WellTestInterpretation

SKM4323

INTRODUCTION
Azmi Mohd Arshad
DepartmentofPetroleumEngineering

WEEK01

Definition
Ameansofassessingreservoir
performancebymeasuringflowrates
andpressuresunderarangeofflowing
conditionsandthenapplyingthedata
toamathematicalmodel.

WellTest
Inmostwelltests,alimitedamountoffluidis
allowedtoflowfromtheformationbeing
tested.Theformationisisolatedbehind
cementedcasingandperforatedatthe
formationdepthor,inopenhole,the
formationisstraddledbyapairofpackers
thatisolatetheformation.

WellTest/2
Duringtheflowperiod,thepressureat
theformationismonitoredovertime.
Then,theformationisclosed(orshutin)
andthepressuremonitoredatthe
formationwhilethefluidwithinthe
formationequilibrates.

WellTest/3
Theanalysisofthesepressure
changescanprovideinformationon
thesizeandshapeoftheformation
aswellasitsabilitytoproducefluids.

WellTestObjectives
The objectives of a well test usually fall
into three major categories:
(a)
(b)
(c)

reservoirevaluation,
reservoirmanagement,
reservoirdescription.

ReservoirEvaluation
Toreachadecisionashowbesttoproduceagiven
reservoir(orevenwhetheritisworthwhiletospend
themoneytoproduceitatall)weneedtoknowits
deliverability,properties,andsize.
Thuswewillattempttodeterminethereservoir
conductivity(kh,orpermeabilitythicknessproduct),
initialreservoirpressure,andthereservoirlimits(or
boundaries).

ReservoirEvaluation/2
Atthesametime,wewillsamplethefluidssothat
theirphysicalpropertiescanbemeasuredinthe
laboratory.
Also,wewillexaminethenearwellborecondition
inordertoevaluatewhetherthewellproductivity
isgovernedbywellboreeffects(suchasskinand
storage)orbythereservoiratlarge.

ReservoirEvaluation/3
Theconductivity(kh)governshowfastfluids
canflowtothewell.Henceitisaparameter
thatweneedtoknowtodesignwellspacing
andnumberofwells.
Ifconductivityislow,wemayneedto
evaluatethecosteffectivenessof
stimulation.

ReservoirEvaluation/4
Reservoirpressuretellsushowmuchpotential
energythereservoircontains(orhasleft)and
enablesustoforecasthowlongthereservoir
productioncanbesustained.
Pressuresinthevicinityofthewellboreareaffected
bydrillingandproductionprocesses,andmaybe
quitedifferentfromthepressureandthereservoir
atlarge.
Welltestinterpretationallowsustoinferthose
distantpressuresfromthelocalpressuresthatcan
actuallybemeasured.

ReservoirEvaluation/5
Analysisofreservoirlimitsenablesusto
determinehowmuchreservoirfluidis
present(beitoil,gas,water,steamor
anyother)andtoestimatewhetherthe
reservoirboundariesareclosedoropen
(withaquifersupport,orafreesurface).

ReservoirManagement
Duringthelifeofareservoir,wewishto
monitorperformanceandwellcondition.
Itisusefultomonitorchangesinaverage
reservoirpressuresothatwecanrefineour
forecastsoffuturereservoirperformance.
Bymonitoringtheconditionofthewells,itis
possibletoidentifycandidatesforworkover
orstimulation.

ReservoirManagement/2
Inspecialcircumstances,itmayalsobe
possibletotrackthemovementoffluidfronts
withinthereservoir,suchasmaybeseenin
waterfloodingorinsitucombustion.
Knowledgeofthefrontlocationcanallowus
toevaluatetheeffectivenessofthe
displacementprocessandtoforecastits
subsequentperformance.

ReservoirDescription
Geologicalformationshostingoil,gas,water
andgeothermalreservoirsarecomplex,and
maycontaindifferentrocktypes,stratigraphic
interfaces,faults,barriersandfluidfronts.
Someofthesefeaturesmayinfluencethe
pressuretransientbehaviortoameasurable
extent,andmostwillaffectthereservoir
performance.

ReservoirDescription/2
Totheextentthatitispossible,theuseof
welltestanalysisforthepurposeofreservoir
descriptionwillbeanaidtotheforecastingof
reservoirperformance.
Inaddition,characterizationofthereservoir
canbeusefulindevelopingtheproduction
plan.

ReservoirDescription/3
Itisimportanttoacknowledgethatthere
isalimittothelevelofdetailthatcanbe
achievedinareservoirdescription.
Pressuretransmissionisaninherently
diffusiveprocess,andhenceisgoverned
largelybyaverageconditionsratherthan
bylocalheterogeneities.

TypesofTests

DrawdownTest
BuildupTest
InjectionTest
FalloffTest
InterferenceTest
DrillStemTest(DST)

DrawdownTest
Inadrawdowntest,awellthatisstatic,stableandshutinis
openedtoflow.Forthepurposesoftraditionalanalysis,the
flowrateissupposedtobeconstant.
Manyofthetraditionalanalysistechniquesarederivedusing
thedrawdowntestasabasis.However,inpractice,a
drawdowntestmayberatherdifficulttoachieveunderthe
intendedconditions.Inparticular:
itisdifficulttomakethewellflowatconstantrate,even
afterithas(moreorless)stabilized,and
thewellconditionmaynotinitiallybeeitherstaticor
stable,especiallyifitwasrecentlydrilledorhadbeen
flowedpreviously.

DrawdownTest/2
Ontheotherhand,drawdowntestingis
agoodmethodofreservoirlimit
testing,sincethetimerequiredto
observeaboundaryresponseislong,
andoperatingfluctuationsinflowrate
becomelesssignificantoversuchlong
times.

DrawdownTest/3

BuildupTest
Inabuilduptest,awellwhichisalreadyflowing
(ideallyatconstantrate)isshutin,andthedownhole
pressuremeasuredasthepressurebuildsup.
Analysisofabuilduptestoftenrequiresonlyslight
modificationofthetechniquesusedtointerpret
constantratedrawdowntest.
Thepracticaladvantageofabuilduptestisthatthe
constantflowrateconditionismoreeasilyachieved
(sincetheflowrateiszero).

BuildupTest/2
Builduptestsalsohavedisadvantages:
Itmaybedifficulttoachievetheconstantrate
productionpriortotheshutin.Inparticular,it
maybenecessarytoclosethewellbrieflytorun
thepressuretoolintothehole.
Productionislostwhilethewellisshutin.

BuildupTest/3

InjectionTest
Aninjectiontestisconceptuallyidenticaltoa
drawdowntest,exceptthatflowisintothe
wellratherthanoutofit.
Injectionratescanoftenbecontrolledmore
easilythanproductionrates,howeveranalysis
ofthetestresultscanbecomplicatedby
multiphaseeffectsunlesstheinjectedfluidis
thesameastheoriginalreservoirfluid.

InjectionTest/2

FalloffTest
Afallofftestmeasuresthepressuredecline
subsequenttotheclosureofaninjection.It
isconceptuallyidenticaltoabuilduptest.
Aswithinjectiontests,fallofftest
interpretationismoredifficultiftheinjected
fluidisdifferentfromtheoriginalreservoir
fluid.

FalloffTest/2

InterferenceTest
Inaninterferencetest,onewellisproduced
andpressureisobservedinadifferentwell(or
wells).
Aninterferencetestmonitorspressure
changesoutinthereservoir,atadistancefrom
theoriginalproducingwell.
Thusaninterferencetestmaybeusefulto
characterizereservoirpropertiesoveragreater
lengthscalethansinglewelltests.

InterferenceTest/2
Pressurechangesatadistancefromthe
producerareverymuchsmallerthaninthe
producingwellitself,sointerferencetests
requiresensitivepressurerecordersandmay
takealongtimetocarryout.
Interferencetestscanbeusedregardlessof
thetypeofpressurechangeinducedatthe
activewell(drawdown,buildup,injectionor
falloff).

DrillStemTest(DST)
Adrillstemtestisatestwhichusesaspecialtool
mountedontheendofthedrillstring.Itisatest
commonlyusedtotestanewlydrilledwell,sinceit
canonlybecarriedoutwhilearigisoverthehole.
InaDST,thewellisopenedtoflowbyavalveatthe
baseofthetesttool,andreservoirfluidflowsup
thedrillstring(whichisusuallyemptytostart
with).
Acommontestsequenceistoproduce,shutin,
produceagainandshutinagain.

DrillStemTest(DST)/2
Drillstemtestscanbequiteshort,sincethepositive
closureofthedownhole valveavoidswellbore
storageeffects.
AnalysisoftheDSTrequiresspecialtechniques,
sincetheflowrateisnotconstantasthefluidlevel
risesinthedrillstring.
Complicationsmayalsoariseduetomomentumand
frictioneffects,andthefactthatthewellcondition
isaffectedbyrecentdrillingandcompletion
operationsmayinfluencetheresults.

WellTestEquipment
FormationTester(FT),1950s
RepeatFormationTester(RFT),1970s
ModularFormationDynamicsTester(MDT),
1990s
DrillStemTest(DST)
SurfaceTestEquipment

MDT
TheModularFormationDynamicsTester
(MDT)measuresreservoirpressure,collects
representativefluidsamplesfrommultiple
layers,andprovidespermeabilityand
anisotropydatathroughavarietyofinterval
pressuretransienttests.
TheMDTtoolcanalsobeusedtoconducta
minifrac testtoobtaintheminimuminsitu
horizontalstressinseverallayers.

MDT/2

BasicMDTConfiguration

MDTApplications
Formationpressuremeasurementandfluid
gradientestimation.
Formationfluidsamplinganddownhole fluid
analysis.
Pretestdrawdownmobilityvalues
(permeability/viscosity).
Permeabilityandpermeabilityanisotropy
determinationawayfromthewell.
Insitustressdetermination.

DrillStemTest(DST)
Inoilandnaturalgasextraction,thedrillstem
includesthedrillpipe,drillcollars,bottomhole
assembly,anddrillbit.
Adrillstemtest(DST) isaprocedurefortestingthe
surroundinggeologicalformationthroughthedrill
pipe.
Duringnormaldrilling,fluidispumpedthroughthe
drillstemandoutthedrillbit.Instead,inadrillstem
test,fluidfromtheformationisrecoveredthrough
thedrillstem,whileseveralmeasurementsof
pressurearebeingmade.

DrillStemTest(DST)/2
z

z
z

Thebasicdrillstemtesttoolconsistsofa
packerorpackers,valvesorportsthat
maybeopenedandclosedfromthe
surface,andtwoormorepressure
recordingdevices.
Apackerisanexpandingplugwhichcan
beusedtosealoffsectionsoftheopen
well,heretoisolatethemfortesting.
Thetoolisloweredonthedrillpipetothe
zonetobetested.
Thepackerorpackersaresettoisolate
thezonefromthedrillingfluidcolumn,
andtestingmeasurementbegins.

DSTPressureProfile

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.

SurfaceBurner

Courtesy of Schlumberger

SurfaceBurner

References
1. Horne,RolandN.:ModernWellTestAnalysis:A
ComputerAidedApproach,Petroway Inc.,1995.
2. Internet.