Pressure Drawdown and Buildup

Analysis of Horizontal Wells

in Anisotropic Media
P.A. Goode, * SPE, Sohio Petroleum Co.
R.K.M. Thambynayagam, * SPE, Sohio Petroleum Co.

Summary. An analytic solution is presented for the pressure response during drawdown and buildup of a horizontal well. This
method results from solving the three-dimensional diffusion equation with successive integral transforms. Simplified solutions for
short, intermediate, and long times that exhibit straight-line sections when pressure is plotted vs. time are presented. The validity
of the method is demonstrated by comparing with results generated numerically by a reservoir simulator and with an analogous
analytic solution. Methods for analyzing pressure drawdown and buildup data are presented with examples. The method allows
reservoir characteristics, including permeability, skin, and distance to boundaries to be determined. The early-time effects, where
the well behaves as if it were in an infinite reservoir, are also discussed. Expressions to determine times to critical events, which
are important for well test design, are presented.

Introduction
The idea of using horizontal wells to increase the area of contacted
reservoir dates back to the early 1940's. 1-13 Until recently, how-
ever, very few horizontal wells had been drilled in the noncom-
munist world. There has been little incentive to spend additional
money on a new technique when most reservoirs can be produced
by such conventional techniques as stimulation by fracturing.
Hydraulic fracturing has been a potential rival to horizontal drilling
for a long time, although compared with vertical wells, horizontal
wells can increase injection or production rates several times over.
The technique was considered only when stimulation by hydraulic
fracturing from vertical wells was not feasible or practical.
The usefulness of horizontal wells has been demonstrated recently
in North America 14-28 and Western Europe. 29 -43 With the current
technology, horizontal drainhole distances that are much longer than
the fracture lengths achieved by hydraulic fracturing are possible
at moderate costs. In 1979, Arco l4 ,15 rejuvenated its high-GOR
wells through the application of horizontal drainholes. Serious gas-
coning problems were thus overcome. The danger of extending into
the gas cap had precluded hydraulic fracturing. In 1978, Esso
Resources Canada 16 drilled a horizontal well at the Cold Lake
Leming pilot to field test thermall~ aided gravity-drainage proc-
esses. In 1980, Texaco Canada 17,1 completed a drilling program
to tap an unconsolidated bituminous sand at shallow depths in the
Athabasca lease.
In Western Europe, between 1979 and 1983, Soc. Natl. Elf-
Aquitaine, in association with the Inst. Fram;ais du Petrole, drilled
four horizontal wells in oil-bearing reservoirs. Three of these wells
are located in Lac Superieur and Castera Lou fields 29-33 in France.
The fourth well is offshore in the karstic reservoir of the Rospo
Mare field 34 in the Italian part of the Adriatic sea. The reservoirs
consist of thin, soft, vertically fractured, tight formations with fluid
interface problems and have been found to be ideal candidates for
horizontal wells. When the Rospo Mare pilot was initiated, it was
reported 33 that the productivity was 20 times greater in the
horizontal well than in neighboring vertical and deviated wells. The
horizontal well intersected several voids and was positioned to ob-
tain the greatest possible height above the water/oil contact. Lower
near-well bore drawdown prevented water from coning.
Several researchers 5 -9 ,44-47 have studied horizontal well produc-
tivity. Efros 46 and later Giger 47 considered the relative economics
of the horizontal wells on overall productivity by studying the
geometry and spacing of the horizontal wells. Giger 47 investigated
'Now with Schlumberger·Doll Research.
Copyright 1987 Society of Petroleum Engineers
the merits of the horizontal wells in preventing water and gas influx
during multiphase flow. His calculations show that horizontal wells
provide greater sweep efficiencies. Giger 31 also studied the use
of horizontal wells to improve oil recovery in formations with fluid
interface problems. Laboratory studies have recently been conducted
on thermally aided gravity drainage of viscous oil in horizontal
wells. 48 -55 Huygen and B1ack 56 investigated the problem of cyclic
steam stimulation through horizontal wells and had encouraging re-
sults. Despite the unfavorable mobility ratios associated with heavy
oils, horizontal wells provided a more homogeneous steamfront and
a much greater injectivity index than vertical wells.
Although horizontal drilling activities have been the focus of much
attention during recent years, there appears to have been no study
in the area of pressure-transient analysis of horizontal wells. The
accomplishments so far must be augmented by attempts to under-
stand pressure data from well testing. Cinco et al. 57 presented ana-
lytic solutions for unsteady-state pressure distribution created by
a directionally drilled well in an anisotropic medium. Gringarten
et al., 58 Raghavan et al., 59 and Rodriguez et al. 60 have obtained
analytic solutions to the problem of transient flow of fluids toward
fully and partially penetrating fractures. These solutions correspond
closely to that of a horizontal well. The mathematical method used
to solve these problems was based on the use of Green's and source
functions, whose usefulness in solving such problems has been dem-
onstrated by Gringarten and Ramey. 61 The derivation of these so-
lutions and the form of the results are complicated, however, and
the extension of the methods to the analysis of pressure-transient
data from horizontal wells is not immediately apparent.
The purpose. of this paper is to present a straightforward analytic
solution for the pressure drawdown and buildUp associated with
testing a horizontal well in an undersaturated oil zone. This method
is the result of an elegant mathematical procedure using successive
integral transforms (Laplace and Fourier).
To demonstrate the validity of the derivation, the analytic solu-
tions are compared with the results of numerical studies undertaken
as part of this work and an existing analogous analytic solution.
Sample calculations are presented to illustrate the determination of
reservoir characteristics, including permeability and skin factor.
The present "state-of-the-art" well testing theory does not provide
for well test interpretation of horizontal wells. The theory presented
in this paper fills this void.
Theory
Mathematical Solution. The physical model considered in this anal-
ysis consists of an infinite-conductivity horizontal well located in

SPE Formation Evaluation, December 1987 683

 The general solution is obtained by successive application of
00
Laplace and finite Fourier cosine integral transforms. The com-

·12·
plete derivation is presented in Appendix A. The general solution
is given by Eq. A-II. By setting y=O in Eq. A-ll, an expression
is obtained for the pressure response at the wellbore during isother-
mal pressure drawdown and buildup and is given by Eq. A-12.
In most cases, the length of a horizontal well is much larger than
z = h~
the distance from the well to the vertical boundaries of the forma-
tion. By using this physical characteristic (see Appendix 8) and
introducing the van Everdingen 62 mechanical skin factor into Eq.
A-12, the pressure response at the wellbore is given by the fol-
'--------~)I '="
¥=o
lowing.
Z =: Lal
Pressure drawdown.

Fig. 1-Horlzontal well model.

a semi-infinite homogeneous and anisotropic medium of uniform

thickness and width. The formation fluid properties are independent
of pressure. A slightly compressible fluid of constant compressi-
bility is produced through the horizontal well. Gravity effects are
neglected. The model is shown in Fig. I.
The partial differential equation governing the isothermal fluid
flow in the medium is

Pressure buildUp.

The initial and boundary conditions are listed here.

1. The reservoir pressure is initially constant.
2. The reservoir is assumed to be semi-infinite in the y direction.
The pressure at infinity is not affected by the pressure disturbance
at the well.
3. To develop the solution as a first approximation, the horizontal
well is replaced with a thin strip of width (Lzb - Lza) and length
(Ld-Lxd )' This provides a mathematically tractible boundary con-
dition at the we\lbore. This assumption will later be removed and
the horizontal well reinstated with its original configuration. During
the drawdown period, uniform flux along the length of the well In the above equations,
is assumed. As will be shown later, however, this restriction is ac-
counted for it;t the final solution. No fluid will be entering the well-
bore during the buildup period. Zn=_l_ [sin(mrLxl)_sin(mrLxd)],
4. No flurd may flow across the upper or lower boundaries. nLw hx hx
5. No fluid may flow across the lateral extremities of the
reservoir.
In numerical order, these conditions may be written
mathematically as:
Zm=_I_, [sin[m1!' (h
4mrw hz
s+2r;,.)] _sin[m1!'
h
(h s-2r;,.)]J,
.
z

1. P=Pi at t=O v x.y, and z, ........... (2a)

2. P=Pi as y-+oo v X,Z, and t, ........... (2b)

05,x<L xd
Lxd 5,x 5,Lx/ t<to
Lx/<x5,hx and Llt=t-to.
t>to', .... (2c)
In the derivation of Eqs. 3 and 4 the strip-source approximation
ap has been removed by use of an effective wellbore radius equal to
4. -=0 at z=O and z=h z , ...... (2d) one-fourth the strip width, as suggested by Prats,63 and multipli-
az cation by the fourth root of the permeability ratio of the y and z
dimensions to account for anisotropy. This substitution may be writ-
and ten mathematically as

ap
5. -=0 at x=O and x=h x . . ..... (2e) ............................ (5)
ax
684 SPE Formation Evaluation, December 1987
 ~~---------------------------------------,

.
0 1.01494

d
fl.""l
3 p-.p
~

;; Uniform Pressure
O~--------------~\-----------------4
~
ci - - Uniform Flux

~
ci
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0." o.~ 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0

-1.01494

Fig. 2-Comparison of uniform-pressure and uniform-flux

boundary conditions. Fig. 3-Spence function.

Furthermore, to find a solution for the problem, the flux distri- may develop once the pressure transient reaches the upper and lower
bution over the strip was assumed uniform. This, of course, is true boundaries. This period results from the spread of the flow beyond
for only a short time. The correct boundary condition is that the the ends of the well being negligible compared to the length of the
pressure is uniform along the well. To account for this discrepancy well:
in the boundary condition, we make two observations. First, be-
cause the strip is long, the majority of the strip behaves as if it were 8.128qBo ,--;:;- l41.2q/l-Bo
fully penetrating across x. Only the ends of the strip behave as if Pi-Pwj=-----'-I~--+ ~ (Sz+Sm)' .... (8)
Lwhz kycpc 1 Lwvkyk Z
it does not fully penetrate x, and the length of the ends affected
by this is negligible compared with the length of the strip. There- where the pseudoskin Sz can be visualized as the skin resulting
fore, if we look along the strip source from one end, it is analogous from partial penetration in the vertical direction.
to looking down on a fully penetrating vertical fracture. Gringarten
et al. 58 showed that for a fully penetrating vertical fracture, if the 0.07958hz
pressure is measured at a distance of 0.866 ofthe length of the frac- Sz= ['lr(1'/1)+'lr(1'/2)-'lr(1'/3)-'lr(1'/4)]' ........ (9)
ture from one end, the uniform flux solution provides the correct r~,
pressure for the uniform pressure boundary condition (at long times).
Muskat 64 had previously suggested a distance of 0.875 for a par- 'lr(1'/) is known as the Spence function, which was first identified
tially penetrating well. Fig. 2 presents a graph of the pressure dis- by Clausen 66 in 1832. Later, Ashour and Sabri67 numerically
tribution across a strip source for both uniform-flux and evaluated the function and presented it in tabular form. Fig. 3 is
uniform-pressure boundary conditions once a steady-state flux pro- a graphic representation of this function,
file at the well (strip) has been established. Notice that the two so-
lutions are equivalent at a dimensionless strip width qf 0.866.
Second, Streltsova-Adams 65 showed for a partially penetrating
'lr(1'/)= ~
m=1
sin(m1'/)
m2
= - flOge
0
[2 sin(::")] duo ...... (10)
2
well (if the well is long compared with its radius, which is certain-
ly always the case with a horizontal well), the average pressure Also,
is a good approximation to the uniform-pressure solution.
Therefore, by measuring the pressure at 0.521rr;"
1'/,=
1
z=-(hs+1.47r~), ................................ (6)
hz 7r
1'/2 = -(2hs + 3.48<.),
integrating over x from x=Lxd tox=Lx1 ' and dividing by the length hz
of the strip, a good approximation to the uniform-pressure boundary
condition is achieved.

Pressure Drawdown
The general expression for the pressure drawdown (Eq. 3) can be and
simplified by considering the following time intervals separately.
An analytic derivation of these relationships may be found in Ap-
pendix B.

Early Times. The flow is radial around the well. This is equivalent Late Intermediate Time. During this time period, a second radial
to a fully penetrating, vertical well in an infinite reservoir. For this flow pattern will develop, this time in the x,y plane. For this case,
time period, Eq. 3 reduces to Eq. 3 reduces to
162.6qpBo [ ( .Jkykz t ) ]
Pi-Pwj= r;-, 10glO - - 2 - -3.227+0.868Sm .
VklyLw CP/l-C1Tw
.................................... (7)

Intermediate Times. Because a horizontal well will generally be

long compared to the formation thickness, a period of linear flow

SPE Formation Evaluation, December 1987 685

Late Time. The pressure transient has now reached the lateral ex- and for a reservoir of finite width, ends at
tremities of the reservoir, thus yielding the second linear and final
flow period. Eq. 3 can be simplified to (Lxi +Lxd ) 2.095 L;0.095 <PJLCt
terJ2 =297.0 ............. (17)
_ _ 8. I 28qBo ~ /Ll 141.2q/LBo kx
Pi P"'f- + r,-;- (Sx+Sz+Sm)'
hxh z ky<PCt Lwvkykz If the time calculated by Eq. 16 is larger than that calculated by
Eq. 17, then the well is long compared to the distance to the ex-
................................... (12) tremities of the reservoir and the second radial flow period does
not develop. As the width of the reservoir hx""'oo, the time calcu-
where the pseudoskin Sx is a result of the partial penetration in the lated by Eq. 17 will also tend toward infinity; i.e., the final linear
x direction, and flow period will develop only for reservoirs of finite width. The
time approximations (Eqs. 14 through 17) were developed empiri-
00 !j:;'2 cally. Note that by observation of a plot of P vs. Jr, Eq. 17 can
L: -n
........................ (13) be used to estimate Lxd for the late intermediate section. If the well
n=1 n is not in the center, Lxd will be the distance to the nearest
boundary.

Pressure Buildup
A plot of the wellbore pressure vs. the logarithm of time would Two buildup scenarios have been considered. The first, and prob-
exhibit two linear sections corresponding to the two radial flow ably most common, is the case where the reservoir is infinite (i.e.,
periods that occur during early and late intermediate times given hx .... oo). The second is that of a reservoir of finite width. In this
by Eqs. 7 and 11, respectively. The first linear section, correspond- case, the pressure transient has reached the final linear flow period
ing to early time; has a slope defined by the length of the well and before shut-in.
by the effective isotropic permeability in the y,z plane. The me- As In the pressure drawdown case, the general expression for
chanical skin, Sm' is determined by the intercept. The second linear the pressure buildup, Eq. 4, can be simplified by considering the
section corresponding to late-intermediate-time radial flow has a different time periods separately.
slope defined by the thickness of the formation and the effective
isotropic permeability in the x,y plane. For this flow period to de- Early Times. This flow period corresponds to the first radial flow
velop, the length ofthe well should be sufficiently short when com- period.
pared with the width of the reservoir. Because the pseudoskin can Case 1: Infinite reservoir. For hx .... oo, Eq. 4 reduces to
be expressed analytically, Sm can be obtained from the intercept.
The two linear flow periods given by Eqs. 8 and 12 can be ana-
lyzed by a plot of pressure vs. the square root of time. The first
linear flow period corresponds to intermediate time. For the com-
plete development of this flow period, the length of the well must
be long compared with the formation thickness. The slope of the where
linear section resulting from the P vs. Jr plot is defined by the
square root of the mobility in the y direction, the thickness of the
formation, and the length of the well. Sm can be determined from
the intercept.
The second linear flow period corresponds to late time, where
the pressure transient has reached all four boundaries. Naturally,
this flow period will develop only for a reservoir of finite width.
As expected, the slope of the linear section is defined by the area
-loglO ( Jk;k;)
--2
<P/LCt r w
+3.227+0.868Sz ······•·•······ .(19)

hxh z of the formation cross section and the square root of the mo-
Case 2: Reservoir of finite width. Here,
bility in the y direction. Again, because analytic expressions exist
for the pseudoskins, Sm can be calculated from the intercept.
The different flow periods that may occur during a test on a
horizontal well will be shown later with examples.

Approximate Times for Flow Periods. The time to the end of the
where
early-time radial flow period can be approximated by

190.0h;'095 r;0.095 <PWt

..................... (14)
kz

The intermediate-time linear flow period approximated by Eq. 8
ends at
............................... (15)
If the time calculated by Eq. 14 is greater than that of Eq. 15, it
means the length of the well was not sufficiently long compared
with the thickness of the formation for this flow period to develop.
The second radial flow period corresponding to the late inter-
mediate time begins at
+ 3.227 +0.868(Sx+Sz)' ......................... (21)
For this time period, to> > I:!.t and log 10 (to +I:!.t) = log 1O(t) "" con-
stant. Therefore, with changing I:!.t, 1'1 and 1'2 may be considered
constants. A plot of IIp vs. log 10 [(to + Ill)/ Ilt] yields straight lines
for Eqs. 18 and 20. The slope of the straight line is defined by the
length of the well and the effective isotropic permeability for the
y,z plane.
Intermediate Times. This time period corresponds to the first linear
flow period.
Case 1: Infinite reservoir. For hx .... oo, Eq. 4 reduces to

1230.0L~<pWt
- - - - , ............................ (16)

686 SPE Formation Evaluation, December 1987

where where mlr is the slope of the linear' section corresponding to the
first radial flow period, and Pwj(lhr) is the pressure at t= I hbur,
the linear section of the semilog plot being extrapolated to, this time
162.6qp.Bo [ (kxt) ] if necessary. Note that the damaged area near the well may extend
'13= ~ loglo - - -2.023 .......... (23)
hz" kxky c/>p.crL~ a finite distance into the formation and thus influence the shape of
the early sections of the drawdown.
Case 2: Reservoir of finite width. Here, Intermediate Time. The first linear flow period is

Pi-Pws=
8. 128qBo ~(r.- Lw.Jt) 141.2qp.Bo
'\/~-- ..Jt.t--- + Sx' Sm = 0.058 ~ k z (Pi -Pwj(Ohr») -Sz, .............. (30)
hzL w kyc/>c r hx Lw.Jkykx hz c/>p.c r mil
................................... (24)
where m II is the slope of the linear section corresponding to the
A plot of t.p vs . ..fi:i of Eqs. 22 and 24 will form a straight first linear period and Pwj(Ohr) is the pressure aU=O, obtained by
line. The straight-line slope is d~t1ned by the area equal to the prod- extrapo1;lting the straight-line section back to this time.
uct of the length of the well, the thickness of the formation, and Late Intermediate Time. The second radial flow period is
the square root of the mobility in the y direction.
_ 1.151Lw
Sm-
rk; [Pi -Pwj(lhr)
'\/-!-
Late Intermediate Time. This time period will correspond to the
second radial flow period. hz kx m2r
Case 1: Infinite reservoir. For hx-+oo, this will be the final flow
period for this case and Eq. 4 reduces to -IOglO( ~ )+2.023J'-Sz, ................. (31)
c/>p.crL w
162.6qp.Bo [ (to+t.t)]
log 10 - - . . ......•..... (25) where m2r is the slope of the linear section corresponding to the
hz.Jkxky t.t second radial flow period.
Late Time. The second linear flow period is
The Horner plot of Eq. 25 extrapolates to the original reservoir
pressure. Note that Eq. 25 is independent of the well dimensions.
The slope of the straight line is defined by the thickness of the for-
mation and by the effective isotropic permeability in the x,y plane.
Case 2: Reservoir of finite width. Eq. 4 simplifies to
where m21 is the slope of the linear section corresponding to the
second linear flow period.

Skin Factors for BuildUp. The skin factor can be determined by

where subtracting the buildup equations corresponding to the various time
periods from the relevant drawdown equation. Different formula-
0.05 fk:; (kxt)
')'4=--,\/ ~---loglO - - - +2.023+0.868Sx ·
tions are required for the cases when the reservoir is finite and in-
finite. The resultant expressions for the skin in an infinite reservoir
hx c/>Wr c/>p.crL~ are listed here.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (27) Infinite Reservoir. Early Time .

Generally, the initial part of the Horner plot generated by Eq. PWS(lhr) -Pwf ( .Jkykz ) ]
26 will be a straight line. As the shut-in time increases, and when Sm = 1.151 [ logto - - 2 +3.227 , .. (33)
the inequality to> > t.t is no, longer valid, however, the Horner mlr c/>p.crrw
plot will not produce a straight line. The slope of the initial straight
line is defined by the thickness of the formation and the effective where Pwf is the final bottomhole flowing pressure at the time of
isotropic permeability in the x,y plane. shut-in.
Intermediate Time.
Late Time. This will be a second linear flow period and will not
exist for the infinite-reservoir case.
Case 2: Reservoir of finite width. Here, .. .......... (34)

8. I 28qBo ~ Late Intermediate Time.

Pi-Pws= '\/ ~--(.Ji -..fi:i) . ............. (28)
hzhx kyc/>c{

A plot of P vs . .Ji -..fi:i will produce a straight line that will ex-
trapolate to Pi, initial pressure, at .Ji -..fi:i =0. The slope of the
straight line is defined by the cross-sectional area of the formation
and the square root of the mobility in the y direction. -IOg lO ( ~ )+2.023] -Sz . ................. (35)
c/>p.crLw
Skin Effects
If the different time periods are considered separately, the conven- Reservoir of Finite Width. The pressure transient has reached
tional mechanical skin factor can be determined. the boundaries in the x direction before shut-in. For the eariy, in-
termediate, and late-intermediate times, the mechanical skin fac-
Skin Factors for the Drawdown. tors are given by Eqs. 33, 34, and 35, respectively.
Early Time. The first radial flow period is Late Time.

Sm = 1.151 [Pi -Pwj(lhr)

mlr .
( .Jk;k;)
10glO - ' - 2 +3.227 , ... (29)
c/>p.crr w
J Sm=
0. 058L w r-k;(PWS(Ohr) -Pwf)
hzh x
'\/~--
<PIlCr m21
-(Sz+Sx)' ..... (36)

SPE Formation Evaluation. December 1987 687

 Fig. 4-Early-time radial flow.
Fig. 7-Late-time linear flow.

TABLE 1-RESERVOIR AND FLUID PROPERTIES

FOR EXAMPLE 1

kx' md 100
ky, md 100
kz' md 100
1> 0.1
c t ' psi- 1 3.0x10- 5
hz, It 220
hx' h 2,100
rW' It 0.354
Fig. 5-lntermediate-tiri1e linear flow. L w , ft 500
L xd' It 800
hs' ft 110
q, STBID 2,000
/1-, cp 1.5
8 0 , RB/STB 1.5
8m o

duration unless the formation is wide or the vertical permeability

Fig. 6-Late-intermediate-time linear flow.
Verification and Discussion of Results
Pressure drawdown and buildup for a horizontal well completed
in a reservoir of finite width but of infinite length will exhibit four
distinct flow regimes, as shown in Figs. 4 through 7. The first flow
regime will be radial around the well. During this period, the well
behaves as a fuliy penetrating vertical well, of height Lw, complet-
ed in an infinite reservoir. This flow regime ends when the effect
of lower and/or upper reservoir limits is felt; it is therefore of short
is low.
If the well is sufficiently long in relation to the formation thick-
ness, a second flow regime will develop when the pressure transient
reaches the vertical boundaries. This flow regime will be linear,
analogous to that of a vertical fracture. If the well is not long com-
pared to the formation thickness, then this flow regime will not de-
velop arid there will be a lengthy transition period between the first
and third flow regimes.
The third flow period will be a period of radial flow around the
well in the plane of the formatiori. For this period, the pressure
transient has gone sufficiently farthat the well is like a point source
in the middle of the formation. If the Width of the reservoir, hx'
is not large compared to the length of the welL then this flow period
will not develop. The time function given by Eqs. 14 through 17
may be used to determine which of the flow periods will be present.
Finally, the pressure transient will reach the boundaries at x =0
and x = hX' This period of flow will be linear and analogous to that

Fig. 8-Hbrizontal wellbore grid.

688 SPE Formation Evaluation, December 1987

of a vertical fracture, with an additional pressure drop as a result
of partial penetration in both the x and z directions. If the reservoir
is infinite, this period of flow will not develop. - - ANAL neAL MODEL

The analytic model was verified by numerical simulation with

a conventional, fully implicit, black-oil reservoir simulator. The
data used in the comparison are given in Table 1. The well was
represented by 10 horizontal sections, as shown in Fig. 8. Fig. 9
compares the results of the analytic solution with those of the nu-
merical simulator. The results are in good agreement. The slight
discrepancy during the early times is a result of the numerical error
associated with the gridding. The verification justifies the assump-
tion of constant flux and shows the validity of taking the average 1000

Flow TIITI8 (HolM"s)

pressure.
In addition to verifYing the solution with numerical simulation,
a verification against an established analytic procedure was also
performed. If hx is finite and h z is infinite, the horizontal well can
be considered to be a partially penetrating vertical well. Because
gravity has been ignored in the solution, no error is introduced by
considering the horizontal well to be vertical. A semilog plot of
pressure drawdown vs. the logarithm oftime is plotted as Fig. 10.
The data used are tabulated in the figure. These results are com-
pared with the analytic solution of Hantush 68 and later by Kazemi
and Seth. 69 Good agreement is found between the two solutions.
The slight discrepancy for early time (10 -4 hours) is a result of
the horizontal well being described as a strip with a width equal
to 4rW' The strip initially exhibits linear flow, whereas the Hantush
solution is for a line source and initially exhibits radial flow.
The solutions become identical at 0.0003 hours [I second]. This
illustrates the validity of considering the well as a strip and replacing
the width by four times the wellbore radius.
The solutions presented in this paper are also applicable to prob-
lems involving partially penetrating fractures. Analytic solutions
Fig. 9-Comparison of simulated pressure drawdown VS. ana-
lytic sOlution-Example 1.
have been developed for partially penetrating fractures 58 -59 ,7o-72
and the solution could be verified against any of these. This work
was not performed, however, and a discussion of partially penetrat-
ing fractures is beyond the scope of this paper.
Examples of Application
Synthetically generated pressure-vs.-time data are used to illustrate
the methods for analyzing pressure buildup tests in horizontal wells.
Example 1. This example considers a horizontal well completed
in the center of an isotropic, semi-infinite (slab) reservoir. The flow
period was sufficiently long to obtain the final linear flow period.
Table I gives the reservoir and fluid characteristics.

350

- HANTUSH
300 • GOODE & THAMBYNAYAGAM

250

"iii
200
oS
'i
"-I 150
0:: =100 md ~ = 0.1
100
hz = ]00 ft <, =3.0 x 10.5 ps;'!
q =500 STBID L xd =35 ft
80 = 1.5 RB/STB L xl = 65 ft
50
11 = 1.5 cp rw = 0.354 rt
0 L-~L-~LLLU~__-L-L-LLill~J!~~~LI~I-L1L!IUILIIL- J t I l fld

10-" 10 -3 10'

Flow Time (hours)

Fig. 10-Comparison with partially penetrating-well solution .

,...-- .... -
60
r'l 1, == I 4 f:> 3 1,)$' I C ~ c!e

10 1000

I (h:;lurs) I (hOOfS)

Fig. ll-Example l-Early-time radial flow. Fig. 12-Example l-Late-intermediate-time radial flow.

SPE Formation Evaluation, December 1987 689

 TABLE 2-RESERVOIR AND FLUID PROPERTIES
FOR EXAMPLE 2

k x• md 50
kyo md 100
k z • md 25
cf> 0.1
Ct. psi-
1
3.0 X 10- 5
h z • ft 60
h x• It 00

r w. It 0.354
Lw. 1t 1.000
h s• It 30
__ ___ ___ ___
q. STB/D
;OL-_L-~L- ~ ~ ~ ~

3.000 5 20 30
11. cp 1.5
vt(hours)
Bo. RB/STB 1.5
Sm 5 . Fig. l3-Example l-Late-time linear flow.

Fig. 9 shows a semilog graph of lip vs. t for the entire draw- Fig. 12 shows a semilog graph of the pressure drawdown vs. time
down period. It should be noted that two straight-line sections are for the late-intermediate-time radial flow. The semilog straight line
present, the second ending with a curvature upward, illustrating has a slope of m2r=33.2 psi/cycle [229 kPa/cycle] and ~Pl1j(lhr)
the effect of the boundary. =56.1 psi [387 !cPa]. The permeability is obtained from the slope
The time to the end of the first radial flow period is obtained and Eq. II as follows:
from Eq. 14:
162.6x2,OOO.Ox 1.5 x 1.5
190.0x220.0 2.095 xO.354 -0.095 XO.I X 1.5 X0.00003 k= = 100.0 md.
terjl = 33.2x220.0
100.0
=0.76 hours. For the skin factor from Eq. 31,

The semilog slope for this section is mlr=14.63 psi/cycle [101 Sm= 1.151x500.0xlO.0 [56.1
kPa/cycle] and lipl1j(lhr) =73.4 psi [506 kPa], as shown in Fig. II.
From Eq. 7, k is calculated: 220.0 X 10.0 33.2

162.6x2,OOO.Ox 1.5 x 1.5

k= = 100.0 md. 100.0 ) ]
-log 10 ( +2.023 -Sz
14.63 x500.0 0.1 x 1.5 X0.00003 x500.0 2
The skin factor from Eq. 29 is

73.4 and from Eq. 9,

Sm=1.151 [ - -
14.63
0.07958 x220.0
Sz = [.y(0.00263) + .y(3.159) -.y( -0.0176)
100.0 ) ] 0:354
-log 10 ( +3.227 =0.
1.5 xO.I xO.00003 xO.3542
-.y(3.139)] =4.6;
If the first linear flow period is present, it will end at a time ob-
tained from Eq. 15: . therefore, Sm =0.0.
Fig. 13 shows a graph of p vs. ,Jt for the late-time data. A straight
20.8 xO.l x 1.5 X0.00003 x500.0 2 line is formed at Jt = 8 hours 'I" which has a slope of m2! = 3.73
te/fl = - - - - - - - - - - - - =0.234 hours. psi/hour'/' [26 kPa/hr'lz] and lipwj(Ohr) =86.8 psi [598 kPa]. Eq.
100.0 12 can now be used to calculate the permeability,
Because t erjl < t e/fl' the first linear flow period is not present in
this example. This is a result ofthe well not being sufficiently long
with respect to the formation thickness. The late-intermediate-time k= (
8.128x2,OOO.Ox 1.5x 1.225 )2 =100 md,
radial flow period will begin at tbrj2, which is obtained from Eq. 220.0x2,100.Ox3.73xO.001732
16,
and the skin factor follows from Eq. 32,
1,230.0X500.0 2 XO.l x 1.5 X0.00003
tbrj2 = = 13.84 hours,
100.0 0.058x500.0x4,714.0 (86.8)
Sm= - - -4.6-Sx =2.28-Sx ,
220.0 x2, 100.0 xO.002121 3.73
and will end at a time, t erj2, obtained from Eq. 17,
297.0X2,100.02.(195 x500.0- 0.095 xO.l x 1.5 X0.0000 where, from Eq. 13,
terj2 =3

100.0 0.6366X2,100.0 2 X500.0

Sx = (3.57 x 10- 7 )=2.28.
=67.5 hours. 220.0

690 SPE Formation Evaluation. December 1987

 500

iii 400
8
'i
Q.

300
n:
200

01 10 100 1000
I (Hours)

Fig. 14-Example 2-Complete drawdown period.

Therefore, From Fig. 15, which is a graph of Homer time vs. pressure, a slope
mlr=21.9 psi/cycle [151 kPa/cycle] and Pws(lhr) =3,681.6 psia [25
Sm=O.O. MPa] are obtained. The effective permeability in the y.z plane is
obtained using Eq. 18,
For an isotropic reservoir, it is not necessary to evaluate the reser-
voir characteristics from each of the flow periods; however, having ~ _ 162.6x3,000.Ox 1.5 x 1.5 _
two or more of the flow periods present does provide for a con- Ykykz - -50.0 md,
sistency check of the results. 21.9Xl,000.0

Example 2. This example differs from the previous example in that and the skin from Eq. 33,
the reservoir is anisotropic and infinite (hx-+oo). The reservoir and
fluid characteristics are shown in Table 2. 3,681.6-3,482.8
Fig. 14 shows a semilog graph of /::.P vs. t for the entire draw- Sm=1.151 [ -log 10
down period. The drawdown period was sufficiently long to achieve 21.9
radial flow in the plane of the formation, giving rise to a straight-
line section for the late-time data. Eq. 16 can be used to check that
50.0 )]
radial flow was established: x( +3.227 =5.0.
0.1 x 1.5 x 0.00003 xO.3542
1,230.0 xl ,000.0 2 xO.1 x 1.5 x 0.00003
tbrj2 = 110.7 hours. The first linear flow period will be present if t e~ < t elfJ . From Eg.
50.0 15, telfJ = 1.87 hours. Fig. 16, which is a graph of pressure vs . .jt,
reveals a linear section of slope mil =43.1 psi/hour 'h [297
The data for this example are interpreted with the buildup. Be- MPa/hr'h] and Pws(Ohr) =3,646.4 psia [25 MPa]. The permeabil-
cause the reservoir is infinite, the late-time radial flow period will ity, k y, may be obtained from Eq. 22:
be the final flow period. Therefore, the buildup will result from
the shut-in period being superimposed on radial flow in the plane 8.128x3,000.Ox707.\ x 1.5)2
of the formation. The time to the end ofthe early-time radial flow ky= ( =100 md.
period is obtained from Eq. 14: 43.1 x 1,000.0 x60.0

190.0X60.0 2.095 xO.354 -0.095 xO.l x 1.5 x 0.00003 Therefore,

te~=---------------------------------------

25.0
50.0 )2
k = ( - - =25 md.
=0.2 hours. z 10.0

3740

3720

"
0.
'--' 3700
0.

36t10

...!2!..Q!.
Al 3660

15
Fig. 15-Example 2-Horner time VS. pressure. "fi5f (Hours)

Fig. 16-Example 2-lntermediate-time linear flow.

SPE Fonnation Evaluation, December 1987 691

The skin can be obtained for this flow period from Eq. 34, n = Fourier transform variable
P = pressure,' psia [kPa]
0.058x5.0 (3,646.4-3,482.8) p = finite Fourier cosine transform of P in the x
S
m
=-------------------
60.0x(0.IX1.5xO.00003)'/2 43.1
coordinate
p= finite Fourier cosine transform of p in the z
coordinate
-3.64=5.0.
ft = Laplace transform of p
Because this example is for an infinite reservoir, the radial flow q = volumetric flow rate, STB/D [stock-tank m 3 /d]
in the plane of the formation will be the final flow period. The rw = wellbore radius, ft [m]
straight-line section in Fig. 14 has a slope m2r=258.7 psi/cycle r;" = effective wellbore radius
[1.8 MPa/cycle] and Pws(lhr) =3,395.5 psia [23 MPa]. The final s = Laplace transform variable
radial period develops after tbrj2 hours, which was calculated to S = skin
be 110.7 hours. t = time, hours
The evaluation of the slope for this section of the Horner plot u = dummy argument for mathematical functions
will yield .Jkxky, which will enable kx to be evaluated. From x = coordinate, ft [m]
Eq.25,
y = coordinate, ft [m]
z= coordinate, ft [m]
~ _ 162.6 x 3,000.0 x 1.5 x 1.5
vkxky - 70.71. hx
6O.0x258.7

Therefore,

70.71)2
k x = ( ---- =50.0 md. 7j = argument for Spence function
10.0 fJ. = viscosity, cp [Pa' s]
¢ = porosity, fraction
The skin may be obtained from Eq. 35: 'lr = Spence function

1.151 x I ,000.0 xO.707 [3,395.5-3,482.8 Subscripts

Sm=---------------- brf2 = beginning of second radial flow period
60.0 258.7 D = dimensionless .
e = point at which effective. pressure is measured for z
6 coordinate
50.0XIX1O- ) ]
-log lO ( +2.023 -3,64=5.0. elfl = end of first linear flow period
0.1 x 1.5 X0.00003
elf2 = end of second linear flow period
Eq. 25 shows that as Horner time approaches unity, the pressure erfl = end of first radial flow period
will approach the original reservoir pressure. The straight-line sec- erf2 = end of second radial flow period
tion indicating radial flow in the plane of the formation will ex- i = initial
trapolate to Pi' In this example, the straight-line section m = mechanical
extrapolates to Pi =4,000.0 psia [28 MPa]. s = standoff from the top boundary to the well (strip)
center
Conclusions uf = uniform flux
I. Analytic solutions are presented for the pressure response up = uniform pressure
during drawdown and subsequent pressure buildup of a horizontal w = length of the well (Lxl- Lxd)
well. wf = flowing pressure (drawdown)
2. The use of the equations, as illustrated by examples, permits ws = shut-in pressure (buildup)
the directional permeabilities, average pressures, and mechanical x = coordinate indicator
skin factors to be calculated.
xd = lateral distance from left reservoir boundary to left
3. The uniform-flux density assumption can be corrected by using
an effective pressure point vertically and by averaging the pres- end of strip
sure along the length. To use the averaging technique, the strip (well) xl = lateral distance from left reservoir boundary to right
must be long with respect to its width, which is always the case end of strip
for a horizontal well. y = coordinate indicator
4. The predictions of the analytic solutions are in good agree- z = coordinate indicator
ment with those of a numerical simulator and an established analo- za = vertical distance to top of reservoir from top of
gous analytic result. horizontal strip
5. Replacing the strip source by an effective well radius of one- zb = vertical distance to top of reservoir from bottom of
fourth the strip thickness, as suggested by Prats,65 provides a good strip
approximation to the horizontal well.
o = shut-in time
Nomenclature Ohr = extrapolated to zero time
Ihr = extrapolated to I hour
Amn = arbitrary constant
11 = first linear flow period
Bmn = arbitrary constant
21 = second linear flow period
Bo = FVF, RB/STB [res m 3 /stock-tank m 3 ]
Ir = first radial flow period
Cr = total compressibility, psi -1 [Pa -1]
2r = second radial flow period
h = reservoir thickness/width, ft [m]
k = permeability, md References
L = length, ft [m] 1. Ranney, L.: "Drilling Wells Horizontally," Oil Weekly (Jan. 20,1941)
m = Fourier transform variable 12-14.

692 SPE Formation Evaluation, December 1987

 2. Stormont, D.It.: "Increasing Drainage of Oil Into the Well by brainhole
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7. Landrum, B.L. and Crawford, P.B.: "Effect of Drainhole tlhlling on
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9. Borisov, Yu. P.: "Exploitation des gisements de peirole.par des puits
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19. Moore, W.D.: "ARCO Drills HOrizontal Drain Hole for Better
Reservoir Placement," Oil & Gas 1. (Sept. 15, i980) 78.
20. Killough, J.E. and Foster, A.P. Jr.: "Reservoir Simulation of the Empire
Abo Field: The Use ofPseudos in a Multilayered System," SPEl (Oct.
1979) 279-88.
21. Pitts, J.P.: "ARCO's Lea County Drainhole Proves a Success," Drill
Bit (Aug. 1980).
22. Anon: "Technical Advances Broaden the Use of Highly Deviated and
Horizontal Drilling Methods," lPT (Feb. 1981) 283-85.
23. Stramp, R.L.: "The Use of Horizontal Drairiholes in the Empire Abo
Unit," paper SPE 9221 presented at the 1980 SPE Annual Technical
Conference and Exhibition, Dallas, Sept. 21-24.
24. Wash, R.: "ARCO's Fourth Successful Drainhole Drilled in Cased
Hole," Drill Bit (Sept. 1981).
25. Holbert, D.R.: "New Interest in Drainhole Drilling Revives
Technology," World Oil (March 1981) 192, 57-72.
26. Holbert, D.R.: "Variables iri Kickoff Remain First Consideration during
Drainhole Drilling," Oil & Gas 1. (Feb. 9, 1981) 79, 121-31.
27. Holbert, D.R.: "Special Practices Allow High Angle Drilling," Oil
& Gas 1. (Feb. 16, 1981) 79, 91-99.
28. Pugh, G.E.: "Drilling of Three Horizontal Wells Pattern, Fort Murray,
Alberta," paper 82-83-68 presented at the 1982 Annual Technical
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29. Astier, B., Jourdan, A., and Baron, G.: "Elf Well Turns 90 Degrees-
and Stays There," Pet. Eng. IntI. (Jan. 1981) 53, 40-44.
30. Jourdan, A. and Baron, G.: "Elf Drills 1,000 ft. + Horizontally," Pet.
Eng. Inti. (Sept. 1981) 53, 51-58.
31. Giger, F.: "L'equipment de forages horizontaux, petrole et techniques,"
Revue de I 'Assn. Fram;:ais des Techniciens de Petrole (Dec. 1982) 294,
40-42.
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34. Jourdan, A.: "Le forage de puits horizontaux," Revue de I 'AFT? Petrole
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35. Winrisch, C. and Jourdan, A.: "Horizontal Well Logging by Simphor,"
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36. Bleakly, W.B.: "IFP and Elf Aquitaine Solve Horizontal Well Logging
Problem," Pet. Eng. IntI. (Nov. 15, 1983) 55, 22-24.
SPE Formation Evaluation, December 1987
37. JolIrdan, A.P. and Baron, G.: "Horizontal Well ProveS Productivity
Advantages," Pet. Eng. IntI. (Oct. 1984) 56, 23-25.
38. Reiss, L.-H., Jourdan, A.P.L.,and Giger, F.M.: "Offshore European
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39. Anon: "Elf Tries Horizontal Drilling to Tap Heavy Oil," Oil & Gas
1. (Aug. I, 1983) 8i, 48.
40. Anon: "Elf to Attempt Deep Horizontal Well," Oil & Gas 1 (Dec.
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41. Giannesini, J.F.: "Horizontal Wells," PetroAsia (Jan.-Feb. 1984).
42. Sandhi, L., Cai-peniseaunu, D., and Ionoscu, L.: "Improvement of
Oil Recovery by Mining Methods," 10th World Petroleum Congress,
Bucharest (1979) 9.
43. Gigt;r, F.M. and Reiss, L.H.: "Reservoir Aspects of Horizontal
Conference iiod Exhibition, Houston. Sept. 16-19.
44. Duns, H., Van der Viis, A.C., arid Fernandez, L.R.: "Increasing Well
ProductiVity ih Tight Chalk Reservoirs," lOih World Petroleum
Congress, Bucharest (1979).
45. Houpeurt, A.: "Elements de mecanique des fluides dans les milieux
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46. Efros, D.A.: "Etude des eCOlilements multiphasiques dans les milieux
pbreux," Gosioptexizdat, Leningrad (1963).
47. Giger, F.: "Theoretical EvaJulition of the Effect of Water Cresting on
Production by Horiiontal Wells," Revue de I'[nst. Fran,ais du Ntrole
(May-June 1983) 38.
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1984 Annual Advances in Petroleum Recovery and Upgrading
Technoiogy Conference, Calgary, Alta., Jutie 14-15.
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Iteatect Heavy Oils to Parallel Horizontal Wells," 1. Cdn. Pet. Tech.
(April-June 1981) 20, 90-96.
50. Butler, R.M., McNab, G.S., and Lo, H.Y.: "Theoretical Studies on
the Gravity Drainage of Heavy Oil During In-Situ Steam Heating,"
Cdn. 1. Chern. Eng. (Aug. 1981) 59,455-60.
51. autler, R.M., Stephens, b.J., and Weiss, M.: "The Vertical Growth
of Steam Chambers in the in-Situ Thermal Recovery of Heavy Oils, "
Proc., 30th Cdn. Chern. Eng. Conf., Edmonton, Alta. (1980) 4,
1152-67.
52. Butler, R.M.: "New Interpretation of the Meaning of the Exponent
'm' in the Gravity Drainage Theory from Continuously Steamed Wells,"
Proc., Second World Congo Chern. Eng. (1981).
53. Joshi, S.D. and Threlkeld, C.B.: "Laboratory Studies of Thermally
Aided Gravity Drainage Using Horizontal Well," presented at the 1984
Annual Advances in Petroleum Recovery and Upgrading Techhology
Conference, Calgary, Alta., June 14-15.
54. Griffen, P.J. and Troimenkoff, P.N.: "Laboratory Studies of Steam-
Assisted Gravity Drainage Process, •• paper presented at the 1984 Annual
Advances in Petroleum Recovery and Upgrading Technology
Conference, Calgary, Alta., June 14-15.
55. Rial, R.M.: "3D Simulation Using a Horizontal Wellbore for Steam
Flooding," paper SPE 13076 presented at the 1984 SPE Annual
Technical Conference and Exhibition, Houston, Sept. 16-19.
56. Huygen, It.H.A. and Black, J.B.: "Steaining Through Horizontal Wells
and Fractures-Scaled Model Tests," Proc., Second European
Symposiun! on Enhanced Oil Recovery, Paris (Nov. 8-10, 1982)
507-17.
57. Cinco, H., Miller, F.G., and Ramey, H.i. Jr.: "Unsteady-State Pressure
Distribution Created by a Directionally Drilled Well," lPT(Nov. 197.5)
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58. Gringarten, A.C., Ramey, H.J. Jr., and Raghavan, R.: "Unsteady-
State Pressure Distributions Created by a Well With a Single Infinite-
Conducti~ity Vertical Fracture," SPEl (AUg. 1974) 347-60.
59. Raghavan, R., Uraiet, A., and Thomas, G.W.: "Vertical Fracture
Height: Effect on Transient Flow B~havior, " paper SPE 6061 presented
at the 1976 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, New
Orleans, Oct. 3-6.
60. Rodriguei, F;, Home, R.N., and Cinco-Ley, H.: "Partially Penetrating
Fractures; Pressure Transient Analysis of an infinite Conductivity
fracture," paper SPE 12743 presented at the 1984 SPE California
Regional Meeting, Long Beach. April II-B.
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Fuh£!ions in Solving Unsteady Flow Problems in Reservoirs," SPEl
(Oct. 1973) 285-96.
62. v\ln Everdihgen, A.F.: "The Skin Effect and its Impediment to Fluid
Flow into a Wellbore," Trans., AIME (1953) 198,171-76.
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Incompressible Fluid Case," SPEl dune 1961) 105-17.
64. Muskat, M.: The Flow of Homogeneous Fluids through Porous Media,
McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York City (1937).
693
65. Streltsova-Adams, T.D.: "Pressure Drawdown in a Well with Limited
Flow Entry," paper presented at the 1978 SPE Annual Technical at Zv =0 and Zv = I, ................ (A-2d)
Conference and Exhibition, Houston, Oct. 1-3.
66. Clausen, T.: "Uber die Zerlegung reeler gebrochener Funktionen,"
1. Reine Angew. Math. (1832) 8, 298-300. and
67. Ashour, A. and Sabri, A.: "Tabulation of the Spence Function,"
Mathematical Tables and Other Aids to Computation, Natl. Academy
of Sciences (1956) X.
68. Hantush, M.: Advances in Hydroscience, Ven Te Chow (ed.), Academic at xv=O and xv=l. ................ (A-2e)
Press, New York City (1964) 281-432.
69. Kazemi, H. and Seth, M.S.: "Effect of Anisotropy and Stratification
on Pressure Transient Analysis of Wells witb Restricted Flow Entry," Application of the finite Fourier cosine transform to the X coor-
JPT (May 1969) 639-46. dinate of the differential equation and boundary conditions yields
70. Earlougher, R.C.: Advances in Well Test Analysis, Monograph Series,
SPE, Richardson, TX (1977) 5.
7!. Tinsley, J.M: et al.: "Increased Vertical Fracture Height-Its Effect
on Steady State Production," JPT (May 1969) 633-38.
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Conductivity Fracture," PhD dissertation, Stanford U., Stanford, CA
(May 1977). where
73. Abramowiiz, M. and Stegun, l.A.: Handbook 0/ Mathematical
Functions, Dover Publications Inc., New York City (1972).
74. Tranter, C.J.: Integral Transforms in Mathematical Physics, Methuen Pv= rpv cos(mrxv)dxv ·
and Co., London (1966). o
75. Jolley, L.B.W.: Summation a/Series, Dover Publications Inc., New
York City (1961).
Initial and boundary conditions are
Appendix A-Derivation of Pressure II Yv and zv, ....... (A-4a)
Drawdown and Buildup Equations
To facilitate solution of the problem, the following variables are II Zv and tv, ....... (A-4b)
introduced:
apv
7,08 X 10 -3 ky(Lx{- Lxd)/lp lim
Pv= YD~O ayv

x y z
Xv=-, Yv= , and Zv=-· ................................. (A-4c)
hx (Lzb-L za ) hz
and
Substitution of these new variables into the partial differential equa-
tion and initial boundary conditions yields
at zv=O and z=l, .. (A-4d)

whete n is the Fourier transform variable. The fifth boundary con-

dition (Eq. A-2e) has been accounted for in the transformation of
The initial and boundary conditions are the a2pv1aXb term in the partial differential equations Eq. A-I.
Application of the finite Fourier cosine transform to the z coor-
dinate of Eq. A-3 and the boundary conditions yields

II Xv' zv, and tv, ... (A-2b)

where

I
Pv= j Pv cos(mrZv)dzv ·
o

Initial and boundary conditions are

Lxi ftv=O at tv=O II Yv, ............. (A-6a)

-<X:51
hx tv>tvo ' flv=o as Yv~oo II tv, .............. (A-6b)
. '.' .............................. (A-2c)

694 !iPE Formation Evaluation, December 1987

and Substituting for Amn and Bmn in Eq. A-8,

.
A

a'P D
I1m - - =
[
-I-
2
[ SIn
. (mrLX1) . (mrLXd)]
-- -SIn - -
(i-e -'''Do)e - .j,+(vx 1Tn)2 +(v, 1Tm)2 YD
YD-O aYD nm7r hx hx ~
PD
o 7r 2mns.Js + (v x7rn)2 +(v z7rm)2

X . (m7rLXb) . (m7rLxa
[ SIn - - - -SIn - - -
hz hz
)]j t D < t Do

tD>ID ' ........ (A-6c)

o

.............. (A-9)
where m is the Fourier transform variable. The fourth boundary
condition (Eq. A-4d) has been accounted for in the transformation
of the a2 pD laYb term in the partial differential equation, Eq. A-3. whose inverse Laplace transform 73 is
Now the application of a Laplace transform to Eq. A-5 and Eqs.
A-6b and A-6c yields
O<tD StDo
tD>tDo,

................................. (A-IO)

where
where

The boundary conditions become

PD=O as YD-+ oo

for Eq. A-6b, and

and

Upon integration,

for Eq. A-6c, where s is the Laplace transform variable (not to bc

confused with the skin factor, S). The initial condition (Eq. A-6a) _-;:=====-[e-1T.J(vxn)2+(v,m)2 YD
G mn
has been accounted for in the transformation ofthe time derivative 27r.J(v n) 2 +(v m)2
x z
in Eq. A-5.

(+o'r(
The general solution of the ordinary differential equation, Eq.
A-7, is
X ,.1[(",")' +(', .m)'J'D
'P~D =A mn e - [.Js+(v,rrn)2
. +(v.1Tm)2 YD]
•

-2';,; ))-,,,.I,••,,, +(. ,m)' '"

From the boundary condition of Eq. A-6c,

Xo"'[ ,J[("<n)'+(,,.mJ'J'D + 2';,; ) J
and

and from boundary condition A-6b,

r;;; -
= 2-\/ ~e ,2 141
)D D -YD erfc ( - YD
- -) .
Bmn=O. 7r 2-Jt;;
SPE Formation Evaluation, December 1987 695
Applying successive inverse Fourier cosine transforms 74 to Eq. It can be demonstrated numerically that if
A-iO yields
max(Lzaoh z - L zb ) r;:
'\l ~<O.25,
Lv.' kz

then the term on the right side of Eq. B-1 containing the double
00 sum is only negligibly affected « I % error) by (v x7rn)2 and hence
L: GOm(tD,YD)'Zm cos(m7rZD)
m=J

L:
n=J

L:
n=J
L:
m=J 00 00
erfCvz 7rm..rt;;) _
"" n=J
L: 2~ L: -----~m cos(m7rZD)· ..... (B-2)
m=J

for the drawdown. The buildup can be determined by substituting Furthermore, using the relationships 74
Eq. A-II into Eq. A-iO. When y=O (i.e., at the wellbore),
sin(mu)
_ erf[ ~[(vx7rn)2 + (v z 7rm)2jtD J L: ---=V2(7r-U) O<u<7r
Gmn(tD,O) - .
m=J m
7r~(vxn)2 +(v zm)2
and
and

rr;;
G OO (tD,0)=2'\l ~. L:
00
sin 2 Cmu)
- - - = 'i2U(7r-U)
7r m=J m2
Setting YD =0 in Eq. A-II yields the expression for the pressure
drawdown at the strip (wellbore): Eq. B-1 can be written as

erf(v x 7rn..rt;;) -2 hxh z ~

X t!.n+-- ~
n L w V z 7r m=J
,
erf(v z7rm..rt;;) ]
x m 2m cos(m7rZD) . . ......... (B-3)

erf[~[(vx7rn)2 +(v z7rm)2jtD J ';;' ';;' A further refinement can be made by substituting for zD accord-
X -m-n ing to Gringarten et at. 58 and Muskat. 64 To convert from the strip
.J(vxn)2 +(v zm)2
of width (L zb - Lza) to a well of radius r w , accounting for anisotro-
py, we make the substitution suggested by Prats 63 for the effec-
Xolli('," D)CO,(m"D». . ................ (A-12) tive wellbore radius of a fracture:

Appendix B-Detailed Derivation of

Simplified Equations
To adjust the solution ofEq. A-12 to account for the uniform pres- Following this substitution,
sure boundary condition at the well, we integrate over xD from
xD =Lxd1hx to xD =Lx/1hx and divide by the length of the well:
[sin [m7r(h:~2r:v)] -sin [m7r(h~~2r:V)]J
282.4q/lBo CL zb -Lza) ( , - h; ~ I
Pi-Pwj= 'V7rtD +-2- ~ - 2m= - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
hxhZk y 7r Vx n-l n 4mr~ .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (B-4)

For small u,

2
erf(u)=-u (u<O.I<I% error) .
.J;
Therefore, for early time,

erf[ ~[(vx7rn)2 +CV z7rm)2jtD] _"_ )

X ~;;t!.m cos(m7rZD) . erf(Vx7rn..rt;;)2~""~(-I--~) 2..rt;; .
.J(vxn)2 +(v zm)2
n Lw hx 2 .J;
.................................. (B-l) .................................. (B-5)

696 SPE Formation Evaluation, December 1987

 The term containing r:" would behave in a similar fashion; how- Substituting Eq. B-1O into Eq. B-9 yields
ever, the width of the strip is so small that this approximation would
be valid only for unrealistically small times, but would be of in- 8. 128qBo ~ 141.2qp.Bo
terest if considering a partially penetrating fracture of significant Pi-Pwj= ~ ~--+ Sz· ....... (B-ll)
width. hzL w kyc/>ct Lw.../kykz
Also, for early time,
During late intermediate time, the term containing Zn will as-
00
erf(p z1l'm.Jt;;) 1.8089 sume the approximation described by Eq. B-6 as follows:
2:
m=1
------Zm
m
cos(m1l'ZD)"" - - -
hz 00
erf(px 1l'n.Jt;;) .... 2 1.8089
2: I:!tn~---

tkz) -3.227] - lJ z1l'.r;;t;;

n=1 n hi
X
[loglo (c/>P.Ctrw
--,-2 ........... (B-6)
hz
X
tkx) -2.023]
[10glO( c/>P.CtLw
---2
px1l'2 ~
--2-'lI1I'tD.· ...... . (B-12)
This relationship was determined numerically. Substituting Eqs. hx
B-5 and B-6 into B-3 gives.
Substituting Eqs. B-12, B-8, and B-1O into Eq. B-3 yields

For early intermediate time (u > 1.8), erf(u) "" I. Therefore, the left
side of Eq. B-6 will become constant and equal to 141.2qp.Bo
+ Lw.../kxky Sz . ......................... (B-13)

For late intermediate time, the term containing Zn will become

where constant, resulting in a constant pressure drop as a result of the
partial penetration of the strip across x. Defining the pseudoskin
to be consistent with Sz results in

00 ,;:;,2
2: '"'n ...................... (B-14)
and is known as the Spence function. Also, n=1 n
h
z~y -
k
z

11'
112 =-(2h s + 3.48r:.,) ,
hz

................................. (B-15)

and The buildup can be analytically reduced to similar simplified ex-

pressions.
11'
114 = - (2h s -O.52r:.,).
hz SI Metric Conversion Factors
bbl x 1.589873 E-Ol m3
cp x 1.0 E-03 Pa's
ft x 3.048*' E-Ol m
psi x 6.894757 E+OO kPa
...... (B-9) psi-I x 1.450377 E-04 Pa- I

.-Conversion factor is exact. SPEFE

The pseudoskin resulting from the partial penetration in the z direc-
tion is
Sz =0.6366h zOz· ............................... (B-IO)
Original SPE manuscript received for review Sept. 22, 1985. Paper accepted for publica·
tion Nov. 3, 1986. Revised manuscript received May 29, t987. Paper (SPE 14250) first
presented at the 1985 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition held in Las Vegas,
Sept. 22-25.

SPE Formation Evaluation, December 1987 697