Well Test Interpretation

SKPP4323

INTRODUCTION

Azmi Mohd Arshad

Department of Petroleum Engineering
WEEK 01
 Definition

A means of assessing reservoir

performance by measuring flow rates
and pressures under a range of flowing
conditions and then applying the data
to a mathematical model.
 Well Test
• In most well tests, a limited amount of fluid is
allowed to flow from the formation being
tested. The formation is isolated behind
cemented casing and perforated at the
formation depth or, in openhole, the
formation is straddled by a pair of packers
that isolate the formation.
 Well Test…/2
• During the flow period, the pressure at
the formation is monitored over time.
Then, the formation is closed (or shut in)
and the pressure monitored at the
formation while the fluid within the
formation equilibrates.
 Well Test…/3
• The analysis of these pressure
changes can provide information on
the size and shape of the formation
as well as its ability to produce fluids.
 Well Test Objectives

The objectives of a well test usually fall

into three major categories:
(a) reservoir evaluation,
(b) reservoir management,
(c) reservoir description.
 Reservoir Evaluation
• To reach a decision as how best to produce a given
reservoir (or even whether it is worthwhile to spend
the money to produce it at all) we need to know its
deliverability, properties, and size.
• Thus we will attempt to determine the reservoir
conductivity (kh, or permeability-thickness product),
initial reservoir pressure, and the reservoir limits (or
boundaries).
 Reservoir Evaluation…/2
• At the same time, we will sample the fluids so that
their physical properties can be measured in the
laboratory.
• Also, we will examine the near wellbore condition
in order to evaluate whether the well productivity
is governed by wellbore effects (such as skin and
storage) or by the reservoir at large.
 Reservoir Evaluation…/3
• The conductivity (kh) governs how fast fluids
can flow to the well. Hence it is a parameter
that we need to know to design well spacing
and number of wells.
• If conductivity is low, we may need to
evaluate the cost-effectiveness of
stimulation.
 Reservoir Evaluation…/4
• Reservoir pressure tells us how much potential
energy the reservoir contains (or has left) and
enables us to forecast how long the reservoir
production can be sustained.
• Pressures in the vicinity of the wellbore are affected
by drilling and production processes, and may be
quite different from the pressure and the reservoir
at large.
• Well test interpretation allows us to infer those
distant pressures from the local pressures that can
actually be measured.
 Reservoir Evaluation…/5
• Analysis of reservoir limits enables us to
determine how much reservoir fluid is
present (be it oil, gas, water, steam or
any other) and to estimate whether the
reservoir boundaries are closed or open
(with aquifer support, or a free surface).
 Reservoir Management
• During the life of a reservoir, we wish to
monitor performance and well condition.
• It is useful to monitor changes in average
reservoir pressure so that we can refine our
forecasts of future reservoir performance.
• By monitoring the condition of the wells, it is
possible to identify candidates for workover
or stimulation.
 Reservoir Management…/2
• In special circumstances, it may also be
possible to track the movement of fluid fronts
within the reservoir, such as may be seen in
water flooding or in-situ combustion.
• Knowledge of the front location can allow us
to evaluate the effectiveness of the
displacement process and to forecast its
subsequent performance.
 Reservoir Description
• Geological formations hosting oil, gas, water
and geothermal reservoirs are complex, and
may contain different rock types, stratigraphic
interfaces, faults, barriers and fluid fronts.
• Some of these features may influence the
pressure transient behavior to a measurable
extent, and most will affect the reservoir
performance.
 Reservoir Description…/2
• To the extent that it is possible, the use of
well test analysis for the purpose of reservoir
description will be an aid to the forecasting of
reservoir performance.
• In addition, characterization of the reservoir
can be useful in developing the production
plan.
 Reservoir Description…/3
• It is important to acknowledge that there
is a limit to the level of detail that can be
achieved in a reservoir description.
• Pressure transmission is an inherently
diffusive process, and hence is governed
largely by average conditions rather than
by local heterogeneities.
 Types of Tests
• Drawdown Test
• Buildup Test
• Injection Test
• Falloff Test
• Interference Test
• Drill Stem Test (DST)
 Drawdown Test
• In a drawdown test, a well that is static, stable and shut-in is
opened to flow. For the purposes of traditional analysis, the
flow rate is supposed to be constant.
• Many of the traditional analysis techniques are derived using
the drawdown test as a basis. However, in practice, a
drawdown test may be rather difficult to achieve under the
intended conditions. In particular:
– it is difficult to make the well flow at constant rate, even
after it has (more-or-less) stabilized, and
– the well condition may not initially be either static or
stable, especially if it was recently drilled or had been
flowed previously.
 Drawdown Test…/2
• On the other hand, drawdown testing is
a good method of reservoir limit
testing, since the time required to
observe a boundary response is long,
and operating fluctuations in flow rate
become less significant over such long
times.
Drawdown Test…/3
 Buildup Test
• In a buildup test, a well which is already flowing
(ideally at constant rate) is shut in, and the downhole
pressure measured as the pressure builds up.
• Analysis of a buildup test often requires only slight
modification of the techniques used to interpret
constant rate drawdown test.
• The practical advantage of a buildup test is that the
constant flow rate condition is more easily achieved
(since the flow rate is zero).
 Buildup Test…/2
• Buildup tests also have disadvantages:
– It may be difficult to achieve the constant rate
production prior to the shut in. In particular, it
may be necessary to close the well briefly to run
the pressure tool into the hole.
– Production is lost while the well is shut in.
Buildup Test…/3
 Injection Test
• An injection test is conceptually identical to a
drawdown test, except that flow is into the
well rather than out of it.
• Injection rates can often be controlled more
easily than production rates, however analysis
of the test results can be complicated by
multiphase effects unless the injected fluid is
the same as the original reservoir fluid.
Injection Test…/2
 Falloff Test
• A falloff test measures the pressure decline
subsequent to the closure of an injection. It
is conceptually identical to a buildup test.
• As with injection tests, falloff test
interpretation is more difficult if the injected
fluid is different from the original reservoir
fluid.
Falloff Test…/2
 Interference Test
• In an interference test, one well is produced
and pressure is observed in a different well (or
wells).
• An interference test monitors pressure
changes out in the reservoir, at a distance from
the original producing well.
• Thus an interference test may be useful to
characterize reservoir properties over a greater
length scale than single-well tests.
 Interference Test…/2
• Pressure changes at a distance from the
producer are very much smaller than in the
producing well itself, so interference tests
require sensitive pressure recorders and may
take a long time to carry out.
• Interference tests can be used regardless of
the type of pressure change induced at the
active well (drawdown, buildup, injection or
falloff).
 Drill Stem Test (DST)
• A drill stem test is a test which uses a special tool
mounted on the end of the drill string. It is a test
commonly used to test a newly drilled well, since it
can only be carried out while a rig is over the hole.
• In a DST, the well is opened to flow by a valve at the
base of the test tool, and reservoir fluid flows up
the drill string (which is usually empty to start
with).
• A common test sequence is to produce, shut in,
produce again and shut in again.
 Drill Stem Test (DST)…/2
• Drill stem tests can be quite short, since the positive
closure of the downhole valve avoids wellbore
storage effects.
• Analysis of the DST requires special techniques,
since the flow rate is not constant as the fluid level
rises in the drill string.
• Complications may also arise due to momentum and
friction effects, and the fact that the well condition
is affected by recent drilling and completion
operations may influence the results.
 Well Test Equipment
• Formation Tester (FT), 1950s
• Repeat Formation Tester (RFT), 1970s
• Modular Formation Dynamics Tester (MDT),
1990s
• Drill Stem Test (DST)
• Surface Test Equipment
 MDT
• The Modular Formation Dynamics Tester
(MDT) measures reservoir pressure, collects
representative fluid samples from multiple
layers, and provides permeability and
anisotropy data through a variety of interval
pressure transient tests.
• The MDT tool can also be used to conduct a
mini-frac test to obtain the minimum in situ
horizontal stress in several layers.
MDT…/2
Basic MDT Configuration
 MDT Applications
• Formation pressure measurement and fluid
gradient estimation.
• Formation fluid sampling and downhole fluid
analysis.
• Pretest drawdown mobility values
(permeability/viscosity).
• Permeability and permeability anisotropy
determination away from the well.
• In situ stress determination.
 Drill Stem Test (DST)
• In oil and natural gas extraction, the drill stem
includes the drill pipe, drill collars, bottomhole
assembly, and drill bit.
• A drill stem test (DST) is a procedure for testing the
surrounding geological formation through the drill
pipe.
• During normal drilling, fluid is pumped through the
drill stem and out the drill bit. Instead, in a drill stem
test, fluid from the formation is recovered through
the drill stem, while several measurements of
pressure are being made.
Drill Stem Test (DST)…/2
 The basic drill stem test tool consists of a
packer or packers, valves or ports that
may be opened and closed from the
surface, and two or more pressure-
recording devices.
 A packer is an expanding plug which can
be used to seal off sections of the open
well, here to isolate them for testing.
 The tool is lowered on the drill pipe to the
zone to be tested.
 The packer or packers are set to isolate
the zone from the drilling fluid column,
and testing measurement begins.
DST Pressure Profile
The FLOWHEAD is the primary well pressure control equipment
 The HEATER (or STEAM EXCHANGER) is used to raise
the effluent temperature above hydrate formation point,
to reduce viscosity (heavy crude oil) or to break the emulsion.
The SEPARATOR is the main surface testing piece of equipment.
It separates the three phases of the effluent which can then be
metered and sampled individually.
The ATMOSPHERIC GAUGE TANK and the SURGE TANK are used
to calibrate the separator liquid flow measurement,
and to measure the flow in case of low oil flow rates.
 Surface Burner

Courtesy of Schlumberger
Surface Burner
 References
1. Horne, Roland N. : Modern Well Test Analysis : A
Computer Aided Approach, Petroway Inc., 1995.
2. Internet.