Reservoir Engineering-Water Influx

MSc Petroleum Engineering
School of Engineering
Reservoir Engineering
Water influx
Yingfang Zhou, PhD Reservoir Engineering, 2018 Page 1 www.abdn.ac.uk

Course outline:
• This lecture focuses on those reservoir-aquifer

systems in which the size of the aquifer is large
enough and the permeability of the rock is high
enough that water influx occurs as the reservoir
is depleted.
• This lecture also provides various water influx
calculation models and a detailed description of
the computational steps involved in applying
these models.

List of figures:
• Figure 1. Illustration of an anticline reservoir 10
• Figure 2. Schematic of infinite and finite acting aquifers 14
• Figure 3. Flow geometries 20
• Figure 4. Water influx into a cylindrical reservoir 39
• Figure 5. Idealized radial flow model 40
• Figure 6. Dimensionless water influx WeD 40
• Figure 7. Gas cap drive reservoir 41
• Figure 8. Dimensionless water influx WeD for infinite aquifer 42

List of tables:
• Table 1. Van Everdingen-Hurst model for edge water influx of infinite
aquifer 43

Recap: Primary recovery (oil reservoir)
Gas
GOC
Oil
Declining pressure
OWC
Cross Section View Water
Figure 1. Illustration of an anticline reservoir
• When oil is extracted, the pressure reduces in the region of the wellbore due
to influx
• This pressure drop causes movement of fluids in the pore space
• gas may migrate from a primary or secondary gas cap
• water may encroach from the higher-pressured aquifer
• Movement is always from higher to lower pressure
Water Influx
• Water influx is the process by which water invades the reservoir
due to the pressure difference resulting from the production of
hydrocarbons;
• Understanding water influx represents one of the greatest
uncertainties faced by a reservoir engineer because:
• we tend to be interested in hydrocarbons rather than water; hence
few appraisal wells are drilled to understand the aquifer
• aquifer systems can be regionally extensive and complex;
characterising and understanding them is difficult
• regional connectivity means that activity elsewhere can significantly
affect aquifer behaviour e.g. producing hydrocarbons or water for
human use
• However it is a key component in the estimation of reserves
associated with any development and the forecast of reservoir
production performance

Water Drive Mechanisms
Many gas and oil reservoirs produced by a mechanism termed water

drive. Often this is called natural water drive to distinguish it from
artificial water drive that involves the injection of water into the
formation. Hydrocarbon production from the reservoir and the
subsequent pressure drop prompt a response from the aquifer to
offset the pressure decline. This response comes in a form of water
influx, commonly called water encroachment, which is attributed to:
• Expansion of the water in the aquifer

• Compressibility of the aquifer rock
• Artesian flow
(where the water-bearing formation outcrop is
located structurally higher than the pay zone)

Classification of Aquifer
Reservoir-aquifer systems are commonly

classified on the basis of:
• Outer boundary conditions
• Flow Regimes
• Degree of pressure maintenance
• Flow geometries

Outer boundary conditions
Infinite-acting aquifer:
(no aquifer is truly infinite)
The aquifer is so large that

pressure perturbations at the
reservoir due to production or
injection are not registered at
the furthest extents of the
aquifer
Finite aquifer: Figure 2. Schematic of infinite and
finite acting aquifers
The aquifer is of limited extent
and volume such that influx of
water into the reservoir results
in a measurable drop in the
pressure of the aquifer

Flow Regimes
• Steady State
Water influx rate does not change with time.
• Unsteady state
Rate of water influx is a function of time.
• Semi-steady (pseudo-steady)-state

Degree of Pressure Maintenance
• Based on the degree of the reservoir pressure

maintenance provided by the aquifer, the natural
water drive is often qualitatively described as:
• Active water drive
• Partial water drive
• Limited water drive
• The term active water drive refers to the water

encroachment mechanism in which the rate of water
influx equals the reservoir total production rate.
Active water-drive reservoirs are typically
characterized by a gradual and slow reservoir
pressure decline.

Active water drive
The term active water drive refers to the water
encroachment mechanism in which the rate of water
influx equals the reservoir total production rate.
• If, during any long period, the production rate and reservoir pressure remain
reasonably constant, the reservoir has active aquifer.
• Active water-drive reservoirs are typically characterized by a gradual and slow
reservoir pressure decline.
 water influx rate  oil flow rate   free gas flow rate   water production rate 
ew  water influx rate, bbl/day

ew  Qo B o  Q g B g  Qw Bw
where
Qo  oil flow rate, STB/day
Bo  oil formation volume factor, bbl/STB
Qg  free gas flow rate, scf/day
Bg  gas formation volume factor, bbl/scf
Qw  water flow rate, STB/day
Bw  water formation volume factor, bbl/STB

Active water drive
Previous equation can be equivalently expressed in terms of cumulative
production by introducing the following derivative terms:
dW e dN p dN p dW p
ew   Bo  (GOR  R s ) Bg  Bw
dt dt dt dt
where We  cumulative water influx, bbl

t  time, days
Np  cumulative oil production, STB
GOR  current gas-oil ratio, scf/STB
Rs  current gas solubility, scf/STB
Bg  gas formation volume factor, bbl/scf
Wp  cumulative water production, STB
dNp/dt  daily oil flow rate Qo, STB/day
dWp/dt  daily water flow rate Qw, STB/day
dWe/dt  daily water influx rate ew, bbl/day
(GOR-Rs)dNp/dt  daily free gas flow rate, scf/day

Exercise
Calculate the water influx rate, ew, in a reservoir whose pressure is

stabilized at 3000 psi, by given
Initial reservoir pressure=3500psi,
dNp/dt=32.00 STB/day; Bo=1.4 bbl/STB; GOR=900 scf/STB;
Rs=700 scf/STB; Bg=0.00082 bbl/scf; dWp/dt=0; Bw=1.0 bbl/STB;
Solution
dN p dN p
 GOR  Rs 
dWe dWp
ew   Bo Bg  Bw
dt dt dt dt
 1.4  32  (900  700)  32  0.00082  0  50.048bbl/day

Flow Geometries
Reservoir-aquifer systems can be classified on the basis of
flow geometry as:
a. Edge-water drive
b. Bottom-water drive
c. Linear-water drive
Linear-water Drive
Figure 3. Flow geometries

Edge-water drive Bottom-water drive
• Water moves into the • Reservoirs with large areal extent and
flanks of the reservoir Gentle dip
• Reservoir-water contact completely
• The flow is essentially underlies.
radial with negligible flow • The flow is essentially radial with
in the vertical direction. significant vertical flow.

Indications of natural water influx
• Analogy with nearby producing reservoirs
• Low rate of reservoir pressure decline with increasing cumulative
withdrawals.
• Early water production from edge wells.
• Material Balance:
Calculation of increasing original oil-in-place from successive
reservoir pressure surveys by using the material balance assuming
no water influx is also indicative of fluid influx.

Water influx models
• Several models have been developed for estimating water influx that are
based on assumptions that describe the characteristics of the aquifer.
• The mathematical water influx models that are commonly used in the
petroleum industry include:
• Pot aquifer
• Schilthuis’ steady-state
• Hurst’s modified steady-state
• The Van Everdingen-Hurst unsteady-state
- Edge-water drive
- Bottom-water drive
• The Carter-Tracy unsteady-state
• Fetkovich’s method
- Radial aquifer
- Linear aquifer

The Pot Aquifer Model
• The simplest model that can be used to estimate the water influx into a
gas or oil reservoir is based on the basic definition of compressibility. A
drop in the reservoir pressure, due to the production of fluids, causes the
aquifer water to expand and flow into the reservoir.
• The compressibility is defined mathematically as: V  cVp
• Applying the above basic compressibility definition to the aquifer gives:
Water influx = (aquifer compressibility) (initial volume of water) (pressure drop)
where We = cumulative water influx, bbl
We  cw  c f Wi  pi  p 
cw = aquifer water compressibility, psi-1
cf = aquifer rock compressibility, psi-1
Wi = initial volume of water in the aquifer,
bbl
pi = initial reservoir pressure, psi
p = current reservoir pressure (pressure at
oil-water contact), psi

Initial volume of water
Calculating the initial volume of water in the aquifer requires the

knowledge of aquifer dimension and properties. These, however, are
seldom measured since wells are not deliberately drilled into the
aquifer to obtain such information. For instance, if the aquifer shape is
radial, then
  (ra2  re2 ) h  
Wi   
 5.615  cu-ft to bbl
where ra  radius of the aquifer, ft

re  radius of the reservoir, ft
h  thickness of the aquifer, ft
𝜑  porosity of the aquifer

Partially Water Encroachment
The simplest model that can be used to estimate the water influx into a gas
or oil reservoir is based on the basic definition of compressibility. A drop in
the reservoir pressure, due to the production of fluids, causes the aquifer
water to expand and flow into the reservoir. The compressibility is defined
V  cV P
mathematically as:
above equation suggests that water is encroaching in a radial form from all
directions. Quite often, water does not encroach on all sides of the reservoir
W e  (c w  cf ) Wi f(pi  p)
where the fractional encroachment angle f is defined by:
(encoachment angle) 
f  
360 360

Exercise
Calculate the cumulative water influx that results from a pressure
drop of 200 psi at the oil-water contact with an encroachment
angle of 80˚. The reservoir-aquifer is characterized by the following
properties:
reservoir aquifer
radius, ft 2600 10000
porosity 0.18 0.12
cf, psi^(-1) 4.00E-06 3.00E-06
cw, psi^(-1) 5.00E-06 4.00E-06
h, ft 25 25

Solution
Step1. Calculate the initial volume of the water in the aquifer form
 r  r h
2 2
3.14100002  26002 25  0.12
Wi  a e
  156.5MMbbl
5.615 5.615
Step2. Determine the cumulative water influx using the pot aquifer
method,
We  cw  c f Wi  pi -p 
f
 48689bbl
360

Limitation of the pot aquifer model
• The pot aquifer model is only applicable to a small aquifer, i.e.,

pot aquifer, whose dimensions are of the same order of
magnitude as the reservoir itself.
• Dake (1978) points out that because the aquifer is considered
relatively small, a pressure drop in the reservoir is
instantaneously transmitted throughout the entire reservoir-
aquifer system.
• Dake suggests that for large aquifers, a mathematical model is
required which includes time dependence to account for the
fact that it takes a finite time for the aquifer to respond to a
pressure change in the reservoir.

Schilthuis’ Steady-State Model
• Schilthuis (1936) proposed that for an aquifer that is flowing under the
steady-state flow regime, the flow behavior could be described by Darcy’s
equation. The rate of water influx ew can then be determined by applying
Darcy’s equation:
dWe
 ew 
0.00708kh
 pi  p 
dt  ra 
w ln 
 re 
• This relationship can be more conveniently expressed

cw = aquifer water compressibility, psi-1
 C  pi  p 
dWe k= permeability of the aquifer, mD
ra = radius of the aquifer, ft
dt re = radius of the reservoir, ft
t = time, days
h = thickness of the aquifer, ft
Schilthuis’ Steady-State Model
• The parameter C is called the water influx constant and is

expressed in bbl/day/psi. This water influx constant C may
be calculated from the reservoir historical production data
over a number of selected time intervals, provided that the
rate of water influx ew has been determined independently
from a different expression.
• If the steady-state approximation adequately describes the
aquifer flow regime, the calculated water influx constant C
values will be constant over the historical period.
• Note that the pressure drops contributing to influx are the
cumulative pressure drops from the initial pressure.
 C  pi  p 
dWe
dt
Exercise
A reservoir whose pressure is stabilized at 3000 psi, by given

Initial reservoir pressure=3500psi,
dNp/dt=32.00 STB/day; Bo=1.4 bbl/STB; GOR=900 scf/STB;
Rs=700 scf/STB; Bg=0.00082 bbl/scf; dWp/dt=0; Bw=1.0 bbl/STB;
Calculate the schilthuis’s water influx constant.

Solution
Step1. Solve for the rate of water influx ew by,
dN p dN p
 GOR  Rs 
dWe dWp
ew   Bo Bg  Bw
dt dt dt dt
 1.4  32  (900  700)  32  0.00082  0  50.048bbl/day
Step2. Solve for the water influx constant with
 ew  C  pi  p 
dWe
dt
ew 50048
C    100 bbl/day/psi
 pi  p  3500  3000

Calculation of Cumulative water influx using Schilthuis model
 ew  C  pi  p 
dWe where We  cumulative water influx, bbl
dt C  water influx constant, bbl/day/psi
t = time, days
pi = initial reservoir pressure, psi
p = pressure at the oil-water contact at time t, psi
We t t
 dWe   C  p  p dt  We   C  p  p dt

0 0
i
0
i Trapezoidal
Method
  p  p dt  area
0
i I  area II  area III  etc.
 pi  p1    pi  p1    pi  p2  
 t1  0   t2  t1   etc.
 2   2 
t
We  C  p t
0

Exercise
The pressure history of a water-drive oil reservoir is given below:

t, days p, psi
0 3500
100 3450
200 3410
300 3380
400 3340
The aquifer is under a steady state flowing condition with an

estimated water influx constant of 130 bbl/day/psi. Calculate the
cumulative water influx after 100 and 300 days using the steady
state model.

Solution
Step 1. Calculate the total pressure drop at each time t,
t, days p, psi pi-p
0 3500 0
100 3450 50
200 3410 90
300 3380 120
400 3340 160
Step 2, Calculate the cumulative influx after 100 days,
t
We  C  p t  130   100  325000bbl
50
0 2
Step 3, Calculate
t
the cumulative influx after 300 days,
We  C  p t
0
 50 50  90 120  90 
 130    100   100   100   2600000bbl
 2 2 2 
Hurst’s Modified Steady-State Model
• One of the problems associated with the Schilthuis’ steady-state model is

that as the water is drained from the aquifer, the aquifer drainage radius ra
will increase as the time increases. Hurst (1943) proposed that the
“apparent” aquifer radius ra would increase with time and, therefore the
dimensionless radius ra/re may be replaced with a time dependent function,
as:
C  pi  p 
dWe
 ew 
0.00708kh
 pi  p  
dt w ln at  ln at 
unknown
 pi  p   p 
t t
We   C  dt C   t
0  ln(at )  0  ln( at ) 
unknown

How to find unknown variables:
• The Hurst modified steady-state equation contains two unknown
constants a and C, that must be determined from the reservoir
aquifer pressure and water influx historical data.
dWe C  pi  p  (pi − p)/ew

ew  
dt ln at 
Ln(t)
Graphical determination of C and a.
a plot of (pi − p)/ew versus ln(t) will be a straight line with a slope of 1/C and intercept of
(1/C)ln(a), as shown schematically in the Figure.

The Van Everdingen-Hurst Unsteady State Model
The flow of water from an aquifer into a cylindrical is identical to those equations
that describe reservoir flow of crude oil system into a wellbore.
pD 1 pD pD
 
rD rD rD
2
tD
They solved above equation using Laplace
transform under constant terminal pressure
boundary conditions for the following systems:
• Edge-water-drive system (radial system)
• Bottom-water-drive system
• Line drive system
Figure 4. Water influx into a cylindrical reservoir
Van Everdingen and Hurst assumed that the aquifer is characterized by:
• Uniform thickness
• Constant permeability
• Uniform porosity
• Constant rock compressibility
• Constant water compressibility

The Van Everdingen-Hurst model for Edge-Water Drive of finite aquifer
p
For a bounded aquifer 0
r r  r a
6.328  103 kt
tD 
wctre2
ra
rD  Figure 5. Idealized radial flow model
re
ct  cw  c f
where t  time, days
k  permeability of the aquifer, md
𝜑 porosity of the aquifer
𝜇 viscosity of water in the aquifer, cp
ra  radius of the aquifer, ft
re  radius of the reservoir, ft
cw  compressibility of the water, psi 1
cf  compressibility of the aquifer formation, psi 1
ct  total compressibility coefficient, psi 1
Figure 6. Dimensionless water influx WeD
Van Everdingen-Hurst Water influx calculation
W e  B pW eD
with
B  1.119ct re2 h
where We = cumulative water influx, bbl

B = water influx constant, bbl/psi
∆𝑝 = pressure drop at the boundary, psi
𝑊𝑒𝐷 = dimensionless water influx
If water does not encroach on all sides of the reservoir
B  1.119ct re2 hf

f 
360 Figure 7. Gas cap drive reservoir
for a full circle θ = 360° and for semicircle reservoir against a fault θ =180°

Van Everdingen-Hurst model for edge water influx of infinite aquifer
For an infinite aquifer
p r   pi
Figure 8. Dimensionless water influx WeD for

infinite aquifer

Van Everdingen-Hurst model for edge water influx of infinite aquifer
Dimensionl Fluid Influx Dimensionl Fluid Influx Dimensionl Fluid Influx Dimensionl Fluid Influx Dimensionl Fluid Influx Dimensionl Fluid Influx
ess time 𝑡𝐷 𝑊𝑒𝐷 ess time 𝑡𝐷 𝑊𝑒𝐷 ess time 𝑡𝐷 𝑊𝑒𝐷 ess time 𝑡𝐷 𝑊𝑒𝐷 ess time 𝑡𝐷 𝑊𝑒𝐷 ess time 𝑡𝐷 𝑊𝑒𝐷
0 0 79 35.697 455 150.249 1190 340.843 3250 816.09 35 6780.247

0.01 0.112 80 36.058 460 151.64 1200 343.308 3300 827.088 40 7650.096
0.05 0.278 81 36.418 465 153.029 1210 345.77 3350 838.067 50 9363.099
0.1 0.404 82 36.777 470 154.416 1220 348.23 3400 849.028 60 11,047.30
0.15 0.52 83 37.136 475 155.801 1225 349.46 3450 859.974 70 12,708.36
0.2 0.606 84 37.494 480 157.184 1230 350.688 3500 870.903 75 13,531.46
0.25 0.689 85 37.851 485 158.565 1240 353.144 3550 881.816 80 14,350.12
0.3 0.758 86 38.207 490 159.945 1250 355.597 3600 892.712 90 15,975.39
0.4 0.898 87 38.563 495 161.322 1260 358.048 3650 903.594 100 17,586.28
0.5 1.02 88 38.919 500 162.698 1270 360.496 3700 914.459 125 21,560.73
0.6 1.14 89 39.272 510 165.444 1275 361.72 3750 925.309 1.50E+05 2.54E+04
0.7 1.251 90 39.626 520 168.183 1280 362.942 3800 936.144 2.0″ 3.308″
0.8 1.359 91 39.979 525 169.549 1290 365.386 3850 946.966 2.5″ 4.066″
0.9 1.469 92 40.331 530 170.914 1300 367.828 3900 957.773 3.0″ 4.817″
1 1.569 93 40.684 540 173.639 1310 370.267 3950 968.566 4.0″ 6.267″
2 2.447 94 41.034 550 176.357 1320 372.704 4000 979.344 5.0″ 7.699″
3 3.202 95 41.385 560 179.069 1325 373.922 4050 990.108 6.0″ 9.113″
4 3.893 96 41.735 570 181.774 1330 375.139 4100 1000.858 7.0″ 1.05E+05
5 4.539 97 42.084 575 183.124 1340 377.572 4150 1011.595 8.0″ 1.189"
6 5.153 98 42.433 580 184.473 1350 380.003 4200 1022.318 9.0″ 1.326″
7 5.743 99 42.781 590 187.166 1360 382.432 4250 1033.028 1.00E+06 1.462″
8 6.314 100 43.129 600 189.852 1370 384.859 4300 1043.724 1.5″ 2.126″
9 6.869 105 44.858 610 192.533 1375 386.07 4350 1054.409 2.0″ 2.781″

Exercise
Calculate the water influx at the end of 1, 2 and 5 years into a

circular reservoir with an extent. The initial and current reservoir
pressure are 2500 and 2490 psi, respectively. The reservoir-aquifer
system has the following properties.
Reservoir Aquifer
radius, ft 2000 ∞
h, ft 20 25
k, md 50 100
𝜑, % 15 20
𝜇𝑤 , cp 0.5 0.8
𝑐𝑤 , 𝑝𝑠𝑖 −1 1 × 10−6 0.7 × 10−6
𝑐𝑓 , 𝑝𝑠𝑖 −1 2 × 10−6 0.3 × 10−6

Solution
Step 1. Calculate the total compressibility coefficient, ct,

ct  cw  c f  0.7  106  0.3  106  1  106 psi-1
Step 2. Determine the water influx constant from,
B  1.119ct re2hf
 1.119  0.2  106  20002  25  360 360  22.4
Step 3. Calculate the corresponding dimensionless time after 1, 2
and 5 years.
6.328  103 kt t, days tD

tD   0.9888t 365 361
wctre2
730 722
1825 1805

Solution
Step 4. Using the table to determine the dimensionless water influx

t, days tD WeD
365 361 123.5
730 722 221.8
1825 1805 484.6
Step 5. Calculate the cumulative water influx by,
We  BpWeD  20.4  ( 2500  2490)  WeD

t, days WeD We, bbl
365 361 25200
730 722 45200
1825 1805 98800

Principle of Superposition
Step 1:
W e  B p1 (WeD ) t1
Step 2:
𝑊𝑒 = water influx due to Δp1 + water influx due to Δp2
𝑊𝑒 = (𝑊𝑒 )Δp + (𝑊𝑒 )Δp
1 2
where
(𝑊𝑒 )Δp =𝐵𝛥𝑝1 𝑊𝑒𝐷 𝑡2
1
(𝑊𝑒 )Δp =𝐵𝛥𝑝2 𝑊𝑒𝐷 𝑡2−t1
2
Step 3:
𝑊𝑒 = (𝑊𝑒 )Δp + (𝑊𝑒 )Δp +(𝑊𝑒 )Δp
1 2 3
where
(𝑊𝑒 )Δp =𝐵𝛥𝑝1 𝑊𝑒𝐷 𝑡3
1
(𝑊𝑒 )Δp =𝐵𝛥𝑝2 𝑊𝑒𝐷 𝑡3−t1
2
(𝑊𝑒 )Δp =𝐵𝛥𝑝3 𝑊𝑒𝐷 𝑡3−t2 Step 4:
W e  B  p WeD
3

Van Everdingen-Hurst Water influx Bottom-Water Drive
3D diffusivity equation,
 2 p 1 p  2 p c p
  Fk 2 
r 2
r r z k t
where Fk is the ratio of vertical to
horizontal permeability,
kv 6.328  103 kt h
Fk  , tD  , zD 
kh wctre2
re Fk
And zD is the dimensionless vertical
distance, h is the aquifer thickness.
We  BpWeD B  1.119ct re2hf

Limitation of VEH Model
• The VEH model is the most sophisticated of all these

models.
• Its main advantage is its realism.
• Originally, its main disadvantage was its cumbersome
nature. Charts or tables had to be consulted repeatedly to
execute a single calculation.
• To overcome this limitation, there are two types of model
that could be applied as approximations and simplifications
of VEH model.
• 1. Carter-Tracy model
• 2. Fetkovich model

The Carter-Tracy Water Influx Model
To reduce the complexity of water influx calculations, Carter

and Tracy (1960) proposed a calculation technique that does
not require superposition and allows direct calculation of
water influx.
Carter-Tracy water influx Van-Everdingen-Hurst

model Unsteady-state model
Assume constant water Does not assume constant
influx rates over each finite water influx rates over each
time interval finite time interval

The Carter-Tracy Water Influx Model
Using the Carter-Tracy technique, the cumulative water influx
at any time, tn, can be calculate from the previous value
obtained tn-1, and expressed as,
 Bpn  We n 1  pD n 
We n  We n 1  tD n  tD n 1   
  pD n  tD n 1  pD n 

n, refers to the current time step

n - 1, refers to the previous time step
Δp n  pi - p n , is the total pressure drop
p D is the dimensionless pressure
p' D is the dimensionless pressure derivative
B  1.119ct re2hf is the van Everdingen - Hurst water influx constant
6.328  104 kt
tD  , is the dimensionless time
wctre2

The Carter-Tracy Water Influx Model cont…
Dimensionless pressure is given by for tD<=100

370.529 tD  127.582tD  5.69549t1D.5
pD 
328.834  265.488 tD  45.2157tD  t1D.5
And dimensionless pressure derivative by,
716.441  46.7984 tD  270.038tD  71.0098t1D.5
p' D 
1298.86 tD  1204.73tD  618.618t1D.5  538.072tD2  142.41tD2.5
For tD>100, dimensionless pressure and pressure derivative,
pD  0.5ln(tD )  0.80907 
1
p' D 
2t D

Exercise
Calculate the cumulative water influx at the end of 6, 12, 18,

and 24 months using Carter-Tracy method. The predicted
boundary pressure at the end of each specified time period is
given below. The reservoir aquifer system has the following
properties.
Reservoir Aquifer
radius, ft 2000 ∞
Time, months Boundary pressure, psi
h, ft 20 25
0 2500
k, md 50 100
6 2490
𝜑, % 15 20
12 2472
𝜇𝑤 , cp 0.5 0.8
18 2444
𝑐𝑤 , 𝑝𝑠𝑖 −1 1 × 10−6 0.7 × 10−6
24 2408
𝑐𝑓 , 𝑝𝑠𝑖 −1 2 × 10−6 0.3 × 10−6

Solution
Step 1. Calculate the total compressibility coefficient, ct,
ct  cw  c f  0.7  106  0.3  106  1  106 psi-1
Step 2. Determine the water influx constant from,
B  1.119ct re2hf
 1.119  0.2  106  20002  25  360 360  22.4
Step 3. For each time step n, calculate the total pressure drop and tD.
N t, days pn dpn tD
0 0 2500 0 0
1 182.5 2490 10 180.5
2 365 2472 28 361
3 347.5 2444 56 541.5
4 730 2408 92 722

Solution
Step 4. Since tD are greater than 100, use the related correlation to
calculate the dimensionless pressure and pressure derivative,
1
pD  0.5ln(tD )  0.80907  p' D 
2t D
N t, days tD pD p’D
0 0 0 - -
1 182.5 180.5 3.002 2.77E-3
2 365 361 283.349 1.385E-3
3 347.5 541.5 563.552 0.923E-3
4 730 722 923.696 0.693E-3
Step 5. Calculate the cumulative water influx by applying,

 Bpn  We n 1  pD n 
We n  We n 1  tD n  tD n 1   
  pD n  tD n 1  pD n 
Solution
Step 6. Cumulative water influx

 Bpn  We n 1  pD n 
We n  We n 1  tD n  tD n 1   
  pD n  tD n 1  pD n 
N t, days tD pD p’D We, bbl

0 0 0 - - 0
1 182.5 180.5 3.002 2.77E-3 12266
2 365 361 283.349 1.385E-3 42546
3 347.5 541.5 563.552 0.923E-3 104406
4 730 722 923.696 0.693E-3 202477

Fetkovich’s Method
To simplify water influx calculation further, Fetkovich proposed a
model that uses a pseudosteady-state aquifer productivity index and
an aquifer material balance to represent the system compressibility.
Typre of Outer
J for Radial flow, J for Linear Flow,
  Jp t 
   
W Aquifer
 W e n  ei  p a  p a  1  exp   i n
bbl/day/psi bbl/day/psi
 Boundary
Pi  n 1 n
  W ei  0.00708𝑘ℎ𝑓 0.003381𝑘𝑤ℎ
Finite, no flow 𝐽= 𝐽=
𝜇𝑤 ln𝑟𝐷 − 0.75 𝜇𝑤 𝐿
Finite, constant 0.00708𝑘ℎ𝑓 0.001127𝑘𝑤ℎ
𝐽= 𝐽=
average aquifer pressure at the end pressure 𝜇𝑤 ln𝑟𝐷 𝜇𝑤 𝐿
of the previous time step 𝐽=
0.00708𝑘ℎ𝑓
𝑎 𝐽
𝜇𝑤 ln(𝑟 ) 0.001𝑘𝑤ℎ
 (We ) n 1 
 
Infinite 𝐷
=
 p i 1 
a= 𝜇𝑤 0.0633𝑘𝑡/(𝑓𝜇𝑤 𝑐𝑡 )
pa
n 1
 0.0142𝑘𝑡/(𝑓𝜇𝑤 𝑐𝑡 )
 W ei 
where w  width of the linear aquifer
average reservoir boundary pressure L  length of the linear aquifer
rD  dimensionless radius, ra/re
k = permeability of the aquifer, md
(Pr ) n  (Pr ) n 1
p 
t = time, days
a  θ = encroachment angle
n 2 h = thickness of the aquifer
f = θ/360
Fetkovich’s Method-procedure
Step 1. Calculate the initial volume of water in the aquifer from,

Wi 
5.615
r a
2
 re2 h
Step 2. Calculate the maximum possible water influx by,
ct
Wei  ctWi pi f 
5.615
ra2  re2 hpi f
Step 3. Calculate the productivity index, J, based on the boundary
conditions and aquifer geometry.
Step 4. Calculate the incremental water influx, (ΔWe)n, from the

aquifer during the nth time interval by the correlation provided before,
for example, during the first time interval
   Jpi t1  pi   pr 1
We 1   pi   pr 1 1  exp
Wei
  pr 1 
pi   Wei  2

Fetkovich’s Method-procedure
Step 5. During the second time interval
   Jpi t2 
We 2 
Wei
 pa 1   pr 2 1  exp 
pi   Wei 
 We 1 
 pa 1  pi 1  
 Wei 
Step 6. The cumulative water influx is given by,
n
We   We i
i 1
List of References (Harvard format):
• Ahmed, T., 2009. Working guide to reservoir rock properties and
fluid flow. Gulf Professional Publishing.
• Ahmed, T., 2013. Equations of state and PVT analysis. Elsevier.
• Ahmed, T., 2006. Reservoir engineering handbook. Gulf
Professional Publishing.
• Dake, L.P., 2001. The practice of reservoir engineering (revised
edition) (Vol. 36). Elsevier.
• Craft, B.C., 1962. Well design: drilling and production. Prentice Hall.
• Lee, J., Rollins, J.B. and Spivey, J.P., 2003. Pressure transient
testing (Vol. 9). Henry L. Doherty Memorial Fund of Aime Society of
Petroleum.

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MSc Petroleum Engineering

Yingfang Zhou, PhD Reservoir Engineering, 2018 Page 1 www.abdn.ac.uk

• This lecture focuses on those reservoir-aquifer

Yingfang Zhou, PhD Reservoir Engineering, 2018 Page 2 www.abdn.ac.uk

• Figure 2. Schematic of infinite and finite acting aquifers 14

• Figure 3. Flow geometries 20

• Figure 4. Water influx into a cylindrical reservoir 39

• Figure 5. Idealized radial flow model 40

• Figure 6. Dimensionless water influx WeD 40

• Figure 7. Gas cap drive reservoir 41

• Figure 8. Dimensionless water influx WeD for infinite aquifer 42

Yingfang Zhou, PhD Reservoir Engineering, 2018 Page 3 www.abdn.ac.uk

Yingfang Zhou, PhD Reservoir Engineering, 2018 Page 4 www.abdn.ac.uk

Cross Section View Water

Figure 1. Illustration of an anticline reservoir

Yingfang Zhou, PhD Reservoir Engineering, 2018 Page 6 www.abdn.ac.uk

Many gas and oil reservoirs produced by a mechanism termed water

• Expansion of the water in the aquifer

Yingfang Zhou, PhD Reservoir Engineering, 2018 Page 7 www.abdn.ac.uk

Reservoir-aquifer systems are commonly

Yingfang Zhou, PhD Reservoir Engineering, 2018 Page 8 www.abdn.ac.uk

The aquifer is so large that

Yingfang Zhou, PhD Reservoir Engineering, 2018 Page 9 www.abdn.ac.uk

Yingfang Zhou, PhD Reservoir Engineering, 2018 Page 10 www.abdn.ac.uk

• Based on the degree of the reservoir pressure

• The term active water drive refers to the water

Yingfang Zhou, PhD Reservoir Engineering, 2018 Page 11 www.abdn.ac.uk

ew  water influx rate, bbl/day

Yingfang Zhou, PhD Reservoir Engineering, 2018 Page 12 www.abdn.ac.uk

where We  cumulative water influx, bbl

Yingfang Zhou, PhD Reservoir Engineering, 2018 Page 13 www.abdn.ac.uk

Calculate the water influx rate, ew, in a reservoir whose pressure is

Yingfang Zhou, PhD Reservoir Engineering, 2018 Page 14 www.abdn.ac.uk

Figure 3. Flow geometries

Yingfang Zhou, PhD Reservoir Engineering, 2018 Page 15 www.abdn.ac.uk

Yingfang Zhou, PhD Reservoir Engineering, 2018 Page 16 www.abdn.ac.uk

Yingfang Zhou, PhD Reservoir Engineering, 2018 Page 17 www.abdn.ac.uk

• Hurst’s modified steady-state

• The Van Everdingen-Hurst unsteady-state

• The Carter-Tracy unsteady-state

Yingfang Zhou, PhD Reservoir Engineering, 2018 Page 18 www.abdn.ac.uk

Water influx = (aquifer compressibility) (initial volume of water) (pressure drop)

where We = cumulative water influx, bbl

Yingfang Zhou, PhD Reservoir Engineering, 2018 Page 19 www.abdn.ac.uk

Calculating the initial volume of water in the aquifer requires the

where ra  radius of the aquifer, ft

Yingfang Zhou, PhD Reservoir Engineering, 2018 Page 20 www.abdn.ac.uk

Yingfang Zhou, PhD Reservoir Engineering, 2018 Page 21 www.abdn.ac.uk

Yingfang Zhou, PhD Reservoir Engineering, 2018 Page 22 www.abdn.ac.uk

Yingfang Zhou, PhD Reservoir Engineering, 2018 Page 23 www.abdn.ac.uk

• The pot aquifer model is only applicable to a small aquifer, i.e.,

Yingfang Zhou, PhD Reservoir Engineering, 2018 Page 24 www.abdn.ac.uk

• This relationship can be more conveniently expressed

• The parameter C is called the water influx constant and is

A reservoir whose pressure is stabilized at 3000 psi, by given

Calculate the schilthuis’s water influx constant.

Yingfang Zhou, PhD Reservoir Engineering, 2018 Page 27 www.abdn.ac.uk

Step1. Solve for the rate of water influx ew by,

Step2. Solve for the water influx constant with

Yingfang Zhou, PhD Reservoir Engineering, 2018 Page 28 www.abdn.ac.uk

 dWe   C  p  p dt  We   C  p  p dt

Yingfang Zhou, PhD Reservoir Engineering, 2018 Page 29 www.abdn.ac.uk

The pressure history of a water-drive oil reservoir is given below: