PRODUCTION
ESTIMATION
Inflow Performance Relationships for Solution-Gas Drive Wells
J. V. VOGEL
MEMBER A/ME
Abstract
In calculating oilwell production, it has commonly been
assumed that producing rates are proportional to draw-
downs. Using this assumption, a well's behavior can be
described by its productivity index (PI). This PI relation-
ship was developed from Darcy's law for the steady-state
radial flow of i1 single, incompressible fluid. Although
Muskat pointed out that the relationship is not valid when
both oil and gas flow in a reservoir, its use has continued
for lack of better approximations. Gilbert proposed meth-
ods of well analysis utilizing a curve of producing rates
plotted against bottom-hole well pressures; he termed this
complete graph the inflow performance relationship (IPR)
of a well.
The calculations necessary to compute IPR's from two-
phase flow theory were extremely tedious before advent of
the computer. Using machine computations, IPR curves
were calculated for wells producing from several fictitious
solution-gas drive reservoirs that covered a wide range of
oil PVT properties and reservoir relative permeability char-
acteristics. Wells with hydraulic fractures were also in-
cluded. From these curves, a reference IPR curve was
developed that is simple to apply and, it is believed, can
be used for most solution-gas drive reservoirs to provide
more accurate calculations for oilwell productivity than
can be secured with PI methods. Field verification is
needed.
Introduction
In calculating the productivity of oil wells, it is com-
monly assumed that inflow into a well is directly pro-
portional to the pressure differential between the reservoir
and the wellbore - that production is directly propor-
tional to drawdown. The constant of proportionality is
the PI, derived from Darcy's law for the steady-state rad-
ial flow of a single, incompressible fluid. For cases in
which this relationship holds, a plot of the producing
rates vs the corresponding bottom-hole pressures results
in a straight line (Fig. 1). The PI of the well is the inverse
of the slope of the straight line.
However, Muskat' pointed out that when two-phase
liquid and gas flow exists in a reservoir, this relationship
should not be expected to hold; he presented theoretical
calculations to show that graphs of producing rates vs
bottom-hole pressures for two-phase flow resulted in
curved rather than straight lines. When curvature exists,
Original manuscript received in Society of Petroleum Engineers office
July 11 1966. Revised manuscript received Dec. 6, 1967. Paper (SPE
1476) ~as presented at SPE 41st Annual Fa!l Meetin~ held in I!a!las,
Tex., Oct. 2-5, 1966. Copyright 1968 American InstItute of Mmmg,
Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers, Inc.
lReferences given at end of paper.
This paper will be printed in Transactions Volume 243, which will
cover 1968.
JANUARY. 1968
SHELL OIL CO.
BAKERSFIELD, CALIF.
a well cannot be said to have a single PI because the
value of the slope varies continuously with the variation
in drawdown. For this reason, Gilbere proposed methods
of well analysis that could utilize the whole curve of
producing rates plotted against intake pressures. He termed
this complete graph the inflow performan..:e relationship
(IPR) of a well.
Although the straight-line approximation is known to
have limitations when applied to two-phase flow in the
reservoir, it still is used primarily because no simple sub-
stitutes have been available. The calculations necessary to
compute IPR's from two-phase flow theory have been
extremely tedious. However, recently the approximations
of Weller" for a solution-gas drive reservoir were pro-
grammed for computers. The solution involved the fol-
lowing simplifying assumptions: (l) the reservoir is cir-
cular and completely bounded with a completely pene-
trating well at its center; (2) the porous medium is
uniform and isotropic with a constant water saturation
at all points; (3) gravity effects can be neglected; (4 )
compressibility of rock and water can be neglected; (5)
the composition and equilibrium are constant for oil and
gas; (6) the same pressure exists in both the oil and gas
phases; and (7) the semisteady-state assumption that the
tank-oil desaturation rate is the same at all points at a
given instant. Weller's solution did not require the con-
stant-GOR assumption.
The resulting computer program proved convenient to
use and gave results closely approaching those furnished
by the more complicated method of West, Garvin and
Sheldon! The program also includes the unique feature
.... - - -" "CB "" ''- "'' f'-'-'-' ------
..
111
a:
:> DRAWDOWN' ilR Pwf
111
a:
0..
..J
..J
111
~
111
..J
o%:
I
~
I:!I- MAXIMUM
.
o PRODUCING RAT E.
(CIol",o.
PRODUCING RATE, bopd
Fig. l-Straight-line inflow performance relationship.
of making complete JPR predictions for a reservoir. Such the bubble point. Computations were made for reservoirs
predictions for a typical solution-gas drive reservoir are initially above the bubble point, but only to ensure that
shown as a family of IPR curves on Fig. 2. Note that this initial condition did not cause a significant change in
they confirm the existence of curvature. behavior below the bubble point.
It appeared that if several solution-gas drive reservoirs
were examined with the aid of this program, empirical Shape of Inflow Performance Relationship
relationships might be established that would apply to Curves with Normal Deterioration
solution-gas drive reservoirs in general. This paper sum-
marizes the results of such a study that dealt with several As depletion proceeds in a solution-gas drive reservoir,
simulated reservoirs covering a wide range of conditions. the productivity of a typical well decreases, primarily
These conditions included differing crude oil character- because the reservoir pressure is reduced and because
istics and differing reservoir relative permeability charac- increasing gas saturation causes greater resistance to oil
teristics, as well as the effects of well spacing, fracturing flow. The result is a progressive deterioration of the IPR's,
and skin restrictions. typified by the IPR curves in Fig. 2. Examination of these
The investigation sought relationships valid only below curves does not make it apparent whether they have any
properties in common other than that they are all con'
cave to the origin.
2800r-----------------------------------------,
One useful operation is to plot all the IPR's as "di-
RESERVOIR CONDITIONS:
mensionless IPR's". The pressure for each point on an
ORIGINAL PRESSURE ~ 2130 psi
2400 BUBBLE POINT ~ 2130 psi IPR curve is divided by the maximum or shut-in pres-
CRUDE OIL PVT CHARACTERISTICS sure for that particular curve, and the corresponding pro-
duction rate is divided by the maximum (l00 percent draw-
.
FROM FIG,A-IO
.;; RELATIVE PERMEABILITY CHAR-
down) producing rate for the same curve. When this is
2000 ACTERISTICS FROM FIG, A-20
done, the curves from Fig. 2 can be replotted as shown in
'"
II:
::0
WELL SPACING
WELL RADIUS
~

~
20 ACRES
0,33 FOOT Fig. 3. It is then readily apparent that with this construc-
CI)
CI)
tion the curves are remarkably similar throughout most
'"f 1600 of the producing life of the reservoir
CUMULATIVE RECOVERY,
..J
..J '\- _ PERCENT OF ORIGINAL
{
'"3r
'"
..J
1200
1-"0
.
'/.
OIL IN PLACE
2 SOC -- -----
A-IPR FROM FIG 2 FOR Np/N ~O 1%
o UJ B-IPR WITH A DIFFERENT CRUDE OIL
:I:

2 '"~ 2000
FLOWING, ALL OTHER CONDITIONS
BEING THE SAME, CRUDE OIL PROP-
o 800 (f)

I:o UJ ERTIES FROM FIG, A-Ib,

... '"0..
1500
oJ B
oJ
400 UJ
~
A
UJ 1000
.J
o
l:

40 80 120 160 200 240

500
PRODUCING RATE. bopd

Fig. 2--Computer-calculated inflow performance OL--L__ L--L~ __-L~__~~__~_~__~__'

relationships for a solution-gas drive reservoir. o 50 100 150 200 250 300
PRODUCING RATE, bopd
1,0 rc-------------------------------------,
(a) ACTUAL IPR'S
W
0::
:;)
10~---------------------------,

~ ~ 0,8 ta.
a::
~o.. ~ ~
en
1lI-
0: r! :;)
o:g
0..0: L&I
!!lOS
L&I
0:: 0::
oJ l# 0,6
..Jill
:;)
(J)
"-
(J)
~06
1&10::
L&I
~IL. 0::
o 0.. 0::
I&Iz L&I
..J
o
o i= 0.4 .J
;j
'"
::!OA
:1:0
<I ~ IL.
::Eo:: 0
...
OIL.

...
~
0:: RESERVOIR CONDITIONS
L&I
..J
o z
20,2
X
~ 'to 2 SAME AS FIG, 2
::E
f-
~
!! o
::
0::
IL. OL-__ ____ ____-L____ __--...l
o ~ ~ ~

OL-____ ______ ______ ______ ____ <Xl

0,2 0.4 0,6 0,8 1,0
~
~
~
~
~
0,2 0.4 0,6 0,8 1.0 PRODUCING RATE (qo !tqo) ma.l, FRACTION
PRODUCING RATE (qo /(Qo)max), FRACTION OF MAXIMUM OF MAXIMUM
(b) DIMENSIONLESS IPR'S
Fig. 3-Dimensionless inflow performance relationships for
a solution-gas drive reservoir. Fig. 4--Effect of crude oil properties on IPR's.

B4
JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY
 Effect of Crude Oil Characteristics
On IPR Curves
From the foregoing results it appears that IPR curves
differing over the life of a given reservoir actually possess
a common relationship. To determine whether this same
relationship would be valid for other reservoirs, IPR cal-
culations were made on the computer for different con-
ditions. The first run utilized the same relative perme-
abilities but a completely different crude oil. The new
characteristics included a viscosity about half that of the
first and a solution GOR about twice as great.
Fig. 4a compares the initial IPR's (Np/N = 0.1 per-
cent) for the two cases. As would be expected, with a
less viscous crude (Curve B) the productivity was much
greater than in the first case (Curve A). However, when
plotted on a dimensionless basis (Fig. 4b) the IPR's are
quite similar. As IPR's for the second case deteriorated
with depletion, no greater change of shape occurred than
was noted in the previous section. These two crude oils
had about the same bubble point. lPR's were then calcu-
lated for a third crude oil with a higher bubble point.
Again, the characteristic shape was noted.
Two further runs were made to explore the relationship
under more extreme conditions. One utilized a more vis-
cous crude (3-cp minimum compared with I-cp minimum),
and the other used a crude with a low solution GOR
(300 scf/STB). With the more viscous crude, some straight-
ening of the IPR's was noted. The low-GOR crude ex-
hibited the same curvature noted in previous cases.
Runs were also made with the initial reservoir pres-
sure exceeding the bubble point. During the period while
the reservoir pressure was above the bubble point, the
slopes of the IPR curves were discontinuous with the
upper part being a straight line until the well pressure
was reduced below the bubble point. Below this point
the IPR showed curvature similar to that noted previous-
ly. After the reservoir pressure went below the bubble
point, all the dimensionless IPR curves agreed well with
the previous curves.

IIJ
II: 0.80
::;)
U)
U)
IIJ
tr:
a..
-+
II:
a>
II:
IIJ
U)
IIJ
II:

IL
0.60
0
z
0
t-
o
<I:
II:
IL

Jc>.1I:
.....
~ 0.40
IIJ
II:
::;)
U)
<I)
IIJ I
II:
0..

...J
...J
IIJ
3t
IIJ
...J
0 0.20
:t:

:E
0
t-
t-
o
m

o
o 0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00
PRODUCING RATE (qo/(qo )ma~) I FRACTION OF MAXIMUM

Fig. S-Inflow performance relationship for solution-gas drive reservoirs.

JANUARY. 1968 85
 III
a:
;::)
1/1
l!l TWO-PHASE FLOW
:f (REFERENCE CURVU
0:: 0.8
g
0::
III
~ I.O~----------------------------------__
0::
IL a: 0.6
o lel.

Z
~ 0.8 LIQUID FLOW
u REFERENCE CURVE 0.4
<t
a:
IL

--
I~ 0.6
...... 0.2
J
III
0::
::> 0.4
1/1
(/)
w 0.8 1.0
a: 0.2 0.4
a..
.J
-' 0.2 RESERVOIR CONDITIONS
w SAME AS FIG.2
~ Fig. S-Comparison of IPR's for liquid flow, gas flow
W
.J
and two-phase flow.
o
X OL------L------~ ____~______~____~
::;: o 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 To explore further the generality of the relationship,
o
r-
r- PRODUCING RATE (qo I(qo)rnaxl. FRACTION OF MAXIMUM a run was made in which the crude oil PVT curves and
o the relative permeability curves were roughly approxi-
m
mated by straight lines. It was surprising to find that, even
Fig. 6-Comparison of reference curve with computer-
with no curvature in either the graphs of crude oil char-
calculated IPR curves.
acteristics or the relative permeability input data, the out-
Effect of Relative Permeability and put IPR's exhibited about the same curvature as those
Other Conditions from previous computer runs.
The same basic shape of the curves was noted when Calculations also were made for different well spacings,
the study was extended to cover a much wider range of for fractured wells and for wells with positive skins.
conditions. Runs were made with three different sets of Good agreement was noted in all cases except for the
relative permeability curves in various combinations with well with a skin effect, in which case the IPR's more
the different crude oils. The results were in agreement nearly approached straight lines.
sufficient to indicate that the relationship might be valid In summary, calculations for 21 reservoir conditions
for most conditions. resulted in IPR's generally exhibiting a similar shape.

2200,-----------------------------------------------------------------------~

RESERVOIR CONDITIONS SAME AS FIG. 2

POINT OF MATCH (WELL TEST)

.'" ~
W- ~
0::
::> :-.....
1/1
1/1
W
0::
a..
" ..........
~-t-~STRAIGHT-LiNE EXTRAPOLATION

~~1-
.J
.J "
III
~
\,:'0 .....
'/0 ..........

w
.J
0
X
~~ " ............
COMPUTER~ALCULATED rPR
::;:
0
r-
r- " ..........
0
m
400
\ ........ "
\.--r PR EXTRAPOLATE;;' ..........
FROM REFERENCE "
200 \ CURVE "

\ ...... "
60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240 260 280 300 320 340
PRODUCING RATE. bopd

Fig. 7--Deviations when IPR's are predicted by reference curve from well tests at low drawdowns.

86 JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY

 Significant deviation was noted only for the more viscous Proposed Reference IPR Curve
crude, for a reservoir initially above the bubble point,
and for a well producing through a restrictive skin. Even If the IPR curves for other solution-gas drive reser-
in these cases, definite curvature was still apparent. voirs exhibit the same shape as those investigated in this
study, well productivities can be calculated more accur-
The curves of crude oil characteristics and of relative
permeability that furnished the input data for the various ately with a simple reference curve than with the straight-
conditions studied are given in Appendix A. Dimension- line PI approximation method currently used.
less IPR curves calculated for various conditions are Applying one reference curve to all solution-gas drive
shown in Appendix B. reservoirs would not imply that all these reservoirs are

250 2000 5.0 250 2000 5.0

200 4.0 200 [600 4.0

[/Bg
N N
IIBg 0 ~
[50 3.0 -;; [50 3.0 w
0> 0> 0> 0>

'"
~
V>
0:: :t
'"
~
V>
0::
:t
0
[00 2.0: [00 2.0 :t
-
0
BO
0

50 [,0
'" 50
'"
1.0

0 0 0 0
1000 2000 [000 2000
PRESSURE psi PRESSURE, psi
(o) Pb ' 2 [30 psi ( b) psi
Pb ' 2[30

250 2000 5.0 250 2000 5.0 7.0

[/Bg

200 [600 4.0 200 4.0 6.0

N
0 N

[/Bg 3.0~
[50 [200 3.0 -: [50 [200 5.0
0> 0>
0>
,'" V>
0:: :t '"
~ 0::
V>
fLg
:t
0>
:t
0

[00 2.0 :to [00 800 2.0 ;:, 4.0

;:, '"
m Rs
BO
50 1.0 50 400 1.0 3.0
fLO

0 0 0 0 0 0 2.0
0 [000 2000 0 [000 2000
PRESSURE, psi PRESSURE, psi.

(c) , 2 [30 psi (d) ' 2[30 psi

Pb Pb

250 2000 5,0 250 2000 5,0

[/Bg
200 200 4.0
N
~
[/B g x
[50 [50 3,0 0>
0> 0> :t
,m 0::
V>
0>
:t
m
0::
V>

- ~ 0
::I..
[00 [00 2.0
0
<> m
m
Bo
50 50 fLo 1.0

0 0 0
[000 2000 [000 2000
PRESSURE, psi PRESSURE, psi

(e) p b ' 3000 psi (f) Pb ' 2[30 psi

Fig. 9-Input data, crude oil PVT characteristics (co = 12 X 10-' in all cases).

lANUARY, 1968 87
identical any more than would the present use of straight- The equation of a curve that gives a reasonable empirical
line PI's for all such reservoirs. Rather, the curve can be fit is
regarded as a general solution of the solution-gas drive
reservoir flow equations with the constants for particular q.
(q.)max
= 1 - 0.20 ]J...;.~ - 0.80 (J!;~)'
PR PR
, (l)
solutions depending on the individual reservoir charac-
teristics. where q. is the producing rate corresponding to a given
Although one of the dimensionless curves taken from well intake pressure PU'j, p;, is the corresponding reservoir
the computer calculations could probably be used as a pressure, and (q.)",ax is the maximum (100 percent draw-
reference standard, it seems desirable to have a mathe- down) producing rate. Fig. 5 is a graph of this curve.
matical statement for the curve to insure reproducibility, For comparison, the relationship for a straight-line IPR
permanency and flexibility in operation. is

0.45r--------------------------------------,

0.40

0.35 Sgc 2.1 % Sgc 8.0%

Sw 19.4 % Sw 19,4 %
cf> 13.9 % cf> 13.9%
0.30
h 23.5 fl h 23.5 II
k 20md k 20md
k 0.444 k ro (IOO%S'I) , 0.444
0.25 ro (IOO%SII) ,
~

"" 0.20

0.15

0.10

0.05

0
0.3 0.4 0.5 0,6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0
(0) ( b)
0.45

0.40

0.35 Sgc 10% Sgc 5%

Sw 19.4% Sw 19.4 %

cf> 13.9 % cf> 13.9%

0.30
h 23.5 II h 23.5 II
k 20 md k 20md
0.25 k ro (100% SII ), k ro (IOO%SII) '0,425
~

.l<

0.20

0.15

krg
0.10

0.05

0
0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 0.3 0.4 0.5 0,6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0
S (TOTAL LIQUID) S (TOTAL LIQUID)
(c) ( d)

Fig. lO--lnput data, relative permeability curves.

88 JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY

 qo _ 1 _ Pw!
(qo)mRX - P-;;
When qo/(qo)max from Eq. 1 is plotted vs Pwtl"h. the
dimensionless IPR reference curve results. On the basis of
the cases studied, it is assumed that about the same curve
will result for all wells. If qo is plotted vs pw!, the actual
IPR curve for a particular well should result.
A comparison of this curve with those calculated on
the computer is illustrated in Fig. 6. The curve matches
more closely the IPR curves for early stages of depletion
than the IPR curves for later stages of depletion. In this
way, the percent of error is least when dealing with the
higher producing rates in the early stages of depletion.
The percentage error becomes greater in the later stages
of depletion, but here production rates are low and, as
a consequence, numerical errors would be less in absolute
magnitude.
Use of Reference Curve
The method of using the curve in Fig. 5 is best illu-
strated by the following example problem. A well tests
65 BOPD with a flowing bottom-hole pressure of 1,500
psi in a field where the average reservoir pressure is 2,000
psi. Find (1) the maximum producing rate with 100 per-
(2) cent drawdown, and (2) the producing rate if artificial
lift were installed to reduce the producing bottom-hole
pressure to 500 psi.
The solution is: (1) with PW! = 1,500 psi, PW;/PR =
1,500/2,000 = 0.75. From Fig. 5, when PwJiR = 0.75,
qo/(q")n",, = 0.40, 65/(qo)max = 0.40, (qo)max = 162
BOPD; (2) with pw! = 500 psi, Pwtl"i. = 500/2,000
0.25. From Fig. 5, qo/(qo)max = 0.90, qo/162 = 0.90, q. =
146 BOPD.
If the same calculations had been made by straight-line
PI extrapolation, the productivity with artificial lift would
have been estimated as 195 BOPD rather than 145 BOPD,
This illustrates a significiant conclusion to be drawn for
cases in which such IPR curvature exists. Production in-
creases resulting from pulling a well harder will be less
than those calculated by the straight-line PI extrapolation;
conversely, production losses resulting from higher back
pressures will be less than those anticipated by straight-
line methods.
It is difficult to overstate the importance of using sta-
bilized well tests in the calculations. In a low-permeability

1.00 ~-----------------,

0.80

'-";>'---Np/N -0.1%, 2%,

0.60 4%

12%--~">"
10 % ----"<:--"~

10 % ----.:>.r~,.___
0.40
CASE I

CRUDE OIL PROPERTIES, FIG. A'lo

RELATIVE PERMEABILITY, FIG. A20
0.20 WELL SPACING - 20 ACRES
WELL RADIUS = 0.33 FOOT SAME AS CASE I, EXCEPT WITH
INITIAL RESERVOIR PRESSURE= 2130psi 40-ACRE SPACING
BUBBLE POINT - 2130psi
OL-_ _-L______ ~ _ __L_ _ _ _ _ _ ~ ___ ~

(0) (b)
1.00 ~----------------------____"I

0.80

0.60
cr:
,0. 10%
'--
"i
0.
0.40

CASE 3 CA S E 4

0.20 SAME AS CASE I, EXCEPT WITH SAME AS CASE I, EXCEPT THAT WELL
ABSOLUTE PERMEABILITY OF 200md IS FRACTURED (PSEUDO WELL
RADIUS - 50 FEET)

OL-----~-- __-L----~______L __ _~
o 0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00 0 0.20 0.40 0.60 O.BO 1.00

qo/(Clolmax
(C)

(iig. ll-Calculated dimensionless IPR curves.

JANUARY, 19611
reservoir it frequently wiIl be found that significant changes The maximum error for the reservoir considered in Fig.
in producing conditions should not be ma:de for several 7 is less than 5 percent throughout most of its producing
days preceding an important test. This presents no prob- life, rising to 20 percent during final stages of depletion.
lem if a weIl is to be tested at its normal producing rate, Although the 20 percent error may seem high, the actual
but it becomes more difficult if multi-rate tests are required. magnitude of the error is less than V2 BOPD.
Accuracy of Reference Curve It is obvious from Fig. 7 that if weIl tests are made
It is anticipated that the most common use of the refer- at higher drawdowns than the extreme cases illustrated,
ence IPR curve will be to predict producing rates at high- the point of match of the estimated and actual IPR curves
er drawdowns from data measured at lower drawdowns. is shifted further out along the curves and better agree-
For example, from weIl tests taken under flowing condi- ment will result.
tions, predictions will be made of productivities to be Maximum-error calculations were made for all the res-
expected upon instaIlation of artificial lift. It is necessary ervoir conditions investigated. Except for those cases with
to arrive at the approximate accuracy of such predictions. viscous crudes and with flow restricted by skin effect,
Maximum error will occur when well tests made at very it appears that a maximum error on the order of 20 per-
low producing rates and correspondingly low drawdowns cent should be expected if all solution-gas drive IPR's
are extrapolated with the aid of the reference curve to follow the reference curve as closely as have the several
estimate maximum productivities as the drawdown ap- cases investigated. For comparison, the maximum errors
proaches 100 percent of the reservoir pressure. The error for the straight-line PI extrapolation method were gen-
that would result under such conditions was investigated, eraIly between 70 and 80 percent, dropping to about
and typical results are shown in Fig. 7. In this figure the 30 percent only during final stages of depletion.
dashed lines represent IPR's estimated from well tests at The figures cited above refer to the maximum errors
low dra wdowns (11 to 13 percent), and the solid lines that should be expected. In most applications the errors
represent the actual IPR's calculated by the computer. should be much less (on the order of 10 percent) be-

1.oo,..,.-------------------,

BUBBLE POINT
0.80 "-."""---.:~-Np/N~ 0.1%.6%,10%
"-.
"-.
"-.
"-
0,60 '-.-- A
0::
,0. "-
""- "-
"- 14%
'i
0.
0040
\
CASE 5
\
CASE6
\
0,20 SAME AS CASE I, EXCEPT WELL HAS \ SAME AS CASE I, EXCEPT THAT
PLUS 5 SKIN \ RESERVOIR PRESSURE IS INITIALLY
ABOVE THE BUBBLE POINT,BEING
\ 3040 psi INSTEAD OF 2130 psi
\
OL------L------L-----~------~----~

(0) (b)

1.00 I " C " - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ,

~"""___- - N P IN ~ 0.1 %,4%

0,80
'-..
"-.
"-.
~~--A.IO%
""-
0:: 0,60
"-
,0. 14% 6% 8 % ----->.,~"_ "'-
"- "'- ~A
12%----"\ "-
0040 '\
'\
\
\
SAME AS CASE I, EXCEPT WITH 'SAME AS CASE I, EXCEPT WITH MORE
0,20
LESS VISCOUS CRUDE OIL FROM
\
VISCOUS CRUDE OIL FROM FIG. A-Id
FIG, A-I b \
~
o L -_ _ ~ _ _ __ L_ _ _ ~ _ _ _L __ _ ~

o 0,20 0040 0.60 0,80 1.00 o 0,20 0.40 0,60 0.80 1.00

Fig. 12-Calculated dimensionless IPR curves.

90 JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY

cause better agreement is noted between IPR's and refer-
ence curve throughout most of the producing life of the
reservoirs and because well tests are ordinarily made at
greater drawdowns.
Application of Reference Curve:
Other Types of Reservoirs
The proposed dimensionless IPR curve results from
computer analysis of the two-phase flow and depletion
equations for a solution-gas drive reservoir only and
would not be considered correct where other types of
drive exist. In a major field with partial water drive, how-
ever, there can be large portions of the field that are ef-
fectively isolated from the encroaching water by barrier
rows of producing wells nearer the encroachment front.
It appears that the reference curve could be used for the
shielded wells for at least a portion of their producing
lives. Similarly, the reference curve might give reasonable
results for a portion of the wells producing from a res-
ervoir in which expansion of a gas cap is a significant
factor.
Since the referel1ce curve is for the two-phase flow of
oil and gas only, it would not be considered valid when
three phases (oil, gas and water) are flowing. However,
it appears intuitively that some curvature should be ex-
pected in the IPR's whenever free gas is flowing in a
reservoir. For radial flow, this curve should lie some-
where between the straight line for a single-phase liquid
flow and the curve for single-phase gas flow. The dimen-
sionless IPR's for the two types of single-phase flow are
compared with the suggested reference curve for solution-
gas drive reservoirs in Fig. 8.
Conclusions
IPR curves calculated both for different reservoirs and
for the same reservoirs at different stages of depletion
varied several-fold in actual magnitude. Nevertheless, the
curves generally exhibited about the same shape.
This similarity should permit substitution of a simple
empirical curve for the straight-line PI approximations
commonly used. Maximum errors in calculated produc-
tivities are expected to be on the order of 20 percent
compared with 80 percent with the PI method. Productiv-
ity calculations made with the reference curve method
rather than with the PI method will show smaller produc-
tion increases for given increases in drawdowns and, con-
versely, less lost production for given increases in back-
pressures.

1.00 ~------------------,

0.80

0:: 0.60
,,'-
"'"'i 20%

0.40

CA SE 9

0.20 SAME AS CASE I. EXCEPT WITH HIGHER SAME AS CASE I, EXCEPT WITH
BUBBLE POINT CRUDE OIL FROM FIG. A-Ie PERMEABILITY CHARACTERISTICS
INITIAL PRESSURE ~ 3000 psi FROM FIG. A-2b
BUBBLE POINT ~ 3000psi

oL----L---~--~----~---~
(a) (b)

1.00 " " " " " - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ,

0.80

~~:--- 20%
10 % ----"'<'-''''-
0.60 Np /N~O.I%-..-::s~~-IO%

28% ------"~

0.40

CASE II CA S E 12

0.20 SAME AS CASE I, EXCEPT WITH SAME AS CASE I, EXCEPT WITH

PERMEABILITY CHARACTERISTICS PERMEABILITY CHARACTERISTICS
FROM FlG.A-2c FROM FIG. A-2b AND CRUDE OIL PROP-
ERTIES FROM FIG.A-Ib

0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00 0 0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00

Fig. 13-Calculated dimensionless IPR curves.

JANUARY, 19611 91
 1.oo....:----------------------,

"-
~A, Np/N'O,I%, 2%
0,80
"'- ,
"-
"- ,,
0,60 " "-
a:
Ie.
6%
~ 10 %
3
e.
0.40

CASE 13 CASE 14

0,20 SAME AS CASE I, EXCEPT WITH SAME AS CASE I, EXCEPT WITH

GOR CRUDE FROM FIG,A-If PERMEABILITY CHARACTERISTICS
FROM FIG, A-2b AND CRUDE OIL
PROPERTIES FROM FIG, A-Ie

0
(0) (b)

1,00

O,BO

10% ------'~~:__-- 20%

0,60
a:
Ie.
"-...
'i
e.

0.40

CA SE 15 CASE 16

0,20 SAME AS CASE I, EXCEPT WITH SAME AS CASE I. EXCEPT PERMEABILITY

PERMEABILITY CHARACTERISTICS APPROXIMATED FROM STRAIGHT LINES
FROM FIG,A-2e AND CRUDE OIL PROP- OF FIG, A-2d AND CRUDE OIL PROPERTIES
ERTIES FROM FIG, A-Ib APPROXIMATED PROM STRAIGHT LINES OF
FIG, A-Ie
0L---~0~,2~0---0~,L4~0--~0~,6-0---0~,LBO~-~
o 0.20 0.40 0,60 O.BO

qo/(qol Max qo!(Qal Max

(c) (d)

Fig. 14-Calculated dimensionless IPR curves.

This technique needs to be verified by a comparison APPENDIX B

with field results. As previously discussed, the conclusions
are based only on computer solutions involving several
simplifying assumptions as listed in the Introduction.
References
1. Evinger, H. H. and Muskat, M.: "Calculation of Theoretical
Productivity Factor", Trans., AI ME (1942) 146, 126-139.
2. Gilbert, W. E.: "Flowing and Gas-Lift Well Performance",
Drill. and Prod. Prac., API (1954) 126.
3. Weller, W. T.: "Reservoir Performance During Two-Phase
Flow", J. Pet. Tech. (Feb., 1966) 240-246.
4. West, W. J., Garvin, W. W. and Sheldon, J. W.: "Solution
of the Equations of Unsteady-State Two-Phase Flow in Oil
Reservoirs", Trans., AIME (1954) 201, 217-229.
APPENDIX A
Input Data
Figs. 9 and 10 illustrate graphically the input data (crude
oil PVT characteristics and relative permeability charac-
teristics) from which the theoretical behavior of simulated
reservoirs was calculated by the computer.
Computer-Calculated IPR Curves
Dimensionless IPR Curves
Figs. 11 through 14 are graphs of the theoretical IPR's
calculated for various simulated reservoir conditions. So
that the IPR's under various conditions can be compared
more easily, the initial IPR curve (Np/N = 0.1 percent)
from Fig. l1a is reproduced on all succeeding figures and
is designated as Curve A
In addition to the cases illustrated, five more calculations
were made in which individual curves of the crude oil
properties in Fig. 9a were replaced one by one with the
curves from Fig. 9b. The results were comparable to those
shown, and, since the illustrations include the case in
which the curves of Fig. 9a were completely replaced by
those of Fig. 9b, it was not considered necessary to repro-
duce the cases in which the individual components were
replaced. ***
Editor's note: A picture and hiographical sketch of
J. V. Vogel appear on page 60.

92 JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY