PRACTICAL WELL

TESTING
INTRODUCTION
Tests on oil and gas wells are performed at various stages of
drilling, completion and production.
The test objectives at each stage range from simple
identification of produced fluids and determination of reservoir
deliverability to the characterization of complex reservoir
features.
Most well tests can be grouped either as productivity testing or
Pressure transient test.
INTRODUCTION

Productivity well tests are conducted to:
Identify produced fluids and determine their respective
volume ratios.
Measure reservoir pressure and temperature.
Obtain samples suitable for PVT analysis.
Determine well deliverability.
Evaluate completion efficiency.
Characterize well damage.
Evaluate work over or stimulation treatment.
Pressure transient test seek to:
Evaluate reservoir parameters.
Characterize reservoir heterogeneities.
Assess reservoir extent and geometry.
Determine reservoir rock properties.
Determine reservoir fluids properties.

DELIVERABILITY TESTS
Deliverability tests are flow tests designed to measure the
production capabilities of a well under specific reservoir
conditions.
Although these tests are used primarily for gas wells,
deliverability testing also is applicable to oil wells.
A common productivity indicator obtained from these tests is
the absolute open-flow AOF potential.
The AOF is the maximum rate at which a well could flow
against a theoretical atmospheric backpressure at the sand face.
Another and possibly more important application of
deliverability testing is to generate a reservoir inflow
performance relationship IPR or gas backpressure curve.
The IPR curve describes the relationship between surface
production rate and BHFP for a specific value of reservoir
pressure.
It can be subdivided further more into:
Single point test.
Flow after flow test.
Isochronal test.
Modified isochronal test.

DELIVERABILITY TESTS
Flow after flow test:
sometimes called gas backpressure

four point tests, are

conducted by producing the well at series of different
stabilized flow rates and measuring the stabilized BHFP at the
sand face.
Single point test:
is an attempt to overcome the limitation of long test times
required for the flow after flow tests in low permeability
formations.
Single point tests are conducted by flowing the well at a single
rate until the BHFP is stabilized.
DELIVERABILITY TESTS
Isochronal test:
The isochronal test is a series of single-point well tests
developed to estimate stabilized deliverability characteristics .
The isochronal test is conducted by alternately producing and
then shutting in the well and allowing it to build up to the
average reservoir pressure before the next production period.
Pressures are measured at several times increments during
each flow period. The time at which the pressures are
measured should be the same relative to the beginning of each
flow period.
DELIVERABILITY TESTS
Modified isochronal tests:
The time to build up to average reservoir pressure before flowing
for certain time may still be impractical, even after short flow
periods in an isochronal test.
Consequently, a modification of the isochronal test was
developed to shorten test times further.
The objective of the modified isochronal is to obtain the same
data as in an isochronal test without the sometimes lengthy shut-
in periods required to reach the average reservoir pressure in
well's drainage area.
The modified isochronal test is conducted like an isochronal test,
except that the shut-in periods are of equal duration but should
equal or exceed the length of the flow period. Because the well
doesn't buildup to average reservoir pressure after each flow
period.
DELIVERABILITY TESTS
It refers to well tests in which we generate and measure
pressure changes with time. These tests allow us to evaluate
not only near-wellbore conditions but also the in-situ reservoir
properties beyond the region affected by drilling and
completion operations. It can be subdivided further more into:
Single well test.
Multi well test.

PRESSURE-TRANSIENT TESTS
Single-well tests:
single-well tests involve only one well in which the pressure
response is measure against the following rate change.
From the measured pressure response, we can characterize
average properties in a portion or all of the drainage area of the
tested well.
A common single-well test, a pressure buildup test, is conducted
by first stabilizing a producing well at some fixed rate, placing a
bottom hole pressure (BHP) measuring device in the well, and
shutting in the well. Following shut-in, the BHP builds up as a
function of time, and the rate of pressure build up is used to
estimate well and formation properties.
From a pressure-buildup test, we can estimate average reservoir
pressure and permeability in the well's drainage area and the
properties of the region immediately adjacent to wellbore.

PRESSURE-TRANSIENT TESTS
Multi well tests:
When the flow rate is changed in one well and the pressure
response is measured in one or more other wells the test is called
a multiwall test.
Multi well tests are designed to determine properties in region
centered along a line connecting pairs of wells and therefore are
more sensitive to directional variations of reservoir properties,
such as permeability.
In addition these tests can determine the presence or lack of
communication between two points in the reservoir.
The basic concept in multi well test is either to produce from or
to inject into one well, the active well, and observe the pressure
response I one or more offset wells, or observation wells. From
these data, we can estimate both permeability and porosity in the
drainage area of the wells and can quantify some reservoir
anisotropies.

PRESSURE-TRANSIENT TESTS
WELL TEST EQUATIONS
Well Deliverability or Capacity :
The stabilized flow capacity or deliverability of a gas well is
required for planning the operation of any gas field.
The most common method for determining gas well
deliverability is called multipoint testing, in which a well is
produced at several different flow rate and from measured flow
rates and well pressures, an inflow performance equation can be
evaluated.



Where, C and n are constant can be calculated from well tests.
2 2 2 '
) (
wf e sc
p p c q =
WELL TEST EQUATIONS
In most cases, the value of n obtained from well tests will fall
between 0.5 and 1.0. If values for the flow coefficient and
exponent n can be determined, flow rate corresponding to any
value of well bore flowing pressure can be calculated and an
inflow performance curve can be constructed.
A parameter commonly used to characterize or compare gas
wells is the flow rate that would occur if bottom hole flowing
pressure could be brought to zero.
This called the absolute open flow potential, AOF


Once a value of n has been determined, the value of C can be
calculated by using data from one of the tests.
c
n
q
n
p p
sc wf e
log
1
log
1
) log(
2 2 '
=
n
wf e
sc
p p
q
c
) (
2 2 '

=
WELL TEST EQUATIONS
There are several ways for well test called flow after flow test or
isochronal test.
Flow-After- Flow Test:
A flow-after-flow starts from a shut in condition. The well is
opened at a particular choke size and is not distributed until the
flow rate and well bore flowing pressure stabilize.
This may require a considerable amount of time, depending on
reservoir permeability.
A well is usually considered to be stabilized if the pressure does
not change over 15 minute intervals.
Once stabilization reached the standard flow rate and well bore
flowing pressure are measured, the rate is changed, and
procedure repeated for several flow rates, usually four.
WELL TEST EQUATIONS
Flow-After-Flow tests
WELL TEST EQUATIONS
Isochronal Test:
The isochronal test, or equal time, test is based on the theory that
at equal flow times the same volume of the reservoir is affected
regardless of flow rate.
The isochronal test was proposed as a means of determining
deliverability in tight wells that requires along period to reached
stabilization.
At least one stabilized point is still required to evaluate the
coefficient C.
WELL TEST EQUATIONS
The procedure for conducting isochronal test is:
1. Starting at a shut in condition, open the well at a particular
choke size for a period of time. Measure the standard flow rate
and well bore flowing pressure at specific times for this choke
size.
2. Shut the well in until the well returns to average reservoir
pressure.
3. Open the well on a larger choke size and measure the standard
flow rate and the flowing well bore pressure at the time interval
as in step 1
4. Shut the well in until the well returns to average Reservoir
pressure.
5. Repeat for several choke sizes, usually four.
6. On the last choke size, allow the well to flow until stabilized
condition is reached.
This may require several hours or even days, but only one has to
be flowed for a long period as compared to all rates for flow after
flow testing.

WELL TEST EQUATIONS
Isochronal test
WELL TEST EQUATIONS
The test is analyzed by plotting (p
e
2
p
wf
2
)versus

on log-log
paper for each flow time at which data were measured. This will
produce one straight line for flow time; the slopes of each will be
equal. The slope allows determination of exponent n, while the
flow coefficient C can be determined by using the stabilized or
extended flow rate. By determining C, n the inflow performance
curve can be created.
WELL TEST EQUATIONS
well inflow performance
WELL TEST EQUATIONS
Pressure Transient Testing:
Methods have been presented for determining the stabilized
deliverability or inflow performance of a gas well for use in
planning equipment purchases and other field development
procedures.
Much useful reservoir information can be obtained from various
types of unsteady-state or transient gas well tests.
Information that can be obtained from transient test includes
permeability, skin factor, and turbulence coefficient and average
reservoir pressure.
The most common transient tests are drawdown tests and build
up tests. Essentially the same information can be obtained from
each.
WELL TEST EQUATIONS
Pressure Drawdown Test:
Several important reservoir parameters can be obtained by
flowing a well at constant rate and measuring flowing well bore
pressures as a function in time this called drawdown test.
Some of the reservoir parameter which may obtain from
drawdown testing are flow capacity

, skin factor S, and

turbulence coefficient D.
A drawdown test begins from a shut-in condition and a constant
rate is maintained while pressure is measured constantly.
WELL TEST EQUATIONS
Pressure Drawdown test
WELL TEST EQUATIONS
The equation of transient flow may be written including
formation damage and turbulence effect as,

=
(0.5(

)+0.809)+S'
Where, S'=S+D

S=skin factor
D= turbulence coefficient.
In terms of real variable common logs the logs, the transient flow
equation becomes,

(

+ + =
'
2 ' '
' '
2 2
869 . 0 23 . 3 log log
1637
S
r C
k
t
k
q T Z
p p
w h
sc
wf i
|

WELL TEST EQUATIONS

Pressure Build up Testing:
If the effects well bore storage can be determined, much useful
information can be obtained.
This information includes permeability K, apparent skin factor, S'
and average reservoir pressure.
It consists of flowing the well at a constant rate

, for a period
of time, shutting the well in t, and measuring the wellbore
pressures increase with shut in time t. The method was
extended to allow determination of average reservoir pressure.
The transient flow equation:

t
t t
k
q T Z
p p
h
sc
ws i
A
A +
= log
1637
' '
2 2