Appendix C

Pressure Drop
through Vertical,
Inclined, and
Horizontal 0il
Wells

Pressure should be recorded continuously during a transient test. Best

results are obtained when the bottom-hole pressure is measured, although
surface pressures often can be converted to bottom-hole values if adequate
information is available about the wellbore system. It is usually beneficial to
record bottom-hole, tubing-head, and casing-head pressures during a well test.
This combination of data can provide information about wellbore effects, such
as storage, and leaking packers or tubing. Such surface pressure data may be
valuable in verifying correct operation of the down-hole pressure gauge. This
appendix will describe two methods as shown below (see Figure C-l).

Vertical and horizontal wells

pressure drop methods

Hagedorn and Brown method Beggs and Brill method

vertical oil wells horizontal and inclined oil wells

This method is widely used in petroleum
generalized correlation which would
include all practical ranges of flow rates,
a wide range of GLR, all ordinarily used
tubing sizes and the effects of fluid
properties. It requires correlations for both
liquid holdup and friction factor. Flow
regimes cannot be determined
This method can be used to determine correct flow
regimes. Different correlations for liquid holdup
are available for each of flow regimes. Liquid
holdup that would exist if the pipe were horizontal
is first calculated and then corrected for the actual
pipe inclination angle. Friction factor is calculated
using correlations that are independent of flow
regime but depend on liquid holdup

Figure C-1. Pressure drop calculation methods for vertical, inclined, and horizontal
oil wells.

595
596 Oil Well Testing Handbook

C.I Hagedorn and Brown Method ~

This method is widely used and most accepted in the petroleum industry.
The procedure for this method is

144(Ap) -- /9m -- I (V22 - V22)]

Ah -- 2gc (C-l)
[-~m+ fq~m]
(2.9652 x 1011d5pm )

A step-by-step procedure for using Eq. C-1 and calculating a vertical

pressure traverse by this method is given below.

Pressure Traverse with Fixed Pressure Increment

1. Calculate average segment pressure and temperature.

2. Determine the total mass of oil, water, and gas associated with 1 barrel
of stock tank liquid:

1 WOR "~
mt-3507o I + W O R + 3507w) (1 ~W--6RJ + 0.0764GLRTg (C-2)

3. Find the flow rate at average segment point:

qm = qLmt (Ibm/day) (C-3)

qL = total flow rate (stb/day)

4. Determine physical properties Rs, ~o, Z, -rio, -fiw, Oo, and Crw from
laboratory information or empirical correlations at average segment
pressure and temperature.
5. Calculate the density of liquid phase:

pz -[62"47~ [62"47w(1 wOR~

W--6RJ'~] (c-4)

6. Calculate the average gas density:

fig _0.07647g[(1~.7 ) ( 520 '~ (c-5)

T + 460J ( ! ) ]
 Appendix C 597

7. Estimate viscosity of the liquid mixture:

( ' ) + #w ('1 +WOR

/ZL--#o I+~VOR
'~
WORJ (C-6)

8. Estimate surface tension of liquid mixture:

1
~, ~o(. +wo.)+ .w(. +w~WORJ (C-7)

9. Calculate liquid viscosity number:

Nc - O.15726#L (')
0.25
crco.3 (c-8)

10. Find CNL from Figure C-2.

11. Calculate the superficial liquid velocity:

VSL =
5"615qL [/3o(1+ 1 (C-9)
86,400At ~TVOR) +/3w ( 1 W
+ OWORJI
R '~

where At is cross-sectional area of tubing (ft3).

12. Calculate the liquid velocity number:

NLv (~)
-- 1.938 VsL PL
0=~
(C-10)

13. Determine the superficial gas velocity Vs6 (ft/s)"

(C-1 l)

14. Find the gas velocity number:

Nay - (~)
1.938Vav pL
02~
(C-12)

15. Calculate the following parameters:

0.2218(VsL -4- VSG)2

AA - 1.071 - (C-13)
598 Oil Well Testing Handbook

where art is the inside diameter of tubing (ft). If AA _< 0.13, then use the
calculated value, if it is less than 0.13, then use AA - O. 13.

BB - VSG (C-14)
VsL + Vsa

16. If (BB - AA) > 0, continue with the method. If (BB - AA) < 0, then
use Griffith correlation for bubble flow (use Orkiszewski method).
17. Determine the pipe diameter number:

N D - 120.872dt Pr (c-15)

18. Calculate liquid holdup function:

{NLv)(P )~176 (C-16)

OHL- ~M0.575 ~ ~k ND J
\"GV

19. Find HL/~b from Figure C-3.

20. Estimate the secondary correction factor:

NG ~T0.380
vl*z; (C-17)
~bHL = N~14

0.05

0.01 f

o-----"-

0.001 I I I I IIII I I I IIIII I IIIIII

0.001 0.01 0.10 1.0

Figure C-2. Correlation for viscosity number coefficient C ( 9 SPE, AIME, 1965).
 Appendix C 599

1.0

0.8
%
0.6

"6 0.4
~Z

0.2 / - J
t t lttli t
Jt t I t~lt i I I I lttl I I Illll i i t lltt
10-7 10-6 10-5 10-4 10-3 10-2

p ~o.lo C N L
(NLv/NO'v575 ) \PG / ND

Figure C-3. Holdupfactor correlation (9 SPE, AIME, 1965).

21. Obtain ~ from Figure C-3; for low viscosity, ~ - 1.0.

22. Estimate two-phase Reynolds number:

2.3 x 10 -2
(URE)tw~ hase= dt(~L)HL (#g) I-HL (C-18)

23. Find the friction factor from Figure C-4.

24. Calculate the average two-phase density of the mixture at average
pressure by two methods and use the largest:

/gm -- /SLHL + ~g(1 - HL) (C-19)

and map correlations

350% + O.07647gRs + 350"yw(WOR)

(C-20)
Pm = 5.615flo + 5 . 6 1 5 ( W O R ) -Jr- (Vfg)(la.7/p) + ((-T + 460)/520)Z

where Vfg - volume of free gas - G O R - Rs.

25. Calculate the two-phase mixture velocity at both pl and P2"

Vm 1 = VSL 1 + Vs61 (C-21)

Vm2 = VSL2-1 VSG2 (C-22)
600 Oil Well Testing Handbook

2.0

1.8

1.6
/
1.4

1.2

1.0
0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10
(NGvNLO'380)I~D2"14

Figure C-4. Holdupfactor correlation (9 SPE, AIME, 1965).

26. Estimate the value for

~X(V~m)-V~m,- V~m~ (C-23)

27. Calculate Ah (fl) corresponding to Ap --Pl - P 2 :

144Ap - pm/k ( V2~

Ah -- \2gcJ (C-24)
~m + fq~m
2.9652 • 1011d 5/9m

Find friction factor f from Figure C-4.

28. Repeat the pressure starting with P2 and assume another point until
reading the surface or the total depth, depending on whether the
bottom or the top. Since the pressure traverse calculations are itera-
tive, and the fluid properties and pressure gradient calculations are
tedious, it is most convenient to write computer program.
29. For pressure traverse calculations, typical pressures developed by this
method are in Table C-1 and Figure C-4.
 Appendix C 601

Table C-1
Computed Flowing Pressure- Traverse- Hagedorn and Brown
Correlation

Depth (It) at GLR (scf]bbl)

Pressure Temperature
(psig) (~ 500 750 1000 1250 1500 2000 2500
500 135 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
800 135 1174 1 2 8 3 1 3 3 2 1 3 6 3 1376 1384 1388
1000 135 1883 2049 2159 2222 2259 2270 2234
1200 135 2546 2777 2955 3037 3103 3155 3136
1400 135 3173 3466 3665 3817 3907 4007 4017
1600 135 3772 4121 4366 4582 4676 4827 4869
1800 135 4347 4749 5036 5246 5423 5605 5690
2000 135 4904 5355 5 6 8 1 5924 6165 6357 6480
2200 135 5445 5942 6305 6579 6925 7084 7240
2400 135 5973 6513 6910 7213 7448 7794 7975
2600 135 6491 7070 7499 7830 8089 8497 8686
2800 135 6999 7615 8075 8432 8713 9204 9380
3000 135 7499 9 1 5 1 8640 9 0 2 1 9323 9926 10041
3500 135 8722 9456 10010 10447 10798 11316 11747

Example C-I Calculating the Flowing Bottom-Hole Pressure Using Hagedorn

and Brown Method
Input Data

Tubing size 2.000in. ID

Producing rate 1000 bbl/day
Water cut 60%
Oil API gravity 22~
Water specific gravity 1.074
Gas specific gravity 0.65
Wellhead temperature 120 ~F
Bottom-hole temperature 150 ~
Tubing inclination angle 90 ~

Solution
Matching Parameters

Modification factor (roughness) to match field data 1

Modification factor (oil API) to match field data 1
Modification factor (GOR) to match field data 1.0025
Solution gas-oil ratio adjustment factor 1.0025
Oil viscosity adjustment factor 1.4167
602 Oil Well Testing Handbook

(continued)
z-factor adjustment factor 1
Gas viscosity adjustment factor 1
Water FVF adjustment factor 1.0567
Water viscosity adjustment factor 1.048
Water surface tension adjustment factor 1.0526
Oil surface tension adjustment factor 0.8903

C.2 Beggs and Brill Method 2

Procedure for Segmenting by Pressure Increments
Step 1" Starting with the known pressure, p~, at location L~, choose a
length increment, AL, at least < 10~ of total L.
Step 2: Estimate the incremental pressure change, Ap.
Step 3" Calculate incremental pressure and the average incremental tem-
perature.
Step 4: Using map or empirical correlations, determine the necessary PVT
properties at conditions of average pressure and temperature.
Step 5: Estimate the incremental pressure gradient, Ap/AL, using tubing
or pipe inclination adjustments.
Step 6: Determine the total incremental pressure change corresponding to
the chosen length.
Step 7: Compare the estimated and calculated values of Ap found. If they
are not within a close tolerance, use the calculated incremental pressure, Ap,
for iteration of step 2 through step 7. Repeat steps 3 through 7 until the
estimated and calculated values are within tolerance.
Step 8: Continue iteration until L1 + ~] AL = L (total). At this point
Pl + ~ Ap = p (total).
Figure C-5 shows computer flow diagram. Output results are presented in
Table C-2.

Example C-2 Calculating the Flowing Bottom-Hole Pressure Using Beggs

and Brill Method
Input Data
Base pressure 14.70 psia
Base temperature 60 ~
Tubing size 1.995 in. ID
Producing rate 1000 bbl/day
Solution gas-oil ratio 450 scf/stb
Water cut 60%
Oil API gravity 22~
Water specific gravity 1.070
 Appendix C 603

(continued)

Gas specific gravity 0.65

Wellhead pressure 500 psig
Wellhead temperature 120~
Bottom-hole temperature 152 ~
Gas-liquid ratio 500 scf/stb
Absolute roughness 0.00015

Assume Ap [

I
I CalculatePi§ [

Calculate average pressure, PAv ]

I
Calculate the following terms:
A, "Yw,"Y~ %, T, ~ u ~ u p p P Rs, 3o, VsL
L 1, L 2, L3, LA, at Pay (average pressure and temperature)
VSG' NFR'~L'
Set J = 0

Calculate
HL(O),C, ~, Ht,(o)
distributed

I
YTsE Flow pattern
distributed

I
J
INo
"1
[ No Flow pattem
intermittent

Yes
No I Flow pattern
segregated

Yes
Flow pattern is
transition (set
Interpolate J=l)
for
transition Calculate
Calculate
flow pattern HL(O),C, ~p, HL(O),C, ~,
No HL(O)
distributed HL(O)
segregated

I
I Calculate NRe, L' ftp [
I
Calculate acceleration term i=i+1 [
I
Calculate Ah
i+1' )

Figure C-5. Computer flow diagram for the Beggs and Brill method.
604 Oil Well Testing Handbook

Table C - 2
Computed Flowing Pressure - Traverse - Beggs and Brill Correlation

Assumed True< Bottom hole pressures (psig) at inclination angles (~

pressure depth
(psig) (ft) 0 10 20 30 40 50 60

500 500 610 567 582 573 562 549 535

800 1000 723 671 660 642 629 549 589
1000 2000 968 835 812 777 732 595 633
1250 3000 1236 1000 965 910 842 683 694
1500 4000 1532 1170 965 1043 950 768 753
2000 5000 1849 1345 1120 1119 1059 850 809
2200 6000 2181 1926 1280 1180 1059 932 865
2500 7000 2527 1714 1444 1533 1169 1013 920
2700 7500 2706 1810 1614 1533 1280 1135 940

Solution
Matching Parameters

Modification factor (roughness) to match field data 1

Modification factor (oil AP1) to match field data 1
Modification factor (GOR) to match field data 1.0025
Solution gas-oil ratio adjustment factor 1.000
Oil viscosity adjustment factor 7.552
z-factor adjustment factor 1
Gas viscosity adjustment factor 1
Water FVF adjustment factor 1
Water viscosity adjustment factor 1
Water surface tension adjustment factor 1
Oil surface tension adjustment factor 1

Figure C - 6 shows effects of inclination, a n d Figure C - 7 shows effects of

GLR.
 Appendix C 605

A n g l e from vertical, degree ]

3000
! 0

d
..I..
2000 --

O
/ ; I
20 10

lOOO - ....... 1
O
i~
0 40

60
O 500 -.
I I

I
,
I I I
.
I I I
.
i , i
,
0 I

0 2 4 6 8 l0

D e p t h in 1000 of feet

Figure C-6. Flowing pressure gradients showing effect of inclination - Hagedorn

and Brown Method.

. . . . . . . . I . . . . -I. ii
2
;

o i
4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

~ 6 ............. r. . . . . . . . . . . . GLR

8 ...... , , x.. 500

i i
; . 750
i ', ~ooo
l0 Ii ' I
2500

0 l 2 3 4

B o t t o m flowing pressure in 1000, psig

Figure C-7. Flowing pressure gradients showing effect of G L R - Beggs and Brill
method.
606 Oil Well Testing Handbook

References and Additional Reading

1. Hagedorn, A. R., and Brown, K. E., "Experimental Study of Pressure
Gradients Occurring During Continuous Two-Phase Flow in Small
Diameter Vertical Conduits," J. Pet. Technol. (April 1965) 475.
2. Beggs, H. D., and Brill, J. P., "A Study of Two-Phase Flow in Inclined
Pipes," J. Pet. Technol. (May 1973) 1972.