Ley Darcy

CHAP T E R 7
PPLI TIONS OF
/)ARCY S /,.AW
This chapt er descr i bes t he charact eri st i cs of t he fl ow of fluids t hr ough
por ous geol ogi cal materials. The pores, or fl ow condui t s, are compl ex,
i nt er - connect ed capillaries and channel s of variable sizes as descr i bed in
pr evi ous chapt ers. The fl ow of compr essi bl e and i ncompr essi bl e fluids
t hr ough por ous r ocks is descr i bed by Darcy' s Law and its derivatives. The
si mpl est case of fluid fl ow t hr ough por ous medi a is t he l i near fl ow of a
si ngl e-phase fluid under a const ant pr essur e gradi ent , whi c h is k n o wn as
l i near steady-state flow. Whe n t wo fluids are pr esent in a por ous medi um,
steady-state fl ow occur s under a const ant pr essur e gr adi ent onl y wh e n
t he fluid st at urat i ons r emai n const ant . If t he sat urat i ons change wi t h
r espect to t i me (for exampl e, if t he wat er sat urat i on is i ncreasi ng whi l e
t he oil sat urat i on is decreasi ng), t he fl ow of fluids is char act er i zed as
unst eady-st at e flow.
Steady-state and pseudost eady- st at e fl ow rat e equat i ons, based on
Darcy' s l aw for l i near and radial flp~vg.~f compr essi bl e and i ncompr essi bl e
fluids, can be used to pr edi ct t he pr oduct i on per f or mance of por ous
and per meabl e fl ow syst ems of si mpl e geomet r y. In steady-state fl ow
systems, t he pr essur e and fluid vel oci t y at every poi nt t hr oughout t he
por ous syst em adjust i nst ant aneousl y to changes in pr essur e or fl ow rat e
in any par t of t he syst em [1]. This fl ow condi t i on occur s onl y wh e n
t he r ock is 100% sat urat ed wi t h a fluid and t he pr essur e of t he por ous
medi a is effectively mai nt ai ned const ant by ei t her an active aqui fer or
t he i nj ect i on of a di spl aci ng fluid, i.e., fluid wi t hdr awal f r om t he por ous
r ock is exact l y bal anced by fluid ent r y across t he open boundar y and
5p/ St -- 0. If t her e is no fl ow across t he reservoi r boundar y and t he wel l
is pr oduc e d at a const ant fl ow rat e for a l ong time, t he pr essur e decl i ne
415
416 PETROPHYSICS: RESERVOIR ROCK PROPERTIES
t hr oughout t he reservoi r becomes a linear funct i on of t i me and 5p/ St =
const ant . When this flow regi me occurs, it is referred to as pseudost eady
state or semi-steady state.
Natural reservoi r systems do not ordinarily conf or m to any simple
geomet ri cal shape. The t wo most pract i cal geomet r i es are t he linear fl ow
system and t he radial flow system. In t he linear system, t he flow occur s
t hr ough a const ant cross-sectional area and t he flow lines are parallel. In
t he radial system, t he flow occurs bet ween t wo concent r i c cylindrical
surfaces, t he well bei ng t he i nner cyl i nder and t he reservoi r boundar y
t he out er cylinder. Anot her flow syst em of i nt erest is t he spheri cal
geomet ry. Finally, reservoi r fluids are classed ei t her as i ncompr essi bl e
or slightly compressi bl e liquid, or gas. A compr essi bl e liquid is defi ned
as one whos e change of vol ume is small wi t h r espect to t he change of
pressure.
DARCY'S LAW
To express t he quant i t y of fluid t hat will flow t hr ough a por ous rock
system of specified geomet r y and di mensi ons, such as t he one shown in
Figure 7.1, it is necessary to i nt egrat e Darcy' s l aw over t he boundari es of
t he por ous system. This law, in its simple differential form, is:
k dp
v . . . . . (7. 1)
~t dx
wher e: v - appar ent fluid flowing velocity, cm/ s.
k -- permeabi l i t y of t he por ous rock, darcy.
~t = viscosity of t he flowing fluid, cent i poi se.
dp
-- pressure gradi ent in t he di rect i on of flow, at m/ cm.
dx
x = distance in t he di rect i on of flow, always positive, cm.
This one-di mensi onal empi ri cal rel at i onshi p was devel oped by Fr ench
engi neer Henry Darcy in 1856 whi l e he was investigating t he flow of
Pin
. . . . . ; . t z , ~: :.~-.:.~xl t. . 3 . ; . ~. ~ :-.-t'. :' . -t: ~' 6, ~. ' . . ~: . . ~. . , ' .
Pout
~ , . ~ : , . . ~ ' : ~ .
Figure 7.1. Typical linear f l ow system in a core sample.
LINEAR FLOW OF INCOMPRESSIBLE FLUIDS 417
wat er t hr ough sand filters for wat er puri fi cat i on [2]. The exper i ment al
variation in this i nvest i gat i on is t he t ype of sandpack, whi ch had t he
effect of changi ng t he value of t he permeabi l i t y. All of t he exper i ment s
wer e carri ed out wi t h wat er; t herefore, t he effects of fluid densi t y
and viscosity on Equation 7.1 wer e not i nvest i gat ed [3 ,4]. In addition,
Darcy' s l aw holds only for condi t i ons of viscous flow, i.e., t he rate of
t he flowing fluid is sufficiently l ow to be directly pr opor t i onal to t he
pot ent i al gradient. Anot her r equi r ement of this l aw is t hat t he fl owi ng
fluid must not react chemi cal l y wi t h t he por ous medi um. Such a react i on
can alter t he permeabi l i t y of t he sand body as flow cont i nues. The
sandpack in Darcy' s original exper i ment was always mai nt ai ned in t he
vertical position. Subsequent researchers r epeat ed this exper i ment under
less-restrictive condi t i ons and found that:
(1) Darcy' s law coul d be ext ended to fluids ot her t han wat er,
(2) t he const ant of proport i onal i t y is actually t he mobi l i t y ratio k/~t, and
(3 ) Darcy' s law is i ndependent of t he di rect i on of fl ow in t he Earth' s
gravitational field.
The gradi ent dp/ dx is t he driving force, and may be due to fluid
pressure gradi ent s and/ or hydraul i c (gravitational) gradi ent s [5]. Gener-
ally, t he hydraulic gradi ent s are small compar ed wi t h t he fluid pressure
gradients, and are, t herefore, negligible. In oil reservoirs wi t h a large
expandi ng gas cap and consi derabl e gravity drai nage charact eri st i cs,
however , t he gravitational gradi ent s are i mpor t ant and must be t aken
into account when analyzing reservoi r per f or mance.
LINEAR FLOW OF INCOMPRESSIBLE FLUIDS
The following assumpt i ons are necessary to t he devel opment of t he
basic equat i ons descri bi ng linear flow of i ncompressi bl e or slightly
compressi bl e fluids t hr ough por ous media:
(1) steady-state flow condi t i ons exist;
(2) t he porous rock is 100% sat urat ed wi t h t he flowing fluid; however , a
fixed and i mmobi l e phase may be pr esent and oft en is, as is t he case
for oil flow in a por ous rock cont ai ni ng i rreduci bl e wat er saturation,
or in t he case of oil flow wi t h an i mmobi l e gas phase of sat urat i on
less t han critical gas sat urat i on [ 5];
(3 ) t he viscosity of t he flowing fluid is const ant ;
(4) i sot hermal condi t i ons prevail;
(5) t he porous rock is homogeneous and isotropic;
(6) porosi t y and permeabi l i t y are const ant , i.e., i ndependent of pressure;
(7) t he f l ow is l ami nar, i.e., negl i gi bl e t ur bul ence effect s; and
(8) gravi t y f or ces are negl i gi bl e.
Wi t h t hese r est r i ct i ons in mi nd, t he appar ent vel oci t y is
q
v = - (7. 2)
A
wh e r e q is t he vol umet r i c f l ow r at e ( cm3 / s ec) and A is t he cr oss- sect i onal
ar ea pe r pe ndi c ul a r to f l ow di r ect i on (cm2). The act ual vel oci t y (Va) is
de t e r mi ne d by di vi di ng t he a ppa r e nt vel oci t y (v) by t he por os i t y of t he
r ock (~)). If an i r r educi bl e wa t e r sat urat i on, Siw, is pr es ent , t he act ual
vel oci t y in a wat er - wet r eser voi r is:
Va = (7. 3 )
t~(1 -- Siw)
Combi ni ng Equat i ons 7.1 and 7.2 yields:
kA dp
q = (7. 4)
gt dx
Separ at i ng vari abl es and i nt egr at i ng b e t we e n limits 0 and L, and Pl and
P2, one obt ai ns t he f ol l owi ng expr es s i on for t he vol umet r i c f l ow rate:
kA( pl - P2)
q = (7. 5)
lttL
Equat i on 6. 5 is t he convent i onal l i near f l ow equat i on us ed in fluid f l ow
cal cul at i ons. Thi s expr es s i on is wr i t t en in t he f undament al uni t s t hat
def i ne t he Dar cy unit. Tr ans f or mi ng it i nt o t he c ommonl y us ed oilfield
uni t s, such t hat q = bbl / D, A = fix, p = psi, L = ft, and k = mD, gives:
5. 615 x 3 0. 483 )
q 2-4 X 6() X 6-0 -- A( 3 0 " 482 ) ~
or:
q -- 1. 127 x 10 -3 kA Ap
g L
k( 10- 3 ) Ap ( 1/ 14. 7)
L 3 0. 48
(7. 6)
In SI units, a f l ow rat e of 1 m3 / s will resul t for a fluid f l owi ng t hr ough
a por ous me di um wi t h a per meabi l i t y of 1 gtm 2, a cr oss- sect i onal area
of 1 m 2, and fluid vi scosi t y of 1 Pa s unde r a pr es s ur e gr adi ent of
1012 Pa/ m.
LINEAR FLOW OF INCOMPRESSIBLE FLUIDS 4 | 9
EXAMPLE
A l O-cm long cylindrical core sampl e was subj ect ed to a l aborat ory
linear fl ow test under a pr essur e differential of 3 .4 at m usi ng a fluid
of viscosity 2.5 cp. The di amet er of t he core is 4 cm. A fl ow rate of
0.3 5 cc/ sec was obt ai ned. Calculate t he per meabi l i t y of this core sample.
SOLUTION
Figure 7.1 is a schemat i c r epr esent at i on of t he core sample. Using
Equat i on 7.5 t he per meabi l i t y of t he core sampl e is:
k
0.3 5 x 2.5 x 10
12.57 x 3 .4
= 0. 204 Darcy -- 204 mD
To use Equation 7.6, one must first conver t t he data to oilfield units.
Ap - 3 . 4(atm) x 14.7 p s i / a t m- 50 psi
( c m3 ) ( 1 f t 3 ) ( 1 b b l ) (
q - 0 . 3 5 ~ 24 x 60 60
sec 3 0.483 cm3 5.615 ft3
= O. 19 bbl / D
L -- (10 cm) -- 0. 3 28 ft
3 0. 48 cm
d 2 42
A -- x - ~ -- x-~- -- 12.57 cm 2 -- 0. 013 5 ft 2
s e c )
D
The permeabi l i t y of this core sampl e usi ng Equat i on 7.6 is:
q~tL O. 19 x 2.5 x 0. 3 28
k -- = = 204 mD
1.127 x 103 AAP 1.127 103 x 0. 013 5 x 50
Because of t he many uni t syst ems empl oyed by t he industry, it is very
i mpor t ant t hat pet r ol eum engi neers be able to conver t units from one
syst em to anot her.
To est i mat e t he pr essur e at any poi nt in a linear fl ow system,
Equation 7.4 is i nt egrat ed bet ween t he limits of 0 and x, and Pl and
p, respectively, yielding:
Pl - P- - ( qB ) x (7.7)
From Equation 7.5, one obtains:
pl-p -
(7.8)
Dividing Equat i on 7.7 by Equat i on 7. 8 and solving for t he vari abl e
pr essur e, p, yields:
X
P - (P2 - P l ) ~ + P l (7. 9)
This equat i on i ndi cat es t hat t he pr es s ur e behavi or of a l i near fl ow syst em
duri ng st eady-st at e fl ow is a st rai ght line as a f unct i on of di st ance.
LINEAR FLOW OF GAS
Consi der t he same l i near fl ow syst em of Figure 7.1, except t hat
t he fl owi ng fluid is now nat ural gas. Because t he gas expands as t he
pr essur e decl i nes, however , t he pr es s ur e gr adi ent i ncr eases t owar d t he
downs t r eam end and, consequent l y, t he fl ow rat e q is not const ant , but
is a f unct i on of p. Assumi ng t hat Boyl e' s l aw is valid (gas devi at i on f act or
z = 1) and a const ant mass fl ow rate, i.e., pq is const ant , one can wri t e:
Pl ql -- P2q2 -- Pq = Pq
(7. 10)
whe r e subscri pt s denot e poi nt of measurement,c71 is t he mean fl ow rat e
and 15 is t he mean pressure. Combi ni ng this rel at i onshi p wi t h Dar cy' s
law, i.e., Equat i on 7.5, gives:
q2P2 kA dp
q -- = (7. 11)
p pg dx
whe r e pg is t he vi scosi t y of gas in cP units. Separat i ng vari abl es and
i nt egrat i ng be t we e n Pl and P2, and 0 and L gives:
fo L kA fpP2
q2P2 dx -- p dp
Pg ~
or:
(7. 12)
Pzq2 - - (7. 13 )
~gL 213
The mean fl owrat e expr essi on t hat fol l ows can be deri ved by combi ni ng
Equat i ons 7. 10 and 7.13 "
kA ~ (pl -- P2)(Pl + P2)
Cl = ~ (7. 14a)
~Lg L J 2
LINEAR FLOW OF GAS 42 |
If one assumes t he me a n pr es s ur e 15 is equal to (Pl +p 2 ) / 2 ,
Equat i on 7. 14a r educes to:
k A) (Pl - P2)
r l.t-g L
( 7. 14b)
Equat i on 7. 14b is t he same as Equat i on 7. 5, whi c h gi ves t he vol ume t r i c
f l ow rat e of i ncompr es s i bl e fluids. Ther ef or e, t he l aw for t he l i near f l ow
of i deal gas is t he same as for a l i qui d, as l ong as t he gas f l ow r at e is
expr es s ed as a f unct i on of t he ar i t hmet i c pr essur e.
To i ncl ude t he effect of changes in t he gas devi at i on fact or, z, f r om
st andar d condi t i ons of pr essur e, Psc and t emper at ur e, 15, t o aver age
pr essur e, and t emper at ur e, T, let:
Pscqsc Pq
= --=_ ( 7. 15)
zscTsc ~T
Combi ni ng Equat i ons 7. 14 and 7. 15, and sol vi ng for qsc"
( z s c Ts c ) ( l 5 ) _ _ k A( p l - P2 ) ( 7. 16)
qsc -- Psc ~-~ ktg L
whe r e qsc is in cm3 / sec. I na s muc h as 15 = (Pl + p2) / 2, Equat i on 7. 16
becomes :
q s c = Psc ~ kt--g 2L
( 7. 17)
Conver t i ng f r om Dar cy' s uni t s t o pr act i cal field uni t s and as s umi ng
Zsc -- 1 at Psc = 14.7 psi a and Tsc -- 60~ or 520~ gives:
O. 112kA
qsc -- _ (Ap 2) ( 7. 18)
~TktgL
wher e: qsc = vol umet r i c fl ow rat e at s t andar d condi t i ons, SCF/D.
k = per meabi l i t y of t he r eser voi r rock, roD.
I.tg = gas vi scosi t y, cP
A -- cr oss- sect i onal area, ft 2.
T = me a n t e mpe r a t ur e of t he gas reservoi r, ~
-- me a n gas devi at i on f act or at T and 15 di mensi onl ess.
L = l engt h of t he sand body, ft.
Ap2 = p2 _ p2 psi a 2.
If t he mean fl ow rat e is expr es s ed in t er ms of ft 3 / day at t he mean pr es s ur e
15 and mean t emper at ur e T and ot her vari abl es are expr es s ed in oilfield
units, Equat i on 7. 14 becomes:
6. 3 3 1 0 - 3 k A( p l - P2)
c7 l = (7. 19)
gtgL
The fol l owi ng equat i on is useful in det er mi ni ng t he out l et vol umet r i c
f l ow rat e q2 at t he pr essur e P2, whi c h is general l y t he at mos pher i c
pr essur e in a l aborat ory exper i ment :
kA (Pl - P2)
q2 -- ~1 5 (7. 20)
~tgL P2
whe r e q2 is in cm3 / sec. If pract i cal oilfield uni t s are used in Equat i on
7.20, whe r e q2 is expr es s ed in ft3 /day:
6. 3 3 103 kA_ (Pl - P2)
q2 = P (7. 21)
~tgL P2
In general , most equat i ons used to st udy steady-state fl ow of i ncompr e-
ssible fluids may be ext ended to gas fl ow syst ems by si mpl y squari ng t he
pr essur e t erms, and expr essi ng t he gas fl ow rat es as SCF/D and t he gas
f or mat i on vol ume fact or in bbl/SCF.
EXAMPLE
A hori zont al pi pe havi ng 2 in. i nsi de di amet er and 12 in. l ong is filled
wi t h a sand of 24% porosi t y. This sandpack has an i rreduci bl e wa t e r
sat urat i on of 28% and a per meabi l i t y to gas of 245 mD. The vi scosi t y of
t he gas is 0. 015 cP.
(a) What is t he actual vel oci t y of t he gas (in cm/ s ec) under 100 psi
pr essur e differential?
(b) What is t he average fl ow rat e of t he gas in ft3 /D and cm3 / sec?
SOLUTION
(a) The act ual velocity, Va, of t he fl owi ng gas can be cal cul at ed f r om
Equat i on 7.3 whe r e r = 0.24, Swi = 0.28, and t he appar ent vel oci t y,
v, can be obt ai ned from Darcy' s law. I nasmuch as k = 0. 245 Darcy,
LINEAR FLOW OF GAS 423
}.l.g -- 0. 015 cP, L -- 12 in. x 2. 54 cm/ i n. -- 3 0. 48 cm, and Ap =
(1 O0 psi ) / ( 14. 7 psi / at m) - 6. 80 atm, t he appar ent vel oci t y is equal to:
0. 245 6. 8
v = x -- 3 . 64
0. 015 3 0. 48
and t he act ual vel oci t y is:
3 . 64
Va = = 21.1 c m/ s e c
0. 24(1 - 0. 28)
(b) The mean vol umet r i c f l ow rat e of gas t hr ough t hi s s andpack in f t 3 / n
is obt ai ned f r om Equat i on 7. 19, whe r e k = 254 mD, L = 1 ft, and
A -- x ( 1/ 12) 2 -- 0. 0128 fix.
6. 3 3 x 103 x 245 x 0. 0218 x 100 . f t 3
~1 -- 0. 015 x 1 = 225 5 / D
o r
( f t 3 ) ( Day ) ( ) cc
3 0. 483 cm3
Cl = 225. 5Day 24 x 60 x 60sec ft 3 -- 73 .9~sec
Assumi ng const ant st eady fl ow rate, q, a pr essur e di st r i but i on equat i on
al ong a l i near sand body also can be der i ved by combi ni ng Boyl e' s and
Darcy' s laws, and i nt egr at i ng be t we e n Pl and p, and 0 and x. Repl aci ng
L wi t h x in Equat i on 7. 12 and i nt egrat i ng:
2}.tgq2P2
p2 _ p2 _ kA (x) (7. 22)
From Equat i on 7.13 , one can obt ai n:
p2 _ p2 = 2~gq2p2 (L) (7. 23 )
kA
Dividing Equat i on 7. 22 by Equat i on 7. 23 and sol vi ng for t he vari abl e
pr essur e p gives"
x
p2 _ (p22 _ p2) ~ + p21
(7. 24)
This expr essi on i ndi cat es t hat t he pr essur e decl i ne vs. di st ance dur i ng
st eady-st at e fl ow of gas t hr ough a l i near syst em fol l ows t he parabol i c
curve. It also i ndi cat es t hat pr essur e is mai nt ai ned near t he inlet becaus e
of t he rel ease of ener gy st or ed in t he gas, but it is still i nde pe nde nt of
fluid and r ock pr oper t i es. General l y, t he use of l i near st eady-st at e fl ow of
compr essi bl e and i ncompr essi bl e fluids is l i mi t ed t o l abor at or y t est i ng.
4 2 4 PETROPHYSICS: RESERVOIR ROCK PROPERTIES
DARCY'S AND POISEUILLE'S LAWS
Darcy' s l aw for t he l i near fl ow of i ncompr essi bl e fluids in por ous and
per meabl e rocks and Poi seui l l e' s equat i on for l i qui d capi l l ary ~low are
qui t e similar. The general f or m of Poi seui l l e' s l aw for t he vi scous fl ow of
l i qui d t hr ough capi l l ary t ubes is:
x r 4 Ap
q = (7. 25)
8gt L
wher e: r = radi us of capi l l ary t ube, cm.
Ap -- pr essur e drop, dynes / cm 2 ( = 1. 013 3 x 106 atm).
L = l engt h of capi l l ary t ube, cm.
~t = vi scosi t y of fl owi ng fluid, Poise.
If t he fl ui d-conduct i ng channel s in a por ous me di um coul d be
r epr es ent ed by a bundl e of parallel capi l l ary t ubes of vari ous di amet er s,
t hen t he fl ow rate t hr ough this syst em is:
I N 1
q - ~) - - ~nj r ~ Ap
j=l gL (7. 26)
wher e: nj = numbe r of t ubes of radi us rj.
N = numbe r of gr oups of t ubes of di fferent radii.
This expr essi on can be r ewr i t t en as:
CAp
q = (7. 27)
~t L
( n ) - ~= njr 4) It is evi dent t hat whe r e C is t he fl ow coeffi ci ent ~ 1 9
Equat i on 7. 26 is similar to Equat i on 7. 7 (Darcy' s l aw) whe r e t he
coeffi ci ent C is equi val ent to t he permeabi l i t y. Thus:
N
k - 8A ~ nj ~ (7. 28)
j =l
whe r e A is t he t ot al cross-sect i onal area, as i l l ust rat ed in Figure 7.2.
LINEAR FLOW THROUGH FRACTURES AND CHANNELS 42S
/ ax
Fi gure 7.2. PoiseuiUe's flow system for straight capillaries.
Substituting A = n;R 2 (R is t he radius of total cross-sectional area) in
Equation 7.28 yields:
N
1
k - - ~ njr 4 (7 29)
8R 2
j=l
If t he radii rj are t he same for all tubes, this equat i on becomes:
nr 4
k -- (7. 3 0)
8R 2
The di mensi on of permeabi l i t y is, t herefore, L 2 (l engt h squared). Thus,
if L is in cm, k = cm 2. This measure is, however , too large to use wi t h
por ous media, and t he units of Darcy, or mD, are pr ef er r ed by t he oil and
gas industry.
This appr oach is, of course, an oversimplification of fluid fl ow in
por ous media, as t he por e spaces wi t hi n rocks sel dom resembl e straight,
smoot h-wal l ed capillary t ubes of const ant di amet er.
LINEAR FLOW THROUGH FRACTURES AND CHANNELS
Oil reservoirs wi t h fract ure-mat ri x porosi t y also cont ai n sol ut i on
channel s. The mat ri x (i nt ergranul ar porosi t y) is usually of l ow permea-
bility and cont ai ns most of t he oil ( 96%- 99%) . Wher eas t hese fract ures
and solution channel s may not cont ai n a significant vol ume of oil,
general l y less t han 4% of t he total oil in a reservoir, t hey are
very i mpor t ant to t he at t ai nment of economi c pr oduct i on rates [6].
Figure 7.3 a. Carbonate rock showing
porosity:A, vugs; B, j oi nt channels;
C, bedding plane channels; D, solution
channel [5].
Figure 7.3 b. Carbonate rock showing
porosity derived f rom fracturing and
fissuring [5].
Fract ure porosi t y is c ommon in many sedi ment ar y rocks and is f or med
by st ruct ural failure of t he rock under loads caused by various forms of
di ast rophi sm, such as folding and faulting [8]. Solution or vuggy porosi t y
results from l eachi ng of car bonat e rocks by circulating acidic wat ers.
Figures 7.3 a and 7. 3 b show porosi t y deri ved from fract uri ng and fissuring,
and porosi t y deri ved from sol ut i on along joints and beddi ng planes,
respectively. Reservoir per f or mance of most carbonat es is consi derabl y
different t han t hat of sandst one reservoirs due to t he pr esence of
st rong di rect i onal permeabi l i t y. In sandst one reservoirs, vertical
permeabi l i t y, kv, is generally much less t han hori zont al permeabi l i t y, kn.
In contrast, kv, in carbonat e reservoirs commonl y exceeds kh due to t he
dissolving effects of hot and acidic compact i on-deri ved fluids movi ng
upwar d, creat i ng channel s and r ugs and enl argi ng existing fract ures
[7]. In sucrosic dol omi t e reservoirs wi t h i nt ergranul ar porosity, kv, is
often appr oxi mat el y equal to kh. Performance of sucrosic dol omi t es
wi t h i nt ergranul ar i nt er r hombohedr al porosi t y is similar to t hat of
sandst ones [5].
FLOW THROUGH FRACTURES
The significance of t he fractures as fluid carriers can be eval uat ed by
consi deri ng a single fracture ext endi ng for some di st ance into t he body
of t he rock and openi ng into t he wel l bore, as shown in Figure 7.4 [9].
Recalling t he classical hydr odynami cs equat i on for flow t hr ough slots
of fine cl earances and unit wi dt h as r epor t ed by Croft and Kot yakhov
[10, 11]:
h3 wfAp
q -- (7. 3 1)
12gtL
where: h = hei ght (or t hi ckness) of fracture, cm.
wf = wi dt h of fracture, cm.
LINEAR FLOW THROUGH FRACTURES AND CHANNELS 427
Pa
Figure 7.4. Linear model f or fracture flow.
L = l engt h of fract ure, cm.
~t = fluid viscosity, Poise.
Ap -- pr essur e dr op (Pl - P2), dynes / cm 2.
The actual velocity of t he fluid fl owi ng t hr ough t he fract ure is thus:
q h 2 Ap
v = -- (7. 3 2)
wf h 12 ~tL
Assumi ng t hat t he porosi t y of t he fract ure is uni t y and t he connat e wat er
sat urat i on wi t hi n t he fract ure is zero, t he actual velocity ( accor di ng to
Darcy' s l aw wher e Ap is expr essed in dynes / cm 2, k in Darcy, ~t in Poise,
and L in cm) is:
v - ( 9 . 8 6 9 10- 9kf ) Ap
~tL
(7. 3 3 )
Combi ni ng Equations 7.3 2 and 7.3 3 and solving for t he permeabi l i t y of
t he fract ure kf ( wher e wf = cm and kf = Darcy):
kf -- 8. 444 106w 2 (7. 3 4)
Fract ures are classified as open (visible open space), cl osed (no visible
open space in t hi n section), partially filled, or compl et el y filled [8].
Many car bonat e reservoirs exhi bi t fract ures wi t h some degr ee of filling,
whi ch may consi st of crystals of calcite, dol omi t e, pyrite, gypsum, etc.
Preci pi t at es from t he l eachi ng solution, whi ch ci rcul at es t hr ough t he
car bonat e rock and deposi t s fine particles inside t he fract ures and vugs,
cont r i but e to t he filling process. This l eads to fract ures wi t h por osi t i es
rangi ng f r om ver y small to 100%. In addi t i on, t he connat e wat er sat ur at i on
in t hese fract ures can be zero or 100% dependi ng on t he pr ef er ent i al
wet t abi l i t y of t he reservoi r rock.
Equat i on 7. 3 4 is, t herefore, valid onl y for t he case whe r e t he f r act ur e is
totally open and cl ean of any filling part i cl es, i.e., Of = 1. It also assumes
t hat t he connat e wat er sat urat i on in t he secondar y por es is zero, or
So = 100% such as in reservoi rs whe r e t he oil ent er ed into a tight, oil-wet
f or mat i on by upwa r d mi grat i on al ong f r act ur es f r om deeper zones. The
Ain Zalah oil field, Iraq, appear s to be such a reservoi r [12]. In cases
whe r e Cf < 1 and Swcf > 0, Equat i on 7. 3 4 must be modified. However ,
det er mi ni ng t he values of t he fract ure por osi t y and t he connat e wa t e r
sat urat i on wi t hi n t he fract ure is difficult even wi t h whol e cor e analysis,
because cor es t end to br eak al ong t he nat ural fract ure pl ane as t hey
are br ought to t he surface. In addi t i on, many fract ures f or m dur i ng t he
pr ocess of cor e recovery. The most c o mmo n l abor at or y t echni que for
est i mat i ng di rect l y t he mat r i x and fract ure por osi t y was pr es ent ed in
1950 by Locke and Bliss [13 ]. The act ual per meabi l i t y of t he fract ure can
be det er mi ned f r om t he equat i on of act ual vel oci t y of t he fluid fl owi ng
t hr ough t he fract ure:
Va - - ( 7. 35)
~)f(1 - - Swc f )
whe r e ~)f is t he fractional por osi t y of t he fract ure and Swc f is t he connat e
wat er sat urat i on in t he fract ure. By definition:
wf h wf h wf
~) f - - A = Wh =W (7. 3 6)
The appar ent vel oci t y from Equat i on 7. 3 5 is:
V = Va ( 1 - - Swc f ) ~f (7. 3 7)
whe r e t he act ual vel oci t y is expr es s ed as t he act ual rate of fluid fl ow
t hr ough t he fract ure di vi ded by t he fract ure area, or:
q q
Va = - - = (7. 3 8)
Af wf h
and t he fl ow rate q is expr es s ed by Equat i on 7.3 1. Subst i t ut i ng for Va and
q in Equat i on 7. 3 7 gives:
V - - W 2 o f ( 1 - Swc f ) ~
Ap (7. 3 9)
12[.tL
LINEAR FLOW THROUGH FRACTURES AND CHANNELS 429
Equat i ng t hi s e xpr e s s i on wi t h Dar cy' s l aw ( Equat i on 7. 3 3 ) and sol vi ng
for t he act ual per meabi l i t y of t he f r act ur e (i n Dar cy) yields:
kf = 8. 444 x 106(1 - Swcf)~)fw~ ( 7. 40)
EXAMPLE
A cubi c bl ock of a car bonat e r ock wi t h an i nt er cr yst al l i ne- i nt er gr anul ar
por os i t y syst em has a mat r i x por os i t y of 19%. The per meabi l i t y of t he
mat r i x is 1 mD. Calculate"
(a) t he per meabi l i t y of t he f r act ur e if each s quar e foot cont ai ns one
f r act ur e in t he di r ect i on of fluid fl ow, and
(b) t he f l ow rat e in field uni t s t hr ough t he f r act ur e and t he f r act ur e-
mat r i x syst em.
The wi dt h of t he f r act ur e is 2.5 x 10 - 3 in., t he vi scosi t y of t he f l owi ng
fluid is 1.5 cP, and Ap across t hi s bl ock is 10 psia.
SOLUTION
(a) The per meabi l i t y of a f r act ur e is es t i mat ed f r om Equat i on 7. 3 4, wh e r e
Wf - 2.5 x 10 -3 2 . 5 4- 6. 3 5 x 10 -3 cm"
kf = 8. 444 x 106 x (6. 3 5 x 10- 3 ) 2 = 3 40. 5 Dar cy
(b)
It is obvi ous f r om t hi s e xt r e me l y hi gh val ue of per meabi l i t y t hat
f r act ur es cont r i but e subst ant i al l y t o t he r ecover y of oil f r om t i ght
f or mat i ons t hat ot her wi s e woul d be nonc omme r c i a l . Thi s cont ri -
but i on is act ual l y even hi gher as one squar e foot of car bonat e r ock
is gener al l y likely t o cont ai n mor e t han one f r act ur e.
The f l ow rat e t hr ough t he f r act ur e onl y can be es t i mat ed f r om Dar cy' s
l aw ( Equat i on 7. 6), wh e r e L = 1 ft, Ap = 10 psia, k = 3 40. 5 Darcy,
gt -- 1.5 cP, and Af -- 0. 0025 x 1 -- 2. 08 x 10 - 4 ft x. Thus:
q - 1. 127
3 40. 5 x 2. 08 x 10 - 4 x 10
1 . 5 x l
= 0. 53 3 bbl / Da y
The fl ow rat e t hr ough t he mat r i x onl y is also obt ai ned f r om
Equat i on 7.6, wh e r e t he per meabi l i t y of t he mat r i x is 1 mD and
Am = Af = 1 - 2. 08 x 10 - 4 ~ 1 f t 2. Thus 9
q - 1. 127 x 10 - 3 1 x 1 x 10
1 . 5 x l
= 0. 0075 bbl / Da y
The t ot al f l ow rat e t hr ough t he bl ock is:
q = 0. 53 3 + 0. 0075 = 0. 54 bbl / Day
The i mpor t ance of t he f r act ur e t o t he pr oduct i vi t y of r eser voi r s can
be bet t er appr eci at ed in t er ms of per cent age cont r i but i on t o t he t ot al
f l ow rate, whi c h for t hi s case is 0. 53 3 / 0. 54 = 98.6%.
The vol ume of oil cont ai ned in t he f r act ur es and mat r i x is [6]:
Vo = Vom + Vof (7. 41)
Whe r e Vom is t he vol ume of oil cont ai ned in t he mat r i x, and Vof is
t he vol ume of oil cont ai ned in t he fract ures, whi c h can be es t i mat ed
f r om t he f ol l owi ng equat i on:
Vom = Ash~)m(1 - ~f)(1 - Swm)/Bo
Vof = Ash~f(1 -- Swf)/Bo
(7. 42)
(7. 43 )
wher e: Vo = oil-in-place, m 3 .
As = surface area of pr oduc i ng f or mat i on, m 2.
h = average t hi ckness of f or mat i on, m.
(~m = fract i onal por os i t y of mat r i x only.
r = fract i onal por os i t y of f r act ur es only.
Swm -- wat er sat ur at i on in mat ri x.
Swf = wa t e r sat ur at i on in fract ures.
The r ecover abl e vol ume of oil is:
VoR "- Vom Em + Vof Ef
(7. 44)
wher e: Em = r ecover y f act or for t he mat ri x, fract i on.
Ef = r ecover y f act or for t he fract ures, fract i on.
If t he per meabi l i t y of t he mat r i x is negl i gi bl e, i.e., less t han O. 1 mD,
VoR = Vof Ef.
The average per meabi l i t y of t he f r act ur e- mat r i x f l ow syst em can
be obt ai ned from:
( ) (nfwfh)
nf wf h kf + 1 km (7. 45)
kmf = A A
LINEAR FLOW THROUGH FRACTURES AND CHANNELS 43 i
wher e: kf = f r act ur e per meabi l i t y
km = mat r i x per meabi l i t y
A = t ot al cr oss- sect i onal area
nf = n u mb e r of f r act ur es per uni t area
wf = f r act ur e wi dt h,
h = f r act ur e hei ght .
The average per meabi l i t y of t he car bonat e r eser voi r of t he above
exampl e can be es t i mat ed f r om Equat i on 7.45"
wher e:
wf =0 . 0 0 2 5 - - 2 . 0 82 10 - 5 f t , A- l f t x , n f - 1, a n d h - - l f t .
I nas much as:
nf wf h
A
= 2. 08 x 10 -5
Ther ef or e:
kmf -- (2. 08 10- 5) ( 3 40. 5) + (1 - 2. 08 10- 5) ( 10 - 3 )
= O. 072 Dar cy
FLOW THROUGH SOLUTION CHANNELS
Craft and Hawki ns and Agui l era c ombi ne d Poi seui l l e' s l aw for vi scous
f l ow of l i qui ds t hr ough capi l l ary t ubes wi t h Dar cy' s l aw for st eady-st at e
l i near f l ow of i ncompr es s i bl e fluids t o est i mat e t he per meabi l i t y of
sol ut i on channel s (Fi gure 7. 5) [1, 15]. The act ual vol umet r i c rat e of t he
. /
%
~ " - ' , t s ~ , , ' ' " / " I
,,- z ,- " L,' )
G,,,,I. /
, i /
9 _
W
Figure 7.5. Channel-matrix system.
4] 2 PETROPHYSICS: RESERVOIR ROCK PROPERTIES
fluid fl owi ng t hr ough a capi l l ary t ube of radi us rc and l engt h L is:
Xrc 4 Ap
q = (7. 46)
8 gtL
Fr om Darcy' s law, assumi ng t he channel porosi t y, ~c, and t he i r r educi bl e
wat er sat urat i on, Siwc, are equal to uni t y and zero, respect i vel y, t he fl ow
rat e is equal to"
q - 9. 3 69 l O- 9xr 2k ~
Ap (7. 47)
~tL
Equat i ng Equat i ons 7. 46 and 7.47, and solving for t he per meabi l i t y of t he
sol ut i on channel yields:
k c - 12.6 x 106rc 2 (7. 48)
wher e: kc = sol ut i on channel per meabi l i t y, Darcy.
rc = radi us of t ubul ar channel , cm.
Porosi t y devel opment in some car bonat e reservoi rs is due to l eachi ng of
car bonat e rocks by mi neral i zi ng wat ers. Preci pi t at es from this ci rcul at i ng
wat er may be r esponsi bl e for filling pr evi ousl y exi st i ng por es and
channel s wi t h a vari et y of fine part i cl es (salt, chert , anhydri t e, and
gypsum) , maki ng t he por osi t y of t he sol ut i on channel less t han uni t y
[8,15]. Fur t her mor e, t he wat er sat urat i on in t hese channel s, whi c h
f or med due to ci rcul at i ng wat er, is unl i kel y to be zero. Thus, t he act ual
area open to fl ow is:
Aa = ~c(1 - Siwc)Xrc 2 (7. 49)
and Equat i on 7. 48 becomes:
2
kc = 12.6 x 10 6 (1 - Siwc) r rc (7. 50)
wher e: ~c = sol ut i on channel porosi t y.
Si wc = i rreduci bl e wat er sat urat i on in t he channel .
The average per meabi l i t y of a channel - mat r i x fl ow syst em can be
cal cul at ed f r om t he Equat i on [ 13 ]:
k mc - ( ncxr2
A ) kc
n c rc )
+ 1 - - ~ km
A
(7. 51)
LINFAR FLOW THROUGH FRACTURES AND CHANNELS 433
where: kc = permeabi l i t y of channel s, Darcy,
km = permeabi l i t y of matrix, Darcy,
A = cross-sectional area, cm 2,
nc = number of channel s per unit area, and
rc = solution channel radius, cm.
Carbonat e reservoirs domi nat ed by a vugular-solution porosi t y syst em
exhi bi t a wi de range of permeabi l i t y. The permeabi l i t y di st ri but i on may
be relatively uniform, or quite irregular.
EXAMPLE
A cubic sample of a l i mest one format i on has a mat ri x permeabi l i t y of
1 mD and cont ai ns 5 solution channel s per ft 2. The radius of each channel
is 0.05 cm. Calculate:
(a) the solution-channel permeabi l i t y assumi ng a vug-porosi t y of 3 % and
an irreducible wat er saturation in t hese channel s equal to 18%; and
(b) the average permeabi l i t y of this rock.
SOLUTION
(a) The permeabi l i t y of t he sol ut i on-channel can be obt ai ned from
Equation 7.50:
kc - 12.6 106(1 - 0. 18) ( 0. 03 ) ( 0. 052) - 775 Darcy
Using Equation 7.48, i.e., assumi ng t~c = 1 and Si wc - - O, t he permea-
bility of a channel is 3 1, 500 Darcy, whi ch is mor e t han 40 times
t he value of kc obt ai ned from using Equation 7. 50 and, t herefore,
unrealistic.
(b) The average permeabi l i t y of this bl ock cont ai ni ng 5 channel s is
est i mat ed from Equation 7.51, wher e A = 1 ft 2 = 929c m 2, and
n c x r 2 / A- 5/ 1; (0. 052)/ 929- 42 10 -6.
kmc - 42 10 -6 0. 775 106 + (1 - 42 10-6)(1) - 3 6.5 mD
This exampl e illustrates t he i mpor t ance of est i mat i ng t he actual
irreducible wat er saturation and porosi t y of t he solution channel s and
fractures. These par amet er s are i mpor t ant in det er mi ni ng oil-in-place
wi t hi n vugular pores and fractures, and i gnori ng t hem can lead to
overest i mat i ng t he pr oduct i on capaci t y of wells in car bonat e reservoirs
[14-17].
43 4 PETROPHYSICS: RESERVOIR ROCK PROPERTIES
RADIAL FLOW SYSTEMS
Fi gur e 7. 6 i l l ust rat es a si ngl e p r o d u c i n g wel l l ocat ed i n a radi al r es er voi r
syst em. Fl ow in t hi s s ys t em c onve r ge s f r om t he ext er nal b o u n d a r y of
r adi us re and pr e s s ur e Pe t o t he wel l of r adi us rw and pr e s s ur e Pw. The
f l ow r at e at any r adi us r and pr e s s ur e p, a c c or di ng t o Dar cy' s l aw f or
radi al i nc ompr e s s i bl e fl ui d fl ow, is:
2xr hk Op
q = ( 7. 52)
~t Or
In radi al fl ow, t he mi nus si gn i n Dar cy' s l aw is no l onger r e qui r e d as
t he r adi us r i ncr eas es ( f r om rw t o re) in t he s ame di r ect i ons as pr es s ur e.
Combi ni ng Dar cy' s l aw, t he l aw of c ons e r va t i on of mass, and
t he e qua t i on of st at e, t he f ol l owi ng gener al ma t he ma t i c a l e xpr e s s i on
des cr i bi ng t he f l ow of fl ui ds in p o r o u s medi a, k n o wn as t he di ffusi vi t y
equat i on, can be der i ved:
02p 1 0 p (~.l.C t Op
+ = ( 7. 53 )
Or 2 r Or k Ot
The rat i o k/(~ct is cal l ed t he hydr aul i c di ffusi vi t y cons t ant . Equat i on
7. 53 is f or t he case of unst eady- st at e f l ow be c a us e it is t i me de pe nde nt .
Thi s f l ow r egi me is b e y o n d t he s c ope of t hi s b o o k and, t her ef or e, wi l l
not be di scussed. The s ol ut i on of di fferent i al Equat i on 7. 53 , of i nt er es t t o
t he d e v e l o p me n t of st eady- st at e and ps eudos t eady- s t at e f l ow equat i ons ,
is f or t he case of a cent r al l y l ocat ed wel l p r o d u c i n g at a c ons t a nt
re / ~ ~ Pe
d P
9 . . 9
9 : ! i
9 9
: ! ! i
9 ; ~
: i :
: : i i
! ~, ......... ~ ............... :
o 9 1 4 9 0 . ' 9 9
. . ~ . . .
"! ....... i ......... ~ ...... :
9 : ........ .." ...... ~ . . . . . . . . . . .' . . . . . . : ' . . . ....... i .
..~ .... . ......... ~ ""~ -.
"
D i r e c t i o n o f F l o w
Figure 7.6. Ideal radial f l ow system [47].
RADIAL FLOW SYSTEMS 43 5
vol umet ri c rate. The exact form of t hese fl ow equat i ons depends on
t he nat ure of ext ernal reservoi r boundari es. Thr ee basic out er boundar y
condi t i ons exist: infinite pressure, const ant pressure, and no-flow.
STEADY-STATE FLOW
Strictly speaking, steady-state fl ow can occur only if t he fl ow across t he
drainage boundary, re, is equal to t he fl ow across t he wel l bor e wall at
wel l radius rw, and t he fluid pr oper t i es remai n const ant t hr oughout t he
reservoir. These condi t i ons may never be met in a reservoir; however ,
in pet r ol eum reservoirs pr oduced by a st rong wat er drive, whe r e by t he
wat er influx rate at re equals t he wel l pr oduci ng rate, t he pr essur e change
wi t h time is so slight that it is practically undet ect abl e. In such cases, t he
assumpt i on of st eady state is accept abl e [18]. Steady-state flow equat i ons
are also useful in analyzing t he reservoi r condi t i ons in t he vicinity of t he
wel l bore for short peri ods of time, even in an unsteady-state syst em [ 19].
Mathematically true steady-state flow occurs whe n Op/~t = O, whi ch
reduces t he diffusivity equat i on to:
02p lop O(Op)
Or 2 + r Or = ~Or r-~r -- 0 (7. 54)
Integrating this differential equat i on gives:
0p
r ~ - Ci (7.55a)
Or
wher e Ci is a const ant of integration. For const ant flow rate at t he
wel l bore, one can i mpose t he fol l owi ng condi t i on on t he pr essur e
gradi ent at t he well (from Darcy' s law):
0p
_ / \ [ qB | _1 (7. 55b)
Or \ / 2 x k h rw
Combi ni ng t hese t wo expressi ons and solving for Ci at t he well:
qB (7. 55c)
Ci = 2xkh
Substituting this t erm in Equation 7.55c; separat i ng variables, and
integrating bet ween rw and re, wher e t he pressures are Pw and Pe,
respectively:
qB rfrwe dr fpPe
-- dp (7. 55d)
2x---kh r w
I nt egr at i ng Equat i on 7. 55d and sol vi ng expl i ci t l y for t he vol umet r i c f l ow
rat e, q, resul t s in t he f ol l owi ng equat i on:
2xkh( Pe -- Pw)
q = ( 7. 56)
Bl n( r e/ r w)
Expr essi ng all t he t er ms in pr act i cal oilfield uni t s, t hi s r el at i ons hi p
becomes :
O. O0708kh(pe - Pw)
qsc = ( 7. 57)
BBol n( r e/ r w)
wher e: qsc = sur f ace pr oduc t i on r at e at Tsc = 60~ and Psc = 14. 7 psia,
STB/D.
k = f or mat i on per meabi l i t y, mD.
h = f or mat i on t hi ckness, ft.
B = oil vi scosi t y, cP.
Pe = ext er nal pr es s ur e, psia.
Pw -- wel l pr essur e, psia.
rw = wel l bor e radi us, ft.
re = ext er nal radi us, ( 43 , 560A/ x) 1/2, ft.
A = dr ai nage area, acres.
Bo = oil f or mat i on vol ume fact or, bbl/STB.
Thi s equat i on is onl y valid for t he case wh e r e t he wel l is l ocat ed at t he
c e nt e r of a ci r cul ar dr ai nage area.
The ext er nal pr es s ur e Pe is gener al l y a ppr oxi ma t e d by t he st at i c
pr es s ur e of t he reservoi r, especi al l y in t he case of an i nfi ni t e r eser voi r .
In st r ong wat er - dr i ve reservoi rs, Pe is equi val ent t o t he initial r es er voi r
pr es s ur e Pi. If t he pr es s ur e Pe c a nnot be de t e r mi ne d wi t h s ome rea-
sonabl e accur acy, Equat i on 7. 57 s houl d be e xpr e s s e d in t er ms of t he
aver age r eser voi r pr essur e, 15, whi c h can be easi l y obt ai ned f r om a
pr es s ur e bui l dup or d r a wd o wn t est [20].
I na s muc h as re >> rw, t he vol umet r i c aver age r eser voi r pr es s ur e may
be e xpr e s s e d as [ 1 ]:
2 rfrw~ t3 -- r~ pr dr
( 7. 58)
wh e r e p is t he r eser voi r pr es s ur e at any radi us r. Fr om Equat i on 7. 56:
P Pw+ qB l n t r / [ \
-- ~ ( 7. 59)
2xkh \ / r w
RADIAL FLOW SYSTEMS 437
Subst i t ut i ng t he above expr essi on i nt o Equat i on 7.58, i nt egrat i ng, and
solving expl i ci t l y for t he vol umet r i c fl ow rate, one obt ai ns (in oilfield
units):
0. 00708kh(t3 -- pw)
qsc - (7. 60)
laBo[In(re/r w) - 0.5]
2 2
assumi ng t hat t he t er m r w/ r e is negligible. It is i mpor t ant to emphasi ze
t hat Equat i ons 7. 56 and 7. 60 are strictly valid for t he case of a single
wel l in an infinite reservoi r and st r ong wat er dri ve r eser voi r pr oduci ng
at steady-state fl ow condi t i ons. These equat i ons also appl y equal l y wel l
in an oil reservoi r exper i enci ng pr essur e mai nt enance by wa t e r i nj ect i on
or gas injection.
PSEUDOSTEADY-STATE FLOW
In bounde d cylindrical reservoi rs, t he pseudost eady- st at e fl ow r egi me
is c ommon at l ong pr oduci ng times. In t hese reservoi rs, also called
vol umet r i c reservoirs, t her e can be no fl ow across t he i mper meabl e out er
boundar y, such as a sealing fault, and fluid pr oduct i on must come from
t he expansi on and pr essur e decl i ne of t he reservoir. This condi t i on of no
fl ow boundar y is also e nc ount e r e d in a wel l t hat is offset on f our sides.
If t her e is no fl ow across t he ext er nal boundar y, t hen aft er sufficiently
l ong pr oduci ng t i me el apses t he pr essur e decl i ne t hr oughout t he
drai nage vol ume becomes a l i near f unct i on of time. Ther ef or e, for a wel l
pr oduci ng at a const ant pr oduct i on rate, t he rate of pr essur e decl i ne is
const ant :
8p = - q (7. 61)
5t cVp
whe r e Vp is t he drai nage por e vol ume, whi ch is equal to XreZh~), and
c is t he compressi bi l i t y of t he fluid at t he average r eser voi r pressure.
Subst i t ut i ng Equat i on 7.61 i nt o t he diffusivity equat i on (Equat i on 7.53 ),
i nt egrat i ng t wi ce and solving for t he fl ow rate (in oilfield uni t s) gives [4]:
O.O0708kh(Pe - Pw) O.O0708kh(pe - Pw)
qsc -- = (7. 62)
~tBo[ln(re/r w) - 0.5] ~Boln(O. 606re/rw)
If t he ext ernal pr essur e, Pe, is unknown, Equat i on 7. 62 shoul d be
der i ved in t er ms of t he average reservoi r pressure, 1 ~. The pr essur e p
4] 8 PETROPHYSICS: RESERVOIR ROCK PROPERTIES
at any radius r of t he bounded reservoi r is obt ai ned from Equat i on 7.62:
P=Pw+ 2xqgtkh [In(r/ rw) - 0"5(r/re)2 + 0. 5( r w/ r e) 2] (7. 63 )
If Equat i on 7.63 is used in Equat i on 7. 58 and t he i nt egrat i on carried out,
t he fol l owi ng expr essi on is obt ai ned for qsc (in oilfield units), assumi ng
re >> rw:
0.00708kh(15 - Pw) 0.00708kh(15 - Pw)
qsc = = (7. 64a)
~tBo[In(re/r w) - 0.75] laBoln(O.472re/rw)
For ot her wel l locations, drai nage area shapes, and ext ernal boundar y
condi t i ons, t he general form of Equat i on 7. 64a is-
O. O0708kh(l ~- Pw) (7. 64b)
qsc = gtBoln(r~/rw)
wher e F e is an effective drai nage radius t hat i ncl udes t he effect t hat a wel l
pl acement in a given drai nage area will have on t he per f or mance of t he
well. The effective radius can be wr i t t en as:
J :A
r e -- 1.498 (7. 64c)
wher e A is t he drainage area (ft2), and CA is t he shape factor, as s hown
in Table 7.1 [20, 25].
When ext ernal reservoi r boundar i es are mi xed, t he met hods of
obt ai ni ng fl ow equat i ons become mor e compl ex, especially duri ng
unst eady state. Duri ng steady-state flow, however , this syst em can be
appr oxi mat ed by a radial cylindrical reservoi r wher e onl y a fraction f of
t he reservoi r per i pher y is open to wat er encr oachment . The fraction f is
referred to her e as t he drai nage boundar y i ndex. This partial wat er drive
reservoi r is pr oduced by t wo processes:
(a) expansi on of t he reservoi r fluid, and
(b) di spl acement of t he reservoi r fluid by wat er.
TABLE 7. 1
VALUES OF THE SHAPE FACTOR FOR VARIOUS WELL LOCATIONS
AND DRAINAGE AREA SHAPES
Sy s te m CA , Sy s te m CA
( 31.62
30.88
~ 31. 6
27.6
/ " ~.o. 27.1
~ ; ~ 21. 9
2
l e ]1 2 1 . 8 3
4
l . | ,
w
5.38
J l 2 . 3 6
1
- ~- - 1 12.98
,,
1
t ' t
~~
- - - 1 ,,~-,___.._...
2
~ - 7 1 21.83
2
F - 4.51
2
~ , 2.08
4
~ - - ~ - - - - - ~'1 2.69
4
t - - - ~ - 9 - - ~1 0. 232
4
~ ' - - - 4- e - " - - ~ 1 0. 115
4"- 1 3 . 3 3 5
I
2
- I
1 3 . 1 5 7
2
a ; i
i ! !
2
+ , , + ~+ + , 1 ,
0.581
0.111
Kumar pr es ent ed an equat i on giving t he fl ow rat e at any radi us r
be t we e n rw and re [21 ]"
I r21 q r - - q 1 - ( 1 - f) r- ~
(7. 65)
whe r e q is t he wel l bor e fl ow rate. If Equat i on 7. 65 is subst i t ut ed in Darcy' s
l aw (Equat i on 7. 52), and i nt egr at i on is carri ed out be t we e n rw and re,
whe r e t he pr es s ur es are Pw and Pe, r espect i vel y, and assumi ng 2 2
r w/ r ; -- 0,
one obtains"
0. 00708kh( pe - Pw)
qsc = ( 7. 66)
~tBo[ln(re/rw) - 0. 50(1 - f)]
It is evi dent f r om Equat i on 7. 66 that:
(a) f = 0 r epr es ent s no- f l ow condi t i on at re, becaus e for t hi s val ue of f,
Equat i on 7. 66 be c ome s si mi l ar t o Equat i on 7. 62, whi c h is speci fi cal l y
der i ved for t he case of b o u n d e d r eser voi r s unde r ps e udos t e a dy state.
(b) f = 1 r epr es ent s a full act i ve wa t e r dri ve reservoi r, and Equat i on 7. 66
be c ome s similar t o Equat i on 7. 57. f = 1 also r epr es ent s a bal anced
fi ve-spot wat er i nj ect i on pat t er n wi t h uni t mobi l i t y ratio.
(c) f > 1 i ndi cat es t hat t he fluid vol ume ent er i ng a r eser voi r at re is gr eat er
t han t he fluid vol ume ent er i ng t he wel l bor e at rw, s uch as unde r
excess fluid i nj ect i on. Equat i on 7. 66 pr ovi des away t o det er mi ne t he
s t r engt h of wat er dri ve f, if t he pr oduc i ng rat e and pr es s ur e dr op are
known. The par amet er f can be de t e r mi ne d mor e accur at el y f r om
t r ansi ent wel l t est analysis [22].
If t he average r eser voi r pr essur e, 15 , is used i nst ead of t he ext er nal
pr essur e, Pe whi c h is pract i cal l y i mpossi bl e t o est abl i sh in such a mi xed
boundar y syst em, Equat i on 7. 66 becomes :
O. O0708kh( l ~- Pw)
qsc = (7. 67)
BBo[ l n( r e/ r w) - 0. 75 + 0. 25f]
Thi s expr es s i on is si mi l ar t o Equat i ons 7. 60 and 7. 64 for f = 1 and
f = 0, r espect i vel y, and can easily be der i ved by subst i t ut i ng p i nt o
Equat i on 7. 58 and i nt egrat i ng, p is obt ai ned f r om Equat i on 7. 66 by
assumi ng re > rw and r epl aci ng Pe wi t h p and re wi t h r. Combi ni ng
Equat i on 7. 66 and 7. 67 yi el ds a ver y useful r el at i onshi p for det er mi ni ng
t he ext er nal pr es s ur e of a mi xed boundar y syst em:
q s c ..o ( l + f )
Pe -- P -~- 1-~2---kh 4 ( 7. 68)
For a wel l in a cl osed out er bounda r y r eser voi r f ---- 0, and becaus e at t = 0
t he ext er nal pr essur e, Pe, is equi val ent t o t he initial r eser voi r pr essur e, Pi,
Equat i on 7. 68 can be wr i t t en in oilfield uni t s as follows:
11141.2qscbtB 1
Pi - 1 ~ -- ~ kh (7. 69)
The ri ght -hand side of this equat i on cor r es ponds to t he amount of fluid
pr oduced, causi ng t he reservoi r pr essur e to dr op f r om Pi to 15. It can be
demons t r at ed t hat this pr essur e dr op is also expr es s ed as:
0. 0744qscBo)
Pi - 1 ~ -- ~)cthr 2 t
(7. 70)
If Equat i ons 7. 69 and 7. 70 are combi ned, one obt ai ns for t i me t:
t -- 474. 5 [ l ( b 2TCtrcr- (7. 71)
k
whe r e t is in hours, ct is t he total compr essi bi l i t y in psi -1 and t he per mea-
bility is in mD. Craft and Hawki ns def i ned this t i me as t he r eadj us t ment
time, tr, or t he t i me r equi r ed to est abl i sh a l ogari t hmi c pr essur e distri-
but i on be t we e n rw and re [1]. For a wel l in a fully active wa t e r dri ve
reservoi r, i.e., f = 1, t he const ant 0. 25 in Equat i on 7. 69 is r epl aced
by 0.50, and t he const ant 474. 5 in Equat i on 7.71 is r epl aced by 949.
Generally, steady-state fl ow equat i ons shoul d be used onl y wh e n tr is
small compar ed to t he total pr oduci ng life of t he reservoi r. If tr is t oo large,
as it is oft en t he case in fully act i ve wat er-dri ve reservoi rs, unst eady-st at e
fl ow equat i ons must be used.
Skin Zone
In many cases, it has been f ound t hat t he per meabi l i t y in t he vi ci ni t y
of t he wel l bor e differs from t hat in t he maj or por t i on of t he r eser voi r
as s hown in Figure 7.7. This zone of al t ered permeabi l i t y, ks, and radial
ext ent , rs, is called t he "skin," and t he degr ee of al t erat i on is expr es s ed in
t er ms of t he skin fact or s [23 , 24]. The per meabi l i t y of t he skin zone can
be r educed (s > 0) as a resul t of drilling and wel l compl et i on pr act i ces
as di scussed in t he next chapt er .
The average per meabi l i t y of t he f or mat i on in t he vicinity of t he
wel l bor e also can be hi gher (s < 0) t han t hat in t he maj or por t i on
of t he reservoi r after fract uri ng or acidizing t he wel l at compl et i on.
Ther ef or e, all t he radial fl ow rat e equat i ons in this sect i on, whi c h we r e
der i ved on t he basis t hat t he per meabi l i t y of t he f or mat i on is t he same
be t we e n rw and re, must be modi fi ed to i ncl ude t he effect of skin. This
can be done ei t her by subt r act i ng t he addi t i onal pr essur e dr op ( due to
4 4 2 PETROPHYSICS" RESERVOIR ROCK PROPERTIES
f
I
9 " J . ' " 4" . . "
!,~...-...
i"~,2-.'~:..2
9 . L . . . . . t e
Fi g u r e 7. 7. Sk i n zone .
h
wel l bor e damage) or t he pr essur e i ncr ease ( due to st i mul at i on), Aps,
f r om t he (Pe - Pw) or (1~ - Pw) t erms, wher e:
Ap s - - ( qsc~B~ ) s
O.O0708kh
(7. 72)
or by r epl aci ng t he wel l bor e radi us t erm, rw, by an effect i ve or appar ent
wel l bor e radius, rwa, whi c h is est i mat ed f r om [24]"
rwa -- rwe - s (7. 73 )
For exampl e, if t he wel l is damaged or st i mul at ed, Equat i on 7. 67 becomes"
O. O0708kh@ - Pw - Aps)
qsc = (7. 74)
~tBo(ln ( r e/ r w) - 0. 75 + 0. 25f)
o r "
O. O0708kh@ - Pw)
qsc = (7. 75)
BBo(ln (re/rwa) - 0. 75 + 0. 25f)
or, because In (re/rwa) -- In (re/ rw) + s:
O. O0 7 0 8 kh@ - pw )
qsc = (7. 76)
BBo[ln ( 0. 472r e/ r w) + 0. 25f + s]
Equat i on 7. 76 is ver y gener al and mor e accur at e t han Equat i ons 7. 60
and 7. 64 becaus e it i ncl udes t he effect of wel l bor e condi t i on, as wel l as
t he effect of t he out er bounda r y of t he r eser voi r . Equat i on 7. 76 is val i d
for bot h st eady and ps e udos t e a dy st at es, de pe ndi ng on t he val ue of t he
pa r a me t e r f. The ski n f act or is best obt ai ned f r om pr es s ur e t r ans i ent t est s
[18, 20].
EXAMPLE
(a) Cal cul at e t he pr oduc t i on r at e for an oil wel l in a 160-acre dr ai nage
area wh e r e t he aver age pr es s ur e is part i al l y mai nt ai ned at 1, 850 psi a
by wa t e r i nj ect i on at t he boundar y. The f ol l owi ng pa r a me t e r s are
available:
rw = 0. 5f t gt - - 2. 2c P
h -- 16 ft Bo -- 1.1 bbl / STB
k = 180 mD Pw -- 1, 23 0 psi a
s -- 2 f -- 0. 25
Co) What is t he ideal pr oduct i on, i.e., no ski n damage?
SOLUTION
In oilfield uni t s, Equat i on 7. 76 can be e xpr e s s e d as
qsc =
0. 00708kh( 15- Pw)
~Bo[ln ( r e/ r w) - 0. 75+0. 25f + s]
( 7. 77)
(a) The radi us of t he dr ai nage ar ea is:
re -- ( 43 , 560A/ x) ~ -- ( 43 , 560 x 160/ x) ~ = 1, 489f t
The pr oduc t i on r at e of t hi s wel l is equal to"
( 0. 00708) ( 180) ( 16) ( 1, 850 - 1, 23 0)
qsc = = 561
(2. 2)(1. 1) [ i n( l , 489/ 0. 5) - 0. 75 + ( 0. 25) ( 0. 25) + 2]
STB
D
(b) The i deal pr oduc t i on r at e of this wel l is obt ai ned by l et t i ng s = 0
in Equat i on 7. 77, wh i c h gi ves qsc = 715 STB/D. Thus, if t hi s wel l is
t r eat ed to r e move t he ski n damage, an addi t i onal 154 STB/D wi l l be
pr oduced, an i ncr ease of a ppr oxi ma t e l y 27%.
444 P E T ROP HYS I CS : RE S E RVOI R ROCK P ROP E RT I E S
Dimensionl ess Pressure
Steady-state and pseudosteady-state radial flow equat i ons previously
pr esent ed are strictly applicable to the case wher e t he well is located at
the cent er of a circular drainage area. For ot her well locations, drainage
area shapes, and external boundary conditions, t he dimensionless form
of these flow equations is given by:
qsc -- ( kh s
14 l~2-gtBo ) (pDA--P+)
(7.78)
In reservoir systems wher e the pressure change wi t h time is negligible
and the assumpt i on of steady-state radial flow is applicable, the dimen-
sionless pressure drop, PD, is:
l n( r e/ r w) if Ap -- Pe - Pw }
PD -- In (0. 606re/rw) if Ap -- 15 - Pw
(7.79)
As produci ng time increases the pressure decline t hroughout the
reservoir becomes a linear function of time, and the assumpt i on of
pseudosteady-state flow becomes applicable. When this flow regime
occurs, and Ap is equal to (Pe -- Pw) or (Pi -- Pw), the dimensionless
pressure, PD, is:
1 ( 2. 2458A)
PD -- 2XtDA + ~ln r2CA
(7.80)
CA is a dimensionless shape factor whose value depends on reservoir
shape and well location as shown in Table 7.1. The dimensionless time,
tDA, is defined by:
0. 000263 7k)
tDA - - (~CtA t
(7.81)
wher e the drainage area, A, is expressed in ft 2 and produci ng time, t, is
in hours.
For pseudost eady state and Ap = 15 -- Pw, the dimensionless pressure
PD in Equation 7.78 is given by:
1 ( 2. 2458A)
PD- 5 In r2CA
(7.82)
RAD I AL F L OW S YS TEM S 445
For drainage areas wi t h mi xed out er boundar i es and Ap = Pe - Pw, t he
expr essi on for PD duri ng pseudost eady state is [22]:
1 [ 2. 2458A( 4f ) ]
PD = 2X(1 --f)tDA + ~l n r2CA
(7. 83 )
As not ed earlier, after an ext ended t i me of pr oduct i on at a const ant rate,
t he bot t om-hol e fl owi ng pressure, Pw, becomes a linear f unct i on of time.
A Cartesian pl ot of Pw vs. t i me shoul d yield a straight line wi t h sl ope m*.
For bounded drai nage areas:
m* = - 0.23 4qscBo (7. 84)
ctVp
wher e m* is expr essed in psi / hr. The por e vol ume of t he drai nage area,
Vp(ft3 ), is:
Vp = r -- xr2h(~ (7. 85)
Equation 7.84 is commonl y used to calculate t he por e vol ume, Vp, of a
bounded reservoir. For mi xed- boundar y systems, such as in reservoi rs
under t he i nfl uence of a partial wat er drive or in unbal anced i nj ect i on
pat t erns, t he pseudost eady-st at e fl ow regi me occur s only for small val ues
of t he drainage boundar y i ndex f. In this case, t he slope of t he straight
line por t i on t hat cor r esponds to pseudost eady state, m*, can be obtai-
ned from t he derivative of Equat i on 7.83 wi t h r espect to di mensi onl ess
t i me tDA"
apD t
= PO -- 2X(1 -- f) (7. 86)
~gtDA
Substituting for PD and tDA, and solving expl i ci t l y for m* = dp/ dt gives:
m* - - ( 0. 23 4qs cBo)
- - Ct Vp ( 1 - - f )
(7. 87)
Equat i on 7.87 can be used to calculate Vp if f is known from pr essur e
t ransi ent t est i ng [22]. If t he por e vol ume is known from ot her sources,
t hen Equation 7. 87 provi des a way to cal cul at e t he i ndex f. Not e t hat for
f = 0, i.e., t he drai nage boundar y is closed, Equat i ons 7.84 and 7. 87 are
identical. For t he rare case wher e f = 1, t he rate of change of pr essur e
wi t h time, dp/ dt , is zero, and steady-state fl ow becomes t he domi nant
regime.
The di mensi onl ess pr essur e of a wel l pr oduci ng at a const ant rate in t he
infinite-acting por t i on of t he pr essur e vs. t i me curve, i.e., duri ng unst eady
state, is appr oxi mat ed by:
1 ( 92x 1 0 kt )
PD -- ~l n r 2
(7. 88)
In this case, t he pr essur e drop, Ap, in Equation 7. 78 is actually ( Pi - - Pw),
wher e Pi is t he initial reservoi r pressure. Equat i on 7. 88 is appl i cabl e onl y
if (0. 000263 7 kt/r 2) > 100.
EXAMPLE
A Cartesian pl ot of pr essur e data r ecor ded duri ng a const ant rate wel l
test in a wat er dri ven oil reservoi r yi el ded a pseudost eady-st at e straight
line wi t h sl ope - 0 . 2 6 psi / hr. Ot her per t i nent reservoi r and wel l data
i ncl ude t he following:
A = 7.72 acres
h = 49f t
r = 0.23
qsc = 3 50 STB/D
B0 = 1.13 6 bbl/STB
CE -- 17 x 1 0 - 6 ps i - 1
Det er mi ne t he drai nage boundar y i ndex f. Is t he pr essur e at t he
drai nage boundar y constant?
SOLUTION
The drai nage boundar y i ndex f is cal cul at ed from a r ear r anged form of
Equation 7.87:
Ct Vp ] m*
f - - 1 + 0.23 4qscBo
(7. 89)
wher e t he drai nage por e vol ume is:
Vp - - Ah ~- 7.72 43 , 560 49 0.23 = 3 .79 x 106 ft 3
The boundar y i ndex is:
I 17 x 106 3 . 79 x 10- 61
f - 1 + 0. 23 4 x 3 50 x 1.13 6 (--0. 26) = 0.82
RADIAL LAMINAR FLOW OF GAS 447
si nce f < 1, t he pr essur e at t he drai nage boundar y is not const ant because
ei t her t he wat er drive is not very st rong or onl y a fract i on of t he reservoi r
boundar y is open to wat er drive.
RADIAL LAMINAR FLOW OF GAS
Three appr oaches are available for descri bi ng gas fl ow t hr ough
por ous rock.
(1) If t he reservoi r pr essur e is hi gh (15 > 3 000 psia), t he radial fl ow
equat i ons of t he pr evi ous section, even t hough t hey wer e devel oped
strictly for t he case of liquid flow, can be used to analyze gas fl ow by
convert i ng gas fl ow rates from SCF/D to STB/D and cal cul at i ng t he
format i on vol ume fact or in bbl/SCF from:
zT
Bg-- 0. 00504 ~ (7. 90)
P
wher e t he gas devi at i on fact or z is est i mat ed at t he average reservoi r
pr essur e 15 , and t he reservoi r t emper at ur e T is expr essed in ~ Using
this pr ocedur e can lead to large errors under cert ai n condi t i ons,
as t he diffusivity equat i on descri bi ng liquid fl ow in por ous rock
(Equat i on 7.53 ) was deri ved on t he assumpt i on t hat small pr essur e
gradi ent s are negligible. In l ow-permeabi l i t y gas reservoirs, however ,
t hese gradi ent s can be consi derabl y high.
(2) If t he average reservoi r pr essur e is l ow (15 < 2000 psia), t he radial
gas-flow equat i ons can be deri ved in t erms of t he pressure-squared
funct i on, p2. This classical appr oach is di scussed in t he next section.
(3 ) If t he reservoi r pr essur e is i nt er medi at e (2000 < 15 < 3 000 psia), t he
real gas pseudopr essur e funct i on, m(p), is mor e accur at e t han
t he pressure or t he pressure-squared approach. Actually, in tight
gas format i ons t he m( p) appr oach must be used, especially if
t he reservoi r is pr oduced at hi gh rates. This f unct i on is defi ned
as [26, 27]:
m( p ) - 2 dp (7. 91)
b ~(P)z(P)
wher e Pb is an arbitrary base pressure, and m( p) is expr essed in
psi2/cP. Equation 7.91 onl y account s for changes in kt and z, and
fails to correct for changes in gas compressibility, c, and ki net i c
energy. When t he real gas pseudopr essur e is used, t he diffusivity
equat i on (7.54) becomes:
aZm(p) 1 ~gm(p) r ~gm(p)
= (7. 92)
dr 2 r ~r k at
The steady- or pseudost eady-st at e sol ut i ons of this diffusivity equat i on
can be obt ai ned usi ng essentially t he same mat hemat i cal pr ocedur e as
t hat used to solve Equat i on 7.54 for t he fl ow of i ncompr essi bl e fluids.
Thus, Equat i on 7. 77 is equi val ent to:
kh[m(f)) - m(pw)]
qsc = (7. 93 )
1,422T[ln (0. 472re/ rw) + 0. 25f + s)]
wher e: qsc = gas fl ow rate at Tsc - - 60~ and Psc = 14.7 psia, MSCF/D.
k = permeabi l i t y, mD.
h = t hi ckness of format i on, ft.
T = absol ut e reservoi r t emper at ur e, ~
re = drai nage radius, ft.
rw = wel l bor e radius, ft.
f = drai nage boundar y i ndex, di mensi onl ess.
s = total skin factor, di mensi onl ess.
m(pw), m(l~) = real gas pseudopr essur e at t he wel l pr essur e and t he
average reservoi r pressure, respect i vel y, psi2/cp.
The real gas pseudopr essur e t erms at any pressure, m(p), can be obt ai ned
from publ i shed tables or by numeri cal i nt egrat i on (t rapezoi dal rule)
[26, 28]. p also can be conver t ed to m( p) by pl ot t i ng t he gr oup 2p/~tgZ
vs. p on a Cartesian graph. This gr oup is cal cul at ed for several values of
p usi ng exper i ment al values of ~tg and z. The area under t he curve from
any conveni ent r ef er ence pressure, general l y zero, to p is t he value of
m( p) cor r espondi ng to p.
The m( p) appr oach is t heoret i cal l y a bet t er met hod t han p and p2
appr oaches because it is valid for all pr essur e ranges, especially duri ng
t he unst eady-st at e fl ow regi me whe n ~tg and z may vary consi derabl y.
I nasmuch as onl y t he radial flows of gas duri ng t he steady and pseudo-
st eady states are consi dered, all t he gas-flow equat i ons in t he r emai nder
of this chapt er will be expr essed in t erms of t he pressure-squared
appr oach, and ~tg and z will be assumed to remai n const ant at t he average
reservoi r pressure. Several appr oaches are available in t he literature for
deri vi ng radial gasfl ow equat i ons duri ng t he steady-state fl ow regi me
[27-29]. By t reat i ng nat ural gas as a hi ghl y compr essi bl e fluid, radial fl ow
equat i ons may be devel oped by combi ni ng Darcy' s l aw (assumi ng l ami nar
flow):
k 0p
v - (7. 94)
~tg Or
RADIAL LAMINAR FLOW OF GAS 4 4 9
the continuity equation:
1 0 / ) p
r 0 - ( p r y ) -- r 0t (7. 95)
r
and the equation of state for real gas:
Mp
p -- (7. 96)
RT z
Assuming Cg is approxi mat el y equal to l / p, the diffusivity equat i on
describing the real gas flow in cylindrical porous and permeabl e rock is:
O2p 2 10p 2 t~ktgCg ap 2
+ = (7. 97)
ar 2 r ar k at
wher e gtg is estimated at the average reservoir pressure 15. This differential
equation has essentially the same form as the diffusivity Equation 7.54,
whi ch was derived for i ncompressi bl e fluids, except that the dependent
variable, p, has been repl aced by p2. This similarity suggests that t he
solutions to Equation 7.97 also will be of t he same form as those for
Equation 7.54.
Real gas-flow equat i ons differ from i ncompressi bl e fluid flow equat i ons
because t he gas-flow rate, q, varies wi t h pressure due to the compressi-
bility of gas. To make t he wel l bore flow rate a constant, let:
q - qscBg (7. 98)
wher e q and qsc are expressed, respectively, in bbl / D and MSCF/D, and
the gas formation vol ume factor is defined by Equation 7.90 in bbl/SCF.
Thus:
Z
q - ( 5 . 0 4Tq s c ) - (7.99)
P
the volumetric flow rate, in bbl/D, at any radius in the reservoir, accordi ng
to Darcy' s law, wher e the permeability is expressed in mD, is:
(r P)
qr -- 0 . 0 0 70 8~
gtg \ dr
(7.100)
If Equations 7.99 and 7.100 are substituted in Equation 7.65 and t he
variables separated, one obtains:
[1 - ( 1 -f)r~e~]dr-- -- ( l ' 40 4x l O- 3 k h ) p d p
r Tqs c gtgZ
(7.101)
If one assumes ~g and z remai n const ant at t he average reservoi r pr essur e
and i nt egrat i ng bet ween rw and re, wher e t he pr essur es are Pw and Pe,
one finds:
rfrwe I r~e22]dr ( 1 " 40 4 l O- 3 k h ) fp pe
1 - ( l - f ) - - = p d p
r qscktg zT w
(7. 102)
It can be s hown from Equat i on 7. 102 t hat for re >> rw t he vol umet ri c flow
rat e at st andard condi t i ons, i ncl udi ng t he skin fact or s, is as follows:
(Pe - p w )
qsc -- (7. 103 )
1,422~tgzT(ln (re/ r w) - 0.50(1 - f) + s)
The analysis of this equat i on wi t h r espect to f is similar to t hat of
Equat i on 7. 66 for i ncompr essi bl e fluids, i.e., if f = 1, t he gas reservoi r
is under t he influence of a full active wat er drive and t he domi nant
fl ow regi me is t he steady-state; if f = 1, t hen t he reservoi r is bounded
and, t herefore, t he domi nant fl ow regi me is t he pseudost eady state.
Equat i on 7. 103 can, of course, be used to det er mi ne t he st r engt h of
t he wat er drive, f, if t he pr oduci ng rate and pr essur e are known.
If t he ext ernal pressure, Pe, is not known, an equat i on similar to
Equation 7.65 can be deri ved by expr essi ng this equat i on in t erms of
t he reservoi r pr essur e p at any radius r:
E( w )
1,422gtgzTqsc In r - 0.50(1 - f) + s (7. 104)
P= p2w+ kh
If t he above expr essi on is subst i t ut ed in Equation 7. 58 and i nt egrat i on
is carri ed out bet ween t wo radii rw and re, one obt ai nsmaf t er some
algebraic mani pul at i onsmt he fol l owi ng equat i on for qsc:
kh(152 -- p2w)
qsc = (7. 105)
1,422ktgzT(ln (re/rw) - 0. 75 + 0. 25f + s)
A useful rel at i onshi p bet ween t he ext ernal boundar y pr essur e and t he
average reservoi r pressure can be obt ai ned by equat i ng Equations 7. 103
and 7.105, and solving for Pe:
[
Pe - f)2 + 0. 702 X l O- 3 kh 4 (7. 106)
The value of t he wat er drive (or drai nage boundar y) i ndex is significant
only if t he pet r ol eum reservoi r is small, especially whe n f -- O. 50.
RADIAL LAMINAR FLOW OF GAS 451
For ot her well locations inside cl osed (or bounded) drai nage area
shapes ( f - 0), t he general form of Equation 7.105 is:
k h ( O 2 -
qsc = (7. 107)
1,4221.tgzT[ln(r' /rw) + s]
' is given by Equation 7.64c. wher e r e
EXAMPLE
A well is pr oduci ng 275 MSCF/D from a gas reservoi r under t he
i nfl uence of a partial wat er drive wi t h an i ndex of 0.5. Calculate
t he weUbore pressure and t he pr essur e at t he drainage boundary. The
following reservoi r and fluid pr oper t i es are known:
~t g - - 0. 03 5 cP k -- 5 mD
z -- 0.95 h - - 3 5 ft
T -- 13 0~ re -- 2, 640 ft
t3 -- 2,720 psia rw -- 0.5 ft
s - - O
Swi - 17%
~- - 12%
SOLUTION
The wel l bore pressure can be obt ai ned from Equation 7 . 1 0 5 :
Pw -- [t3 2 - m( l n ( r ~) - 0.75 + 0. 25f ) ] 0"5
where:
ITI m
qscl.tgzT
0. 702 x l O- 3 kh
Substituting t he values of t he fluid and reservoi r pr oper t i es gives:
(275)(0. 03 5)(0. 95)(460 + 13 0)
m- = 43 , 895
(0.702 10-3 )(5)(3 5)
and:
pw _ [2,7202 (43 ,895) ( i n ( 2 , 640 ) 3
0 . 5
0.25 o.5
- - 2,655 psia
452 P E T ROP HYS I CS " RE S E RVOI R ROCK P ROP E RT I E S
The pressure at t he drainage boundary is obt ai ned from Equation 7.106:
0.5
Pe =[ 2 ' 72 0 2 +( 43 ' 89 5 ) ( 1 +0 " 5 ) ] 4 - - 2, 723 ps i a
whi ch is only 3 psia hi gher than t he average reservoir pressure.
TURBULENT FLOW OF GAS
As t he velocity of the gas flowing t hr ough t he porous rock is increased,
i.e., t he well is pr oduced at hi gher flow rate, deviation from Darcy' s
law is observed. Various expl anat i ons for this deviation are pr esent ed
in t he literature [3 0-45]. The generally accept ed expl anat i on of this
phenomenon is attributed to Wright, who demonst rat ed that, at very
high velocities, the deviation from Darcy' s law is due to inertial effects
followed by t urbul ent effects [28, 3 2]. Actually, this phenomenon was
observed by Reynolds in 1901 for flow in pi pes [3 5]. Hubbert demon-
strated that the transition from laminar flow to t urbul ent flow in por ous
media covers a wi de range of flow rates [3 6].
LINEAR TURBULENT FLOW
The quadrangle relationship suggest ed by Forchhei mer is generally
found to be accept abl e for expressi ng fluid flow under bot h laminar
and t urbul ent conditions [41]. For horizontal, steady-state flow, this
equation is:
dp ktgV
= + ~pv 2 (7. 108)
dL k
where: p - pressure, atm.
L -- length, cm.
ktg = viscosity of fluid, cP.
k -- permeability, Darcy.
v -- velocity, cm/ sec.
p -- density of fluid, g/ cm 3 .
- t urbul ence or non-Darcy factor, atm-sec2/g.
If ~ is given in atm-secX/g use t he following expressi on to convert it
to f t - l :
_ atm - sec 2 )
~( ft-1 ) ~( g x 3 .0889 x 106
TURBULENT FLOW OF GAS 453
For gases, Katz et al. expressed Equation 7.108 in terms of the mass
flow rate, qm, because the mass flow rate is a constant when the
cross-sectional area, A, is constant, permitting integration of Forchhei mer
equation [3 5]. Let
qm -- Pq = pvA (7.1 09)
wher e p is the density of the fluid and q is the volumetric flow rate.
If the equation of state for real gases (Equation 7.96) is substituted in
Equation 7.109, the mass flow rate is:
(pM)
qm- - ~ vA (7.110)
Solving for v and substituting in Equation 7.108 gives:
dp RT[ g q m qm 2]
dL = pM kA +~( - - A)
(7.111)
If the variables are separated and integration is carried out over the length
of the porous body, such as a core of length L and wher e the inlet and
outlet pressures are Pl and P2, respectively, one obtains:
M fpp2 [Q,~G~m ( qm) 2] foL
~RT - - p dp = + ~ - ~ dL (7.112)
1
The gas deviation factor 5. is kept outside the integrand because it is
assumed to remain constant at the average pressure 15 , whi ch is equal to
( Pl + p2)/2. The integration gives:
M(p 2 - p22)A
2f~RTQgL
( ~) 2 ( 1 )
= A#-----~ q m+ ~ qm
(7.113 )
In practical oilfield units, Equation 7.113 can be wri t t en as follows"
( 1. 254 176 ( TzTg ) 1
A 2 ~qXm + 11.9 x lO-SA ~q m-
p2 _ p 2
=0
(7.114)
wher e ?g is the specific gas gravity.
Cornell used Equation 7.113 to evaluate the permeability, k, and
non-Darcy factor, ~ for a large number of core samples from a variety of
rocks by dividing the left-hand side of Equation 7.113 by qm and plotting
<
A
Q.
I
Ck
:E
o )
O
O"
_J
: r
I - -
n.
N
0 4 P o r o s i t y = 1 5 . 8 %
K = 2 5 0 d
/ 3 = 3 . 0 9 x 1 0 7 f t - 1
3 . 0 4 . 0 0 1. 0 2 . 0
q
A#
Figure 7.8. Eval uat i on of ~ and ~.
it against qm/Agtg, as s hown in Figure 7.8 [3 7]. Equat i on 7. 113 may be
wr i t t en in t he general form:
1
Yck -- ~Xck + _ (7. 115a)
K
whe r e Yck (at m-sec/ cm2-cp) is gi ven by:
M(p 2 - p2)A
Yck -- (7. 115b)
2zRT~gLqm
and t he variable Xck(g/ cm2-sec-cP) is:
qm
Xck -- (7. 115c)
A~g
The subscr i pt ck st ands for Cornell-Katz. Equat i on 7. 115a pl ot s as a
st rai ght line, wi t h sl ope b and i nt er cept 1/k. Such a pl ot can be used
to est i mat e t he non-Darcy fl ow coefficient, as wel l as t he per meabi l i t y
of t he sampl e. This appar ent per meabi l i t y must be cor r ect ed for t he
Kl i nkenber g effect to obt ai n t he absol ut e per meabi l i t y as expl ai ned
in t he Appendi x especi al l y at very l ow pressures. At hi gh pressure,
t he Kl i nkenber g effect is negligible. Figure 7.9 is a log-log pl ot of t he
t ur bul ence fact or versus permeabi l i t y, whi ch can be used to est i mat e
knowi ng k for any reservoir:
4.11 1 01 ~
-- k4/3 (7. 116a)
TU RB U L EN T F L OW OF G AS 455
1013
1 0 1 2
7
4~
1011
Poros i ty Li ne s of
Jani ce k & Ka t z
e L
9 D
Li ne us e d t o corre l at e da t a
, D
10 8
D- Do l o mi t e
L- Li m e s t one
S- Sands t one
S 9
1 0 %
' e D
1 0 r
0 . 0 1 0 . 1 1 1 0 1 0 0
k, MI I I i da r cy
Figure 7.9. Correlation of ~ wi t h ~ and f.
1 0 0 0
Figure 7.9 also shows a cor r el at i on of ~ wi t h por osi t y and per meabi l i t y
for car bonat e and sandst one reservoi rs. A r easonabl e est i mat i on of t he
non-Darcy fl ow coefficient, ~ (ft -1), can be obt ai ned from t he f ol l owi ng
equat i on [3 4]"
4. 85 104
-- ( 7. 116b)
r
wher e: k - average permeabi l i t y, mD.
-- porosi t y, fraction.
Using exper i ment al fl ow dat a on consol i dat ed and unconsol i dat ed sand-
st one, car bonat e, and dol omi t e cor e sampl es, Liu and Civan obt ai ned
a cor r el at i on of [3 (ft - 1) wi t h r espect to per meabi l i t y (mD), por osi t y
(fraction), and t ort uosi t y x [3 8]"
8.91 x 108z
I] - - ( 7 . 1 1 6 c )
Ok
Experi ment al and t heoret i cal wor k of Firoozabadi, Thomas, and Todd
clearly shows that:
(a) changes in fluid pr oper t i es over t he l engt h of t he por ous syst em
do not account for t he i nadequacy of Darcy' s l aw at hi gh-vel oci t y
flow, and
(b) t he non-Darcy or high-velocity fl ow coeffi ci ent ~ is a f unct i on of
rock pr oper t i es and does not depend on t he l engt h of t he por ous
syst em [45 ].
It is i mpor t ant to emphasi ze t hat t he values of ~ obt ai ned from
Figure 7.9 and Equations 7. 116a- c are onl y appr oxi mat i ons. The non-
Darcy fl ow coefficient ~ is best det er mi ned from l aborat ory measure-
ment s on cores obt ai ned from t he gas reservoi r of interest. Values of
measur ed on several core sampl es obt ai ned from di fferent layers need to
be averaged as follows before bei ng appl i ed in radial fl ow equat i ons:
E(~iki3 fi)
[~-- ~--~(kifi) 2 x ~( ki f i )
(7. 116d)
wher e fi is t he fraction of t he total cross-sectional area or hei ght of t he
core pl ug associ at ed wi t h t he ith layer of hei ght hi, or expr essed,
mat hemat i cal l y, fi = hi / hT, wher e hT is t he total t hi ckness. Jones' original
equat i on for calculating ~ did not i ncl ude t he t er m Y~ kifi, whi ch is
actually t he average permeabi l i t y [3 3 ].
EXAMPLE
1. Det er mi ne t he average or effective non-Darcy fl ow coeffi ci ent of a
two-layer gas reservoir, knowi ng t he fol l owi ng data.
Lay e r k (m D) , [3 (ft - 1) h (ft )
1 3 5.6 0.166 5.22 x 108 10
2 155 0.13 8 3 .75 107 15
2. In t he absence of lab-derived values of ~, whi ch of t he correl at i ons
woul d have been appl i cabl e in this reservoir?
SOLUTION
1. The fraction f is 10/25 -- 0. 40 in layer 1, and 15/25 -- 0. 60 in layer 2.
The summat i on t erms in Equat i on 7. 116d are"
E ~ik3 fi = 5.22 108 3 5.63 0. 40 + 3 .75 101 1553 0. 60
= 93 .2 1012
TURB UL EN T F L OW OF GAS 457
~( k i f i ) 2 = (3 5. 6 x 0. 40) 2 + (155 x 0. 60) 2
= 8851. 77
kifi = k = 3 5. 6 x 0. 40 + 155 x 0. 60
= 107. 24 mD
Fr om Equat i on 7. 116d, t he aver age non- Dar cy f l ow coef f i ci ent is:
= 93 . 2 1012 - - 9. 82 x 107ft - 1
8851. 77 x 107. 24
2. The ar i t hmet i c aver age por os i t y of t he t wo l ayers is ( 0. 166 +
0. 13 8) / 2 = 0. 152, and t he aver age per meabi l i t y is 107. 24 mD.
Subst i t ut i ng t hese val ues i nt o Equat i ons 7. 116a and b, we find,
r espect i vel y:
4.11 101~
-- = 8 107 ft -1
(107. 24)4/ 3
4. 85 x 10 4
-- = 14. 8 107 ft -1
0.1525.5 x ~/ 107. 24
The val ue of ~ obt ai ned f r om Equat i on 7. 116a c ompa r e s wel l wi t h t he
l ab-deri ved ~.
EXAMPLE
A cons ol i dat ed sand cor e 2 c m in di amet er and 5 c m l ong has a
per meabi l i t y of 225 mD and a por os i t y of 20%. Air at 75~ is i nj ect ed i nt o
t hi s core. The i nl et pr es s ur e is 1 O0 psi a and t he out l et pr es s ur e 14. 7 psia.
The vi scosi t y of air is 0. 02 cP, and t he compr es s i bi l i t y is a s s ume d t o be
equal t o 1.0. Cal cul at e t he mass f l ow rat e.
SOLUTION
The mass f l ow rat e for air can be cal cul at ed f r om Equat i on 7. 113 . Let
a ~
~gA
1
b ~
k
- M A( p~ - p~ )
C- - "
2zRTktgL
Thus , Equa t i on 7. 113 b e c o me s :
aqZm + bqm + c - 0
Thi s is, of c our s e , a qua dr a t i c e q u a t i o n wi t h t wo s ol ut i ons : one ne ga t i ve
a nd one pos i t i ve. I n a s mu c h as t he ne ga t i ve val ue has no phys i c a l me a n-
i ng, t he s ol ut i on is"
1
qm -- ~a a [ - b + ( b2 - 4ac) ~
For k -- 225 mD a nd O = 20% t he val ue of ~ f r om Equa t i on 7. 116a is
3 x 1 0 7 f t - 1 . In l a bor a t or y uni t s [gc = 1, 013 , 420( g - cm)/(atm/cmZ)(s2)],
[3 is e qua l to:
3 x 1 0 7
( 2. 54) ( 12) ( 1, 013 , 420)
-- 0. 97 at m- s ec 2/ g
The cr os s - s ect i onal ar ea is e qua l to:
A = (x)(22) = 3 . 14 c m 2
4
The o t h e r var i abl es i n l a bor a t or y uni t s f or qm i n g/ s are"
M -- 29 g/ g- mol e.
~tg- 0. 02 cP.
R- 82. 06 c m3 - a t m/ ( g- mol e ) (~
T -- 297. 2~
L- - 5 c m.
p21 _ p2 _ 6. 802 _ 1= 45. 28 a t m 2.
k -- 0. 225 Dar cy.
The val ues of t he c ons t a nt s a, b, a nd c ar e
0. 97
a -- = 15. 44
( 0. 02) ( 3 . 14)
1
b - = 4. 44
0. 225
( 29) ( 3 . 14) ( 45. 28)
c = = - 0 . 85
( 2) ( 1) ( 82. 06) ( 297. 2) ( 0. 02) ( 5)
Thus , t he e q u a t i o n de s c r i bi ng t he ma s s f l ow r at e t h r o u g h t he c or e is:
15.44qZm + 4. 44qm - 0. 85 -- 0
TURBUL EN T F L OW OF GAS 459
and qm is equal to:
q m " ~
1
(2)(15. 44) { - 4. 44 + [4.442 + (4)(15. 44)(0. 85)] 0.5 } -- 0. 13 gs
To change this mass fl ow rat e to vol umet r i c f l ow rate, whi ch is mor e
commonl y used, t he densi t y of t he fluid at some pr essur e must be
cal cul at ed and t he mass fl ow di vi ded by t he fluid density. At an average
pr essur e 15 = (100 + 14. 7)12 = 57. 3 5 psia or 3 .9 atm, t he densi t y of
t he fluid [p = Mp/zRT] is equal to:
(29)(3 .9) = 4. 64 x 10 -3 g
P -- (1)(82. 06)(297. 2) cm 3
and t he vol umet r i c fl ow rate, q, at t he average pr essur e is equal to:
0. 13 cm 3
q - - 4. 64x 10 -3 =2 8 s
FRICTION FACTOR OF POROUS ROCKS
In fl ow of fluids in pi pes, it is i mpor t ant to know if t he fl ow is l ami nar
or t urbul ent . The l ami nar fl ow r egi me is domi nant if t he fluids move
al ong s moot h st reaml i nes parallel to t he wal l of t he pi pe. The vel oci t y
of t he fl owi ng fluid is virtually const ant in t i me dur i ng l ami nar flow. The
t ur bul ent fl ow r egi me is domi nant if t he fluid vel oci t y at any poi nt in
t he pi pe varies r andoml y wi t h time. The di fferences be t we e n t hese t wo
fl ow regi mes wer e first i nvest i gat ed by Reynolds. His exper i ment al and
t heoret i cal wor k s howed t hat t he nat ur e of t he fl ow r egi me in pi pes
depends on t he Reynol ds numbe r (Re = Dvp/~t), whe r e D is t he pi pe
inside di amet er. In engi neer i ng pr act i ces if:
(a) Re < 2,100, fl ow is in t he l ami nar regi on,
Co) 2, 100 < Re < 4, 000, t he nat ur e of t he fl ow r egi me is unpr edi ct abl e,
i.e., fl ow passed t hr ough a t ransi t i on r egi on in whi ch bot h l ami nar
and t ur bul ent fl ow regi mes can be pr esent , and
(c) Re > 4,000, t he fl ow is fully t urbul ent .
The fl ow of gas in very r ough pi pes can be consi der ed fully t ur bul ent
because gas flows at hi gh vel oci t i es and t her ef or e hi gh Re. Di mensi onl ess
analysis of ener gy loss in pi pe fl ow of gas led to t he concept of t he fri ct i on
factor. Moody s howed t hat t he fri ct i on factor, 2DAp/ pLv 2, whe r e L is
t he pi pe l engt h, is a f unct i on of Re and t he relative r oughness of t he pi pe
[43 ]. Using a similar appr oach, Cornel l and Katz i nvest i gat ed t he fl ow
10000
1000
t , .
q , , , Q'
100
10
0.01 0.1 1
Re pr
1 0
Figure 7.10. Friction factor for porous rock[40].
100
of gas t hr ough por ous medi a in t er ms of t he Reynol ds n u mb e r and t he
fri ct i on f act or [40]. They f ound t hat in or de r t o anal yze t he gas f l ow rat e
in por ous medi a at ver y hi gh vel oci t i es, i.e., unde r t he t ur bul ent f l ow
r egi me, t he fri ct i on f act or mus t be pl ot t ed ver sus Reynol ds numbe r ,
Re, as s h o wn in Fi gure 7. 10. The f r i ct i on f act or of a por ous r ock is
equal to:
64gcp( pl - P2) A 2 ( 7. 117)
fpr -- ~Lq2 m
wh e r e t he subscr i pt pr st ands for por ous rocks, and
gc -- conver s i on fact or, 3 2. 17 Ibm - ft / (l bf)(s2).
p -- fluid densi t y, Ibm/ ft . 3
p = pr essur e, l bf / f t x.
A = cr oss- sect i onal area, ft 2.
-- t ur bul e nc e fact or, f t - 1.
L -- l engt h of flow, ft.
q m- mass f l ow rat e, lbm/s.
f p r - - f r i ct i on fact or, di mensi onl ess.
TURBULENT FLOW OF GAS 461
Using t he same units, t he Reynolds number of a por ous rock is equal to:
~kqm
Repr = 6.3 3 x 101~ (7. 118)
wher e t he permeabi l i t y k is expr essed in mD and t he viscosity in cP. The
por ous medi a Reynolds number , Repr, is unitless.
Figure 7.10 shows t hree regi ons [40]:
(a) for Repr < 0.08, t he curve is a straight line of slope equal to - 1 ;
(laminar flow)
(b) a transition regi on for 0. 08 < Repr < 8; and
(c) a hori zont al line for Repr > 8. ( t ur bul ent flow)
It is i mpor t ant to not e that t he unit-slope line and t he hori zont al line
i nt er cept at Repr = 1. The exi st ence of a straight line for small Reynol ds
number s indicates that t he pressure drop (Pl --P2) for a gi ven por ous
medi um is directly pr opor t i onal to t he flow rate (qm), and that t he l ami nar
flow regi me is domi nant . Darcy' s l aw is appl i cabl e duri ng this por t i on
of t he curve only because t he magni t ude of t he gr oup of t er ms (~pv 2)
in Equation 7. 108 is t oo small to be det ect ed in exper i ment al data [42].
As t he flow rate i ncreases and Repr becomes larger, t he t ur bul ent flow
regi me becomes increasingly domi nant . The hori zont al por t i on of t he
fpr-VS.-Repr curve cor r esponds to t he so-called non-Darcy flow, or fully
t ur bul ent flow regime. Katz and Lee and Firoozabadi and Katz suggest ed
abandoni ng t he concept of Darcy and non-Darcy flow [42, 44]. They
r ecommended t he use of viscous Darcy flow" to descri be t he flow regi me
observed at l ow flow rates, and for hi gh vel oci t y flow to use "quadrat i c
Darcy flow." Viscous Darcy flow t heoret i cal l y occurs only whe n t he flow
rate is infinitely small [44].
EXAMPLE
Solve t he previ ous exampl e using t he friction factor plot for por ous
and per meabl e rock (Figure 7.10).
SOLUTION
The variables have to be conver t ed to t he units used to derive
Equations 7. 117 and 7.118, whi ch wer e used to generat e t he log-log pl ot
of fpr-VS.-Rer. Thus, from t he previ ous exampl e,
J ] - - 3 x 107 ft -1.
A- 3 . 5/ 3 0. 482 -- 3 .767 x 10 -3 ft 2.
p -- (4.64 10-3 )(3 0. 483 / 453 . 6) = 0. 29 l b/ ft 3 .
L -- 5/ 3 0. 48 -- O. 164 ft.
Ap -- 85. 3 p s i - 85. 8 x 1 44- 12, 283 psf ( or lb/ft2).
The Reynol ds n u mb e r and t he fri ct i on f act or are:
(3 107)(225)qm
Re p r - (6. 3 3 x 101~ x 10- 3 ) ( 0. 02)
f pr
= 1, 415. 3 8 qm
( 64) ( 3 2. 17) ( 0. 29) ( 12, 283 ) ( 3 . 767 x 10- 3 ) 2
( 7. 119)
(3 x 107)(0. 164)q 2
2. 115 x 10 - 5
= ( 7. 120)
A t ri al -and-error me t hod is neces s ar y to sol ve for t he f l ow rate. The cor r ect
val ue of qm is such t hat t he cal cul at ed val ues of Repr and fpr behave
accor di ng t o t he fpr-vs-Repr cur ve in Fi gure 7. 10. A pr act i cal first guess
is Repr = 1. Fr om Equat i ons 7. 119 and 7. 120, fpr = 42. 3 for Repr -- 1.
However , for Re p r - 1, Fi gure 7. 10 gi ves fpr = 120. Aft er several trials,
it de t e r mi ne d t hat Re pr - - 0. 48 and f pr - 182 are cor r ect ; t hus, qm =
3 . 40 x 10 - 4 l b/ sec or 0. 158 g/ sec, whi c h is appr oxi mat el y t he same val ue
obt ai ned f r om Equat i on 7. 116.
Thi s t ri al -and-error me t hod can be si mpl i fi ed by usi ng Ti ab' s
cor r el at i ons rel at i ng t he fri ct i on f act or di r ect l y to t he Reynol ds n u mb e r
[45]. Thes e cor r el at i ons are based on a l arge n u mb e r of dat a of fpr and
Repr pr e s e nt e d by Cornel l and Katz for var i ous sandst ones, dol omi t es
and l i mest ones (Fi gure 7. 10) [40]"
(a) For Repr < 0. 08
63 . 5
f p r - Repr
( 7. 121)
(b) For 0. 08 < Repr < 8
fpr - - e3 1423 + 1.753 4Rep ~176
( 7. 122)
(c) For Repr > 8
fpr -- 63 . 5 ( 7. 123 )
TURBUL EN T F L OW OF GAS 46 3
J1 - -
A gener al formul a t hat cover s t he l ami nar and t ur bul ent fl ow regi mes,
and t he t ransi t i on r ange in be t we e n is"
fpr e 3"5528 + 1"4253 Re-~ ( 7. 1 24)
Equat i on 7. 122 has a ma xi mum er r or of 1%. Equat i on 7. 124 has a
maxi mum er r or of 5%.
I nasmuch as t he r ange of Reynol ds numbe r is not known until t he fl ow
t est is compl et ed, t he gener al i zed cor r el at i on (Equat i on 7. 124) must be
used first to est i mat e t he mass fl ow rate, qm. Subst i t ut i ng Equat i ons 7. 117
and 7. 118 into Equat i on 7. 124, one can deri ve t he fol l owi ng relations:
+ 1.4253 (J2qm)~ + 1n( 3 3 " 115~ - 0 - J ( q m) (7. 125) l n(q 2)
\ , / J 1
wher e:
64gcpA2Ap
~L (7. 125a)
and:
[ 3k
J2 -- ( 7. 125b)
6. 3 3 lOl~
The mass fl ow rate is det er mi ned from t he fol l owi ng pr ocedur e:
(1) Assume several val ues of Reynol ds numbe r Repr in t he range of
0.01 to 100, and cal cul at e t he cor r es pondi ng val ues of qm f r om
Equat i on 7. 118.
(2) Calculate val ues of t he f unct i on J(qm) usi ng Equat i on 7. 125, whi c h
has a maxi mum er r or of 5%.
(3 ) Plot J(qm) vs. qm on a semi l og gr aph (qm is on t he log-axis).
(4) The cor r ect val ue of t he mass fl ow rat e qm cor r es ponds to J ( q m) = 0
on t he graph, as s hown in Figure 7.11.
(5) For mor e accur acy - i.e., less t han 1% er r or in t he val ue of qm -
cal cul at e Repr, whi ch cor r es ponds to qm obt ai ned in Step 4 usi ng
Equat i on 7. 118.
(6) If this value of Repr is less t han 0.08, t hen use t he fol l owi ng equat i on
to cal cul at e a ne w val ue of qm:
qm -- (5. 122 x l Ol ~ gtg L
(7. 126)
Equat i on 7. 126 is Darcy' s law, whi ch can be der i ved by subst i t ut i ng
Equat i ons 7. 117 and 7. 118 i nt o Equat i on 7. 121.
J(q
6 - It i ! '
4 [ . . . . -
t l ; i , i , , i i . , ! i i i ! i ,
t 1 1 ' ~ ' I
m ) 0 - - - ~ i I
- 2 : I , ; l e ~ - - d- - - - l q m' ~ 1 76 1 76 1 76 ~ , F T - - - ! , i : -
[ L ] i L L ~ __~ ] II! 7- ~ 2_ . . . . . ~
I V - r~ l ~ ~ ' 1
1 E- 5 1 E- 4 1 E- 3 1 E- 2
q
m
Fi g u r e 7. 1 1 . Semilog pl ot of J( qm) vs. mass f l ow rate.
(7) If the value of Repr obtained in Step 5 is greater than 8, the following
equation should be used to calculate a more accurate value of the
mass flow rate:
~p
A2Ap
qm -- 5.7 ~L
(7.127)
Equation 7.127 can be derived by substituting Equation 7.117 into
Equation 7.123 , whi ch corresponds to the so-called fully turbulent
flow regime.
(8) If the Reynolds number obtained in Step 5 is in the range of 0.08,
repeat Steps 1 through 4 using the following expressions for the
function J(qm):
J ( q m) - I n( q2) + l'753 4(J2qm)-0"2805 + 1n( 23 " 157) - O J 1
(7.128)
Equation 7.128 can be derived by substituting Equations 7.117 and
7.118 into Equation 7.125. The terms J 1 and J2 are given by Equations
7.125a and 7.125b, respectively.
EXAMPLE
Calculate the mass flow rate for the core flow test in the example on
page 449 using the above procedure.
TU RB U L EN T F L OW OF GAS 465
SOLUTION
The values of J1 and J2 are first cal cul at ed from Equations 7. 125a and
b, respectively. By substituting values of ]3, A, 9, L, and Ap, one finds:
J1 - 2.115 x 10 -5
and:
J2 = 1415. 3 8
Substituting t hese values of J1 and J2 into Equation 7.125, one obt ai ns
t he following expressi on for t he funct i on J(qm):
J(qm) - ln(q 2) + 1. 4253 (1415. 3 0qm) -~ + 14. 263 8
(7. 129)
Table 7.2 shows t he assumed values of Repr and t he cor r espondi ng
values of qm from Equation 7.118, or:
Repr
qm -- (7. 13 0)
J2
Table 7.2 also shows t he values of t he funct i on J(qm) obt ai ned from
Equation 7.129. A semilog plot of J(qm) vs. qm, as shown in Figure 7.11,
yields a mass flow rate value of 3 .3 x 10 -4 (lbm/sec) at J ( qm) = O. To
change this mass flow rate to vol umet ri c flow rate, t he fol l owi ng
expressi on is used:
qm(lbm/s)
q = 2.205 x 103 (l bm/ g)p(g/ cm 3 )
(7. 13 1)
At an average pressure of 3 .9 atm, t he densi t y is 4.64 x 10 -3 g/s, and
t he vol umet ri c flow rate is cal cul at ed from Equation 7.13 1:
3 .3 x 10 -4
q = 2.205 x 10 -3 x 4.64 x 10 -3
-- 3 2.25 cm 3 /s
Substituting t he values of qm at J ( q m) - 1, i.e., 3 .3 x lO -4 Ibm/s, and
J2 = 1,415.3 8 into Equation 7. 13 0 yields a Reynolds number of 0.467.
Using t he r ecommendat i on in step 8 of t he pr ocedur e yi el ded no
significant change of t he mass flow rate.
TABLE 7. 2
CALCULATION OF [ J(qm ) ] VALUES FOR EXAMPLE
Repr qm fpr J(qm )
O. 1 0.0000706 423 6.98 -2. 03
0.2 0.0001413 1059.24 -- 1.17
0.5 0.0003 53 2 169.47 0.116
0.75 0.0005298 7503 2 0.73
1 0.0007065 4203 6 1.178
2 0.001413 10.59 2.3 01
5 0.003 53 2 1.69 3 .858
7.5 0.005298 0.75 4.569
10 0.007065 0.42 5.08
TURBULENT RADIAL FLOW
All of the radial steady-state flow equations present ed so far are based
on the assumpt i on that Darcy' s law is applicable at all times and
t hroughout the reservoir. As shown in the previous sections, at high
gas flow rates inertial and/ or t urbul ent flow effects are of significance
and should be account ed for. Non-Darcy flow effect is most significant
near the wel l bore because, in radial flow systems, the velocity of the
flowing fluid increases as the fluid approaches the well. Under t hese
ci rcumst ances Equation 7.111 becomes:
z a [ q m
d--r = pM 2xrh------k - 2xrh (7. 13 2)
Let:
zRTktg )
QI = 2xkhM qm
and:
zRT~ ) 2
Q2 - (2xh)2 M qm
Substituting Ql and Q2 into Equation 7.125 gives:
dp
dr
Q1 Q2
(7. 13 3 )
rp r2p
TURBULENT FLOW OF GAS 46 7
Then, separating the variables and integrating bet ween rw and re, where
the pressures are Pw and Pe, respectively:
fpPe rfrwedr
pdp = Q1
w r
fr~ e dr
+ Q2 r- ~ (7.13 4)
or:
pX- pxWQl l nr e 2 -- --+Qxr2 (lrw rel)
Substituting Q1 and Q2, and assuming rw << re yields:
ktgzRTqm (r~-we) zRT~q2
- (7.13 5)
p2 PXw- Mxkh In + 2x2MhXrw
If Equation 7.13 5 is expressed in field units and qm is set equal to
qsc PscM/TscR, one finds:
Pe 2 _ p2 w _ 1,422ktgzTln ( r e / r 2) kh qsc + 3 .161 c (7.13 6)
where qsc is expressed in MSCF/D. After some algebraic manipulation,
Equation 7.13 6 can be written as:
pe2 - pZw -
l'422ktgzTqsc [In (r_~) + (2"22 IO15Tg~K) ]qsc
kh Bgrwh
(7.13 7)
If D is the non-Darcy flow coefficient:
2.22 lO-15Tg)
D = ktgrw h ~k
(7.13 8)
Equation 7.13 7 becomes:
l' 424ktgzTqscl (r~we) ]
Pe2 - P2w = kh In + Dqsc (7.13 9)
or, in a more familiar form:
qsc = 1,422gtgZT ~w + Dqsc (7.140)
Equation 7.140 is similar to Equation 7.103 for the bounded reservoir
case, i.e., f = 1 and no skin damage. Again, if the pressure at the outer
boundar y of t he drai nage area is not known, Equat i on 7. 140 is general l y
expr es s ed in t er ms of t he average r eser voi r pr essur e 15. If t he wel l bor e
and ext er nal boundar y condi t i ons are t aken i nt o account by i nt r oduci ng
t he skin fact or s and wat er dri ve i ndex f, in addi t i on to non-Darcy f l ow
effect, Equat i on 7. 140 becomes:
_ p2w)
qsc = 1,4ZZgtgzT [l n(re/ rw) - 3 + ~ + s + Dqsc] (7. 141)
This equat i on forms t he basis of most t echni ques for pr edi ct i ng t he
per f or mance of gas wells. I nasmuch as t he vel oci t y of t he fl owi ng
fluid in a cylindrical or radial fl ow syst em i ncreases as t he wel l is
appr oached, because of t he decr ease in t he area cr ossed by t he
fluid movi ng f r om re to rw, t ur bul ent fl ow is most pr onounc e d in
t he vicinity of t he wel l bore. The addi t i onal pr essur e dr op clue to
t ur bul ence is equi val ent to a skin effect. The non- Dar cy fl ow coeffi ci ent
D is best est i mat ed f r om pr essur e- t r ansi ent t est s such as bui l dup and
dr a wdown tests. Bot h t he skin, s, and non-Darcy fl ow coeffi ci ent D,
are concent r at ed in t he vicinity of t he well, so t hey are general l y
det ect ed dur i ng pr essur e t est i ng as a single factor, i.e., t he total skin
st = s + Dqsc.
Because pr essur e in t he skin zone changes, t ur bul ence also changes
wi t h time. Consequent l y, t he pr oduct Dq is a variable, maki ng st
also a variable. But, under steady-state condi t i ons ( whi ch are rarely
encount er ed) , one can assume st to be appr oxi mat el y const ant .
Wher eas t he fact or s can be ei t her posi t i ve ( damaged wel l ) or negat i ve
(st i mul at ed well), t he non-Darcy fl ow coeffi ci ent D is t heoret i cal l y al ways
posi t i ve and, t her ef or e, always resul t s in a pr essur e loss. An excel l ent
appr oxi mat i on of D may be made f r om Equat i on 7. 13 8. Subst i t ut i ng
Equat i on 7. 116 i nt o Equat i on 7. 13 8 gives:
9 . 1 2 x l O- 5Tg 1
D -- gtgrwh k 1/3 (7. 142)
wher e: D- Non-Darcy fl ow coefficient, (MSCF/D) -1 .
yg -- gas gravity (air = 1).
h -- f or mat i on t hi ckness or, preferabl y, t he per f or at ed i nt erval
of t he well, ft.
rw -- wel l bor e radius, ft.
gtg -- gas viscosity, cP.
MULTIPLE- PERMEABILITY ROCKS 46 9
MULTIPLE-PERMEABILITY ROCKS
The foregoi ng fluid flow equat i ons wer e devel oped on t he assumpt i on
t hat t he reservoi r is homogeneous. In reality, homogeneous reservoi rs
are seldom, if ever, encount er ed. Practically every pr oduci ng clastic
format i on is stratified to some ext ent , i.e., it cont ai ns l ayered beds of
differing pet rophysi cal rock propert i es. This stratification resul t ed from
variations in t ext ure, di mensi ons of sand part i cl es and composi t i on,
or t empor ar y cessat i on of deposi t i on, whi ch al l owed al ready-deposi t ed
sedi ment s to under go some changes before r enewal of deposi t i on.
Stratification has been classified as di rect and indirect. The f or mer
occurs whe n t he sedi ment s are first deposi t ed over ext r emel y l ong
peri ods of time. Indi rect layering devel ops whe n sedi ment s already
deposi t ed wer e t hr own into suspensi on and redeposi t ed. Sedi ment s
deposi t ed in deep or very shallow, qui et wat er t end to yield regul ar
stratification, wher eas sedi ment s deposi t ed in agitated wat er t end to
pr oduce highly irregular layering. Sedi ment ary clastic units deposi t ed
in channel s and deltas of rivers are likely to show consi derabl e variation
in t hi ckness and areal ext ent over very short distances. In most clastic
oil and gas reservoirs, t herefore, permeabi l i t y varies bot h laterally and
vertically. I nasmuch as t he foregoi ng deri ved steady-state flow equat i ons
requi re only a single permeabi l i t y value, it is i mpor t ant to know how
to r ecombi ne t he permeabi l i t y of various por t i ons of t he reservoi r
into an average value. Layered reservoirs are divided into t wo general
types: layered reservoirs wi t h crossflow and layered reservoirs wi t hout
crossflow.
LAYERED RESERVOIRS WITH CROSSFLOW
Frequently, overlying reservoi r beds, whi ch have different t hi cknesses
and pet rophysi cal pr oper t i es (such as permeabi l i t y and porosi t y) are
hydrodynami cal l y communi cat i ng at t he cont act pl ane (Figure 7.12).
Russell and Prats i nvest i gat ed t he pract i cal aspect s of layered reservoirs
wi t h crossflow and concl uded that t he flow equat i ons in t hese syst ems
are similar to t hose devel oped for a homogeneous reservoi r wi t h t he
permeabi l i t y t er m kt r epr esent i ng t he sum of permeabi l i t i es of all layers,
kl , k2, k3 , . . . k4, i.e. [46]:
n
kt -- ~ ki
i=l
(7. 143 )
H
I I
I I
I I
I i
Fi gure 7.12. Three-layer reservoir with crossflow.
If t he t hi ckness also varies, Equat i on 7.143 becomes"
n
( k h ) t - ~- ' ] ( kh) i
i =l
(7. 144)
wher e n is t he total number of layers. If t he porosity, t hi ckness, and
compressi bi l i t y vary from layer to layer, then:
n
((~cth)t "-- y~( t ~c t h) i
i =l
(7. 145)
If t he total permeabi l i t y-t hi ckness product , (kh)t, is known from a
pressure test, individual layer permeabi l i t i es may be est i mat ed from t he
following equation:
qi ( kh) t
ki = (7. 146)
qt ht
wher e qi is t he vol umet ri c rate of fluid flow t hr ough each layer.
Equation 7. 146 is valid only if t he individual skin factors are all equal
or negligible.
LAYERED RESERVOIRS WITHOUT CROSSFLOW
In many oil and gas pools, t he reservoi r rocks are i nt er bedded wi t h
i mper meabl e shales beds and silt laminations, such t hat t here is no
crossfl ow bet ween t he oil- and gas-saturated sand beds.
MULTIPLE-PERMEABILITY ROCKS 47 |
q t
v
\
W
ql - - ' ~
q 3 --.~
Figure 7.13 . Linear f l ow in parallel beds.
k 1
k 3
P 2
T
(a) Consi der a si mpl e linear fl ow model s hown in Figure 7.13 . The total
vol umet ri c fl ow rate t hr ough t he ent i re syst em is equal to t he sum of
fl ow rates t hr ough t he individual beds, separat ed from one anot her
by t hi n i mper meabl e barriers:
n
qt -- q l + q2 + "'" + qn -- Y~ qi
j--1
(7. 147)
wher e, accordi ng to Darcy' s law, t he rate of fluid fl ow t hr ough each
bed of equal wi dt h w and l engt h L is equal to:
wAp
qJ = pL (kjhj) (7. 1 48)
The total flow rate t hr ough t he system, wi t h an average per meabi l i t y
1~, is:
wAp (l~ht) (7. 149)
q J = pL
If t he last t hree expr essi ons are combi ned and t he i dent i cal t erms,
w, Ap, p, and L, are cancel l ed, one finds:
l~ht -- kl hl + k2h2 +" " + knhn (7. ~ 50)
Thus, t he average permeabi l i t y of a syst em wi t h n parallel beds is
equal to:
n
E kj hi
~_ _ j =l
n
~ hj
j=l
(7. 151)
P E R M E A B I L I T Y - m d
2 5 0 2 0 0 150 100 50 0
l I I . I I I
_
P O R O S I T Y - %
50 40 3 0 20 10 0
Pe r
Figure 7.14. Core graph of permeability and porosity (Rodessa, Texas field).
The pr oduct kh is commonl y referred to as t he "flow capacity" of
t he pr oduci ng zone. Equation 7.151 is used to det er mi ne t he average
permeabi l i t y of a reservoi r from core analysis data.
EXAMPLE
Consi der t he graph of permeabi l i t y vs. dept h s hown in Figure 7. 14
for a 27-ft-long core from an oil wel l in t he Rodessa, Texas, fields [47].
Det er mi ne t he average permeabi l i t y in t he vicinity of this wel l for t he
6, 204-6, 208-ft core segment . What is t he average permeabi l i t y of t he
ent i re sand core?
SOLUTI ON
The average permeabi l i t y of t he format i on in this oil wel l can be
appr oxi mat ed by that of t he core, even t hough it is commonl y known
MULTIPLE-PERMEABILITY ROCKS 473
TABLE 7. 3
CORE DATA FROM AN OIL WELL
De pt h , f t Pe rm e ab i l i t y , m D Fl ow Capaci t y , m D- f t
6,204-6,205 105 105
6,205-6,206 150 150
6,206-6,207 13 2.5 13 2.5
6,207-6,208 95 95
482.5
Pe re
/ rw
k I . .
1
4.- q 1
At:::
Pw
k2. . ,
' k3" - ~
h l
h 2
h 3
Figure 7.15. Radial f l ow in parallel beds.
t
h t
1
t hat t he pr oper t i es of a core will change. This is from slightly to very
consi derabl y once t he core is br ought to t he surface, due essentially
to t he drop in pr essur e from t housands of psia in t he reservoi r to 14.7 psia
at t he surface. The range of this change is dependent on t he lithology of
t he reservoi r rock (sandst one, l i mest one, etc.), degree of consol i dat i on
and fracturing, etc. Table 7.3 is obt ai ned by r ecor di ng permeabi l i t y values
vs. dept h from Figure 7.15.
The average permeabi l i t y in t he 6, 204- 6, 208 ft segment is 482. 5/ 4 =
120.5 mD. Using Equat i on 7.151 for t he ent i re core, one obtains:
27
~k j h j 1,886 mD - ft
j=l
and t he average permeabi l i t y is equal to:
lc = 1, 886/ 27 = 70 mD
The in-situ average permeabi l i t y obt ai ned f r om pr essur e tests gives a
bet t er r epr esent at i on of t he fl ow capaci t y of t he reservoir.
(b) Figure 7.15 illustrates a hori zont al radial syst em made up of several
homogeneous layers each havi ng its own t hi ckness hj and per-
meabi l i t y kj. The total fluid fl ow rate t hr ough this stratified drai nage
area is t he sum of fl ow rates t hr ough t he individual layers separat ed by
infinitely t hi n i mper meabl e barriers, as expr essed by Equat i on 7.147.
Assumi ng steady-state condi t i ons, t he individual fl ow rates (Equat i on
7. 149) can be wr i t t en as:
2xAp
qJ = ~tlnre/rw (kjhj)
(7. 152)
and t he total fl ow rate t hr ough t he drai nage area wi t h an average
permeabi l i t y lc and t he total t hi ckness ht is equal to:
2xAp
qt - (l~ht) (7. 153 )
~tlnre/rw
If Equations 7.152 and 7.153 are subst i t ut ed into Equat i on 7.147, t he
identical terms, Ap, kt, In (re/rw), and 2x, are cancel ed, and solving
for t he average permeabi l i t y k, one obt ai ns t he same sol ut i on as
obt ai ned in t he linear case (Equation 7.151):
n
1
lc - - ht ~ kjhj
j=l
This equat i on is appl i cabl e to bot h oil and gas reservoirs.
(7. 154)
COMPOSI TE RESERVOI RS
Earl ougher defi ned composi t e reservoirs as syst ems wher e fluid of rock
pr oper t i es vary in a step-like fashi on radially away from t he wel l [20].
In most cases, variations of t he rock and fluid pr oper t i es are artificially
i nduced as a result of drilling, wel l compl et i on, and fluid i nj ect i on prac-
tices. Figure 7. 16 is a schemat i c di agram of fluid di st ri but i on ar ound an
i nj ect i on well.
Linear di scont i nui t i es in porosi t y and permeabi l i t y in t he hori zont al
di rect i on frequent l y occur wi t hi n reservoirs. The effect of a change in
rock propert i es, especially permeabi l i t y, in t he hori zont al di rect i on is an
i mpor t ant consi derat i on in predi ct i ng reservoi r per f or mance and field
devel opment t echni ques. The magni t ude of such a change is det er mi ned
by arrangi ng t he zones of different permeabi l i t y in series.
MULTIPLE-PERMEABILITY ROCKS 475
Figure 7.16. Typical composite reservoir.
"1 \ ' 2 \
P1 P2
kl k 2
P4
P3
k 3
Figure 7.17. linear f l ow through segments in series.
Li n e a r F l o w Sys t e m s
Figure 7. 17 depi ct s a l i near fl ow syst em, whi c h consi st s of a n u mb e r
of homoge ne ous segment s of di fferent per meabi l i t y ar r anged in series.
The total pr essur e dr op across this syst em is equal to t he sum of t he
pr essur e dr ops across each segment . Thus:
Apt = Pl - Pn -- Apl + Ap2 +" - + Apn
(7. 155)
The i ndi vi dual pr essur e dr ops can be expr essed, assumi ng fl ow of
i ncompr essi bl e fluid under st eady state, as:
Api - (ql' t Li
-A---) kii ( 7. 156)
Similarly, t he total pressure drop is equal to:
Lt
Ap t - ( - ~) - ~- (7.157)
Substituting Equations 7.156 and 7.157 into Equation 7.15 5, and canceling
the identical terms q, m, and A yields"
Lt L1 L2 Ln
__ = _ _ + + . . . + n ( 7 . 1 5 8 )
k kl k22 kn
and t he average reservoir permeability of n segment s arranged in series is:
n
l~ = i =l
n (7.159)
~-~'~ (Li/ki)
i ~l
It is i mport ant to emphasize that t he fluid propert i es are assumed to be
const ant in the entire system.
Ra d i a l F l o w Sys t e m s
A similar analysis can be made to det ermi ne the average permeability
when radial flow of fluids is t hrough a series of homogeneous concent ri c
segment s wi t h different permeabilities, as shown in Figure 7.18. Using
the radial incompressible fluid flow Equation 7.57, the total pressure drop
bet ween radii rw and re, wher e the pressures are Pw and Pe, respectively,
is equal to"
qgt ln(re/rw)
Apt -- Pe - pw - ( 2- - ~) k
(7.160)
and the pressure drops in the individual segment s are:
Ap i _ ( qgt l n( r i / r i - 1)
2 - ~) ki (7.161)
If Equations 7.155, 7.160 and 7.161 are combined, and t he identical
term (q~t/2xh) is canceled, one finds:
ln(re/rw) l n(r2/ rl ) ln(r3 /r2) l n(rn/ rn- l)
= + +- - - + (7.162)
k kl k2 kn
MULTIPLE- PERMEABILITY ROCKS 477
Figure 7.18. Radial f l ow through segments in series.
If Equat i on 7. 162 is sol ved for t he average permeabi l i t y, one can deri ve
t he fol l owi ng general equat i on ( wher e rn = re and ro = rw)"
lc -- l n(re/ rw) (7. 163 )
n
1
Y~ ~l n( r i / r i - 1)
i=l
Equat i ons 7. 159 and 7. 163 appl y to gas as wel l as oil reservoi rs. This
can be demons t r at ed by usi ng t he linear gas fl ow Equat i on 7. 18 wi t h
Equat i ons 7. 147 and 7. 155 to deri ve, respect i vel y, Equat i ons 7. 151 and
7. 159. Equat i ons 7. 154 and 7. 163 can be deri ved by usi ng t he radial gas
fl ow Equat i on 7. 103 for f = 1 and s = 0 wi t h Equat i ons 7. 147 and 7. 155,
respect i vel y.
EXAMPLE
The per meabi l i t y of a 160-acre light-gas f or mat i on dr ai ned by a
single wel l is 15 mD. The wel l was heavily aci di zed to a per meabi l i t y
of 25 mD and a radius of 3 0 ft, and t hen compl et ed. Dur i ng wel l
compl et i on, a 2-ft t hi ck damaged zone devel oped in t he vi ci ni t y of
t he wel l bor e. The per meabi l i t y of this damaged segment is 4 mD. The
wel l bor e radius is 0. 50ft . Cal cul at e t he average per meabi l i t y of this
drai nage area.
Figure 7.19. A system of 3 radial segments in series.
SOLUTION
Figure 7.19 is a schematic diagram of the drainage system, where rw =
0.5 ft and re -- (43 ,560 x 160/x) ~ -- 1,490 ft. The average permeability
of this system is calculated from Equation 7.163 "
I n ( 1 ' 49 0 )
1~ -- 0.50 = 11.9 mD
1 1
1 In + - - - 4 n + In
250 30
This example illustrates how the beneficial effect of a successful acidizing
job is count eract ed by the negative effect of i mproper well completion,
and how important it is to calculate accurately the average permeability
of reservoirs. If the well was compl et ed properl y wi t hout zonal damage,
the average permeability woul d have been:
1 490)
In '
1~ -- 0.50 = 29 mD
1 1n( 23 ) 1 ( 1 490)
25---6 0-~ + ]-~ln '3 0
or nearly double the permeability of the formation prior to acidizing and
well completion.
PROBLEMS 479
PROBLEMS
1. Oil is f l owi ng t hr ough a 10 c m cor e s ampl e pr e pa r e d for r es er voi r
r ock pr oper t i es eval uat i on at a rat e of 20 cm3 / s. The p u mp pr es s ur e
is 18 at m and t he pr es s ur e at t he end of t he cor e c h a mb e r is 1 at m. If
t he di amet er of t he cor e is 5 c m and oil vi scosi t y is 0. 45 cP, cal cul at e:
a. Oil per meabi l i t y of t he cor e.
b. Pr essur e dr op t hr ough t he ent i r e cor e if t he p u mp r at e is c ha nge d
t o a n e w val ue of 13 cm3 / s usi ng per meabi l i t y f r om (a).
c. The pr es s ur e dr op in (b) if t he cor e l engt h is r e duc e d t o 75% of
t he ori gi nal l engt h.
d. The di amet er of t he cor e t o cause a pr es s ur e dr op of 2 at m, if t he
ori gi nal l engt h is r e duc e d by half.
e. Appar ent and act ual vel oci t y of oil if cor e has a por os i t y of 20%
and t he pr es s ur e dr op t hr ough it is 7 at m.
2. A cor e sampl e f r om a gas r eser voi r is t o be t est ed for var i ous
pr oper t i es usi ng ni t r ogen gas. The 12-cm-l ong cor e has di amet er of
4 cm. Cal cul at e:
a. Li near pr es s ur e dr op acr oss t he cor e if gas fl ow rat e is 5 cm3 / s,
ni t r ogen vi scosi t y is 0. 012 cP, and cor e per meabi l i t y is 50 mD.
b. Act ual vel oci t y of t he gas if cor e por os i t y is 15%, i r r educi bl e wa t e r
sat ur at i on 20%, and i nl et and out l et pr es s ur es are 10a t m and
2 at m, r espect i vel y.
c. The aver age f l ow rat e t hr ough t he cor e, if l i near pr es s ur e gr adi ent
t hr ough cor e is 0. 8 at m/ s and out l et pr es s ur e is 2 at m.
3 . A ne wl y c ompl e t e d wel l in t he c e nt e r of an oil r eser voi r dr ai ns
60 acr es at initial r eser voi r pr es s ur e of 3 , 000 psia, es t i mat ed f r om
DST. Fol l owi ng are t he addi t i onal r ock and fluid dat a in oilfield uni t s:
Pwf = 1, 500 psi a
K = 3 0 mD
h = 50f t
rw = 7 in. = 0. 58 ft
Bo = 1.15 RB/STB
~t o= 2.1 cP
= 0 . 2 5
a. Cal cul at e t he f l ow rat e f r om t hi s wel l as s umi ng t hat wel l is f l owi ng
at st eady state.
b. If t he wel l is al l owed to fl ow at 1,200 STB/T), cal cul at e t he
bot t omhol e fl owi ng pr essur e.
c. If t he bot t omhol e fl owi ng pr essur e is 1,000 psia, est i mat e t he
reservoi r pr essur e 50 ft away f r om t he wel l keepi ng fl ow rat e 1,200
STB/D assumi ng ps eudos t eady state.
d. Estimate t he average r eser voi r pressure.
e. Calculate t he di st ances f r om t he wel l whe r e t he val ue of average
reservoi r pr essur e woul d exi st for bot h ps eudos t eady and st eady
state.
4. A 1 ft 3 sampl e of l i mest one has a mat r i x per meabi l i t y of 2.5 mD,
mat r i x por osi t y of 13 %, and cont ai ns 7 sol ut i on channel s. These
channel s have average radi us of 0. 045 cm, r ug por osi t y of 15%, and
i rreduci bl e wat er sat urat i on, of 15%. Calculate:
a. Average per meabi l i t y of sol ut i on channel s.
b. Average per meabi l i t y of t he bl ock.
c. The amount of fluid st or ed in channel s and mat ri x, respect i vel y.
d. Fluid fl ow rate if fluid vi scosi t y is 1.3 cP, and inlet and out l et
pr essur es are 90 psia and 28 psia, respect i vel y.
5. A 2 ft 3 car bonat e r eser voi r r ock sampl e from t he Per mi an basin,
Texas, was anal yzed for di fferent r ock pr oper t i es. It was f ound t hat
t he r ock is naturally f r act ur ed and cont ai ns f our parallel fract ures
of O.O03 -in. wi dt h. The mat r i x has a per meabi l i t y of 2 mD. If fl ow
t hr ough t he sampl e is mai nt ai ned in t he di r ect i on of t he fract ures,
calculate:
a. Permeabi l i t y of t he fract ures.
b. Average per meabi l i t y of t he rock.
c. Fl ow rate t hr ough fract ures and mat ri x if pr essur e gr adi ent t hr ough
sampl e is 7.5 psia and t he viscosity of t he fluid is 0. 85 cP.
6. In t he second phase of field devel opment , ZBN #5 was compl et ed
at t he dept h of 5, 578 ft in t he cent er of an oil r eser voi r wi t h t he
fol l owi ng rock, oil and wel l charact eri st i cs:
K = 225 mD
B = 1.2 RB/STB
f =0 . 1 6
d - - 7i n.
rw = 0. 29 ft
Pwf = 1,450 psia
PROBLEMS 481
Swc = 0. 24
re = 745 ft
r 16%
p = 4.2 cP
If t he well drains 40 acres:
a. Calculate ideal flow rate from this well if pressure gradi ent in t he
well l ocat i on area is 0.45 psi/ft.
b. From pr oduct i on opt i mi zat i on studies, it was realized t hat t he
well coul d have been compl et ed wi t h larger wel l bor e di amet er
to pr oduce at rate 13 4% of t he rate from step (a). Det er mi ne t he
diameter.
c. How long will oil take to reach t he wel l bore from t he ext ernal
boundar y of 745 ft?
d. After some time, a pr essur e bui l dup test i ndi cat ed a skin of +2. 5,
skin zone of 8 ft, and permeabi l i t y of t he damaged zone 125 mD.
A fraction of reservoi r per i pher y is open to wat er encr oachment .
If t he bot t omhol e pressure is 2,000 psia, reservoi r pr essur e
2,510 psia, and well flow rate 250 STB/D, calculate drai nage
boundar y i ndex and dr awdown to pr oduce 500 STB/D.
7. A newl y di scovered TDM #4 is compl et ed in a sandst one oil reservoi r
at a dept h of 11,3 24 ft wi t h 7-in. pr oduct i on casing and drains
80 acres. After t hor ough economi c feasibility eval uat i on of t he
proj ect , it is deci ded to devel op t he field wi t h 14 wells. The net
pr oduct i on from t he field is expect ed to be 24, 500 STB/D (1, 750
STB/D-weU). Following are t he rock and fluid data from t he well:
Pi -- 8, 000 psia
Bo = 1.13 RB/STB
cti - - 2.5 x 10-5 ps i - 1
h = 55f t
K = 3 3 mD
rw =0 . 5 8 ft
la = 3 . 5cP
~= 17%
a. Estimate t he time to reach t he bot t omhol e pressure equal to
bubbl e poi nt pressure of 2, 000 psia.
b. What wi l l be t he average r eser voi r pr es s ur e at t he t i me es t i mat ed
in (a)?
c. Aft er six mont hs of s moot h pr oduct i on, a sl i ght decl i ne in pr od-
uct i on was obser ved. A d r a wd o wn pr es s ur e t est i ndi cat ed a ski n
f act or of +3 . Cal cul at e Pwf, pr es s ur e dr op due t o skin, a ppa r e nt
wel l bor e radius, and f l ow effi ci ency of t he wel l .
d. Det er mi ne annual r evenue loss due t o ski n if t he cur r ent bl ack oil
pr i ce is $19/ bbl .
e. The wel l was aci di zed and pr es s ur e t est ed. The n e w ski n f act or
is - 4. Cal cul at e t he i ncr ease in pr oduc t i on if t he wel l is cur r ent l y
f l owi ng at 5, 000 psia.
8. A gas r eser voi r drai ns 120 acres and is part i al l y pr es s ur ed by a wa t e r
aqui fer wi t h a wat er dri ve i ndex (XVDI) of 0. 3 5. The r eser voi r r ock
per meabi l i t y is 7 mD, por os i t y 13 %, aver age pr es s ur e 3 , 500 psi a,
t e mpe r a t ur e 140~ and f or mat i on t hi cknes s 27f t . Over bal anced
drilling had damaged t he f or mat i on, and a wel l t est i ndi cat ed a ski n
f act or of +2. Gas pr oper t i es i ncl ude vi scosi t y of 0. 012 cP and gas
devi at i on f act or of 0.9. If t he wel l is f l owi ng at 3 , 150 psia, and
rw = 0.5 ft cal cul at e:
a. Fl ow rate.
b. Bot t omhol e pr essur e if t he rat e is i ncr eased t o 7.5 MMSCF/ D.
c. Pr essur e at t he boundar y.
9. A cons ol i dat ed cor e 3 c m in di amet er and 8c m l ong has a
per meabi l i t y of 174 mD and por os i t y of 15%. Thi s cor e sampl e was
s ubj ect ed t o a l i near f l ow t est usi ng air (gtg -- 0. 023 cP).
a. What is t he mass f l ow rat e of air in g/ s if t he i nl et and out l et
pr es s ur es are 125 psi a and 14.7 psia, respect i vel y? Assume i deal
gas behavi or and a t emper at ur e of 75~
b. Fi nd t he vol umet r i c f l ow rat e at t he me a n pr essur e.
c. Repeat (a) usi ng t he fri ct i on f act or pl ot for por ous and pe r me a bl e
rock, Fi gure 7.1 O, and sol ve by trial and error.
d. Cal cul at e t he mass f l ow rat e (qm) usi ng appr opr i at e cor r el at i ons.
10. Gi ven t he f ol l owi ng i nf or mat i on on a wel l l ocat ed in a t hr ee- l ayer
gas reservoi r:
rw = 0. 5 ft
re = 1, 3 20 ft
qsc = 5, 850 MSCF/ D
Pwf = 1, 950 psi a
h2 = 13 f t
h3 =6f t
r =0 . 1 75
( ~2 - " 0. 142
N OMEN CLATURE 48 3
K1 -- 16 mD q3 = 0. 110
K2 -- 8 mD ~g = 0. 15 cP
K 3 = 5 mD Z = 0. 92
hi = 5 ft ~g = 0. 65
Calculate:
a. The average per meabi l i t y of t he reservoi r.
b. The t ur bul ence factor.
c. The non-Darcy fl ow coefficient.
d. The pr essur e dr op due to t ur bul ent flow.
e. The pr essur e dr op due to Darcy flow.
f. The pr essur e at t he radi us re.
NOMENCLATURE
A
Bg
Bo
Ct
D
Er
Em
f
f ~
g
h
k
kc
kf
km
kn~
L
M
m( p)
n
nc
nf
P
Pe
P
Pw
area
gas f or mat i on vol ume fact or
oil f or mat i on vol ume fact or
total compressi bi l i t y
non-Darcy fl ow coeffi ci ent
recovery fact or in fract ure
r ecover y fact or in mat ri x
drai nage boundar y i ndex
specific densi t y of fract ures
accel erat i on of gravity
format i on t hi ckness
permeabi l i t y
permeabi l i t y of channel s
fract ure per meabi l i t y
mat ri x per meabi l i t y
average per meabi l i t y of fract ure-mat ri x syst em
l engt h
mol ecul ar wei ght
real gas pseudopr essur e f unct i on
const ant
number of channel s
number of fract ure
pr essur e
ext ernal boundar y pr essur e
mean pr essur e
wel l pr essur e
q
q
qm
qr
qm
r
rc
Re
Rf
rw
rwa
s
f l ow rat e
f l ow r at e at me a n pr es s ur e
mass f l ow r at e
f l ow rat e at any r adi us
aver age mass f l ow r at e
radi us
radi us of channel s
Reynol ds n u mb e r
f r act i on of t ot al por e vol ume in s econdar y por os i t y
wel l bor e radi us
effect i ve wel l bor e radi us
ski n
GREEK SYMBOLS
t ur bul e nc e f act or
por os i t y
Tg gas speci fi c gravi t y
gt vi scosi t y
p densi t y
co War r en- Root fluid capaci t ance f act or
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