Vietnam National University - Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology Faculty of Geology & Petroleum Engineering Department of Drilling - Production Engineering Course Reservoir Engineering Trần Nguyễn Thiện Tâm Email: trantam2512@hcmut.vn 12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 1 References 12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 2 Chapter 6 Fluid flow in porous media 12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 3 Contents Primary Reservoir Characteristics Flow regimes Reservoir geometry Fluid flow in porous media 12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 4 Types of fluids The isothermal compressibility coefficient is essentially the controlling factor in identifying the type of the reservoir fluid. In general, reservoir fluids are classified into three groups: (1) incompressible fluids; (2) slightly compressible fluids; (3) compressible fluids. 12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 5 Incompressible fluids An incompressible fluid is defined as the fluid whose volume or density does not change with pressure. That is V 0 and 0 p p Incompressible fluids do not exist; however, this behavior may be assumed in some cases to simplify the derivation and the final form of many flow equations.
12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 6 Slightly compressible fluids These “slightly” compressible fluids exhibit small changes in volume, or density, with changes in pressure. Knowing the volume Vref of a slightly compressible liquid at a reference (initial) pressure pref, the changes in the volumetric behavior V = Vref exp [c (pref − p)] where: p = pressure, psia V = volume at pressure p, ft3 pref = initial (reference) pressure, psia Vref = fluid volume at initial (reference) pressure, psia V = Vref[1 + c(pref − p)] ρ = ρref[1 − c(pref − p)] 12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 7 Compressible fluids These are fluids that experience large changes in volume as a function of pressure. All gases are considered compressible fluids. The isothermal compressibility of any compressible fluid is described by the following expression: 1 1 Z cg p Z p T 12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 8 Types of fluids 12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 9 Types of fluids 12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 10 Flow regimes There are basically three types of flow regimes that must be recognized in order to describe the fluid flow behavior and reservoir pressure distribution as a function of time.
These three flow regimes are: (1) steady-state flow; (2) unsteady-state flow; (3) pseudosteady-state flow. 12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 11 Steady-state flow The flow regime is identified as a steady-state flow if the pressure at every location in the reservoir remains constant, i., does not change with time. Mathematically, this condition is expressed as: p 0 t i This equation states that the rate of change of pressure p with respect to time t at any location i is zero. In reservoirs, the steady-state flow condition can only occur when the reservoir is completely recharged and supported by strong aquifer or pressure maintenance operations.
12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 12 Unsteady-state flow Unsteady-state flow (frequently called transient flow) is defined as the fluid flowing condition at which the rate of change of pressure with respect to time at any position in the reservoir is not zero or constant. This definition suggests that the pressure derivative with respect to time is essentially a function of both position i and time t, thus: p f (i, t ) t 12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 13 Pseudosteady-state flow When the pressure at different locations in the reservoir is declining linearly as a function of time, i., at a constant declining rate, the flowing condition is characterized as pseudosteady-state flow. Mathematically, this definition states that the rate of change of pressure with respect to time at every position is constant, or: p constant t i 12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 14 Flow regimes 12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 15 Reservoir geometry The shape of a reservoir has a significant effect on its flow behavior. Most reservoirs have irregular boundaries and a rigorous mathematical description of their geometry is often possible only with the use of numerical simulators.
However, for many engineering purposes, the actual flow geometry may be represented by one of the following flow geometries: ● radial flow; ● linear flow; ● spherical flow; ● hemispherical flow. 12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 16 Radial flow 12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 17 Linear flow 12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 18 Linear flow 12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 19 Spherical flow 12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 20 Hemispherical flow 12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 21 Number of flowing fluids in the reservoir There are generally three cases of flowing system: (1) single-phase flow (oil, water, or gas); (2) two-phase flow (oil–water, oil–gas, or gas–water); (3) three-phase flow (oil, water, and gas). 12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 22 Steady-state flow The applications of steady-state flow to describe the flow behavior of several types of fluid in different reservoir geometries are presented below. These include: ● linear flow of incompressible fluids; ● linear flow of slightly compressible fluids; ● linear flow of compressible fluids; ● radial flow of incompressible fluids; ● radial flow of slightly compressible fluids; 12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 23 Linear flow of incompressible fluids 0.001127 kA( p1 p2 ) q L where: q = flow rate, bbl/day k = absolute permeability, md p = pressure, psia µ = viscosity, cp L = distance, ft A = cross-sectional area, ft2 12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 24 Linear flow of slightly compressible fluids 0.001127 kA q1 ln[1 c( p1 p2 )] cL 0.001127 kA 1 q2 ln cL 1 c ( p2 p1 ) where q1 and q2 are the flow rates at point 1 and 2, respectively.
p1 = upstream pressure, psi p2 = downstream pressure, psi k = permeability, md µ = viscosity, cp c = average liquid compressibility, psi−1 12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 25 Linear flow of compressible fluids (gases) 0.111924kA( p12 p 22 ) Qsc TLZ g where: Qsc = gas flow rate at standard conditions, scf/day Z = gas compressibility factor k = permeability, md T = temperature, ◦R µg = gas viscosity, cp A = cross-sectional area, ft2 L = total length of the linear system, ft 12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 26 Linear flow of compressible fluids (gases) It is essential to notice that those gas properties Z and µg are very strong functions of pressure, but they have been removed from the integral to simplify the final form of the gas flow equation. The above equation is valid for applications when the pressure is less than 2000 psi. The gas properties must be evaluated at the average pressure 𝑝 as defined below: p1 p2 p 2 12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 27 Example A natural gas with a specific gravity of 0.72 is flowing in linear porous media at 140oF. The upstream and downstream pressures are 2100 psi and 1894.
The cross-sectional area is constant at 4500 ft2. The total length is 2500 ft with an absolute permeability of 60 md. Calculate the gas flow rate in scf/day (psc = 14.7 psia, Tsc = 520oR). 12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 28 Radial flow of incompressible fluids The pressure in the formation at the wellbore of a producing well is known as the bottom-hole flowing pressure (flowing BHP, pwf).
12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 29 Radial flow of incompressible fluids 0.00708kh( pe pwf ) Qo o Bo ln(re / rw ) where: Qo = oil flow rate, STB/day pe = external pressure, psi pwf = bottom-hole flowing pressure, psi k = permeability, md µo = oil viscosity, cp Bo = oil formation volume factor, bbl/STB h = thickness, ft re = external or drainage radius, ft rw = wellbore radius, ft 12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 30 Radial flow of incompressible fluids The external (drainage) radius re is usually determined from the well spacing by equating the area of the well spacing with that of a circle. That is: πre2 = 43 560A or 43560 A re where A is the well spacing in acres. The pressure p at any radius r: Qo Bo o r p pwf ln 0.00708kh rw 12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 31 Example An oil well in the Nameless Field is producing at a stabilized rate of 600 STB/day at a stabilized bottom-hole flowing pressure of 1800 psi. Analysis of the pressure buildup test data indicates that the pay zone is characterized by a permeability of 120 md and a uniform thickness of 25 ft.
The well drains an area of approximately 40 acres. The following additional data is available: rw = 0. 25 ft, A = 40 acres, Bo = 1. 5 cp Calculate the pressure profile (distribution) and list the pressure drop across 1 ft intervals from rw to 1.25 ft, 4 to 5 ft, 19 to 20 ft, 99 to 100 ft, and 744 to 745 ft.
12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 32 Radial flow of slightly compressible fluids 0.00708kh Qo ln[1 co ( pe pwf )] o Bo co ln(re / rw ) where: co = isothermal compressibility coefficient, psi−1 Qo = oil flow rate, STB/day k = permeability, md 12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 33 Radial flow of compressible gases 𝑝 The integral 0 2𝑝/( μ𝑔 𝑍) is called the “real-gas pseudopotential” or “real-gas pseudopressure” and it is usually represented by m(p) or ψ. Thus: p 2p m( p ) Z dp 0 g 12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 34 Radial flow of compressible gases 0.703kh( w ) Qg T ln(r / rw ) In the particular case when r = re, then: 0.5] 12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 36 Radial flow of compressible gases To calculate the integral in Equation, the values of 2p/µgZ are calculated for several values of pressure p. Then 2p/µgZ vs. p is plotted on a Cartesian scale and the area under the curve is calculated either numerically or graphically, where the area under the curve from p = 0 to any pressure p represents the value of ψ corresponding to p.
The following example will illustrate the procedure. 12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 37 Example The PVT data from a gas well in the p (psi) μg (cp) Z Anaconda Gas Field is given below: 0 0.000 The well is producing at a stabilized 400 0.937 bottom-hole flowing pressure of 800 0. The wellbore radius is 0. The following additional data is 1600 0.763 pe = 4400 psi, re = 1000 ft 2800 0.775 Calculate the gas flow rate in 3200 0.896 12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 38 Radial flow of compressible gases kh( pe2 pwf2 ) Qg 1422T ( g Z ) avg ln(re / rw ) where: Qg = gas flow rate, Mscf/day k = permeability, md The term (µgZ)avg is evaluated at an average pressure p that is defined by the following expression: pwf2 pe2 p 2 The above approximation method is called the pressure- squared method and is limited to flow calculations when the reservoir pressure is less that 2000 psi.
12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 39 Example The PVT data from a gas well in the p (psi) μg (cp) Z Anaconda Gas Field is given below: 0 0.000 The well is producing at a stabilized 400 0.937 bottom-hole flowing pressure of 800 0. The wellbore radius is 0. The following additional data is 1600 0.763 pe = 4400 psi, re = 1000 ft 2800 0.775 Calculate the gas flow rate in 3200 0.797 Mscf/day by using the pressure- 3600 0. Compare with the 4000 0.896 12/11/2017 Reservoir Engineering 40 Radial flow of slightly compressibility fluids For an infinite-acting reservoir, Matthews and Russell (1967) proposed the following solution 70.