Chapter 6

W e l l Deliverability

6.1 Introduction

Well deliverability is determined by the combination of well inflow per-

formance (see Chapter 3) and wellbore flow performance (see Chapter 4).
While the former describes the deliverability of the reservoir, the latter
presents the resistance to flow of production string. This chapter focuses
on prediction of achievable gas production rates from gas reservoirs with
specified production string characteristics. The technique of analysis is
called Nodal analysis (a Schlumburger patent). Calculation examples are
illustrated with computer spreadsheets that are provided with this book.

6.2 Nodal Analysis

Fluid properties, such as gas z-factor and gas viscosity, change with the
location-dependent pressure and temperature in the gas production
system. To simulate the fluid flow in the system, it is necessary to "break"
the system into discrete nodes that separate system elements (equipment
sections). Fluid properties at the elements are evaluated locally. The
system analysis for determination of fluid production rate and pressure at
a specified node is called Nodal analysis in petroleum engineering.
Nodal analysis is performed on the principle of pressure continuity, that
is, there is only one unique pressure value at a given node no matter
whether the pressure is evaluated from the performance of upstream
equipment or downstream equipment. The performance curve (pressure-
rate relation) of upstream equipment is called inflow performance curve;
the performance curve of downstream equipment is called outflow perfor-
mance curve. The intersection of the two performance curves defines the
operating point, that is, operating flow rate and pressure, at the specified
node. For the convenience of using pressure data measured normally at
either bottom hole or wellhead, Nodal analysis is usually conducted using
the bottom hole or wellhead as the solution node.

6.2.1 Analysis with the Bottom Hole Node

When the bottom hole is used as a solution node in Nodal analysis, the
inflow performance is the well Inflow Performance Relationship (IPR)
and the outflow performance is the Tubing Performance Relationship
(TPR), if the tubing shoe is set to the top of the pay zone. Well IPR can be
established with different methods presented in Chapter 3. TPR can be
modeled with various approaches as discussed in Chapter 4.
Traditionally, Nodal analysis at the bottom hole is carried out by plotting
the IPR and TPR curves and visually finding the solution at the intersec-
tion point of the two curves. With modern computer technologies, the
solution can be computed quickly without plotting the curves, although
the curves are still plotted for visual verification.
Consider the bottom hole node of a gas well. If the IPR of the well is
defined by

(6.1)

and if the outflow performance relationship of the node (TPR) is defined by

(6.2)

then the operating flow rate qsc and pressure pw* at the bottom hole node
can be determined graphically by plotting Equation (6.1) and
Equation (6.2) and finding the intersection point.
The operating point can also be solved numerically by combining
Equation (6.1) and Equation (6.2). In fact, Equation (6.1) can be
rearranged as:
 (6.3)

Substituting Equation (6.3) into Equation (6.2) yields:

(6.4)

which can be solved with a numerical technique such as the Newton-

Raphson iteration for gas flow rate qsc. This computation can be per-
formed automatically with the spreadsheet program BottomHole-
Nodal.xls. Users need to input parameter values in the Input Data section
and run Macro Solution to get results.

Example Problem 6.1

Suppose that a vertical well produces 0.71 specific gravity gas
through a 2 7/8-in tubing set to the top of a gas reservoir at a
depth of 10,000 ft. At tubing head, the pressure is 800 psia and
the temperature is 150 0F, the bottom hole temperature is 200 0F.
The relative roughness of tubing is about 0.0006. Calculate the
expected gas production rate of the well using the following data
for IPR:
Reservoir pressure: 2,000 psia
IPR model parameter C: 0.1 Mscf/d-psi2n
IPR model parameter n: 0.8

Solution
This example problem is solved with the spreadsheet program
BottomHoleNodal.xls. Table 6-1 shows the appearance of the
spreadsheet for the data input and result sections. It indicates
that the expected gas flow rate is 1,478 Mscf/d at a bottom hole
pressure of 1,050 psia. The inflow and outflow performance
curves plotted in Figure 6-1 confirm this operating point.
 Click to View Calculation Example

Table 6-1 Input Data and Results Given by BottomHoleNodal.xIs3

Instructions: 1) Input your data in the Input Data section; 2) Run Macro Solution
to get results; 3) View results in table and in the Plot graph sheet.
Input Data
Gas-specific gravity (yg):
Tubing inside diameter (D):
Tubing relative roughness (e/D):
Measured depth at tubing shoe (L):
Inclination angle (6):
Wellhead pressure (phf):
Wellhead temperature (Thf):
Bottom hole temperature (T^).
Reservoir pressure (p):
C-exponent in backpressure IPR model:
n-constant in backpressure IPR model:
Solution

q s c (Mscf/d) IPR TPR

0 2,000 1,020
191 1,943 1,021
383 1,861 1,023
574 1,764 1,026
765 1,652 1,031
956 1,523 1,037
1,148 1,374 1,044
1,339 1,200 1,052
1,530 987 1,062
1,721 703 1,073
1,817 498 1,078
1,865 353 1,081
1,889 250 1,083
1,913 0 1,084
Operating flow rate = 1,478 Mscrf/d
Operating pressure = 1,050 psia
a. This spreadsheet calculates well deliverability with bottom hole node
 P
IR
TPR
Bottom Hole Pressure (psia)

Gas Production Rate (Mscf/d)

Figure 6-1 Nodal analysis for Example Problem 6.1.

6.2.2 Analysis with Wellhead Node

When the wellhead is used as a solution node in Nodal analysis, the

inflow performance curve is the Wellhead Performance Relationship
(WPR) that is obtained by transforming the IPR to wellhead through TPR.
The outflow performance curve is the wellhead Choke Performance Rela-
tionship (CPR). Some TPR models are presented in Chapter 4. CPR
models are discussed in Chapter 5.
Nodal analysis with wellhead being a solution node is carried out by plot-
ting the WPR and CPR curves and finding the solution at the intersection
point of the two curves. Again, with modern computer technologies, the
solution can be computed quickly without plotting the curves, although
the curves are still plotted for verification.
If the IPR of the well is defined by Equation (6.1), and TPR is represented
by Equation (6.2), substituting Equation (6.2) into Equation (6.1) gives
 (6.5)

which defines a relationship between wellhead pressure phf and gas produc-
tion rate qsc, that is WPR. If the CPR is defined by Equation (5.5), that is,

(6.6)

then the operating flow rate qsc and pressure phf at the wellhead node can
be determined graphically by plotting Equation (6.5) and Equation (6.6)
and finding the intersection point.
The operating point can also be solved numerically by combining
Equation (6.5) and Equation (6.6). In fact, Equation (6.6) can be
rearranged as:

(6.7)

Substituting Equation (6.7) into Equation (6.6) gives

which can be solved numerically for gas flow rate qsc. This computation
can be performed automatically with the spreadsheet program Wellhead-
Nodal.xls. Users need to input parameter values in the Input Data section
and run Macro Solution to get results.

Example Problem 6.2

Use the following given data to estimate gas production rate of
the well:
Gas-specific gravity: 0.71
Tubing inside diameter: 2.259 in
Tubing wall relative roughness: 0.0006
Measured depth at tubing shoe: 10,000 ft
Inclination angle: 0°
Wellhead choke size: 16 1/64 in
Flowline diameter: 2 in
Gas-specific heat ratio: 1.3
Gas viscosity at wellhead: 0.01 cp
Wellhead temperature: 150 0F
Bottom hole temperature: 200 0F
Reservoir pressure: 2,000 psia
C-constant in backpressure IPR model: 0.01 Mscf/dpsi2n
n-exponent in backpressure IPR model: 0.8

Solution:
This example problem is solved with the spreadsheet program
WellheadNodal.xls. Table 6-2 and Table 6-3 show the appear-
ance of the spreadsheet for the data input and result sections. It
indicates that the expected gas flow rate is 1,478 Mscf/d at a
bottom hole pressure of 1,050 psia. The inflow and outflow per-
formance curves plotted in Figure 6-2 confirm this operating
point.
 Click to View Calculation Example
Table 6-2 Input Data and Solution Given by WellheadNodal.xIs*
Instructions: 1) Input your data in the Input Data section; 2) Run Macro Solution
to get results; 3) View results in table and in the Plot graph sheet.
Input Data
Gas-specific gravity (yg):
Tubing inside diameter (D):
Tubing relative roughness (e/D):
Measured depth at tubing shoe (L):
Inclination angle (9):
Wellhead choke size (Dck):
Flowline diameter (Dfi):
Gas-specific heat ratio (k):
Gas viscosity at wellhead (|i):
Wellhead temperature (Thf):
Bottom hole temperature (T^).
Reservoir pressure (p~):
C-constant in backpressure IPR model:
n-exponent in backpressure IPR model:
Solution

a. This spreadsheet calculates well deliverability with wellhead node.

 Click to View Calculation Example
Table 6-3 Results Section of WellheadNodal.xls
qsc (Mscf/d) WPR CPR
0 1,600 0
191 1,554 104
383 1,489 207
574 1,411 311
765 1,321 415
956 1,218 518
1,148 1,099 622
1,339 960 726
1,530 789 830
1,721 562 933
1,817 399 985
1,865 282 1,011
1,889 200 1,024
1,913 1 1,037
Operating flow rate = 1,470 Mscf/d
Operating pressure = 797 psia

WPR
CPR
Wellhead Pressure (psia)

Gas Production Rate (Mscf/d)

Figure 6-2 Nodal analysis for Example Problem 6.2.
6.3 References

Greene, W. R. "Analyzing the Performance of Gas Wells." Journal of

Petroleum Technology (July 1983): 31-9.

Nind, T. E. W. Principles of Oil Well Production. 2 n d Ed. New York:

McGraw-Hill, 1981.
Russell, D. G., J. H. Goodrich, G. E. Perry, and J. F. Bruskotter.
"Methods for Predicting Gas Well Performance." Journal of Petro-
leum Technology (January 1966): 50-7.

6.4 Problems

6-1 A vertical well produces 0.75 specific-gravity gas through a

2 7/8-in (ID 2.441 in) tubing set to the top of a gas reservoir at a
depth of 8,000 ft. Tubing head temperature is 90 0 F, and bottom
hole temperature is 160 0 F. The relative roughness of tubing is
about 0.0006. Calculate the expected gas production rates of the
well at wellhead pressures of 200 psia, 300 psia, 400 psia, 500
psia, and 600 psia using the following data for IPR:
Reservoir pressure: 1,800 psia
IPR model parameter C: 0.15 Mscf/d-psi2n
IPR model parameter n: 0.85
6-2 Calculate the expected gas production rates of the well
described in Problem 6-1 for a 2.259-in ID tubing.
6-3 Use the following data to calculate expected gas production
rate of the well:
Gas-specific gravity: 0.75
Tubing inside diameter: 2.259 in
Tubing wall relative roughness: 0.0006
Measured depth at tubing shoe: 8,000 ft
Inclination angle: 0°
Wellhead choke size: 24 1/64 in
 Flowline diameter: 2 in
Gas-specific heat ratio: 1.3
Gas viscosity at wellhead: 0.01 cp
Wellhead temperature: 120 0 F
Bottom hole temperature: 180 0 F
Reservoir pressure: 2,000 psia

C-constant in backpressure IPR model: 0.01 Mscf/dpsi2n

n-exponent in backpressure IPR model: 0.8
6-4 Modify spreadsheet program BottomHoleNodal.xls to
incorporate the Forchheimer equation for IPR. Solve
Problem 6-1 using estimated A and B values from C and n
values.
6-5 Modify spreadsheet program WellheadNodal.xls to
incorporate the subsonic choke flow equation. Solve
Problem 6-3 for flow line pressures of 200 psia, 300 psia,
400 psia, 500 psia, and 600 psia.