Well Test Analysis in Volatile Oil Reservoirs
Well Test Analysis in Volatile Oil Reservoirs
Well Test Analysis in Volatile Oil Reservoirs
This paper was prepared for presentation at the 2008 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition held in Denver, Co, U.S.A., 2124 September 2008.
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Abstract
This paper discusses characterization of volatile oil reservoirs using well test analysis. For this purpose, typical well test
behaviors were simulated with a one-dimensional single well compositional reservoir model, for different production rates;
fluid composition and relative permeability curves, with bottomhole pressures above and below the bubble point pressure.
It was found that, when the bottomhole pressure falls below the bubble point pressure during a drawdown, a high gas
saturation zone is created around the wellbore with two-phase (oil and gas) flow, whereas single phase (oil) with the initial gas
saturation remains away from the wellbore. During the subsequent build up, the gas created around the wellbore during the
preceding drawdown condenses into the oil and the saturation in the near-wellbore region returns to the initial gas saturation.
The log-log pressure-derivative behaviors below the bubble point correspond to a two-zone radial composite model, with
decreasing mobility during drawdowns and increasing mobilities during build ups. The log-log pressure derivative plot of the
build up reflects oil mobility distribution of the reservoir at the end of the preceding drawdown.
Knowledge obtained from the study was applied to the analysis of a well test in an actual volatile oil reservoir. Analysis
results were validated with compositional reservoir simulation that included the effect of capillary number and non-Darcy
flow.
Below the bubble point pressure, multiphase flow dominates, and fluid relative mobility and reservoir heterogeneities
control the performance (Archer and Wall, 1999). Relative mobility depends on the relative permeability curve, phase
viscosity and average saturation (Cobenas et al., 1999). Muskat and Meres (1963) discussed the equations governing
2 SPE 116239
multiphase flow of fluids through porous media and formulated a basic differential equation for the motion of a heterogeneous
fluid though porous media under steady state and transient conditions. Kniazeff et al. (1965) treated two-phase flow in a
volatile oil reservoir as a binary mixture flow. Two equations of mass continuity based on laws governing composition and
motion were set up and solved numerically.
Published well test analysis methods under multiphase oil-gas conditions use either the Perrine-Martin assumption, or
pseudo-pressure transformations. Perrine (1956) suggested multiphase flow analysis could be done by replacing the single-
phase compressibility and mobility with the sum of compressibilities and mobilities for each phase, respectively. Perrines
method, based on empirical observations, assumes that the different phases are uniformly distributed, with uniform saturations
and permeabilities for each phase. Martin (1959) verified Perrines hypothesis in the case of small saturation gradients.
In the case of a volatile oil below the bubble point pressure, however, there is a high saturation gradient towards the wellbore
and the Perrine-Martin conditions are not met (Ayan et al., 1986, reported that Perrines approach tends to over-estimates the
skin due to gas blockage around the well). Raghavan (1976) proposed a pseudo-pressure approach for wells producing by
solution gas drive, similar to that introduced by Al-Hussainy et al. (1966) for real gas flow:
p
k ro (1)
m( p ) =
p ref
o Bo
dp
The pressure data transformed according to Eq. 1 are then be analyzed to obtain the absolute formation permeability. The
correct definition of the pseudo-pressure integral should actually be:
ko o
P i
(2)
m( p ) =
Pref
dp
o
to obtain a valid Darcy continuity equation:
1 k o o p p (3)
r = c t o
r r o r t
where Darcy flow velocity is defined as:
k p (4)
u= o
o r
Raghavans pseudo-pressure transformation was based on Evinger and Muskats multiphase flow equation for calculating a
theoretical productivity factor. Evinger et al.s solution (1942) assumed steady state flow conditions for heterogeneous fluid
flow in order to simplify their formulation (although the authors acknowledged that such conditions did not exist in practice).
It also used a single permeability-saturation relationship, because of the unavailability of other data at the time of the research.
The authors warned that these simplifications might affect the generalization of their formulation. Al-Khalifah et al. (1987)
developed a diffusivity equation for multiphase well testing in terms of pressures squared:
2 p 2 1 p 2 ct p 2
+ =
r 2 r r t t (5)
which was then linearized using Raghavans pseudo-pressure by assuming a linear relationship between pressure (p) and
(kro/oBo), which is only approximately true (Fetkovich, 1973). Serra et al. (1990a, 1990b) also used flowing wellbore pressure
squared and semilog analysis for estimating effective phase permeabilities and skin effects. This approach is limited to low
producing time and invalid for volatile oil reservoir below the bubble point, due to the continuous increase in gas saturation
around the wellbore.
Capillary number
Multiphase flow in porous media commonly uses the concept of relative permeability functions. When fluid is near-critical,
the multiphase flow relative permeabilities depend on interfacial tension and superficial velocity (Blom et al., 2000). Bardon et
al. (1980) considered the impact of very low interfacial tension on relative permeability. They found that during displacement
of gas in an oil-bearing formation, multiple transfers occur between the liquid and vapor phases so that complete miscibility
may be achieved. As this occurs, the interfacial tension between the two phases reduces progressively to zero. Fulcher et al.
(1985) studied the effect of the capillary number, a dimensionless group representing the ratio of viscous to capillary forces, on
two-phase relative permeability curves. They also verified the shift of the relative permeability from immiscibility towards
miscibility as interfacial tension reduces to zero. Blom et al. (2000) re-defined the capillary number (Nc) as:
k (6)
N =
c
.
Their experiments, using methanol/n-hexane to represent a near-critical gas/condensate or gas/volatile oil system, showed that
the near-critical relative permeability depends on the capillary number at the pore scale (Blom et al. 2000). As initial reservoir
conditions in gas condensate and volatile oil reservoirs are often near critical, the physical properties of the oil and gas phases
are very similar and the interfacial tension between the phases is very low. Bloom et al. (1998) suggested that this may have an
important bearing on the multi-phase flow characteristics in the reservoir during production.
In gas condensate reservoirs with bottomhole pressure below the dew point pressure, high capillary numbers, obtained for high
flowrate or low interfacial tension, have been shown to compensate for the productivity losses due to the creation of a
SPE 116239 3
condensate bank around the wellbore (Gondouin et al. 1967). There has been no study, however, on the effect of the capillary
number in volatile oil reservoirs.
A number of published papers show that capillary number effects may exist with two-phase hydrocarbons other than gas
condensate and volatile oil reservoirs. Talabi et al. (2003) examined the effect of depletion rate and oil viscosity on gas
mobility during solution-gas drive in three viscous oils. They showed that relative permeability to gas was a function of both
gas saturation and oil viscosity; and that gas mobility was low and decreased as oil viscosity or depletion rate (combined in a
depletion index) increased. They did not consider the interaction between rate and viscosity. Ostos et al. (2004) conducted an
experiment to investigate the capillary number effect in heavy oil solution gas drive and its relationship to gas-oil relative
permeability. They showed that the oil produced was a unique function of the capillary number and observed no additional
improvement beyond a critical value. They also found that the oil relative permeability increases and gas relative permeability
decreases with increasing capillary number. Their research suggested that gas-oil relative permeability correlations should
incorporate the effect of capillary number in order to predict production in heavy oil solution gas drive. Bardon et al. (1980)
found that a reduction in interfacial tension increases the oil relative permeability at constant gas saturation in an oil-gas
drainage cycle of the Fontainebleau formation. Rowlison et al. (1982) described similarities in thermodynamics of near-critical
fluids, hence creating a strong basis to investigate effect of capillary number in volatile oil reservoirs.
Grid description
A one-layer radial simulation model was built with 40 cells (Fig. 2). The cell widths increase logarithmically in the radial
direction, with finer grid cells around the wellbore and larger grids further away, in order to capture pressure and fluid
behaviors around the wellbore. The large outer radius of 12000ft ensures that outer boundary effects are not felt during the
simulated well tests.
1
Schlumberger: "PVTi Reference Manual version 2001A", 2001
4 SPE 116239
When the BHP falls below the bubble point pressure during a drawdown, a high gas saturation zone is created around the
wellbore with two-phase (oil and gas) flow, whereas single phase (oil) with the initial gas saturation remains away from the
wellbore. The size of the near-wellbore high gas saturation region increases with the drawdown duration (Fig. 15). During a
drawdown, the amount of light end components in the fluid decrease towards the wellbore and that of the heavy end
components increase (Fig. 16). During the subsequent build up, the gas created around the wellbore during the preceding
drawdown condenses into the oil and the saturation in the near-wellbore region returns to the initial gas saturation (Fig. 15).
The fluid composition in the near-wellbore region, however, does not return to the initial fluid composition, due to the loss of
the light components (the pressure-temperature phase envelope of the fluid shifts downwards to the right as shown in Fig. 17).
Below the bubble point pressure, the oil viscosity profile depends on the combined effects of the liberation of the solution gas
and the volumetric expansion of the oil. For 6BU (which follows 5DD, a drawdown below the bubble point pressure with a
rate of 2700 Bbl/D), the viscosity of the oil phase increases towards the well in the near-wellbore region. In this build up, the
increase in oil density around the wellbore due to the change in composition over-compensates for the decrease in oil density
due to volumetric expansion (Fig. 18). 4BU, on the other hand, shows a lower oil viscosity near the wellbore because the
decrease in viscosity due to volumetric expansion dominates the increase in oil viscosity due to the change in composition
(Fig. 19). 4BU follows 3DD, a drawdown below the bubble point pressure with a rate of 2300 Bbl/D.
The decrease in oil relative mobility around the wellbore, in all the drawdowns below the bubble point pressure, is due to the
combination of an increase in gas saturation and an increase in oil viscosity. At the end of all the build ups, the gas saturation
in the near-wellbore region returns to its initial value. The oil relative mobility increases around the wellbore at the end of a
build up due to volumetric expansion of fluid. It decreases only when the flow rate of the oil phase is high enough to change
the composition (Fig. 20). Gas becomes mobile as soon as the reservoir pressure falls below the bubble point pressure. The
mobility of the gas phase increases with time during a drawdown and returns to zero at the end of the subsequent build up
when gas re-dissolves into oil (Fig. 21).
Below the bubble point pressure, lower oil relative mobilities can be seen at the beginning of 4BU and 6BU (higher early time
derivative stabilizations in Fig. 23). They correspond to the lower mobilities at the end of 3DD and 5DD (higher late time
derivative stabilizations in Figs. 24 and 25, respectively). The early time derivative stabilizations during the build ups are
actually slightly lower than that the late time derivative stabilizations in the corresponding previous drawdowns because of gas
re-dissolution in oil during the build up, which reduces the oil viscosity and increases the mobility.
The log-log pressure-derivative behaviors below the bubble point therefore correspond to a two-zone radial composite model,
with decreasing mobility during drawdowns (left hand side plots in Figs. 24 and 25) and increasing mobilities during build ups
(right hand side plots in Figs. 24 and 25, and Fig. 26).
Increasing oil flow rates with constant flow durations leads to a decrease in oil relative mobility (Fig. 27). This is due to the
increase in the size of the near-wellbore, high gas saturation region (Fig. 28) and the increase in viscosity towards the well
(Fig. 29). This decrease in oil relative mobility can be clearly seen on the derivative plot of Fig. 30. The same behavior is
obtained when increasing oil production rate with constant cumulative production (11,500 stb in Fig. 31). The increase in the
size of the high gas saturation region is due to the high energy associated with high velocity, which leads to more gas
production than at lower oil rate.
SPE 116239 5
Reducing Kromax decreases Kro throughout the entire reservoir in both the single phase and the two-phase regions (Figs. 39 and
40) and increases the bottomhole pressure drop (Fig. 41).
The analysis was performed in terms of pressure. A rate-normalized log-log plot of all the build ups (Fig. 47) shows a lower
oil mobility at early times (in the two-phase region with high gas saturation), and a higher oil mobility at late times,
corresponding to the reservoir effective permeability. Conversely, the rate normalized log-log plot of all the drawdowns in Fig.
48 shows a higher oil mobility at early times, and a lower mobility at late times. Combination of drawdowns and build ups in
Fig. 49 confirms that the mobility at the end of the drawdowns corresponds to that at the beginning of the build ups, as
predicted by the simulation study (Figs. 24 and 25). Another difference between drawdowns and build ups is apparent in Figs.
47 to 49. Early time drawdown data exhibit non-Darcy flow effects (creating a skin effect that increases with the oil rate).
Early time build up data, on the other hand, show increasing wellbore storage due to phase redistribution in the wellbore (oil is
even re-injected into the reservoir during 16BU, as evidence by a hump and a discontinuity in the corresponding pressure and
derivative, respectively).
6 SPE 116239
No boundary effects are seen on the log-log plots of Figs. 47 to 49, or on the superposition plots in Fig. 50, because the
various build ups were too short (6.4 days maximum). Deconvolution (von Schroeter et al. 2004) was therefore used to
extend the amount of interpretable data, as deconvolution transforms variable rate pressure data into a constant rate initial
drawdown with a duration equal to the total duration of the test (38 days). Fig. 51 shows a log-log plot of the unit-rate
derivative obtained by deconvolving the last build up, 16BU. The deconvolved derivative is identified by a label which
describes the conditions of the deconvolution: (..) refers to the rate record used; [..] identifies the pressure data that have
been deconvolved;{.} states the value of the regularisation parameter (1.54660E+05 in this case); and the last parameter in
the label represents the initial pressure (pav)i, either calculated by deconvolution or imposed to the deconvolution. The initial
pressure can only be calculated by deconvolution if reliable DST data are available at the start of the life of the well.
Alternatively, it can be found by trial and error provided that the test data include at least two build ups: the deconvolved
derivatives for the two build ups are identical at late times if the initial pressure is correct. Otherwise, they diverge or cross
(Levitan, 2005). This procedure confirmed the value of 4076 psia from the fluid analysis report.
The deconvolved derivative in Fig. 51 exhibits a half-unit log-log straight line at late times, suggesting a channel boundary.
The most consistent well test interpretation model is actually a well with wellbore storage and skin in an open rectangular
reservoir (i.e., a channel bounded on one side) with a two-region radial composite behavior. Figs. 52-54 show the match
between data and model, for each build up, on a log-log plot of pressure and derivative, a superposition plot and a pressure
history plot. The match is satisfactory, even though increasing wellbore storage was not included in the model. A skin effect
vs. rate plot showing non-Darcy flow is also included. Well test analysis results are listed in Table 8.
Grid model
A Cartesian grid (52 x 10 x 1) with local grid refinement was used. The simulation model has three sealing faults. Distances
from the well to the faults were set at the values obtained in well test analysis (Fig. 55).
The capillary number in Schlumberger Eclipse 300 compositional simulator is based on Hendersons eight parameter model
(Henderson et al. 2000), whereas non-Darcy flow uses Gertsmas relationship (Gerstma 1974) to estimate the parameters
(Eq. 8):
Hendersons parameters were selected by trial and error to provide the best match on the simulated pressure history and log-
log pressure and derivative plots (Figs. 58 to 61). They are listed in Table 10, where values from a North Sea gas condensate
reservoir are also given for comparison. Inclusion of velocity dependence in the relative permeability model does improve the
pressure history match as shown in Fig. 58. The match on the build up pressure and derivative data in Figs. 59 to 61 is not
perfect, possibly because of inaccuracies in the PVT properties.
Phase behavior
Fig. 62 shows the oil saturation profiles at the end of all the build ups. Although the gas around the well has dissolved into the
oil, a two-phase region still exists away from the well. This is because, with the initial reservoir pressure at the bubble point
pressure and the long duration of the first drawdown, the build ups are too short for the reservoir pressure to return to the
initial pressure.
Fig. 62 also displays the radius of the high gas saturation region estimated from well test analysis. It compares reasonably well
with that from compositional simulation, although the simulation shows a continuous change in mobility rather than an abrupt
one.
SPE 116239 7
Conclusions
This objective of this paper was to identify typical well test behaviors in volatile oil reservoirs below the bubble point pressure.
It was found that, when the bottomhole pressure falls below the bubble point pressure during a drawdown, a high gas
saturation zone is created around the wellbore with two-phase (oil and gas) flow, whereas single phase (oil) with the initial gas
saturation remains away from the wellbore. During the subsequent build up, the gas created around the wellbore during the
preceding drawdown condenses into the oil and the saturation in the near-wellbore region returns to the initial gas saturation.
The impairment to flow due to the high gas saturation zone around the wellbore when the bottom hole pressure is below the
bubble point pressure can be seen as a mobility contrast in well test analysis. The log-log pressure-derivative behaviors below
the bubble point therefore correspond to a two-zone radial composite model, with decreasing mobility during drawdowns and
increasing mobilities during build ups. The log-log pressure derivative plot of the build up reflects oil mobility distribution of
the reservoir at the end of the preceding drawdown.
High volatility oils have higher mobilities than less volatile oils above bubble point pressure. However, higher gas saturation
below bubble point pressure causes relatively larger mobility reductions for the more volatile oils.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by a consortium of industrial sponsors comprising the UK Department of Trade and Industry, BG,
ConocoPhillips, Eni, Petrom, PetroSA and Total. We are grateful to Schlumberger (Eclipse 300, PVTi) and Paradigm
(interpret) for providing the software used in this study. Sponsorship of Moshood Sannis PhD studies by Petroleum
Technology Development Fund, Nigeria is gratefully acknowledged.
Nomenclature
a Empirical constant in k o = ap relationship Ng: number of pseudo components
o Bo N/G: net to gross ratio
BHP: Bottom Hole Pressure. P: pressure
Bopd: Barrel of oil per day Pref: reference pressure
B: formation volume factor for phase Pav: average initial reservoir pressure
BU: build up. Pi: initial reservoir pressure
c: compressibility Pbub: bubble Point pressure
ct: total compressibility Pc: critical pressure
DD: drawdown. P-T: pressure temperature.
EOS: equation of Sate. PVT: pressure Volume Temperature
GOR: producing gas to oil ratio Rs: solution gas /oil ratio
h: formation thickness ri: radius of Investigation
k: absolute Permeability r1: radius of composite discontinuity
Keff: effective reservoir permeability rw: wellbore radius
Kr: relative permeability Rv: dissolved oil/gas ratio
K: effective permeability of phase s: skin
Kr: relative permeability of phase S: saturation
Krmax: maximum relative permeability of phase Sgc: critical gas saturation
Kr*: end point relative permeability Sr: residual saturation
m: Slope of the infinite acting semilog straight line Sr: residual saturation of phase
m(p): pseudo-pressure Tc: critical reservoir temperature
MW: molecular weight Tr: reservoir temperature
Nc: capillary number.
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8 SPE 116239
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SPE 116239 9
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Table 5 Reservoir model characteristics Table 9 Parameters for simulation of well test DST-Well-15
Sample Parameter Value
Parameter A B Wellbore Radius (ft) 0.31
Reservoir Thickness (ft) 20
Porosity , % 15 15 Net to Gross Ratio 1
Absolute permeability k, mD 10 10 Top of Reservoir (ft) 10,000
Net to-Gross ratio N/G 1 1 Initial Reservoir Pressure at 4067
Wellbore radius rw, ft 0.2 0.2 gauge Depth (psia)
Top depth, ft 10,000 10,000 Gauge Depth (ft) 9810 (190 ft above top perforation)
Reservoir thickness, ft 100 100 Average Radial Reservoir 19 mD
Reservoir temperature, oF 176 189 Permeability (mD)
Initial reservoir pressure Pi 5260 4861 Kv/Kh Ratio 0.1
Reservoir Porosity (%) 20%
Pi Pbub, psia 785 785 Initial water Saturation (Swi) 0.4
Bubble Point Pressure (psia) 4067
Table 6 Result of well test analysis d1 (ft) 5165
parameters Analysis of Build ups d2 (ft) 2712
d3 (ft) 1190
2BU 4BU 6BU
Analysis Homoge Radial Radial
Model nous composite composite
Pi (psia) 5260 5260 5260 5260
Table 10 Input Parameter for Velocity-Dependent Relative
Koeff (K x 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 Permeability Model
Kromax) Value for
K (mD) 10 10 10 10 Values for North Sea
S(t) 0 0.0 3 5 Parameter Description
Simulation Gas
Ri (ft) NA 936 726 640 Condensate
(ch)1/2 NA NA 2.5 3.2 mg Controls the variability 10 23.89
(from of the critical gas
fluid saturation with the
analysis) normalised capillary
number
(Kh/)1/2 NA NA 0.67 0.54 mo Controls the variability 0 79.62
of the critical oil
Table 7 Estimation of oil rate from measured gas rate and saturation with the
GOR-DST-Well-15 normalised capillary
Flow Period Recorded Gas Estimated Oil Rate Using number
Rate measured GOR n1g Controls the weighting 5 6.23
Mscf/D Stb/D between the miscible
1 DD 1000 560 and immiscible relative
2 BU 0 0 permeability curves
3DD 0 0 (along with n2g
4DD 1000 560 parameter)
5DD 770 431 n2g Controls the weighting -1 0
6DD 700 392 between the miscible
7BU 0 0 and immiscible relative
8DD 0 0 permeability curves
9DD 225 126 (along with n1g
10 DD 860 482 parameter)
11DD 960 538 n1o Controls the weighting 0.5 24.2
12DD 890 498 between the miscible
13DD 1350 756 and immiscible relative
14DD 1525 854 permeability curves
15DD 1530 857 (along with n2o
16BU 0 0 parameter)
n2o controls the weighting 0 0
between the miscible
Table 8 Summary of well test analysis of DST-Well-15 using and immiscible relative
Build up data permeability curves
Variatio (along with n1o
Parameter Flow Periods n% parameter)
16B Ncbo Base capillary number 1.0E-06 1.0E-06
2BU 7BU U for oil. This is the
(pav)i 4076 4076 4076 psia 0 threshold value of the
pwf 2529 2996 2175 psia - capillary number above
which the VDRP effect
kh(2) 380 380 410 mD.ft 5 is thought to be active.
k2 eff 19 19 20 mD 5 Ncbg.n Base capillary number 1.0E-011 1.0E-06
C 0.05 0.01 0.04 bbl/psi - for gas. This is the
S(t) 1.9 1.35 2.7 - threshold value of
r1 260 260 260 ft 0 capillary number above
Fluid which the VDRP effect
(pch)1/2 2.1 1.6 2.6 Analysis - is thought to be active
(kh/u)1/2 0.3 0.2 0.3 -
d1 5160 5160 5160 ft 0
d2 2710 2710 2710 ft 0
d3 1190 1190 1190 ft 0
SPE 116239 11
100% Bubble
point
Low shrinkage crude oil DL1 Oil rel vol
2.75 Calculated
Observed
O il re lative vo lum e (R B /S TB )
2.50
Liquid Volume
1.25
1.00
0% 4000
0 1000 2000 3000
Pressure (psia)
Pressure (psig)
Figure 1 Shrinkage curve for crude oil system (Ahmed, 1989) Figure 5 DL for Oil Relative Vol. Fluid A
0.75
0.50
Homogenous Reservoir
0.25
12000ft
1000 2000 3000 4000 5000
Pressure (psig)
Figure 2 Radial simulation grid model (40 x 1 x 1) Figure 6 CCE for Oil Viscosity Fluid B
52 Observed
Calculated
Liquid density (lb/ ft3)
Observed 50
Oil Relative Volume
48
2.00 46
44
42
40
1.00
5000 38
1000 2000 3000 4000 1000 2000 3000 5000
4000
Pressure (psig)
Pressure (psig)
Figure 3 CCE for Relative Volume Fluid A Figure 7 DL for Liquid Density Fluid B
Observed
Calculated 1.75
0.50
Moles Recovered
Gas Gravity
Observed
0.40 1.50
0.30 1.25
0.20 1.00
0.10
1 0.175
Initial reservoir viscosity
0.9
0.7 7% Decrease
0.5
0.4 0.160
1DD 2BU
0.3 Model 3:
Kromax=0.60,
0.2 Krgmax=0.7 =2.5 0.155
0.1
0 0.150
10 -1 10 0 10 1 10 2 10 3 10 4
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Radial Distance from Wellbore (ft)
Sg
Figure 13 Effect of volumetric expansion on oil mobility:
Figure 9 Coreys model relative permeability run A-K1-N0-D0
5000 5.9
5000 1DD 2BU
Pbub
4000
3000 5.7
7% increase in oil mobility
3000
2300 2700
2000 5.6
1000 STB/D STB/D
STB/D
2000
1000 5.5
0 0 0 Initial reservoir relative mobility
STB/D STB/D STB/D
1000 0
5.4
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26
10 -1 100 10 1 10 2 10 3 10 4
Figure 10 Pressure-rate history for simulation: Figure 14 Effect of volumetric expansion on oil viscosity:
run A-K1-N0-D0 run A-K1-N0-D0
1 1
0.9
Initial reservoir saturation
0.8 0.9
Initial reservoir saturation
0.7
0.6 0.8
Oil Saturation
0.5
1DD 2BU 0.5 days of 5DD
Oil Saturation
0.1
0.5
0
10 -1 10 0 10 1 102 10 3 10 4
0.4
Radial Distance from Wellbore (ft)
10 -1 10 0 10 1 10 2 10 3 10 4
Figure 11 Constant saturation for flow periods above Pbub Radial Distance from Wellbore (ft)
: run A-K1-N0-D0 Figure 15 Saturation profile for Flow Periods below Pbub :
run A-K1-N0-D0
0.6
0.6
3DD
0.5
0.5
Fractional Composition
CO2 N2 C1 C2 5DD
Fractional Composition
0.4 CO2 N2 C1 C2 C3
0.4
C3 C4 C5 C6 C7+
C4 C5 C6 C7+
0.3 0.3
5DD
0.2 0.2
3DD
0.1 0.1
0 0
10 -1 10 0 10 1 10 2 10 3 10 4
10 -1 10 0 10 1 10 2 10 3 10 4
Radial Distance from Wellbore (ft) Radial Distance from Wellbore (ft)
Figure 12 Constant composition for flow periods above Figure 16 Composition profile for Flow Periods below
Pbub : run A-K1-N0-D0 Pbub : run A-K1-N0-D0
SPE 116239 13
6000 0.7
Beginning of 5DD
Reservoir depletion path 176 oF End of 5DD
5000 0.6
End of 6BU
4000
Change in phase
envelope at end 5DD
0.4
of 6BU.
3000
0.3
2000
0.2 3DD
1000
0.1
0 4BU 6BU
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
0
10 -1 10 0 10 1 10 2 10 3 10 4
Temperature (oF)
Radial Distance from Wellbore (ft)
Figure 17 Change in phase in envelope due to loss of light
end hydrocarbon: run A-K1-N0-D0 Figure 21 Gas relative mobility profile at end of flow
periods; run A-K1-N0-D0
0.24
P res su re C han ge a nd
0.2
2BU
0.18 1DD
101 101
0.1 10-5 10-4 10-3 10-2 10-1 100 101 102 10-5 10-4 10-3 10-2 10-1 100 101 102
10 -1 10 0 10 1 10 2 10 3 10 4
Elapsed time (hrs) Elapsed time (hrs)
Radial Distance from Wellbore (ft)
Figure 18 Oil viscosity profile at end of 5DD and 6BU: Figure 22 Log-Log Pressure Derivative plot for flow
run A-K1-N0-D0 above bubble point: run A-K1-N0-D0
0.24
0.22 10 3
2BU
4BU
Change and Derivative (psi)
3DD 4BU
Rate Normalised Pressure
0.20 6BU
Oil Viscosity (cp)
0.18
0.16
10 2
Low mobility which can corresponding only
0.14 to end of preceding draw down (3DD and 5DD)
0.10
10 0 3 4
10 -1 10 1 10 2 10 10 10 1
10-5 10-4 10 -3 10 -2 10 -1 10 0 101 10 2
Radial Distance from Wellbore (ft)
Figure 19 Oil viscosity profile at end of 3DD and 6BU: Elapsed time (hrs)
6
Initial Mobility
104 104
P re s su re C h a n g e a n d
5
4BU
Oil Relative Mobility (cp-1)
3DD
D e riva tive (p s ia )
0.25
104 104
P re s su re C h a n g e a n d
0
Elapsed time (hrs) Elapsed time (hrs) 10-1 100 101 102 103 104
Figure 25 Mobility at end of 5DD corresponding with Figure 29 Oil viscosity profile: run A-K1-N0-D0
mobility at the beginning of 6BU: run A-K1-N0-D0
104
104
Qo =-2300 STB/D
K eff K eff
Mobility around well <
o 2 o 1 102
K eff
102
o 1
Initial reservoir mobility (mobility further into reservoir)
Early decrease in relative mobility
10
101 10-5 10-4 10-3 10-2 10-1 100 101 102 103
10-5 10-4 10-3 10-2 10-1 100 101 102 103 Elapsed time (hrs)
Elapsed time (hrs) Figure 30 Log-Log derivative plot showing effect of
production: run A-K1-N0-D0
Figure 26 Two-zone composite behavior of volatile oil
reservoir below bubble point
103
7
Early decrease in relative mobility
Change and Derivative (psia)
5 102
4 Lower mobility
5DD with Qo =2300 STB/D
1
1
0.9
0.9
0.8
0.8
0.7
0.7
Oil Saturation
Oil Saturation
0.6
0.5
0.6
Increasing gas saturation zone Fluid A
0.4 0.5
5DD with Qo =2300 STB/D Fluid B
0.3 0.4
5DD with Qo =2700 STB/D
0.2 0.3
0.2 More volatile (Fluid A) showing higher gas saturation around well
0.1
0.1
0
10-1 100 101 102 103 104 0
10-1 100 101 102 103 104
Radial Distance from Wellbore (ft)
Radial Distance from Wellbore (ft)
Figure 28 Oil saturation profile: run A-K1-N0-D0 Figure 32 Oil saturation profile showing effect of fluid
composition: run A-K1-N0-D0and B-K1-N0-D0
SPE 116239 15
5300
0.35 5100
Fluid A 4900
0.30
Fluid B 4700
0.25
Oil Viscosity (cp)
4500
Pressure (psia)
0.20 4300
0.15 4100
3900
0.10
More volatile (Fluid A) showing lower initial and final viscosity 6BU with =2.0 (A-K2-N0-6BU)
3700
0.05
3500 6BU with =2.5 (A-K1 -N0-6BU)
3300
10-1 100 101 102 103 104 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26
Figure 33 Oil viscosity profile showing effect of fluid Figure 37 Pressure history for A-K1-N0-D0 and
composition: run A-K1-N0-D0and B-K1-N0-D0 A-K2-N0-D0
7 104
6BU with =2.0 (A-K2-N0-6BU)
Effect of saturation reducing
3
Same initial; mobility
2 Viscosity dominates mobility 102
1
Increase in mobility due to reduction in
0
10-1 100 101 102 103 104 10
10-5 10-4 10-3 10-2 10-1 100 101 102 103
Radial Distance from Wellbore (ft)
Elapsed time (hrs)
Figure 34 Oil relative mobility profile showing higher Figure 38 Log-log pressure derivative plot showing effect
mobility for more volatile oil further from wellbore: of : run A-K1-N0-D0 and A-K2-N0-D0
run A-K1-N0-D0and B-K1-N0-D0
104 1
Pressure Change and Derivative (psi)
0.9
Oil Relative Perm eability
A-K1-N0-6BU
5DD with K romax = 0.95
0.8 5DD with K romax = 0.60
103 0.7
Fluid A
Effect of saturation 0.6
Fluid B
0.5 Decrease in relative permeability
0.4 of oil far from well due to decrease in Kromax
102
0.3
0.2
Viscosity dominates mobility
0.1
101
0
10-5 10-4 10-3 10-2 10-1 100 101 102 103
10-1 100 101 102 103 104
104
Pressure Change and Derivative (psia)
1
0.9 Increasing k ro for
same value of So
Oil Relative Permeability
0.8
103
5DD with K romax = 0.95
0.7 5DD with K romax = 0.60
0.6
0.5
0.4 102
0.1
6BU with =2.5 (A-K1-N0-6BU) 101
0 10-5 10-4 10-3 10-2 10-1 100 101 102 103
10-1 100 101 102 103 104 Elapsed time (hrs)
Radial Distance from Wellbore (ft)
Figure 40 Log-log pressure derivative plot showing effect
Figure 36 Oil relative permeability profile showing effect of Kromax: run A-K1-N0-D0 and A-K3-N0-D0
of : run A-K1-N0-D0 and A-K2-N0-D0
16 SPE 116239
102
6000 5500
Pressure (psia)
Derivative (psi)
5000
Pressure change and Simulated pressure
5000 4500 match for 6BU
101 derivative match 6BU
4000
4000 3500
Pressure (psia)
10 3000
500 520 540 560 580 600 620
10-5 10-4 10-3 10-2 10-1 100 101 102
3000 Elapsed time (hrs) Elapsed time (hrs)
5200
2000 5000
Pressure (psia)
4800
4600
1000 5DD with K romax = 0.95 4400
5DD with K romax = 0.60 4200
Horner plot match for 6BU
Increase in P 4000
0 3800
3600
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 0 4000 8000 12000 16000
Superposition Function (STB/D)
Elapsed time (days)
Figure 41 Pressure history: run A-K1-N0-D0 and Figure 45 Well test analysis match for 6BU: run
A-K3-N0-D0 A-K1-N0-D0
5000
1600
Pressure (psia)
3000
(c t h)1 kh
1200
1 1000
2000
800
(c t h)1 > (c t h )2 kh kh
Missing Pressure data for 41 days 600
< 1000
400
1 2
200
0 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Figure 42 Radial composite model in a volatile oil Elapsed time (days)
reservoir Figure 46 DST Pressure Rate History of DST-Well-15
104
102 5300
Pressure Change and
2 BU
Pressure (psia)
5200
Change and Derivative (psi)
7 BU
Derivative (psi)
5100
Phase redistribution 16 BU
Pressure change and Simulated pressure
5000
101 match for 2BU
derivative match 2BU
4900 103
4800
10 4700 kh kh
10-5 10-4 10-3 10-2 10-1 100 101 102 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 <
Elapsed time (hrs) Elapsed time (hrs)
1 2
5300 102 kh
5200 1
Pressure (psia)
5000
104
102 6000
Pressure Change and
Pressure (psia)
4 DD (559 stb/day)
Derivative (psi)
10 3000
10-5 10-4 10-3 10-2 10-1 100 101 102 240 260 280 300 320 340 360 380
Elapsed time (hrs) Elapsed time (hrs) 102
5400
Pressure (psia)
5200
5000 Increasing skin
101
4800
4600 Two-phase mobility
4400
4200 Horner plot match for 4BU
4000 100
0 4000 8000 12000 16000
10-2 10-1 100 101
Superposition Function (STB/D)
Elapsed time (hrs)
104 4500
Pressure (psia)
Pressure Change
4000
103 3500
DD BU
Change and Derivative (psi)
3000
Rate Normalised Pressure
10 -2 2000
10 10-1 100 101 102 103 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500
Elapsed time (hrs) Elapsed time (hrs)
Pressure (psia)
1.5
3600
Skin
1.0
Initial reservoir mobility 3400
Initial mobility stabilisation 0.5
cannot be seen from the DD 3200
0.0
-0.5 3000
100 300 500 700 900 1100 400 800 1200 1600 2000
Oil Rate (STB/D) Superposition Function (STB/D)
10
10-2 10-1 100 101 102 103
Pressure Change
Log-Log Match 16BU Simulation 16BU
Pressure (psia)
2 BU 4000
3600 7 BU 103
16 BU 3500
3400 3000
Pressure (psia)
102
2500
3200
10 2000
10-2 10-1 100 101 102 103 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500
3000 Elapsed time (hrs) Elapsed time (hrs)
2800 4 3800
Pressure (psia)
Skin Vs. Rate Horner Match 16BU
3400
2600
3
Skin
3000
2400
2
2600
2200
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 2200
1 100 300 500 700 900 1100 0 1000 2000 3000 4000
Superposition Function (STB/D)
Oil Rate (STB/D) Superposition Function (STB/D)
10-2
10-3
10-4
Faults: d1=5165ft, d2=2712, d3=1190ft
#(1-16)[16]{1.54660E+05}4076.00 16BU
10-5
102
3000 0.8
2500 kro
0.7 krg
10 2000
10-2 10-1 100 101 102 103 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500
0.6
K ro /K rg
& Derivative; Pressure History Simulation; Horner and Figure 56 Relative permeability curve used for
Skin vs Rate using Open Ended Rectangle boundary compositional simulation
condition-2BU
18 SPE 116239
Simulated data
2000 103
Simulated Data
(with depth correction) Field test data
102
1000
Figure 57 Comparison of simulated and actual pressure Figure 61 Log-Log Pressure Change and Derivative Plot
history with depth correction Comparison between Simulation and Test Data -16BU
4000
Pressure History Comparison
1
0.9
3000
Simulated Data (with 0.8
depth correction Nc and )
Pressure (psia)
O il S a tura tion
2000 0.6
Field test Data
0.5
0.4
1000
0.3 Two-phase region away
1DD from well at end of BU
0.2 260 ft
0 0.1
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
0
Elapsed time (days)
10-1 100 101 102 103 104 105
Figure 58 Comparison of simulated and actual pressure Radial Distance from Wellbore (ft)
history with Nc, non-Darcy effect Figure 62 Saturation profile in the region around DST-
Well-15
Pressure Change and Derivative (psi)
105
Log Log Comparison 2BU
104
Simulated data
103
102
100
10-2 10-1 100 101 102 103
105
Log Log Comparison 7BU
Pressure Change and Derivative (psi)
104
Simulated data
103
100
10-2 10-1 100 101 102 103