PET-332 E

Production Engineering
&
Surface Facilities

Reservoir Inflow Performance

Introduction

Any oil or gas production well is drilled and completed to move

the oil or gas from the reservoir to the stock tank or sales line.

Transport of these fluids requires energy to overcome friction losses in

the production system. The fluids must travel through the reservoir and
the piping system and ultimately flow into a separator for gas-liquid
separation.

A production system can be relatively simple or can include many

components in which energy or pressure losses occur.

The selection and sizing of the individual components of the

production system is very important since all the components are
interrelated.

1
Production system

The production system is a

composite term describing the entire
production process. Starting from
the reservoir and ending at the stock
tank or even beyond.

Production is expansion of fluids :: 1

Isothermal compressibility for a fluid is defined as

Expansion of fluid may be written as

2
Production is expansion of fluids :: 2

For each fluid type in the reservoir :

or

! ! ! Above formulation ignores the contribution of rock expansion.

5

Production is expansion of fluids :: 3

Typical compressibility values are:

3
Flow into wellbore

One of the most important concepts in the production system is the

reservoir. Unless accurate predictions can be made about flow into the
wellbore from the reservoir, the performance of the system can not be
analyzed. The flow into the well depends on the drawdown or pressure
drop in the reservoir :

The relationship between flow rate and pressure drop occurring in the
porous medium can be very complex and depends on parameters such
as rock properties, fluid properties, flow regime, fluid saturations,
compressibility of the fluids and rock, formation damage or stimulation
and drive mechanisms.
7

Inflow performance

Development of the bottomhole pressure gauge in the late 1920s led to

the practice of testing wells by simultaneous measurement of surface
production rate and bottomhole pressure. The obvious reason to test a
well is to determine what the production rate will be if a certain
backpressure is exerted at the wellhead.

The flow from the reservoir into the well has been called inflow
performance. A plot of producing rate versus bottomhole flowing is
called inflow performance relationship or IPR.

Since the early days of testing wells, most efforts have concentrated on
the formulation of simple questions expressing the relation between
the surface rate and bottomhole flowing pressure. The basic equation
which relates the pressure drop and rate in a porous media is Darcy’s
law.
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4
Henry Darcy

In 1856, while performing experiments for the design of sand filter

beds for water purification, Henry Darcy proposed an equation relating
apparent fluid velocity to pressure drop across the filter bed.

Henry Philibert Gaspard Darcy

9

Darcy’s experimental apparatus

h1-h2
Q

A
h4
h2
L

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5
Darcy’s conclusion

Darcy concluded that rate goes through a sand pack are functions of
cross-sectional area, length, pressure difference and a coefficient K that
is a property of the sand pack and the fluid flows through it :

11

Elements of coefficient K

Darcy’s K coefficient was determined to be a combination of

k permeability of the sand pack and

µ viscosity of the fluid that flows through the sand pack

That is

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6
Equation in differential form

Under the following assumptions Darcy’s equation may be written in

differential form :

Linear and horizontal system

Constant cross section
Incompressible liquid
Laminar flow
Fully saturating nonreactive liquid
Single-phase system
Constant temperature
Fluid properties are constant with changing pressures
13

Linear flow

q A q
p1 p2

L
For linear flow (constant area flow), the equation may be integrated to
give the pressure drop occurring over distance L

If it is assumed that k, µ and q are independent of pressure, or that

they can be evaluated at the average pressure in the system, the
equation becomes

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7
Linear flow (continued)

Integration gives

where θ is a unit conversion factor. In Darcy units value of the

conversion factor is 1.0 and in the field units is 1.127 10-3. The
following table can be used as a guideline for the units :

Variable Symbol Darcy Field

Flow rate q cc/sec Bbl/day
Permeability k darcys md
Area A cm2 ft2
Pressure P atm psia
Viscosity µ cp cp
Length L cm ft
15

Linear flow (continued)

If P vs L is plotted on Cartesian coordinates, the equation produces a

straight line of constant slope, (-qµ/kA). This tells us that the variation
of pressure with distance is linear.

If the flowing fluid is compressible, the in-situ flow rate is a function

of pressure. Using the fact that the mass flow rate ρq, must be constant
the following derivation will reveal the form of Darcy equation for
compressible (real gas) flow :

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8
Linear flow (continued)

Use field units with the above equation. T is in °R and µ and z are
evaluated at the average reservoir pressure.

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Radial flow

pw pe

re rw

Darcy’s law can be used to calculate the flow into a well where the fluid
is converging radially into a relatively small hole. In this case area open
to flow (A=2πrh) is not constant and must be included in the
integration :
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9
Radial flow (continued)

In the case of small compressibility fluids, change in the liquid volume

may handled with formation volume factor correction :

When integrating the previous equation, it is usually assumed that the

pressure function f (p)= ko/µoBo is independent of pressure or it can be
evaluated at average pressure in the well’s drainage volume.
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Radial flow (continued)

This is necessary because no simple analytical equation for this term as

a function of pressure can be formulated. Under the previous
assumptions the integration leads to the following equation

For field units

where r and h are in ft and Bo is in Bbl/STB.

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10
Radial flow (continued)

The equations we derived so far applies for steady-state (Pe=constant),

laminar flow and a well in the center of a circular drainage area. It is
more useful if we rewrite the equations in terms of directly measurable
quantities (such as average reservoir pressure) and stabilized flow
(pseudo-steady state) :

It must be noted that in radial systems with a centered well in the

middle, the average reservoir pressure happens at 0.472 re under
stabilized flow conditions.

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Radial flow (continued)

For the gas flow

In terms of average reservoir pressure

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11
Flow types-1
Transient flow is defined as a flow condition which radius of pressure
wave propagation from wellbore has not reached the boundaries of the
reservoir. During the transient flow a small portion of the reservoir
contributes to production. Therefore the well behaves as if it is
producing from an infinitely large reservoir.

This condition is only applicable for a relatively short period after some
pressure disturbance has been created in the reservoir. In this case, both
the pressure and time derivative of pressure are themselves functions
of both position and time:

23

Flow types-2 (transient flow)

Assuming single-phase oil flow in porous media, constant rate solution

of the diffusivity equation gives

Pwf flowing bottom-hole pressure, psia

Pi initial reservoir pressure, psia
qo oil production rate, STB/day
µo oil viscosity, cp
t flow time, hours
ko effective horizontal permeability to oil, md
h reservoir thickness, ft
ø porosity
ct total compressibility, 1/psi
rw wellbore radius, ft 24

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Flow types-3

After an initial production period with transient well pressure and rate,
the outer boundary starts affecting production at the wellbore and flow
stabilizes.

When stabilization is reached, the constant pressure boundary at the

limits of the reservoir causes steady-state flow. Wells producing under
steady-state conditions do not experience depletion, since average
reservoir pressure remains constant. In such reservoirs the volumetric
average reservoir pressure is approximately located at 0.61re.

Stabilized flow from wells with no-flow boundaries is usually referred

to as pseudosteady-state flow. This type of production results from
depletion, and a major consequence is that average reservoir pressure
declines. In such reservoirs the volumetric average reservoir pressure is
approximately located at 0.472re.
25

Flow types-4

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13
Reservoir pressure profile

The pressure distribution in a radial drainage reservoir can be analyzed

by plotting pressure versus radius as predicted by radial flow equation
(stabilized flow) :

For steady state flow

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Reservoir pressure profile (continued)

A plot pressure versus radius for typical well conditions shows the large
increase in pressure gradient as the fluid increases in velocity near the
wellbore. Approximately one-half of the total pressure drawdown
occurs within a 15 ft radius from the well. For gas flow, the pressure
drop around the wellbore is even more severe.

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14
Reservoir pressure profile (continued)

Examination of the previous equation reveals that a plot of P versus

ln(r) will result in a straight line of constant slope m,

For gas flow, a plot of P2 versus ln(r) results in straight line of slope m,

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Reservoir pressure profile (continued)

P - ln(r) plot will have a constant slope if all of the terms on the right-
hand side of the equation remain constant. A different slope and a
different Pwf would be obtained for each flow rate qo.

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15
Productivity index

Earlier in the chapter it is stated that the flow into the wellbore depends
on the drawdown or pressure drop in the reservoir such a way that :

Perhaps the simplest way to relate rate and pressure drop is to use a
straight-line IPR, which states that the rate is directly proportional to
pressure drawdown in the reservoir. The constant of proportionality is
called productivity index “ J “. Then the above equation becomes

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Productivity index (continued)

or

From Darcy equation productivity index becomes

Above equations are valid only if the flowing wellbore pressure is

above the bubble point pressure.

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Specific productivity index

The specific productivity index is defined to account for formation

thickness :

From Darcy equation specific productivity index becomes

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Total productivity index

The total productivity index is defined to account for total barrels of

liquid (oil + water) or total production from a well :

From Darcy equation total productivity index becomes

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17
Classifying productivity index

Common oil field usage is to classify a well as having either low,

intermediate, or high PI. The following limits may be used to classify
the productive oil wells :

< 0.5 Low

Between 0.5 - 1.5 Intermediate

> 1.5 High

PI’s of 0.01 are not uncommon on the low side while PI’s of 50-100
are not uncommon on the high side.
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Straight line IPR

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Example #1

A well producing from a reservoir having an average pressure of 2085

psig produced at a rate of 282 STB/day when bottomhole pressure was
1765 psig.

Calculate :

1. The productivity index J

2. The production rate if Pwf is reduced to 1485 psig
3. The bottomhole pressure necessary to obtain an inflow of
400 STB/day
4. The inflow rate if Pwf is reduced to zero (called absolute open
flow potential, AOF)

37

Solution #1

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Dependency of pressure function f(P)

The predictions made in the previous example are valid only if J

remains constant. This implies that the pressure function f(p)=ko/µoBo
remains constant, which is seldom the case. Viscosity increases with
pressure, while oil formation volume factor decreases with pressure.
The composite effect is that (1/µoBo) decreases almost linearly with
pressure.

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Productivity index from Darcy’s equation

The productivity index can also be expressed as following from the

theoretical point of view :

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Productivity index for gas wells

The productivity index concept could also be applied to gas well inflow
performance by defining a gas productivity index as

A plot of Pwf versus qsc would not be linear on cartesian coordinates.

41

Drainage boundary
The outer boundary of a well can be either a geological structural
barrier or a hydrodynamic no-flow boundary that has occurred during
the simultaneous production of several wells from a common reservoir.
The latter type of boundary depends on the flow rate of the wells,
since any change in production from one well in the reservoir will
change the flow boundaries of all neighboring wells. The hydrodynamic
no-flow boundary is an imaginary surface which divides the reservoir so
that fluids on each section flow into different wells.

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21
Skin effect
Rarely does a real well produce under
the conditions of the ideal well model.
Typically, the permeability of the
formation near the wellbore is altered
during the drilling and completion of
the well, operations that are performed
with well pressure overbalancing the
formation pressure. Flux of solids and
fluids from the wellbore tends to
damage the permeability near the
wellbore. The pressure difference
between the ideal and actual wellbore
flowing pressure, (Pwf´ - Pwf) represents
an additional pressure loss due to
formation alteration.
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Skin effect (continued)

Other deviations from the ideal well are

caused by flow restrictions in the
perforations and convergence to the
perforated interval, which is only a
fraction of the net pay zone.

The overall result is that the pressure

distribution in an actual well differs
from the calculation for an ideal well.
The difference is larger near the
wellbore and diminishes away from the
wellbore.

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Skin effect (continued)

The expression for radial pressure distribution of an oil well draining an

infinite reservoir was given before as

Under the simplifying assumptions, for pseudosteady-state flow the

above equation can be written in terms of ideal pressure drop PR-Pwf´:

where Pwf´ indicates the wellbore flowing pressure for the case of an
ideal well producing under the assumptions of the ideal radial model.
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Skin effect (continued)

Additional pressure loss due to skin is expressed as ∆Ps. A

dimensionless skin factor s, proportional to ∆Ps, is defined as

or

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Skin effect (continued)

Since Pwf´ - Pwf = ∆Ps actual pressure loss may be written in terms of
skin factor

47

Skin effect (continued)

Rearranging the previous equation in terms of production rate

Skin factor gives an indication of the character of flow near the

wellbore, relative to ideal well. Positive skin indicates damage or
restriction to flow, and negative skin indicates stimulation or reduced
restriction to flow. In presence of skin, productivity index becomes

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Skin effect (continued)

It is sometimes more useful to express the effect of damage and

stimulation in terms of flow efficiency, EF , defined as the ratio of
actual rate to ideal rate for a given pressure drawdown :

In terms of the actual and ideal pressure losses, flow efficiency has the
form

49

Skin effect (continued)

In terms of skin, it is easily shown that flow efficiency is expressed as

For most wells the ratio of well radius ranges from 6.5 to 8.5. Using an
average of ln(re/rw) - 0.75 = 7.0, an approximate expression may be
written as

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Skin effect (continued)

Another expression used to quantify nonideal flow conditions is the

apparent wllbore radius rwa,

Then a different form of the inflow equation may be written as

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Skin effect and shape factor

If the drainage radius is not circular, then use of previous equations

may lead to appreciable errors. Odeh developed following equations to
describe pseudo steady state flow in a noncircular drainage area :

where x is the shape factor and can be found from the next slide.
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Skin effect and shape factor (continued)

53

Factors effecting PI

The expression for PI for for an oil well including skin effect, can be
written as

It can be observed from above equation that the following factors can
effect the behavior of PI :

• Phase behavior of the reservoir fluids

• Relative permeability behavior
• Oil viscosity behavior
• Oil formation volume factor behavior
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Saturation dependency of kro

55

Pressure dependency of µo

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Pressure dependency of Bo

57

Factors affecting IPR

1. A decrease in kro as gas saturation increases

2. An increase in oil viscosity as pressure decreases and gas is evolved
3. Shrinkage of the oil as gas is evolved when pressure on the oil
decreases
4. Formation damage or stimulation around the wellbore
5. An increase in turbulence with increasing oil rate

These factors can change either as a result of drawdown change at a

constant value of PR or as PR declines because of depletion.

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Effects of drive mechanisms on IP

The source of energy to move oil and gas into the wellbore has a
substantial effect on both the performance of the reservoir and the
total production. The basic drive mechanisms are

• Dissolved gas drive

• Gas cap drive
• Water drive
• Combination drive

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Dissolved gas drive

A dissolved gas drive reservoir is

closed to any outside source of energy.
The only source of material to replace
the produced fluids is the expansion
of the fluids remaining in the
reservoir. Its pressure is usually at or
above bubble point pressure and
therefore no free gas exists. Some
small but usually negligible expansion
of the connate water and rock may
also occur.

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 Dissolved gas drive performance

61

Dissolved gas drive performance (continued)

The reservoir pressure declines rapidly

with production until PR=Pb , since
the only mechanism to move oil is
fluid expansion. During this period
producing gas/oil ratio will be
constant at Rs=Rsi . Since there is no
free gas in the reservoir, f(PR) remains
fairly constant.

Once PR declines below Pb , free gas will be available to expand, and PR will
decline less rapidly. As a result of free gas, R and f(PR) will change rapidly in
reverse directions.

Recovery at abandonment conditions will range between 5 to 30% of original oil

in place.
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Gas cap drive

A gas cap drive reservoir is also closed

from any outside source of energy.
But there is a gas cap over the oil
formation. As oil is produced the gas
cap will expand and help to maintain
the reservoir pressure. Also, as the
reservoir pressure declines due to
production, gas will be evolved from
the saturated oil.

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Gas cap drive performance

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Gas cap drive performance (continued)

The reservoir pressure will decline more slowly than for a dissolved gas
drive, but as the free gas cap expands, some of the upstructure wells
will produce at high gas/oil ratios. Under primary conditions, the
recovery may be between 20 to 40% of the original oil in place.

65

Water drive

In a water drive reservoir, the oil zone

is in contact with an aquifer that can
supply the energy by replenishing the
produced material. Usually the aquifer
is connected to a surface outcrop. The
oil will be undersaturated initially,
formation of free gas will help the oil
production.

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Water drive performance

67

Water drive performance (continued)

The recovery to be expected from a water drive reservoir may vary

from 35 to 75% of the original oil in place. If the production rate is
low enough to allow full water encouragement, recovery may be even
higher.

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Combination drive

In many cases, an oil reservoir will be

both saturated and in contact with an
aquifer. In this case all previously
mentioned drive mechanisms will be
contributing to oil production.

It is almost impossible to generalize on

the expected recovery and performance
of a combination drive reservoir
because of the wide variety of
combinations of aquifer and gas cap
sizes.

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Comparison of formation pressure change

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35
Comparison of GOR change

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