Analysis of Well, Production,

and Pressure History

Summary: Part 1
• Characteristic Production Profiles
• Undersaturated oil drive
• Solution gas drive
• Gas cap drive
• Water drive & Diagnostic plots

Reference: Practical Reservoir Engineering and Characterization; Richard O. Baker, Harvey W. Yarranton; Jerry L. Jensen Publisher: Elsevier
Characteristic Production Profiles
• Exemination of production, pressure, and development history can • Solution gas drive (non-segregated gas): reservoir performance is similar to gas
often aid in characterizing the reservoir: cap reservoir (performance when pressre drop below Pb)
• Drive mechanism • Initial oil rate (wells performance) depends on local permeability and pay thickness),
and whether gas is segregated or not;
• Permeability distribution • Non-segregated gas flow: Decline rate is hyperbolic with b=0.2 – 0.4, segregated also
• Presence and location of barriers depends on the distance to GOC
• Fluid breakthrough • Segregated gas: reservoir perfroamnce is similar to gas cap reservoir
• Distribution of water cut • UR = 5 – 20 %
• Distribution of GOR • Solution gas recovery is 85 – 95 % and UR can be estimated from cum oil vs. cum gas
(or gas recovery) cartesian or semi-log plot. Linear extrapolation to 90 % of gas
• Distribution of pressure recovery
• Wells require artificial lift
• There are characteristic production profiles that correspond to • Water cut remains low
different drive mechanisms. Aldo production profiles depend on • Producing GOR initially low, then rises to maximum, then decreases
reservoir architecture and segregation of evolved gas • Reservoir pressure declines rapidly
• The rate at which oil production declines is also an indication of • Gas Cap drive
drive mechanism • Initial oil rate (wells performance) depends on local permeability and pay thickness,
distance to gas cap, gas cap size, etc.
• Three types of decline curves: exponential (b=0, steepest decline • Performance depends highly on size of gas cap, relative gas and oil column
thicknesses, permeability, ability to control GOR and coning, reservoir structure,
rate), harmonic (b=1, shallowest decline rate), and hyperbolic gravity drainage, gas segregation
(0<b<1) • Decline rate is hyperbolic with b=0.5, segregated also depends on the distance to GOC
and structure, permeability (coning)
• Production histories to be expected from different drive mechanisms • UR for small gas caps with m<0.3 and low permeability: UR is 5 – 20 %
(pressure, oil rate, GOR, water cut vs. time or cum oil production) • UR for big gas caps with m>0.3 and thick oil (>10 m) and high permeability : UR > 30 %
• Undersaturated oil drive • UR for thick reservoirs dominated by gravity drainage > 50 %
• Initial oil rate (wells performance) depends only on local permeability and pay • Artificial lift requirement depends on size of gas cap
thickness), thus initial oil rate may be different, but decline is exponential and similar • Water cuts remain low
for all wells;
• Once gas breakthrough happens it will rise continuously
• UR < 5 %
• Producing GOR rises continuously in up structure wells
• Wells require artificial lift
• Reservoir pressure falls slowly and continuously
• Water cut remain low
• Producing GOR is constant
• Reservoir pressure declines rapidly

Reference: Practical Reservoir Engineering and Characterization; Richard O. Baker, Harvey W. Yarranton; Jerry L. Jensen Publisher: Elsevier
Characteristic Production Profiles
• Water Drive • Combination drive (gas cap and water drive)
• Initial oil rate (wells performance) depends on local permeability and pay thickness, • Initial oil rate (wells performance) depends on local permeability and pay thickness,
distance to OWC, aquifer strength (relative to withdrawal rate), structure, distance to distance to OWC / GOC, aquifer strength (relative to withdrawal rate), structure,
neighbor well, etc. distance to neighbor well, etc.
• Before water breakthrough: Nearly constant oil rate (minimum decline) can be • Usually have good pressure maintenance and slow decline in oil rate until gas / water
maintained until water drive if aquifer is strong enough breakthrough occurs
• After water breakthrough: water cut rises continuously and oil rate declines • After gas / water breakthrough – its flow rises continuously
hyperbolically or sometimes harmonically (b=0.2 – 1) depending on mobility ratio,
permeability distribution, voidage replacement, aquifer strength; • Breakthrough of one fluid leads to pressure decline and quick breakthrough of second
fluid
• If aquifer support is weak – reservoir pressure drop below bubble point and drive
mechanism become mixture of solution gas drive and water drive; thus in water + • In a well managed reservoir, breakthrough of either fluid is delayed as long as possible
solution gas drive – GOR increase and pressure drop slowly then in solution gas drive and occurs nearly simultaneously for both fluids
• If water breakthrough happens after pressure drop below Pb and GOR increase – then • Rapid decline is expected after breakthrough
more rapid oil decline happens because of 3 phase flow and coning
• UR is 20 – 80 %
• Artificial lift requirement depends on aquifer strength
• Water cut breakthrough is early (depend on distance to OWC) and increases
continuously
• Producing GOR is low
• Reservoir pressure remains high
• There are many diagnostic plots for water drive reservoirs
• Diagnostic plots for water drive reservoirs:
• Semi log oil cut vs. cum oil
• Semi log WOR vs. cum oil
• Extrapolation of these plots can provide a good estimate of UR
• Log WOR and log oil cut trends are often linear in moderate to high oil viscosity
reservoirs
• In light oil waterdrive reservoirs, water cut often rises so rapidly that clear trends are
not observed

Reference: Practical Reservoir Engineering and Characterization; Richard O. Baker, Harvey W. Yarranton; Jerry L. Jensen Publisher: Elsevier