple equation of inflow
performance (e.g., the productivity
index is constant) is no longer valid,
because at this condition the oil
flowrate will decline much faster at
increasing drawdown than would be
predicted by Equations mentioned
previously in single phase flow.
• No straight line IPR would be existed
anymore, after having two phases in
the reservoir.
Inflow Performance Relationship (IPR)- Two
phase inflow performance (Liquid + Gas). 17
• The oil relative permeability concept can be introduced in the equation:

Using the permeability general equation try to derive the equation to get an above version of
the equation:
using  Kro=ko/k
• Muskat and Evinger(1942) and Vogel (1968) observed that when the pressure drops below
the bubble-point pressure, the IPR deviates from that of the simple straight-line
relationship:
Inflow Performance Relationship (IPR)- Two
phase inflow performance (Liquid + Gas). 18

The variables affecting the

productivity index are:
• Oil viscosity μo
• Oil formation volume
factor Bo
• Relative permeability to
oil kro
Inflow Performance Relationship (IPR)- Two
phase inflow performance (Liquid + Gas). 19
Inflow Performance Relationship (IPR)- Two phase
inflow performance (Liquid + Gas)-methods 20
1. Vogel's method: The well-known inflow performance equation for two-phase
flow has been proposed by Vogel. Vogel (1968) used a computer model to generate
IPRs for several hypothetical saturated-oil reservoirs by introducing the following
dimensionless parameters:

• where (Qo)max is the flow rate at zero wellbore pressure, i.e., AOF.
Vogel's Method -1968 21

• Vogel plotted the dimensionless IPR curves for all the reservoir cases and arrived
at the following relationship between the above dimensionless parameters:
Vogel's Method -1968 22
• The method requires the following data:
1. Curent average réservoir pressure (pr)
2. Bubble-point pressure (pb)
3. Stabilized flow test data that include (Qo at pwf)

• Vogel’s methodology can be used to predict the IPR curve for the following two
types of reservoirs:
1. Saturated oil reservoirs Pr ≤ Pb
2. Under saturated oil reservoirs Pr > Pb
 Vogel's Method - Saturated Oil Reservoirs 23

• When the reservoir pressure equals the bubble-point pressure, the oil
reservoir is referred to as a saturated-oil reservoir. The computational
procedure of applying Vogel’s method in a saturated oil reservoir to generate
the IPR curve for a well with a stabilized flow data point, i.e., a recorded Qo
value at pwf, is summarized below:

Step 1. Using the stabilized flow data, i.e., Qo and pwf, calculate the (Qo)max
using the Vogel's method after organizing it:
 Vogel's Method - Saturated Oil Reservoirs 24
Step 2. Construct the IPR curve by assuming various values for (pwf) and
calculating the corresponding (Qo) from:
 Vogel's Method - Saturated Oil Reservoirs –
Example (2) 25

• Example (2): A well is producing from a saturated reservoir with an average

reservoir pressure of 2500 psig. Stabilized production test data indicated that the
stabilized rate and wellbore pressure are 350 STB/day and 2000 psig,
respectively. Calculate the following:

A. Oil flow rate at pwf = 1850 psig?

B. Calculate oil flow rate assuming constant J?
C. Construct the IPR by using Vogel’s method and the constant productivity index
approach?
Vogel's Method - Saturated Oil Reservoirs –
Example (2) - Solution 26
Vogel's Method - Saturated Oil Reservoirs –
Example (2) - Solution 27
Vogel's Method - Saturated Oil Reservoirs –
Example (2) - Solution 28
 Vogel's Method – under Saturated Oil Reservoirs 29
• Beggs (1991) pointed out that in applying
Vogel’s method for under saturated
reservoirs, there are two possible
outcomes to the recorded stabilized flow
test data that must be considered, as
shown schematically in the given figure:

1. The recorded stabilized bottom-hole

flowing pressure is greater than or equal
to the bubble-point pressure, i.e. (pwf ≥
pb).
2. The recorded stabilized bottom-hole
flowing pressure is less than the bubble-
point pressure (pwf < pb).
Vogel's Method – under Saturated Oil Reservoirs 30

• Case 1. The Value of the Recorded Stabilized pwf ≥ pb: Beggs outlined the
following procedure for determining the IPR when the stabilized bottom-hole
pressure is greater than or equal to the bubble point pressure:

Step 1. Using the stabilized test data point (Qo and pwf) calculate the
productivity index J:

Step 2. Calculate the oil flow rate at the bubble-point pressure:

* where Qob is the oil flow rate at pb.
Vogel's Method – under Saturated Oil Reservoirs 31
Step 3. Generate the IPR values below the bubble-point pressure by assuming
different values of pwf < pb and calculating the corresponding oil flow rates by
applying the following relationship:

The maximum oil flow rate (Qo max or AOF) occurs when the bottom hole flowing
pressure is zero, i.e. pwf = 0, which can be determined from the above expression as:

It should be pointed out that when pwf ≥ pb, the IPR is linear and is described by:
Vogel's Method – under Saturated Oil Reservoirs –
Example (3) 32
Example (3): An oil well is producing from an under saturated reservoir that is
characterized by a bubble-point pressure of 2130 psig. The current average
reservoir pressure is 3000 psig. Available flow test data show that the well
produced 250 STB/day at a stabilized pwf of 2500 psig.

Calculate:
Construct the IPR data?
Given:
Under saturated reservoir
Pb=2130 psig
Pr=3000 psig
Qo= 250 STB/day
Pwf= 2500 psig
Vogel's Method – under Saturated Oil Reservoirs
– Example (3) - Solution 33

The problem indicates that the flow test data were recorded above the bubble-
point pressure, therefore, the Case 1 procedure for under saturated reservoirs as
outlined previously must be used:
Vogel's Method – under Saturated Oil Reservoirs –
Example (3) - Solution 34

Using these two equations:

Vogel's Method – under Saturated Oil Reservoirs
– Example (3) - Solution 35
You should end up with such a graph:
Vogel's Method – under Saturated Oil Reservoirs 36

• Case 2. The Value of the

Recorded Stabilized pwf
< pb: When the recorded
pwf from the stabilized
flow test is below the
bubble- point pressure,
as shown in Figure 7-8,
the following procedure
for generating the IPR
data is proposed: (next
slide)
Vogel's Method – under Saturated Oil Reservoirs 37
• Step 1. Using the stabilized well flow test data and combining Equation 7-10
with 7-11, solve for the productivity index J to give equation (7-12) below:
Vogel's Method – under Saturated Oil Reservoirs 38
Vogel's Method – under Saturated Oil Reservoirs
– Example (4) 39
Example (4): The well described in previous example (Pr= 3000 psig, Pb =2130 psig)
was retested and the following results obtained: Pwf= 1700 psig, Qo = 630.7
STB/day.

Calculate:
Generate the IPR data using the new test data givin?

Giving:
Pwf= 1700 psig
Qo = 630.7 STB/day
Pb=2130 psig
Vogel's Method – under Saturated Oil Reservoirs
– Example (4) -Solution 40
Vogel's Method – under Saturated Oil Reservoirs –
Example (4) -Solution 41
Fetkovich’s Method: 42
• Fetkovich’s method is also based on the Darcy radial law.
• Fetkovich’s method can be used for both (gas and saturated reservoir).

• Fetkovich’s most popular equation is as follow:

• There are two unknowns (the performance coefficient C) and (the flow exponent
n). The n values ranges from 1 for a complete laminar flow to 0.5 for highly
turbulent flow.
• The process Requires a multiple rate test (at least two) to evaluate C & n,
assuming.
Fetkovich’s Method-steps of solving: 43

• Taking the log of both sides of the equation in previous slide, you will end up
getting such equation:

• A log-log plot of the (Pr^2–Pwf^2) vs. Qo is a straight line. The inverse of the slope
yields n, the flow exponent.

• The flow coefficient C can be estimated by selecting a flow rate and pressure on
the log-log plot and using the information in Eq. above to calculate C.
Fetkovich’s Method-Example (5) 44

Example (5): A four-point stabilized flow test was conducted on a well producing
from a saturated reservoir that exists at an average pressure of 3600 psi.

Find: Construct a complete IPR by using Fetkovich’s method?

 Fetkovich’s Method-Example (5)-Solution 45
Solution: second step: Plot (Pr^2− Pwf^2) verses
First step: Construct the following table: Qo on log-log paper and determine
the exponent n:

Third step: Solve for the performance

coefficient (c) by using this equation:

Answer: C = 0.00079
46
Fetkovich’s Method-Example (5)-Solution 47
Fourth step: Generate the IPR by assuming values for pwf and calculating the
corresponding flow rate from this equation:
 Fetkovich’s Method 48

• Constants n & c can be found from:

• C can be found by substituting any point in the equation

 Fetkovich’s Method-Example (6) 49

Example (6):

• Construct IPR curve for a well in a saturated oil reservoir using

Fetkovich method if the average Pr= 3000 psig. Given the
following flow test data:
• Test 1: Pwf1 = 2000 psig, q1 = 500 STB/d
• Test 2: Pwf2 = 1000 psig, q2 = 800 STB/d
Fetkovich’s Method-Example (6)-solution 50
Future Performance Methods 51

• Once the petroleum engineer has estimated the current productive capacity of
a well, it is often desired to predict future performance for planning purposes.

In this chapter, two methods would be representing the Future performance of

the reservoir:

1. Standing’s Method
2. Fetkovich’s Method
Future Performance Methods – Standing’s Method 52
Standing’s Method: Standing (1970) extended the application of Vogel’s equation to
predict future IPR of a well as a function of reservoir pressure.
• He related current well performance to future performance.
• His relationship requires knowledge of fluid properties (Viscosity and formation
volume factor) and relative permeability behaviour. The current and future
properties must be known.
• Standing defined the present (current) (J*p) productivity index as:

• Standing suggested that future productivity index J*f can be estimated from the
present value of J*p by:
Future Performance Methods – Standing’s Method –
Example (7) 53
• If the relative permeability data are not available,
J*f can be roughly estimated by:

Example (7): A well is produced from a saturated oil

reservoir that exist at its saturation pressure at 4000
psig. The well is flowing at stabilized rate of 600
STB/d and Pwf of 3200 psig. The following current
and future oil saturation and PVT properties are
given:
Calculate:
Generate the future IPR for the well at 3000 psig by
using Standing’s method.
 Future Performance Methods – Standing’s
Method – Example (7) – Solution 54

Solution:
1. Calculate the current (Qo)max:
(Qo)max = 600 / {1 –0.2*(3200/4000) –0.8*(3200/4000)^2} = 1829 STB/d
2. Calculate J*p from this equation:
J*p = 1.8* (1829/4000) = 0.823
3. Calculate the following pressure function:

4. Calculate J*f by applying Equation:

Future Performance Methods – Standing’s Method
– Example (7) – Solution 55
5. Generate the IPR by using the following Equation:
Future Performance Methods – Fetkovich’s Method 56

• To construct the future IPR when the average reservoir pressure declines to
(Pr)f, Fetkovich assumes that the performance coefficient C is a linear function
of the average reservoir pressure and, the value of C can be adjusted as follow:

• Fetkovich assumes that the value of the exponent n would not change as the
reservoir pressure declines.
Future Performance Methods – Fetkovich’s Method –
Example (8) and solution: 57
Example (8): Construct the IPR when the reservoir pressure (previous Fetkovich
example): Pr= 3600 psi, C= 0.00079, n = 0.854) declines to pr= 2000 psi.

Solution:
1. Calculate future C by applying Equation above:

(C)f = 0.00079 * (2000/3600) = 0.000439

2. Construct the new IPR curve at 2000 psi by using the new calculated C and
applying the inflow equation.
Future Performance Methods – Fetkovich’s
Method – Example (8) and solution: 58
References: 59

• Ahmed, T.H. (2019). Reservoir engineering handbook. Cambridge, Ma, United

States: Gulf Professional Publishing Is An Imprint Of Elsevier

• Boyun Guo, (Inżynieria Petrochemiczna, Xinghui Liu, Xuehao Tan and Elsevier
(Amsterdam (2017). Petroleum production engineering. Cambridge, Ma ;
Oxford, Uk: Gulf Professional Publishing/Elsevier, Copyright.
 60

Thank you for your attention