Defining the Reservoir Model: Wellbore, Reservoir, and Outer Reservoir Boundary

Conditions

We may divide a reservoir into three key regions. These regions can be referred to in either physical or mathematical
terms, as shown in Table 1.
 

  Physical terminology Mathematical terminology

Region 1 The wellbore and near- The inner boundary conditions

wellbore region

     
Region 2 The reservoir beyond the The basic model
wellbore

     
Region 3 The pressure/flow conditions The outer boundary conditions
at the outer extent of the well-
drainage area

Table 1: Principal regions of a reservoir.

Each region is identified schematically in Figure 1 .

 Figure 1

For our purposes we shall use the mathematical terminology because it is normally used in the literature, but you
should keep in mind the physical definitions of each region as we proceed.

The Inner Boundary Conditions (The Wellbore and Near-Wellbore Regions)

The inner boundary conditions are those that exist at or near the wellbore. There are three that are most commonly
found in practice:

Wellbore storage

Skin effect

Induced fractures

We should spend a little time developing an understanding of each of these.

Wellbore Storage

When a wellbore is opened to flow, it is opened at the surface ( Figure 1 ).

Figure 1

The early production comes from the decompression of fluids in the wellbore and other wellbore effects, and not
from fluids in the reservoir. This effect is referred to as unloading, a form of wellbore storage. Figure 2 shows the
difference that exists in the flow rate at the surface and the flow rate at the sandface, or perforations.

Figure 2

There is a time delay before the flow rate from the reservoir equals the flow rate at the surface. Essentially, this
wellbore storage effect causes the reservoir flow rate to gradually, rather than instantaneously, reach the surface
flow rate. It is important that we incorporate or account for the wellbore unloading when we interpret the
pressure/flow data collected during a well test.

Just as there is a delay in flow-rate response during the opening of a well for a drawdown test, there is also a delay
when a well is shut in at the surface to begin a buildup test ( Figure 3 ).
 Figure 3

In this case the surface flow stops instantaneously, while the sandface flow gradually drops to zero. This condition is
a second wellbore storage effect that is often referred to as afterflow. After-flow must also be incorporated into the
interpretation of buildup test data.

Skin Effect

It is well known that the properties of the reservoir near the wellbore are usually altered during drilling, completion,
and stimulation procedures. The invasion of drilling fluids, the presence of mudcakes and cement, partial penetration
of the formation, and insufficient perforation density are some of the factors that cause "damage" to the formation,
and, more important, cause an additional, localized pressure drop during flow (see Figure 4 ,

Figure 4
The near-wellbore skin effect and Figure 5 , The positive and negative skin effects).

Figure 5

On the other hand, well-stimulation techniques, such as hydraulically induced fracturing or acidizing, will usually
enhance the properties of the formation and increase the flow capacity around the wellbore. This means that a
decrease in pressure drop is observed over that which is otherwise expected for a given flow rate (see Figure 5).

Skin is the term used to refer to the alteration of permeability that exists near the wellbore. The skin factor, s, is used
to quantify the skin. If the well has been damaged, there is an additional pressure drop at the wellbore for a given
flow rate and the skin factor is positive. If the well has been stimulated and the pressure drop at the wellbore has
been decreased, the skin factor is negative.

We should point out that, unlike well-bore storage, which has an effect only on the early data, the skin effect is
constant throughout a well test (unless the skin is a function of flow rate). A supplemental positive or negative
pressure drop caused by the skin remains throughout the test. Its magnitude will change as the flow rate changes.

Induced Fractures

The flow patterns around a well will be different for a well that has undergone an induced fracture treatment
compared to one that has not been so stimulated. For an induced fracture, it is often assumed that the fracture
consists of a vertical plane passing through the wellbore. Within the general vicinity of the fracture the flow
behavior is considered to be bilinear; linear into the fracture and linear within the fracture (see Figure 6 , Schematic
of bilinear flow both into and within an induced fracture).
 Figure 6

Soon after a well is opened to flow, then, the pressure transient takes on the shape of an ellipse (plan view) around
the fracture (bilinear flow period). In time, as the pressure transient moves outward, the fracture length has less
influence on the shape of the transient and, assuming the reservoir boundaries do not influence the pressure
behavior, the flow begins to converge to radial flow. The ellipses, expanding outward, become circles (pseudoradial
flow period). The characteristics of these fracture flow periods are dependent upon the fracture length and fracture
conductivity.

The Basic Model (The Reservoir Beyond the Wellbore)

Moving outward from the wellbore and near-wellbore region we enter Region 2, known mathematically as the basic
well test model. Most basic models within the oil industry have impermeable upper and lower boundaries, which are
of infinite lateral extent. These same conditions apply to the ideal model. Within the reservoir itself we may have
either a homogeneous- or a heterogeneous-acting porous medium.

Homogeneous Reservoirs

A homogeneous-acting reservoir is one that, with respect to flow, acts as though it has identical properties
throughout. This condition may exist either because the reservoir has identical properties throughout or because it is
so randomly heterogeneous that it acts as though it is a single homogeneous reservoir. Many petroleum reservoirs
have been found to be homogeneous and, in early years, all reservoirs were considered to be homogeneous-acting
for purposes of well test analysis.

Heterogeneous Reservoirs

Heterogeneous-acting reservoirs have been the subject of many recent developments in well-testing analysis. These
reservoirs include dual porosity, dual permeability, triple porosity, layered systems (with or without crossflow) and
composite systems.

The dual-porosity reservoir, for example, consists of two homogeneous porous media of distinct porosity and
permeability that interact. They may be uniformly distributed or segregated but only one medium can produce fluid
to the well; the other acts as a source. Examples of dual-porosity reservoirs are the fissured reservoir and the multi-
layer reservoir with high permeability contrast between the layers (Gringarten, 1982). In the fissured reservoir (
Figure 1 and Figure 2
 Figure 1

) a high permeability fissure system delivers fluids to the well; low permeability "matrix" blocks "bleed" fluid into
the fissure system, where it is subsequently delivered to the wellbore.
 Figure 2

In the multilayer system ( Figure 3 ), only one layer delivers fluids to the wellbore. The other layers act as sources of
fluids.
 Figure 3

In Figure 3 the fluids move vertically to the layer that communicates with the wellbore and then horizontally to the
wellbore. Both of these double-porosity systems exhibit the same double-porosity behavior during well tests.

The term dual-permeability heterogeneous reservoir refers to two distinct porous media, as in a double-porosity
system, but, in this case, each medium can produce into the wellbore.

Outer Boundary Conditions (Pressure and Flow at the Outer Extent of the Well-
Drainage Area)
A reservoir may be considered to be infinite- or finite-acting. The infinite-acting reservoir is one that is very large
and in which fluid communication is extensive compared to the drainage area of the well. In the finite-acting
reservoir, the reservoir fluid volume communicating with a well is limited because of an enclosing no-flow outer
boundary. A second type of finite reservoir condition and a third outer boundary condition is one in which a
constant pressure is maintained at the boundary. A regularly spaced injection pattern or an oilfield in contact with a
large, active aquifer are examples where a constant pressure is maintained at the outer boundary. This condition is
referred to as a constant pressure boundary.

Characteristic Pressure Response to the Various Elements of the Reservoir

Model
Each of the elements in a reservoir model--those relating to the inner boundary conditions, the basic model and the
outer boundary conditions-- will cause a different pressure response during a well test. The differences will be
reflected in the magnitude of recorded pressure level, the time when it is measured, or both. We need to understand
what effect will be observed at what time during the test.
To characterize these changes graphically, we need to plot the recorded pressure versus time in some form. Because
we may have pressures decreasing (drawdown) or increasing (buildup) during a test, we may characterize both tests
by plotting the change in sandface pressure p that occurs between the beginning of the test and the time of
measurement versus the elapsed test time t. To avoid distortion of scale, we plot these variables on a log-log scale.
The appropriate axes are shown in Figure 1 .

Figure 1

Intuitively, we know that the earliest recorded pressure information during our well test will be in response to
wellbore storage. We shall refer to this time period as Period 1.

Next in time will be the pressure response at the wellbore shortly after production begins to flow from the reservoir.
The pressure response characteristics during this period, Period 2, will depend upon the presence of induced
fractures, partial penetration, and the presence of fissures and/or multilayers. After some period of transitory flow
behavior, the pressure response will begin to exhibit the properties of infinite-acting radial homogeneous flow
(Period 3), which will continue if the reservoir is infinite-acting, or begin to change again for a finite reservoir
(Period 4). The latter pressure response will occur once the pressure response to the outer boundary reaches the
wellbore. The four periods characterizing the reservoir model are shown in Figure 2 .
 Figure 2

We should now take a closer look at the characteristics of each period.

Period 1: Characteristic Pressure Response to Wellbore Storage

In most practical cases the effect of inner and outer boundary conditions on the pressure behavior of a reservoir
model is independent of the nature of the basic model (homogeneous or heterogeneous). This is so because each
condition dominates at different times and each exhibits a specific behavior. This behavior has a characteristic
shape when p is plotted versus t on log-log scale.

Wellbore storage has been found to exhibit its own characteristic shape ( Figure 3 ). It yields a log-log straight line
of unit slope at early times.
 Figure 3

This means that if the pressure data recorded during a well test has a unit slope log-log straight line passing through
early time data it is indicative of wellbore storage. However, it should be kept in mind that the appearance of a
straight line is not proof of wellbore storage; it may not be the straight line that is desired for the reservoir system
being tested.

Because p is proportional to t, the same data points will plot as a straight line on Cartesian
coordinates ( Figure 4 ). This is often referred to as a specialized plot.
 Figure 4

Period 2: Characteristic Pressure Response to an Induced Fracture

The pressure response to a hydraulically induced fracture occurs during Period 2 and has two characteristic shapes;
one is for a high-conductivity fracture, the other for a low-conductivity fracture. A high-conductivity fracture
communicating with the wellbore yields a log-log straight line with half-unit slope ( Figure 5 ).
 Figure 5

Because this means that p is proportional to  , a specialized plot of p versus  yields a
straight line through the same points ( Figure 6 ).

Figure 6
The characteristic plot of a low-conductivity fracture communicating with the wellbore will yield
a log-log straight line with a slope less than 0.5 ( Figure 7 ).

Figure 7

It is important to recognize that during a well test the pressure response to an induced fracture will come later in
time than that of wellbore storage. Thus, the characteristic plot may initially have a unit slope (wellbore storage)
followed by a transition to half-slope (high-conductivity factor).

The above comments may imply that the period following wellbore storage is always linear flow and should be
analyzed as such. The inexperienced interpreter may analyze transition as half slope and draw incorrect conclusions.
Beware of this pitfall! The data must go from Period 1 to Period 3 pressure response and the transition need not
yield a log-log straight line.

Period 3: Characteristic Pressure Response to Infinite-Acting Radial Flow

There is a point in time during a well test when the early pressure response to wellbore storage, fractures, and other
near-wellbore effects gives way to infinite-acting radial flow. This means that the leading edge of the pressure
transient at the radius of investigation moves outward radially and as though the reservoir were infinite in extent.
This period and other periods are shown graphically in Figure 8 .
 Figure 8

We note that the well is fractured and that a sealing fault exists some distance from the well. At the onset of a
drawdown test, wellbore storage takes place and there is no pressure change in the reservoir. Once flow from the
reservoir begins, the presence of an induced fracture causes flow to be linear and normal to the fracture. As
production continues and the area of drainage expands, the an isotropy caused by the fracture disappears and
infinite-acting radial flow is established.

The outer edge of the pressure transient is, in effect, a circle that has the wellbore as its center. During infinite-acting
radial flow, the specialized plot is one where p is a linear function of log t ( Figure 9 ) (semi-log straight line).
 Figure 9

This, in turn, yields characteristic log-log behaviors for the homogeneous ( Figure 10 )

Figure 10
and heterogeneous ( Figure 11 ) basic models.

Figure 11

There are various methods for approximating the time when infinite-acting radial flow or, in terms of the specialized
plot, the semilog straight line begins. The "one and one-half cycle" rule is reasonably good for damaged wells. That
rule states that radial flow begins, on a log-log plot, one and one-half cycles after the end of the unit slope straight
line characteristic of wellbore storage (Gringarten et al., 1979).

Period 4: Characteristic Pressure Response to Finite Reservoir Outer Boundary Conditions

In the event that the reservoir is finite with either no-flow or constant pressure outer boundary conditions, infinite-
acting radial flow conditions will come to an end when the effect of the outer boundary is "felt" at the wellbore.
Thus, in Figure 8 , we note that the pressure transient is eventually reflected back from the sealing fault, causing an
additional pressure drop at the wellbore. For a no-flow boundary (closed system) we see in the characteristic plot
that p begins to increase ( Figure 12 )
 Figure 12

and becomes asymptotic to a unit-slope straight line at later times; its specialized plot of p versus t ( Figure 13 )
approaches a straight line.

Figure 13
For a constant pressure outer boundary condition, the reservoir pressure ultimately stabilizes at
the pressure of the outer boundary ( Figure 14 ).

Figure 14

Examples of Characteristic Curves for Various Reservoir Systems

We have synthesized in Figure 15 (The characteristic shape of the pressure response of a total reservoir system
during a well test) what we learned about the reservoir system.
 Figure 15

Note that each region has its own characteristic shape. In effect, the log-log behavior of a complete model is simply
obtained as the superposition of the log-log behavior of each individual component of the model.

In Figures 16, 17 and 18 we see three characteristic curves obtained from drawdown test data on different reservoirs.
In Figure 16

Figure 16
we see the characteristic curve for a well with wellbore storage in a closed homogeneous system; in Figure 17 ,

Figure 17

a fracture is added to the system; and in Figure 18 we see a well with wellbore storage producing
from an infinite-acting heterogenous reservoir.

Figure 18