PET-332

Production Engineering I

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.
2

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

1 V
C=

V P T
Expansion of fluid may be written as

dV = C V dP
4

Production is expansion of fluids :: 2

For each fluid type in the reservoir :

Vtotal Production = Co Vo P + C g Vg P + Cw Vw P

or

Production = P ( Co Vo + C g Vg + Cw Vw

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

5

Production is expansion of fluids :: 3

Typical compressibility values are:

1
Co = 15 10
psi
6 1
Cw = 8 10
psi
6 1
C g = 500 10
psi
6

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 :

( pR pwf )

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.
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 Darcys
law.
8

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

Darcys experimental apparatus

h1-h2

Q
A
L

h4
h2

10

Darcys 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 :

K A ( h1 h2 )
q=
L

11

Elements of coefficient K

Darcys K coefficient was determined to be a combination of

permeability of the sand pack and

viscosity of the fluid that flows through the sand pack

That is

K=

12

Equation in differential form

Under the following assumptions Darcys equation may be written in
differential form :

kA dP
q = vA =
dx
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
p1

p2
L

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

k dP

q L
= dx
A 0

P2

P1

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

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

P2

P1

q L
dP =
dx

0
kA

14

Linear flow (continued)

Integration gives

k A( P1 P2 )
q=
L
where 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

cc/sec

Bbl/day

Permeability

darcys

md

Area

cm2

ft2

Pressure

atm

psia

Viscosity

cp

cp

Length

cm

ft
15

Linear flow (continued)

If P vs L is plotted on Cartesian coordinates, the equation produces a
straight line of constant slope, (-q/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 q, must be constant
the following derivation will reveal the form of Darcy equation for
compressible (real gas) flow :

PM
=
zRT
q = sc qsc

q PTsc
qsc =
=
q
sc PscT z

16

Linear flow (continued)

qsc PscT
Tsc
qsc PscT
Tsc

dL = kA

P2

P1

kA
dL =
z

dP
z
P2

P1

P dP

8.93 z TL
P P =
qsc
kA
2
1

2
2

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

17

Radial flow

pw

re

pe

rw
h

Darcys 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=2rh) is not constant and must be included in the
integration :
18

Radial flow (continued)

2 r h k dP
q=
dr
In the case of small compressibility fluids, change in the liquid volume
may handled with formation volume factor correction :

2 r h ko dP
qo Bo =

o dr
Pe
re dr
ko
2 h (
) dP = qo
Pwf B
rw r
o o
When integrating the previous equation, it is usually assumed that the
pressure function f (p)= ko/oBo is independent of pressure or it can be
evaluated at average pressure in the wells drainage volume.
19

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

2 ko h ( Pe Pwf )
qo =
re
o Bo ln( )
rw
For field units

0.00708 ko h ( Pe Pwf )
qo =
re
o Bo ln( )
rw
where r and h are in ft and Bo is in Bbl/STB.
20

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) :

0.00708 ko h ( PR Pwf )
qo =
re
o Bo ln(0.472 )
rw
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.
21

Radial flow (continued)

For the gas flow

Pe

Pwf

PdP =

qsc gTPsc Z
2hk gTsc

dr
rw r
re

r
qsc gTPsc Z ln( e )
rw
2
2
Pe Pwf =
hk gTsc
In terms of average reservoir pressure

703 10 6 k g h( PR2 Pwf2 )

qsc =
re
g Z T ln(0.472 )
rw
22

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:

P = f (r , t )
P
= f (r , t )
t
23

Flow types-2 (transient flow)

Assuming single-phase oil flow in porous media, constant rate solution
of the diffusivity equation gives

162.6qo o Bo
ko
log t + log
Pwf = Pi
3.23 + 0.87 S
2
o ct rw
ko h

Pwf
Pi
qo
o
t
ko
h

ct
rw

flowing bottom-hole pressure, psia

initial reservoir pressure, psia
oil production rate, STB/day
oil viscosity, cp
flow time, hours
effective horizontal permeability to oil, md
reservoir thickness, ft
porosity
total compressibility, 1/psi
wellbore radius, ft

24

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.
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.
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

26

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) :

141.2qo o Bo
141.2qo o Bo
P = PR
ln(0.472 re ) +
ln( r )
ko h
ko h
For steady state flow

141.2qo o Bo
141.2 qo o Bo
P = PR
ln(0.61 re ) +
ln( r )
ko h
ko h

27

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.

28

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,

141.2 qo o Bo
m=
ko h
For gas flow, a plot of P2 versus ln(r) results in straight line of slope m,

m=

1422 qsc g z T
kgh
29

Reservoir pressure profile (continued)

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

30

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 :

qo

( pR pwf )

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

qo = J ( pR pwf )
31

Productivity index (continued)

or

J=

qo
PR Pwf

From Darcy equation productivity index becomes

J=

0.00708 ko h
re
o Bo ln(0.472 )
rw

Above equations are valid only if the flowing wellbore pressure is above
the bubble point pressure.

32

Specific productivity index

The specific productivity index is defined to account for formation
thickness :

qo
Js =
h ( PR Pwf )

From Darcy equation specific productivity index becomes

Js =

0.00708 ko

re
o Bo ln(0.472 )
rw

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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 :

qo + qw
JT =
( PR Pwf )
From Darcy equation total productivity index becomes

0.00708 h k
kw
o
JT =
+

B
ln(0.472 e ) o o
w w
rw

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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

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

36

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

qo
282
1. J =
=
= 0.88 STB / day psi
PR Pwf 2085 1765
2. q0 = J ( PR Pwf ) = 0.88 * ( 2085 1485) = 528 STB / day
3. Pwf = PR

qo
400
= 2085
= 1630 psig
J
0.88

4. qo ,max = J ( PR 0) = 0.88 * ( 2085) = 1835 STB / day

38

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/oBo
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/oBo) decreases almost linearly with
pressure.

39

Productivity index from Darcys equation

The productivity index can also be expressed as following from the
theoretical point of view :

0.00708 h PR ko
qo =
dP

re Pwf o Bo
ln(0.472 )
rw
PR
qo
ko
0.00708 h
J
=
dP

P
r
( PR Pwf ) ( P P ) ln(0.472 e ) wf o Bo
R
wf
rw

40