WELL LOG ANALYSIS

AND WELL TESTING

WELL TESTING 1
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Introduction
The purpose of reservoir characterization in
general is to provide data for describing and
modeling the reservoir in order to estimate
reserves, forecast future performance, and optimize
production. The testing of wells is especially
important in exploration when reservoir data is
scarce. The data from well test contribute to reserve
estimation and are used to determine if reservoirs
and reservoir zones are economic.
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Well testing is also used in reservoir
monitoring, by providing average and local
reservoir pressure. These pressure data are
important input to production optimization, but
also contribute indirectly to the reservoir
characterization as input to model conditioning
(history matching).
In production engineering well testing also
contribute by providing data on the state of the
near-well reservoir volume. These data are used to
answer questions about near-well formation
damage, and the need for and the effect of well
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The basic concept of well testing is described
in Fig. 1: A signal is sent into the reservoir from
the well by changing well production rate or
pressure, and the response (pressure/rate change)
is measured at the well.
The analysis of the response is used to
estimate reservoir properties. Since the response is
the result of a disturbance that travel away from
the well, the early responses are determined by the
property in the near well region, while later
responses detect more distant reservoir features.
The response may also be recorded in another well
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this type of test is called an interference test,
Typical information derived from well tests
include permeability, distance to boundaries and
faults, size and shape of sand bodies, near
wellbore damage or stimulation (Skin), and
length of induced fractures.
An example of a well test interpretation
procedure (Horner analysis) used to estimate the
permeability of the formation is shown in Fig. 2.
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Fig. 1 The Well Test Concept

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Fig. 2 Horner Analysis, an example of well test interpretation

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MEASURING PRESSURE AND RATES

For well testing it is the pressure and the
production rate (equivalently, injection rate) that
are the most important measured quantities.
the pressure measured at the bottom of the well is
referred to as the bottom-hole pressure (bhp). This
is the preferred pressure measurement, as it is
closest to the formation.
In modern wells, the pressure sensor is
typically connected to the surface by cable. the
pressure sensor is normally placed at the top of the
perforated zone, thus a hydrostatic correction is
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required to obtain the
reservoir pressure at
different heights in the
reservoir (e.g. the depth
at the middle of the
perforation).
Fig. 3. The cable
connections from two
down-hole gauges
coming out of the
Christmas tree
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Fig 4. A schematic
of the placement of
downhole pressure
gauge and flow
gauge
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TYPES OF TESTS
The main classes of well tests are drawdown
test, buildup test, and interference test. in addition
we have injection tests and falloff tests, which are
the equivalents of drawdown and buildup tests for
injectors.
The drill stem test (dst), is a special drawdown
test that is often performed in exploration wells
and newly drilled wells.
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In a drawdown test, a static, stable and shut-
in well is opened to Drawdown test flow. For
traditional analysis, the flow rate should be
constant. Typical objectives for a drawdown test
are to obtain an average permeability (𝑘) of the
drainage area, to estimate the skin (𝑆), to obtain
pore volume of the reservoir, and to detect
reservoir heterogeneity.
During a buildup test, a well which is
already flowing (ideally con- Buildup test
stant rate) is shut in, and the downhole pressure is
measured as the pressure builds up.
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The objectives includes obtaining average
permeability 𝑘 and skin 𝑆, as with the drawdown
test. In addition, the buildup test is conducted to
obtain initial reservoir pressure during the
transient state (𝑝𝑖), and to obtain the average
reservoir pressure (𝑝) over the drainage area
during pseudo-steady state.
In an injection test, a static, stable and shut-
in well is opened to Injection test (water-
injection. Thus, an injection test is conceptually
similar to a drawdown test, except flow is into
the well rather than out of it. In most cases the
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objectives of the injection test is the same as
those of a production test (e.g. 𝑘,𝑆), but the test
can also be used to map the injected water.
For a pressure falloff test, a well already
injection (ideally at at a Falloff test constant rate)
is shut in, and the pressure drop during the falloff
period is measured as the pressure declines. Thus,
the pressure falloff test is similar to the pressure
buildup test. A pressure falloff test is usually
proceeded by an injectivity test of a long
duration.
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Obtained properties and time
Due to the transient nature of a pressure
front moving through the reservoir, the different
classes of obtained reservoir properties are
intrinsically linked to the time after the change in
well rates. The different reservoir properties are
organized according to time in Table 1.
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Table 1. Time of measurement versus type of

measurements
Other well tests
In an interference test, one well is produced (rate
change) and pressure (response) is observed in a
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different well. The main objective of an
interference test is to investigate reservoir
communication and continuity, including
communication over faults and barriers.
The specialized drill stem test (DST) is
commonly used to test a Drill stem test newly
drilled well. The well is opened to flow by a valve
at the base of the test tool, and reservoir fluid flows
up the drill string. Analysis of the DST requires
special techniques, since the flow rate is not
constant as the fluid rises in the drill string. This is
a severe example of a wellbore storage effect.
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In this section, we will derive the linear
hydraulic diffusivity equation, which is the
fundamental equation in well test analysis. There
are a number of important approximations and
assumptions involved when deriving this equation.
These assumptions includes:
a)Flow is isothermal and single phase,
b)Permeability is isotropic and independent of
pressure,
c)Fluid viscosity and compressibility is pressure
independent,
d)Fluid compressibility is low, and that the well is
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The Diffusivity Equation
The starting point for deriving the diffusivity
equation is the continuity equation for single phase
flow which is an expression of conservation
of mass in a volume element:
”mass in” − ”mass out” = ”change in mass”
- ∇(pq) = δ/δt(φρ)……………………(1)
Here 𝜌 is the fluid density, 𝜙 is the porosity, and 𝑞
is the volumetric fluid flux. The volumetric flux is
related to the gradient in pore pressure via Darcys
law:
𝑞 = −𝑘/𝜇∇𝑝……………………….(2)
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Inserting (2) into (1), and assuming constant
permeability, 𝑘, and pressure independent
viscosity, 𝜇, we get
𝑘/𝜇∇ ⋅ (𝜌∇𝑝) =𝜕/𝜕𝑡(𝜙𝜌) ………... (3)
We may expand the derivatives of the product on
both sides of Eq. (3), which gives:
𝑘/𝜇(∇𝜌⋅∇𝑝 + 𝜌∇2𝑝) = 𝜌𝜕/𝜕𝑡𝜙 + 𝜙𝜕/𝜕𝑡𝜌….(4)
We will first investigate the left hand side of Eq.
(4): Compressibility 𝑐 is a measure of the relative
volume change as a response to a pressure change:
c � = −1/𝑉𝜕𝑉/𝜕𝑝………………….. (5)
,
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where 𝑉 is the volume, and the liquid
compressibility may be used to convert derivatives
of density into derivatives of pressure. For a liquid
the density 𝜌 = 𝑚/𝑉𝑙 is the fraction of mass 𝑚
divided by the volume of the liquid 𝑉𝑙. Rewriting,
we also have 𝑉𝑙= 𝑚/𝜌. We can then derive the
liquid compressibility 𝑐𝑙 as
𝑐𝑙 = −1/𝑉𝑙(𝜕𝑉𝑙/𝜕𝑝) = −𝜌/𝑚(𝜕𝑚/𝜌)/𝜕𝜌(𝜕𝜌/𝜕𝑝)
= −𝜌−1/𝜌2(𝜕𝜌/𝜕𝑝) = 1/𝜌(𝜕𝜌/𝜕𝑝) ……….. (6)
Thus, we see that the first term on the left hand side
of Eq. (4) is
∇𝜌⋅∇𝑝 =(𝜕𝜌/𝜕𝑝)∇𝑝⋅∇p= 𝜌𝑐 |∇𝑝|2∝ 𝑐𝑙…… (7)
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and since this term is proportional to the
compressibility it may be ignored in the low
compressibility limit. The left hand side of Eq. (4)
is then simply
𝜌(𝑘/𝜇)∇2𝑝 …………………………….. (8)
The right hand side of Eq. (4) can be
expressed in terms of the time derivative of
pressure by applying the chain rule,
𝜌(𝜕/𝜕𝑡)𝜙 + 𝜙(𝜕/𝜕𝑡)𝜌 = 𝜌(𝜕𝜙/𝜕𝑝)(𝜕/𝜕𝑡)𝑝 + 𝜙(𝜕𝜌/𝜕𝑝)
(𝜕/𝜕𝑡)𝑝
= 𝜌𝜙 [(1/𝜙)(𝜕𝜙/𝜕𝑝)+(1/𝜌)(𝜕𝜌/𝜕𝑝)](𝜕/𝜕𝑡)𝑝.... (9)
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The formation compressibility, 𝑐𝜙, is defined as
𝑐𝜙 = 1/𝜙)(𝜕𝜙/𝜕𝑝……….………., (10)
And
𝑐𝑡 = 𝑐𝑙 + 𝑐𝜙 ……………………….. (11)
is called total compressibility, so Eq. (9) is simply
𝜌(𝜕/𝜕𝑡)𝜙 + 𝜙(𝜕/𝜕𝑡)𝜌 = 𝜌𝜙𝑐𝑡(𝜕/𝜕𝑡)𝑝..(12)
Equating left (8) and right hand side (12), and
dividing by 𝜌𝜙𝑐𝑡 we get
(𝑘/𝜇𝜙𝑐𝑡)∇2𝑝 = (𝜕/𝜕𝑡)𝑝 ...…………. (13)
This is the (hydraulic) diffusivity equation which
is the fundamental equation in well testing, and
the quantity
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𝜂 = 𝑘/𝜇𝜙𝑐𝑡 …………………………….(14)
is called the (hydraulic) diffusivity.
The unit for hydraulic diffusivity 𝜂 is
[𝜂] = [𝑘]/[𝜇][𝜙][𝑐𝑡] = 𝑚2/(𝑃𝑎⋅𝑠)(𝑃𝑎−1) = 𝑚2𝑠.(15)
where we use that porosity 𝜙 is dimensionless.
Using the 𝜂 notation for the diffusivity, we get the
following simplified diffusivity equation:
𝜂∇2𝑝 =𝜕/𝜕𝑡𝑝………………………………(16)
The diffusivity 𝜂 determines how fast
pressure signals move through the reservoir,
but it is important to note that the signal moves
in a
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Diffusivity equation in oil reservoirs
The diffusivity equation (13) was derived
under the following assumptions:
• Isothermal flow
• A single fluid phase
• Constant isotropic permeability
• Fluid viscosity independent of pressure
• Compressibility independent of pressure
• Low fluid compressibility
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As derived, the equation is thus only valid for
reservoirs that contain a single low-
compressible fluid phase, that is for water
reservoirs. However, the validity of the
equation may be extended to oil reservoirs at
irreducible water saturation, 𝑆𝑤𝑖
. The irreducible water does not flow, but
it influences the total compressibility, so the
diffusivity equation is valid for oil reservoirs
at 𝑆𝑤𝑖 provided the following:
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Permeability, 𝑘, is replaced by oil permeability
𝑘𝑜 = 𝑘𝑟𝑜(𝑆𝑤𝑖)𝑘.
Viscosity, 𝜇, is the oil viscosity, 𝜇𝑜
Total compressibility is defined as:
𝑐𝑡= 𝑐𝜙+ 𝑆𝑜𝑐𝑜+ 𝑆𝑤𝑐𝑤
In this case the equation takes the form
(𝑘𝑜/𝜇𝑜𝜙𝑐𝑡)∇2𝑝 =(𝜕/𝜕𝑡)𝑝………………..(17)
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FLOW REGIMES
At different times in a well test the solution
of the diffusivity will be in one of three possible
stages of flow regimes:
Initially we have a general unsteady state, or
transient, flow situation where pressure change
differently with time dependent on position:
Transient flow: (𝜕/𝜕𝑡)𝑝(𝑟,𝑡) = 𝑓(𝑟, 𝑡)………(19)
Analysis of the transient flow period is the
main concern of well testing.
Very late in the test the reservoir reaches a
semi steady state where Semi-steady state flow
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the pressure profile is constant and pressure
changes at the same rate everywhere:
Semi-steady flow: (𝜕/𝜕𝑡)𝑝(𝑟, 𝑡) = 𝐶 ……(20)
Analysis of the time to reach semi steady
state and the rate of pressure change in this period
give information about the reservoir shape, area,
and volume.
In the case that the reservoir pressure is
supported by a strong aquifer, or by pressure
maintenance operations (water or gas injection),
pseudo-steady state is replaced by true steady
state flow:
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SKIN
The formation volume close to the wellbore
typically has altered properties compared to the
surrounding reservoir. Of highest importance for
well productivity is an altered permeability, and
the effect of this alteration on productivity is
called skin.
Skin is typically caused by formation
damage as a result of drilling and production, but
can also be the result of reduced mobility due
multiphase flow. Intentional improved
permeability due to well treatments and hydraulic
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fracturing also contribute to skin, but the positive
results of these treatments result in a negative
skin in contrast to the normal positive skin due
to formation damage. Flow restrictions in the
wellbore itself including scale buildup, wax, and
asphaltene deposits are not referred to as
formation damage, but are quite often included
as part of the skin.
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Fig. 1 Pressure profile around a well with skin. Actual

pressure profile in red, ideal profile without skin in
blue
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Examples of factors that contribute to skin are:
1) Formation damage due to drilling
– Solids plugging from mud filtrate invasion
– Clay-particle swelling or dispersion
– Emulsion blockage
2)Formation damage due to production
– Fines migration
– Deposition of paraffins or asphaltenes
– Deposition of scale minerals
3)Reduced mobility due to phase behavior
– Condensate banking (Production below
dewpoint)
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– Free gas (Production below bubble point)
As shown in Fig.1, the effect of the skin is
an additional pressure drop compared to a well
without skin. The effect can be described
quantitatively by the dimensionless skin factor, 𝑆
Skin factor, 𝑆.
𝛥𝑝𝑠 = (𝑄𝜇/2𝜋𝑘ℎ)𝑆 = 𝑝𝑐𝑆………….(22)
Typically skin factors 𝑆 > 5 are considered
bad and factors 𝑆 < −3.5 are viewed as excellent.
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Productivity index
The productivity index, PI, is a measure of
well productivity, and is conceptually defined
through;
𝑄𝑠 = J⋅(𝑝𝑟 − 𝑝𝑤)…………………(23)
J = Qs.Δ
where 𝑄𝑠 is the surface production rate, and 𝑝𝑟 is
the reservoir pressure. Since the pressure is not
constant throughout the reservoir, Eq. (23) does
not uniquely define 𝑃𝐼 as it depends on how and
where the reservoir pressure is defined. For steady
state, and semi steady state flow, the productivity
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is identified as the average reservoir pressure.
Normally, production is proportional to the
difference between reservoir pressure and well pressure,
and introducing the formation volume factor
𝐵 = 𝑄/𝑄𝑠……………………………….... (24)
we have
PI = (2𝜋𝑘ℎ/𝜇𝐵)(1/ln( 𝑟𝑒/𝑟𝑤) + 𝑆…………..(25)
As would be expected, we see that long wells, with
a large radius and small skin, in a high permeability
formation, have high productivity.
End