PRESSURE BUILD UP IN

BOUNDED RESERVOIR

Lecture Week 4b – Fiki Hidayat, M.Eng

 PRESSURE BUILD-UP IN BOUNDED
RESERVOIR (HORNER PLOT)
• For infinite-acting reservoir, an estimate of Pi is obtained by
extrapolating the straight-line section of the Horner plot to infinite shut-
in time. For finite and developed reservoirs, the extrapolated pressure is
not a good estimate of Pi and generally has been called the false
pressure, p*.
 PRESSURE BUILD-UP IN BOUNDED
RESERVOIR (HORNER PLOT)
• Ramey and Cobb show that P* is related to Pi by

0.0002637 𝑘𝑡 𝑝
• where 𝑡 𝑝𝐷𝐴=
∅ 𝜇0 𝑐𝑡 𝑟 2𝑤

• Although it is commonly believed that the Horner plot should be used only for new
wells or when tp is relatively small, Ramey and Cobb and Cobb and Smith indicate that
Horner plot may always be used for pressure build-up analysis. However, since it
required more work than the MDH method, the Horner plot is generally not used unless
∅ 𝜇0 𝑐 𝑡 𝐴
t p =pss where tpss is
<t
𝑡 𝑝𝑠𝑠 , the
( 𝑡 𝐷𝐴 )𝑝𝑠𝑠pseudo-steady-state time.
0.0002637 𝑘

• Both CA and (tDA)pss depend on reservoir shape and well location.

• If tp >> tpss, then tp should be replaced by tpss to improve the accuracy.
PRESSURE BUILD-UP IN BOUNDED
RESERVOIR (HORNER PLOT)
 PRESSURE BUILD-UP IN BOUNDED
RESERVOIR (MDH METHOD)
• The MDH method is best for older wells in bounded depleting
reservoirs; when the producing time is not known, or can be estimated
only roughly.
• The Horner plot may be simplified if . Then, and
• Then, ,
• Eq. above indicates that a plot of Pws vs log t should be a straight line
with slope +m. This plot is commonly called the MDH plot.
 PRESSURE BUILD-UP IN BOUNDED
RESERVOIR (MDH METHOD)
• Permeability k and skin factor may be estimated from eq. below;
•,
• The false pressure (P*) may be estimated from the MDH plot using

• The beginning of the MDH semilog straight line may be estimated by

making the log-log data plot and observing when the data points
reach slowly curving low-slope line, about 1-1.5 cycles in time after
the end of unit-slope straight line.
PRESSURE BUILD-UP IN BOUNDED
RESERVOIR (MDH METHOD)
 ESTIMATING THE AVERAGE
RESERVOIR PRESSURE
• For a reservoir in which the pressure has been depleted,
either the Matthews-Brons-Hazebroek (MBH) method or
the modified Muskat method can be used to estimate the
average drainage-area pressure.
• MBH Method
• The MBH method is based on theoretical correlations
between the extrapolated pressure, P*, and current average
drainage-area pressure, , for various drainage-area
configurations.
MBH CHARTS FOR ESTIMATING THE
MBH CHARTS FOR ESTIMATING THE
 ESTIMATING THE AVERAGE
RESERVOIR PRESSURE FROM MBH
METHOD
• The dimensionless variables plotted in two figures before are
defined as and
Where A = drainage area, ft2, of tested well.
Following procedure for applying the MBH method:
1. Extrapolate the middle-time semilog straight line to (tp+t)/t =
1 (Infinite shut-in time). The extrapolated pressure is P*.
2. Estimate the drainage-area shape. If there is insufficient
information to estimate the shape, assume a circular drainage
area.
 ESTIMATING THE AVERAGE
RESERVOIR PRESSURE FROM MBH
3.
METHOD
Select the appropriate MBH chart for the drainage area.
4. Calculate tDA
5. From the appropriate MBH chart at the calculated value of tDA, read
6. Calculate by
The advantages of the MBH method are that it does not require data beyond
the middle-time region and that it is applicable to a wide variety of drainage-
area shapes.
The disadvantages are that the drainage-area size and shape must be known
and that reliable estimates of rock and fluid properties, such as ct and , must
be available.
 ESTIMATING THE AVERAGE RESERVOIR
PRESSURE FROM MODIFIED MUSKAT METHOD
• The modified Muskat method is based on theoretical observation
that, after boundary effects have been felt for a well centered in
its drainage area, the following relationship exists:

Where c1 and c2 are constants.

• This relationship is valid for t approximately in the range

Thus, late-time, rather than middle-time, data are required for this
method.
 ESTIMATING THE AVERAGE RESERVOIR
PRESSURE FROM MODIFIED MUSKAT METHOD
• To find , we make an initial
guess of and plot log( - pws) vs
t.
• Various values of are chosen
until a straight line results.
• The value of that produces a
straight line is the correct
average reservoir pressure.
ESTIMATING THE AVERAGE RESERVOIR
PRESSURE FROM MODIFIED MUSKAT
METHOD
• The modified Muskat method has the advantage that no
estimates of reservoir properties are required.
• The method also applies to hydraulically fractured wells and
layered reservoirs for which the MBH method is not
applicable.
• The modified Muskad method has the disadvantages that it
is limited to wells reasonably centered in their drainage
areas.
EXAMPLE FROM PRESSURE
TRANSIENT TESTING (2003)
 EXAMPLE FROM PRESSURE
TRANSIENT TESTING (2003) – MBH
METHOD
 EXAMPLE FROM PRESSURE TRANSIENT
TESTING (2003) – MODIFIED MUSKAT METHOD
 EXAMPLE FROM PRESSURE TRANSIENT
TESTING (2003) – MODIFIED MUSKAT METHOD
TYPICAL SHAPES OF PRESSURE BUILD
UP CURVE
TYPICAL SHAPES OF PRESSURE BUILD
UP CURVE