Well Performance and

Modelling
Contents

 Introduction
 Oilfield Equipment
 Inflow Performance
 Wellbore Performance
 Choke Performance
 Well Deliverability
 Problem Wells
 Production Optimisation
The Petroleum Production
System
• The Role of the
Production Engineer is
to maximise oil and
gas production in a
cost effective and
safe manner.
• Well Integrity +
Production
Improvement.
The Reservoir
 A Reservoir is a porous and permeable underground
formation containing an individual bank of hydrocarbons
confined by impermeable rock or water barriers and is
characterized by a single natural pressure system
 An Oil that is at a pressure above its bubble point pressure is
called an “undersaturated oil” because it can dissolve
more gas at a given temperature. Single Phase Flow
prevails in an undersaturated oil reservoir.
 Classification of Reservoirs :
 Oil, Gas, Condensate
 Traps (Structural or Stratigraphic)
 Drive Mechanism (Water Drive, Gas Cap Drive, Dissolved
Gas Drive)
Reservoir
Water Drive Reservoir

 In water Drive Reservoirs, the oil zone is

connected by a continuous path to the
aquifer
 The pressure caused by the “column” of
water forces the oil to the well bore. The trap
boundary restricts the oil and gas
 With the same oil production reservoir
pressure can be maintained above the
bubble point.
 A steady state flow condition can prevail in
the reservoir for a long time before water
breakthrough into the well
Water Drive Mechanisms
Water Drive Reservoir
The Well Completion
The Wellhead
Christmas Tree and Packer
 The Purposes of the Christmas Tree are to:
 Provides the primary means of closing in the well
 Isolate the well from adjacent wells
 Connect a flowline
 Provide Vertical access for well intervention (slickline, eline, Coiled tubing,
etc.)
 Interface with the Tubing Hanger
 Connect or interface the tree to the wellhead
 Packers provide a structural purpose (anchor the tubing to the casing)
and a sealing purpose. They are used to:
 isolate the annulus to provide sufficient barriers or casing corrosion
prevention
 Isolate different production zones for zonal isolation
 Provide a repair or isolation capacity
Wellhead Chokes
 Used to:
 limit production rates for regulations
 protect surface equipment from slugging
 avoid sand problems due to high drawdown
 Control Flow Rate to avoid water or gas coning
 Placing a choke at the wellhead means fixing the wellhead pressure and thus,
the flowing bottom hole pressure and production rate.
 At Sonic flow conditions downstream pressure does not affect upstream pressure.
Decreasing the downstream pressure does not increase the flow rate. If the
pressure does not increase the flow rate.
 If the downstream pressure is gradually increased, there will be no change in
either the flow rate or the upstream pressure until the critical-subcritical flow
boundary pressure until the critical-subcritical flow boundary is reached
 The choke stabilises well production rate and separation operation conditions
Wellhead Chokes
The Mystery of XX
Tubing or Annulus Flow?
 Tubing and Annulus connected to the production
line
 Operations report says that there is tubing and
annulus flow
 Wireline report says that there is tubing and annulus
flow
 Prosper model believes that there is tubing and
annulus flow or a 3 ½ inch tubing
 How would you check?
Properties of Oil
 Rs (scf/stb) - Solution Gas Oil Ratio is defined as the
amount of gas (in standard condition) that will dissolve in a
unit volume of oil when both are taken down to the
reservoir at the prevailing temperature and pressure
141.5
 ◦ API = − 131.5
𝛾𝑜
 Bo (rb/stb) Formation volume Factor of Oil – The volume
occupied in the reservoir at the prevailing pressure and
temperature by a volume of oil in stock tank, plus its
dissolved gas
 Viscosity is an empirical parameter used for describing the
resistance to flow of fluid. The viscosity of oil is of interest in
well-inflow and hydraulics calculations in production
engineering. It can be measured in labs or predicted using
empirical correlations.
Reservoir Deliverability
 Steady State Flow is defined as the flow regime where the pressure at
any point in the reservoir remains constant over time.
 The pressure at the boundary of the reservoir remains constant.
Darcy Equation for Steady
State
 h – reservoir thickness
 k – effective reservoir horizontal permeability
 μo – viscosity of oil
 Bo – Oil Formation Volume Factor
 p – reservoir pressure at distance r from the wellbore
centre
 pe – pressure at the constant-pressure boundary
 re – distance of pressure boundary from the wellbore
centre
 rw – wellbore radius
 pwf – flowing bottom hole pressure
Prosper Data Input
 Options Summary
 Fluid Description
 Calculation Type
 Flow Type

 PVT Properties
 Correlations: Bubble Point, Solution GOR, Oil Formation Factor, Oil Viscosity
 Matching Data

 Equipment Data
 Deviation Survey
 Surface Equipment
 Downhole Equipment
 Geothermal Gradient
 Average Heat Capacities