WELL TESTING ANALYSIS 1/67

10
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1
TESTING TIME, t, HR
MATCH POINT
O
B
S
E
R
V
E
D

P
R
E
S
S
U
R
E

C
H
A
N
G
E
,

p
,

P
S
I
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10
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1
10
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 91 1
1
2
2
3
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 91 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 9 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 91 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 91 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 91 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 91 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
p
D
TRACING PAPER
DATA PLOTTED ON SAME
SCALE AS FIG. 1.48
t
M
= 100 HR
p
M
= 10 PSI
(p
D
)
M
= 0.80
(t
D
/r
2
D
) = 50
Figure 1.48 Illustration of type curve matching for an interference test using the type curve (After Earlougher, R.
Advances in Well Test Analysis) (Permission to publish by the SPE, copyright SPE, 1977).
a function of dimensionless time, radius, and wellbore stor-
age, i.e., p
D
= f (t
D
, r
D
, C
D
). The following two methods that
utilize the concept of the type curve approach are briey
introduced below:
(1) the Gringarten type curve;
(2) the pressure derivative method
1.4.1 Gringarten type curve
During the early-time period where the ow is dominated by
the wellbore storage, the wellbore pressure is described by
Equation 1.3.5 as:
p
D
=
t
D
C
D
or:
log(p
D
) = log(t
D
) log(C
D
)
This relationship gives the characteristic signature of well-
bore storage effects on well testing data which indicates that
a plot of p
D
vs. t
D
on a loglog scale will yield a straight line of
a unit slope. At the end of the storage effect, which signies
the beginningof the innite-actingperiod, the resultingpres-
sure behavior produces the usual straight line on a semilog
plot as described by:
p
D
=
1
2
[ln(t
D
) +0. 80901 +2s]
It is convenient when using the type curve approach in well
testing to include the dimensionless wellbore storage coef-
cient in the above relationship. Adding and subtracting
ln(C
D
) inside the brackets of the above equation gives:
p
D
=
1
2
[ln(t
D
) ln(C
D
) +0. 80901 +ln(C
D
) +2s]
or, equivalently:
p
D
=
1
2

ln

t
D
C
D

+0. 80907 +ln(C

D
e
2s
)

[1.4.8]
where:
p
D
= dimensionless pressure
C
D
= dimensionless wellbore storage coefcient
t
D
= dimensionless time
s = skin factor
Equation 1.4.8 describes the pressure behavior of a well
with a wellbore storage and a skin in a homogeneous
reservoir during the transient (innite-acting) ow period.
Gringarten et al. (1979) expressed the above equation in the
graphical type curve format shown in Figure 1.49. In this
gure, the dimensionless pressure p
D
is plotted on a loglog
scale versus dimensionless time group t
D
/C
D
. The resulting
curves, characterizedbythedimensionless groupC
D
e
2s
, rep-
resent different well conditions ranging fromdamaged wells
to stimulated wells.
Figure 1.49 shows that all the curves merge, in early
time, into a unit-slope straight line corresponding to pure
wellbore storage ow. At a later time with the end of the
wellbore storage-dominated period, curves correspond to
innite-acting radial ow. The end of wellbore storage and
the start of innite-acting radial ow are marked on the
type curves of Figure 1.49. There are three dimensionless
TLFeBOOK
1/68 WELL TESTING ANALYSIS
100
100
1000 10000
10
10
0.1
0.1 1
1
Approximate start of
semi-log straight line
C
D
e
2s
D
i
m
e
n
s
i
o
n
l
e
s
s

P
r
e
s
s
u
r
e
,

p
D
0.1
0.3
1
3
10
2
10
4
10
8
10
15
10
30
t
D
/C
D
Figure 1.49 Type curves for a well with wellbore storage and skin in a reservoir with homogeneous behavior
(Copyright 1983 World Oil, Bourdet et al., May 1983).
groups that Gringarten et al. used when developing the type
curve:
(1) dimensionless pressure p
D
;
(2) dimensionless ratio t
D
/C
D
;
(3) dimensionless characterization group C
D
e
2s
.
The above three dimensionless parameters are dened
mathematically for both the drawdown and buildup tests as
follows.
For drawdown
Dimensionless pressure p
D
p
D
=
kh(p
i
p
wf
)
141. 2QB
=
khp
141. 2QB
[1.4.9]
where:
k = permeability, md
p
wf
= bottom-hole owing pressure, psi
Q = ow rate, bbl/day
B = formation volume factor, bbl/STB
Taking logarithms of both sides of the above equation gives:
log(p
D
) = log(p
i
p
wf
) +log

kh
141. 2QB

log(p
D
) = log(p) +log

kh
141. 2QB

[1.4.10]
Dimensionless ratio t
D
/C
D
t
D
C
D
=

0. 0002637kt
c
t
r
2
w

hc
t
r
2
w
0. 8396C

Simplifying gives:
t
D
C
D
=

0. 0002951kh
C

t [1.4.11]
where:
t = owing time, hours
C = wellbore storage coefcient, bbl/psi
Taking logarithms gives:
log

t
D
C
D

= log(t) +log

0. 0002951kh
C

[1.4.12]
Equations 1.4.10 and 1.4.12 indicate that a plot of the
actual drawdown data of log(p) vs. log(t) will produce
a parallel curve that has an identical shape to a plot of
log(p
D
) vs. log(t
D
/C
D
). When displacing the actual plot, ver-
tically and horizontally, to nd a dimensionless curve that
coincides or closely ts the actual data, these displacements
are given by the constants of Equations 1.4.9 and 1.4.11 as:

p
D
p

MP
=
kh
141. 2QB
[1.4.13]
and:

t
D
/C
D
t

MP
=
0. 0002951kh
C
[1.4.14]
where MP denotes a match point.
Equations 1.4.13 and 1.4.14 can be solved for the perme-
ability k (or the ow capacity kh) and the wellbore storage
coefcient C respectively:
k =
141. 2QB
h

p
D
p

MP
and:
C =
0. 0002951kh

t
D
/C
D
t

MP
Dimensionless characterization group C
D
e
2s
The math-
ematical denition of the dimensionless characterization
group C
D
e
2s
as given below is valid for both the drawdown
and buildup tests:
C
D
e
2s
=

5. 615C
2c
t
r
2
w

e
2s
[1.4.15]
where:
= porosity
c
t
= total isothermal compressibility, psi
1
r
w
= wellbore radius, ft
When the match is achieved, the dimensionless group
C
D
e
2s
describing the matched curve is recorded.
For buildup
It should be noted that all type curve solutions are obtained
for the drawdown solution. Therefore, these type curves
TLFeBOOK
WELL TESTING ANALYSIS 1/69
cannot be used for buildup tests without restriction or mod-
ication. The only restriction is that the ow period, i.e., t
p
,
before shut-in must be somewhat large. However, Agarwal
(1980) empirically found that by plotting the buildup data
p
ws
p
wf at t =0
versus equivalent time t
e
instead of
the shut-in time t, on a loglog scale, the type curve
analysis canbe made without the requirement of a longdraw-
down owing period before shut-in. Agarwal introduced the
equivalent time t
e
as dened by:
t
e
=
t
1 +

t/t
p
=

t/t
p
+t

t
p
[1.4.16]
where:
t = shut-in time, hours
t
p
= total owing time since the last shut-in, hours
t
e
= Agarwal equivalent time, hours
Agarwals equivalent time t
e
is simply designed to
account for the effects of producing time t
p
on the pressure
buildup test. The concept of t
e
is that the pressure change
p = p
ws
p
wf
at time t during a buildup test is the same
as the pressure change p = p
i
p
wf
at t
e
during a draw-
down test. Thus, a graph of buildup test in terms of p
ws
p
wf
vs. t
e
will overlay a graph of pressure change versus ow-
ing time for a drawdown test. Therefore, when applying the
type curve approach in analyzing pressure buildup data, the
actual shut-in time t is replaced by the equivalent time t
e
.
In addition to the characterization group C
D
e
2s
as dened
by Equation 1.4.15, the following two dimensionless param-
eters are used when applying the Gringarten type curve in
analyzing pressure buildup test data.
Dimensionless pressure p
D
p
D
=
kh(p
ws
p
wf
)
141. 2QB
=
khp
141. 2QB
[1.4.17]
where:
p
ws
= shut-in pressure, psi
p
wf
= ow pressure just before shut-in, i.e., at t = 0, psi
Taking the logarithms of both sides of the above equation
gives:
log(p
D
) = log(p) +log

kh
141. 2QB

[1.4.18]
Dimensionless ratio t
D
/C
D
t
D
C
D
=

0. 0002951kh
C

t
e
[1.4.19]
Taking the logarithm of each side of Equation 1.4.9 gives:
log

t
D
C
D

= log(t
e
) +log

0. 0002951kh
C

[1.4.20]
Similarly, a plot of actual pressure buildup data of
log(p) vs. log(t
e
) would have a shape identical to that
of log(p
D
) vs. log(t
D
/C
D
). When the actual plot is matched
to one of the curves of Figure 1.49, then:

p
D
p

MP
=
kh
141. 2QB
which can be solved for the ow capacity kh or the perme-
ability k. That is:
k =

141. 2QB
h

p
D
p

MP
[1.4.21]
and:

t
D
/C
D
t
e

MP
=
0. 0002951kh
C
[1.4.22]
Solving for C gives:
C =

0. 0002951kh

(t
e
)
MP
(t
D
/C
D
)
MP
[1.4.23]
The recommended procedure for using the Gringarten
type curve is given by the following steps:
Step 1. Using the test data, perform conventional test analy-
sis and determine:

wellbore storage coefcient C and C

D
;

permeability k;

false pressure p

average pressure p;

skin factor s;

shape factor C
A
;

drainage area A.
Step 2. Plot p
i
p
wf
versus owing time t for a drawdown test
or (p
ws
p
wp
) versus equivalent timet
e
for a buildup
test on log log paper (tracing paper) with the same
size log cycles as the Gringarten type curve.
Step 3. Checkthe early-time points onthe actual data plot for
the unit-slope (45

angle) straight line to verify the

presenceof thewellborestorageeffect. If aunit-slope
straight line presents, calculate the wellbore storage
coefcient C and the dimensionless C
D
from any
point on the unit-slope straight line with coordinates
of (p, t) or (p, t
e
), to give:
For drawdown C =
QBt
24(p
i
p
wf
)
=
QB
24

t
p

[1.4.24]
For buildup C =
QBt
e
24(p
ws
p
wf
)
=
QB
24

t
e
p

[1.4.25]
Estimate the dimensionless wellbore storage coef-
cient from:
C
D
=

0. 8936
hc
t
r
2
w

C [1.4.26]
Step 4. Overlay the graph of the test data on the type
curves and nd the type curve that nearly ts most
of the actual plotted data. Record the type curve
dimensionless group (C
D
e
2s
)
MP
.
Step 5. Select a match point MP and record the corre-
sponding values of (p
D
, p)
MP
from the y axis and
(t
D
/C
D
, t)
MP
or (t
D
/C
D
, t
e
)
MP
from the x axis.
Step 6. From the match, calculate:
k =

141. 2QB
h

p
D
p

MP
and:
C =

0. 0002951kh

t
(t
D
/C
D
)

MP
for drawdown
or:
C =

0. 0002951kh

t
e
(t
D
/C
D
)

MP
for buildup
and:
C
D
=

0. 8936
hc
t
r
2
w

C
s =
1
2
ln

(C
D
e
2s
)
MP
C
D

[1.4.27]
TLFeBOOK
1/70 WELL TESTING ANALYSIS
Sabet (1991) used the buildup data presented by Bourdet
et al. (1983) to illustrate the use of Gringarten type curves.
The data is used in the following example:
Example 1.32 Table 1.6 summarizes the pressure
buildup data for an oil well that has been producing at a
constant ow rate of 174 STB/day before shut-in. Additional
pertinent data is given below:
= 25%, c
t
= 4. 2 10
6
psi
1
Q = 174 STB/day, t
p
= 15 hours
B = 1. 06 bbl/STB, r
w
= 0. 29 ft
= 2. 5 cp, h = 107 ft
Performthe conventional the pressure buildupanalysis by
usingthe Horner plot approachandcompare the results with
those obtainedby usingthe Gringartentype curve approach.
Table 1.6 Pressure buildup test with afterow
(After Sabet, M. A. Well Test Analysis 1991, Gulf
Publishing Company)
t(hr) p
ws
(psi) p (psi)
t
p
+t
t
t
e
0.00000 3086.33 0.00 0.00000
0.00417 3090.57 4.24 3600.71 0.00417
0.00833 3093.81 7.48 1801.07 0.00833
0.01250 3096.55 10.22 1201.00 0.01249
0.01667 3100.03 13.70 900.82 0.01666
0.02083 3103.27 16.94 721.12 0.02080
0.02500 3106.77 20.44 601.00 0.02496
0.02917 3110.01 23.68 515.23 0.02911
0.03333 3113.25 26.92 451.05 0.03326
0.03750 3116.49 30.16 401.00 0.03741
0.04583 3119.48 33.15 328.30 0.04569
0.05000 3122.48 36.15 301.00 0.04983
0.05830 3128.96 42.63 258.29 0.05807
0.06667 3135.92 49.59 225.99 0.06637
0.07500 3141.17 54.84 201.00 0.07463
0.08333 3147.64 61.31 181.01 0.08287
0.09583 3161.95 75.62 157.53 0.09522
0.10833 3170.68 84.35 139.47 0.10755
0.12083 3178.39 92.06 125.14 0.11986
0.13333 3187.12 100.79 113.50 0.13216
0.14583 3194.24 107.91 103.86 0.14443
0.16250 3205.96 119.63 93.31 0.16076
0.17917 3216.68 130.35 84.72 0.17706
0.19583 3227.89 141.56 77.60 0.19331
0.21250 3238.37 152.04 71.59 0.20953
0.22917 3249.07 162.74 66.45 0.22572
0.25000 3261.79 175.46 61.00 0.24590
0.29167 3287.21 200.88 52.43 0.28611
0.33333 3310.15 223.82 46.00 0.32608
0.37500 3334.34 248.01 41.00 0.36585
0.41667 3356.27 269.94 37.00 0.40541
0.45833 3374.98 288.65 33.73 0.44474
0.50000 3394.44 308.11 31.00 0.48387
0.54167 3413.90 327.57 28.69 0.52279
0.58333 3433.83 347.50 26.71 0.56149
0.62500 3448.05 361.72 25.00 0.60000
0.66667 3466.26 379.93 23.50 0.63830
0.70833 3481.97 395.64 22.18 0.67639
0.75000 3493.69 407.36 21.00 0.71429
0.81250 3518.63 432.30 19.46 0.77075
0.87500 3537.34 451.01 18.14 0.82677
0.93750 3553.55 467.22 17.00 0.88235
Table 1.6 continued
t (hr) p
ws
(psi) p (psi)
t
p
+t
t
t
e
1.00000 3571.75 485.42 16.00 0.93750
1.06250 3586.23 499.90 15.12 0.99222
1.12500 3602.95 516.62 14.33 1.04651
1.18750 3617.41 531.08 13.63 1.10039
1.25000 3631.15 544.82 13.00 1.15385
1.31250 3640.86 554.53 12.43 1.20690
1.37500 3652.85 566.52 11.91 1.25954
1.43750 3664.32 577.99 11.43 1.31179
1.50000 3673.81 587.48 11.00 1.36364
1.62500 3692.27 605.94 10.23 1.46617
1.75000 3705.52 619.19 9.57 1.56716
1.87500 3719.26 632.93 9.00 1.66667
2.00000 3732.23 645.90 8.50 1.76471
2.25000 3749.71 663.38 7.67 1.95652
2.37500 3757.19 670.86 7.32 2.05036
2.50000 3763.44 677.11 7.00 2.14286
2.75000 3774.65 688.32 6.45 2.32394
3.00000 3785.11 698.78 6.00 2.50000
3.25000 3794.06 707.73 5.62 2.67123
3.50000 3799.80 713.47 5.29 2.83784
3.75000 3809.50 723.17 5.00 3.00000
4.00000 3815.97 729.64 4.75 3.15789
4.25000 3820.20 733.87 4.53 3.31169
4.50000 3821.95 735.62 4.33 3.46154
4.75000 3823.70 737.37 4.16 3.60759
5.00000 3826.45 740.12 4.00 3.75000
5.25000 3829.69 743.36 3.86 3.88889
5.50000 3832.64 746.31 3.73 4.02439
5.75000 3834.70 748.37 3.61 4.15663
6.00000 3837.19 750.86 3.50 4.28571
6.25000 3838.94 752.61 3.40 4.41176
6.75000 3838.02 751.69 3.22 4.65517
7.25000 3840.78 754.45 3.07 4.88764
7.75000 3843.01 756.68 2.94 5.10989
8.25000 3844.52 758.19 2.82 5.32258
8.75000 3846.27 759.94 2.71 5.52632
9.25000 3847.51 761.18 2.62 5.72165
9.75000 3848.52 762.19 2.54 5.90909
10.25000 3850.01 763.68 2.46 6.08911
10.75000 3850.75 764.42 2.40 6.26214
11.25000 3851.76 765.43 2.33 6.42857
11.75000 3852.50 766.17 2.28 6.58879
12.25000 3853.51 767.18 2.22 6.74312
12.75000 3854.25 767.92 2.18 6.89189
13.25000 3855.07 768.74 2.13 7.03540
13.75000 3855.50 769.17 2.09 7.17391
14.50000 3856.50 770.17 2.03 7.37288
15.25000 3857.25 770.92 1.98 7.56198
16.00000 3857.99 771.66 1.94 7.74194
16.75000 3858.74 772.41 1.90 7.91339
17.50000 3859.48 773.15 1.86 8.07692
18.25000 3859.99 773.66 1.82 8.23308
19.00000 3860.73 774.40 1.79 8.38235
19.75000 3860.99 774.66 1.76 8.52518
20.50000 3861.49 775.16 1.73 8.66197
21.25000 3862.24 775.91 1.71 8.79310
22.25000 3862.74 776.41 1.67 8.95973
23.25000 3863.22 776.89 1.65 9.11765
24.25000 3863.48 777.15 1.62 9.26752
25.25000 3863.99 777.66 1.59 9.40994
26.25000 3864.49 778.16 1.57 9.54545
27.25000 3864.73 778.40 1.55 9.67456
28.50000 3865.23 778.90 1.53 9.82759
30.00000 3865.74 779.41 1.50 10.00000
Adapted from Bourdet et al. (1983).
TLFeBOOK
WELL TESTING ANALYSIS 1/71
10
3
10
3
10
2
10
1
10
2
10
2
10
10
1
1
t
e
(
p
w
s

p
w
f
D
)
,

p
s
i
Figure 1.50 Loglog plot. Data from Table 1.6 (After Sabet, M. A. Well Test Analysis, 1991, Gulf Publishing Company).
Solution
Step 1. Plot p vs. t
e
on a log log scale, as shown in
Figure 1.50. The plot shows that the early data form
a straight line with a 45

angle, which indicates the

wellbore storage effect. Determine the coordinates
of a point on the straight line, e.g., p = 50 and
t
e
= 0. 06, and calculate C and C
D
:
C =
QBt
e
24p
=
(174)(1. 06)(0. 06)
(24)(50)
= 0. 0092 bbl/psi
C
D
=
0. 8936C
hc
t
r
2
w
=
0. 8936(0. 0092)
(0. 25)(107)(4. 2 10
6
)(0. 29)
2
= 872
Step 2. Makea Horner plot of p
ws
vs. (t
p
+t)/t onsemilog
paper, as shown in Figure 1.51, and perform the
conventional well test analysis, to give:
m=65.62 psi/cycle
k=
162.6QB
mh
(162.6)(174)(2.5)
(65.62)(107)
=10.1 md
p
1 hr
=3797 psi
s =1.151

p
1 hr
p
wf
(m)
log

k
c
t
r
2
w

+3.23

=1.151

37973086.33
65.62
log

10.1
(0.25)(2.5)(4.210
6
)(0.29)
2

+3.23

=7.37
Straight line parameters:
Slope, m = 65.62 psi/cycle
Intercept, p

= 3878 psi
pt = 3797 psi
Results:
kh = 1142 md ft
p

= 3878 psi
s = 7.4
m = 65.62 psi/cycle
(t
p
+ t)/t
P
r
e
s
s
u
r
e
,

p
s
i
4000
3000
3250
3750
3500
1 10 100 1000
Figure 1.51 The Horner plot: data from Table 1.6
(Copyright 1983 World Oil, Bourdet et al., May 1983).
p
skin
=(0.87)(65.62)(7.37)=421 psi
p

=3878 psi
Step 3. Plot pvs. t
e
, onlogloggraphpaper withthesame
size log cycles as the Gringarten type curve. Overlay
the actual test data plot on the type curve and nd
the type curve that matches the test data. As shown
in Figure 1.52, the data matched the curve with the
dimensionless group of C
D
e
2s
= 10
10
and a match
point of:
(p
D
)
MP
= 1. 79
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1/72 WELL TESTING ANALYSIS
te, hrs

p
,

p
s
i
1000
1000
100
100
100
100
10
10
10
10
1
1
1
1
10000
0.1
0.1
0.1 0.01 .001
Pressure match
C
D
e
2s
D
i
m
e
n
s
i
o
n
l
e
s
s

p
r
e
s
s
u
r
e
,

p
D
0
.1
0
.3
1
3
10
8
10
6
10
4
10
3
1
0
2
1
0
10
30
10
20
10
10
10
15
Approximate start of
semi-log straight line
Time match
t/(t
D
/C
D
) = 1/14.8
Dimensionless time, t
D
/C
D
Figure 1.52 Buildup data plotted on loglog graph paper and matched to type curve by Gringarten et al. (Copyright
1983 World Oil, Bourdet et al., May 1983).
(p)
MP
= 100
(t
D
/C
D
) = 14. 8
(t
e
) = 1. 0
Step 4. From the match, calculate the following properties:
k =

141. 2QB
h

p
D
p

MP
=
141. 2(174)(1. 06)(2. 5)
(107)

1. 79
100

= 10. 9 md
C =

0. 0002951kh

t
e
(t
D
/C
D
)

MP
=

0. 0002951(10. 9)(107)
2. 5

1. 0
14. 8

= 0. 0093
C
D
=

0. 8936
hc
t
r
2
w

C
=

0. 8936
(0. 25)(107)(4. 2 10
6
)(0. 29)
2

(0. 0093)
= 879
s =
1
2
ln

(C
D
e
2s
)
MP
C
D

=
1
2
ln

10
10
879

= 8. 12
Results of the example show a good agreement between the
conventional well testing analysis and that of the Gringarten
type curve approach.
Similarly, the Gringarten type curve can also be used for gas
systems by redening the dimensionless pressure drop and
time as:
For the gas pseudopressure approach p
D
=
kh[m(p)]
1422Q
g
T
For the pressure-squared approach p
D
=
kh[p
2
]
1422Q
g

i
Z
i
T
with the dimensionless time as:
t
D
=

0. 0002637k
c
t
r
2
w

t
where:
Q
g
= gas ow rate, Mscf/day
T = temperature,

R
[m(p)] = m(p
ws
) m(p
wf at t=0
) for the buildup test
= m(p
i
) m(p
wf
) for the drawdown test
[p
2
] = (p
ws
)
2
(p
wf at t=0
)
2
for the buildup test
= (p
i
)
2
(p
wf
)
2
for the drawdown test
and for buildup, the shut-in time t replaces owing time t
in the above equation.
1.5 Pressure Derivative Method
The type curve approach for the analysis of well testing
data was developed to allow for the identication of ow
regimes during the wellbore storage-dominated period and
the innite-acting radial ow. As illustrated through Exam-
ple 1.31, it can be used to estimate the reservoir properties
and wellbore condition. However, because of the similarity
of curves shapes, it is difcult to obtain a unique solution.
As shown in Figure 1.49, all type curves have very similar
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