Society Petroleum Engineers of

SPE 39931 Production Analysis of Linear l-low Into Fractureu I lgnt Gas wells
Robefi. A. Wattenbarger /SPE, Texas A&M University, and Ahmed H. E~-Banbi /SPE, Texas A&M University, and Mauricio E. Villegas /SPEt Chevron Petroleum Technology Company, and J. Bryan. Maggard /SPE, Texas A&M University .. -. .. . -. ..-. .-. ,..- .,.

~@9ht Im, societyP~leum of

This paper w% p~~~ti~ori %rmeab~ Resem-r$ SympTurn

Enginwm,

tnc.

ti ~~ _ X Rocky Mountain RegionaWLowand ExhWMM held in m, Colorado, S-8 April 1998

This Pawr was sdected for prmontation by an = Pmgmm @mm& Mng mw cf by the q uthor(s) Contont$ & the paper, as -fin contained In q n absbact submti presati, havenot been mw8d by the sad~ d Potmleum Enginaam and am subject to & nd newssarily reflect any ~ by the author(s). The material, qs pmwnted, position of the -~ ot Petroleum Engineem, itc Mcers, or members. PaPrs presented at Ediial hmti ~ ~ ~~ d SPE meetings am subject bYpublicationtiw.by mum Engineers. EIeclrunic mpmduti, dishiution, or storage d qny part & Ws pap6r for wmmerciaI purposes *out the_ ~w~ of the Sociely & -cum Engineers is & nor more than ~ Pmhibti. P0fm18s10n to wmduce in print is Mctad to qn qb8M words; illustrations may nd Im *. The k~ mud contin conspicuous acknowl~gment & Mere snd by whom rho paper ws presented. Write Librarian, SPE, PO. Sox ~, Riihardwn, TX 7S0S3-=, USA,, h 01 -972-9S2-9433

kw ............................................................(l) FCD= ~ k Xf
With these conditions, the flow is linear and is perpendicular to the fracture. The petroleum literature has many complicated cases for hydraulically fractured wells -g. Solutions for these cases are presented as type curves, tables, or sometimes as equations. Usually the cases involve fractures in intinite reservoirs, which means that flow eventually leaves the linear regime and becomes pseudo-radial. Almost all of the type curves are for constant rate flow. There are very few solutions for constant (wellbore) pressure, which is of interest for Iongterm production analysis. Apparently, the only solution published for the problem of Fig. 1 is for a square with constant flow rateg. This is shown as a special case of a more general set of solutions. Miller10 provided solutions for linear flow in aquifers. Millers solutions were for the infinite acting and bounded aquifers for both constant rate and constant pressure cases. Nabor and Barhamll generalized these solutions in dimensionless variabIes. They also added the solutions for constant pressure outer boundary case. The mathematics for these solutions is also available from Carslaw and Jaeger{z for linear heat conduction. Wattenbarger, E1-Banbi, and Maggard*3 have adapted these linear reservoirs solutions to fractured wells in the geometry of Fig. 1. They included the constint rate and constant pressure cases for linear flow in a rectangle. The equations and type curves in the foIlowing seetions are new, for the most part, and provide tools for analyzing long-term production petiormance of tight gas wells. Solutions of Linear Flow Into Fractured Wells The following equations apply for linear flow into a fracture. These equations strictly apply to the liquid case, but they can be used for gas wells with good accuracy if dimensionless real gas pseudo-pressure14, mD, (fOr gaS) iS substituted fOr dimensionless pressure, pD, (for liquid). 265

Abstract Sometimes decline curves for tight gas wells indicate that linear ftow may last for over 10 or 20 years. These decline mes may show outer boun~ry effects but no pseudo-radial flow. This paper presents d&line curve analysis methods for such wells. Values for r k X1 and drainage area can be
caltited. Stabilized (bounded) flow equations are also presented for forecasting. me solutions and type curves

developed are for both itilnite-acting and stabilized flow with either constant pwJ or constant rate. Several field cases are shown with example calculations. Introduction Many gas wells have been obsewed which stay in the linear flow regime for several years. These are usually wells in very tight gas reservoirs which may have hydraulic fractures designed to extend to or n=ly to the drainage boundary of the welI. For these wells, no pseudo-radial flow is expected nor observed during the production period. Linear flow seems to k the dominant flow regime throughout the wells production life. Fig 1 is a top view of a hydraulically fractured weII whose fracture extends all the way to the lateral boundaries. The weIt is in the center of a rectangular drainage area. The distanm to the outer boundary in the direction perpendicular to the fracture is y,. The fmcture is assumed to have ifilnite conductivity. This is a g~ assumption for large dimensionless fracture conductivity, FUI >50. Dimensionless fracture conductivity is defined by:

2..

R.A. WATTENBARGER, .

A.H. EL-BANBI, M.E. VILLEGAS, J.B. MAGGARD

SPE 39931

:--.

. .

we *OW the solutions for two inner bounda~ conditions (cofi~h~f-ami cqgstant pwl) and closed reservoir outer boundary condition. Eq. 2 is the solution for constant rate ptiuction ~om a cIosed Iifiear reservoirs.

rate and constant pwf by the following equations, respectively:

PwD

~n
2

DxJ

.......................................................(7)

~w.=:[:][:+(;),..f]
-+[$)~($)exP[-n~(~JtDx,]...(2) Eq. 3 is the soIution for constant pwf production from a cIosed linear reservoir. .,

lxzt =
qD

Dx,

....................................................(8)
.. .-

UnIike ifilnite radial reservoir solutions5, note that. constant rate and constant pressure solutions for ;Wlnite linear reservoirs differ by a factor of d2. hng-term Approximations. Closed resewoir solutions can be approximated by the following equations for Iongtirnel: ,,, ..,

.,~ ~ [l =__ ___. _____ ;=;[:)exp[;(:]tDx,]....... ............. ;D . ...(3)

where dimensionless variables are defined by:
~wD _=fi(Pi

pwD=:[~)tDx,+:[$) ..............(9.
(10)

..~ap[--.:(;j;h,l ....
These equations would result in ~fferent expressions for productivity indexes. The folIowing equations arc the productivity index expressions for constant rate and. .constant . p~f production respectively:

P~)

.............................................(4)

141.2qBp

Jm =
141,2Bp

kh

I
~D

=-zh~i - --- -pti) ..............................................(5]

141.2qBp

.,. .-. ... .. m.. .. .. [[)1

: :
f

0.00633k/ #pc, x;

J,, =
.................................................(6) 141.2Bp

kh
2 n Y. Xf

.....< ..................<ti.....(12)

f :

Note tit-tie definitions of pw~ and llq~ appear to be the case while q varies in same except that p.f varies in the PWD the I/qD ~. Short-tetiW-Approximations. The solutions given by Eqs. 2 and 3 have short-term approximations. These app-tions are aIso the solutions for intinite resemoir outer boundary. ~ese approximations are given for constant 266

,, i -: :-*-- We see that the ratio of productivity index for con;~nt pwj production to the productivity index for constant rate ptiuction is x2/12. This difference may be important and the right equation should be used for long-term production forecast. .. Type Curves. The most practical way to illustrate our solutions is through Iog-log type curves, Fig. 2 is a type curve for each of the two cases for alI times of interest. These curves

[[)1.

SPE W31

PRODUCTION

ANALYSIS OF LINEAR FLOW INTO FRACTURED

TIGHT GAS WELLS

have been plotted against tx rather than tD#. The y axis has been m~]ed to ( xj/y~ ) pm and ( Xfi ya ) (1/gD) rather than P.D and l/q~. fhiS giVeS only one cuIve for each ~, for any rectangular geometxy, rather than families of curves. The following equations beeome the solutions for closed reservoirs for constimt rate and constant pwf respectively:

Application to Gas We!ls The solutions for liquid flow can be adapted to gas flow by using the real gas pseudo-pressurel 4. In the liquid solutions, PwD is replaced by m.D which is defined as follows:

kh[m(pi)-m(pw)]
m= WD
1424 qg T

............................(16)

l/q~ has the following definition:

-+~(+)exP(-'J'~ '~Q.).... .('3) ........

1 ;.

k h[m(Pi) - m(pti)]
1424qgT
,-

.....................i....w-...(l~
. . ..

[1q~x
fl
y,

~
PI

.... .... ... _~2~2 t~, 1

z
A

..(14)

where m@) is the real gas pseudo-pressurel 4 defined by:

P m(p) = 2~~p

...................................... .............(l8)

The dimensionless time, tD>v, defined by: is

t).00633kt . ##cty:
. ...=. ..:
O.. -

_ ~ -

[)
y*

t
J

.......................!.,. (15)

and the dimensionless time referenced to the distance to the reservoir boundary, ye, is defined in terms of initial fluid properties as follows:

It- is Ilgmficant that th& type cu~es (log-log plot of ~erence in pressure or ~e~procal of production rate versus time) bend upward ._when the outer boundary is reached. This is ~e-opposite of the downward bend which is seen when fractured wells tend toward pseudo-radial flow515. his T shape difference may b important in analyzing field data. (It shotidbe understood that this rule is reversed when we plot ~---production tie, rather than reciprocal of rate, versus time).. Figs. 3 and 4 are type curves drawn using Eqs. 2 and 3 for different aspect ratios, ( XI/y, ). Fig. 5 is a deeline curve drawn for the constant p~f solution given by Eq. 14. End of Linear Flow [1/2 slope line). An important feature of the type curves is the end of the infinite acting linear flow (seen as the half-slope). This can be used to estimate reservoir size from field data, Once again, the two cases are = different. The end of the half slope is tLJp 0.5 for the constant rate case but is ?Pp+= 0.25 for the constant P.fcase (see Fig. 2). These values, 0.5 and 0.25, are taken to be values v where the CUIVCSisua/ly depart from straight lines, making them useful for the purpose of establishing minimum drainage area from field data (discussed Iatcr).

t y=

0.00633kt (+ PC,)lY.2

-................................................-~19)

The liquid solutions, which have been previously shown and are pIotted in the type curves, apply very accurately for gas in transient flow. This has been determined for a number of weI1 flow problems over the years. Thus, the~.use of Eqs. 16-19 works very well for the infinite-acting t behavior. Fraim and Wattenbarger normalized timelc should be used to correct for changes in gas properties for boundary dominated flow data, if these solutions are used in forecasting. An alternative procedure for forecasting boundary dominated flow production will be discussed later. Analysis of Field Data With the above solutions, there are several ways to analyze gas well field data. The following is a description of analysis methods. An example well will be used later for illustrative purposes. Log-Log Plot. The first step is to plot either pseudo-pressure for difference versus time (m@,)- m(pw~) vs. t), constant rate

267

.-. .. 4 R.A. WA~NBARGER. A.H. EL-BANBI, M.E. VILLEGAS, J.B. MAGGARD

SPE 3w3i

productio% or reciprocal of production rate versus time (l/qg vs. t), for constant p.f production, on a log-log plot. This is a simple plot tid wiII show indications of linear flow if the pIot has a half-slope. Many weIls may have periods where the well pressure varies or the well is shut in because of market curtailment, etc. For these reasons, the half-slope may not always be apparent or steady for the Iife of the well, even if the behavior of the well is entirely linear flow. Therefore, the log-log plot shotid be considered to be a screening method rather than a quantitative analysis tool. Square-Root of Time Plot. The next step is to make a more definitive plot for Iinear flow - the ~ plot. The half-slope part of a log-Iog pIot is equivalent to a straight line on the pseudo-pressure difference vs.~plot, for the constant ~te

This equation requires that permeability be known to determine x} Unless k is known independently, it is very di~cult to determine Xf It should be emphasized that these two equations differ by d2. Calculation of Distance of Investigationn. The distance, y,, m be calcdated by identifying the end of the ~lf-slo~ line, t.h, and comparing this time, in days, to the corresponding dimensionless time, tDP.This value of (tDy)#k is 0,5 for the constant rate case and 0.25 for the constant pwj -. The corresponding distance to the outer bounda~ is then given by the following equations for both cases respectively:

case, or l/q&vs. tiplot, forthe constant pressuremse. The slope of this line is given by the following equations for constant rate and constant pwf, respectively:

ktek =0113 i
(@Wl)i

..............................................(25)

mm =

200.8 T
hdm

gg
fixf

k teb
......................................(20) .............................................(26)

= 0159 / ($x,),
:. i; This boundary distance can be considered to be rninjnlunz ?

e where:

315.4T h ~m

1
~b~xf

..........................(21)

value if all the history data is still on the half-sIope trend. In this case, the latest production time is used instead of (/),b in Eqs. 25 and 26, This would be the distance of investigation at the current time. Agai& these equations, require that @rmeability be known. Of course, this may be a weti point in determining, by this method since k may ~,$~ncetiin. ., Calculation of drainage area. The good news, is that the drainage area can be calculated directly, without knowing either k or x} For the model of Fig. 1, the d~inage area is given by: . A = 4xfy, ..................................................................(27) Eq. 27 can be used to calculate drainage area from the slope, nzm or mm, and the end of haIf-sIope time, t,k,for both Cas

Am(p) =m(pi)-m(pti)

.....................................(22)

Calculation of ~Xf.

We can calculate ~xj

from the

sIope of the fiploti mm or ma. From this slope, and knowing vaIues for other resemoir parameters, we can use the foIlowing eqtitions for constant rate and constant pti p@uction, respectively:

&xf=

h~w

200.8T qg

.......................................(23)
A=4xf yc=

mcR 90.8T
h(@#t)i

qg r
{}
rnCR

t
eh

.....................(28)
~

fix

315.4T ~i)mcp

.........................(24)

--~da

268

SPE 39931

PRODUCTtON

ANALYSIS OF LINEAR FLOW INTO FRACTURED

TIGHT GAS WELLS

=4x~yc=::::[{~cp~(P)}fi(2)
where the drainage acres by dividing performance is still in Eqs. 2$ and be minimum @rev@. ~ A, is in fi2 but can be changed to by 43,560. Once again, if the well in the half-slope period, the latest time is 29 and the drainage area is considered to Calculation of Pore Volume, Now we can also calculate the pore volume, Vp We get a direet determination of Vp if we mtitipIy Eqs. 28 and 29 by + and h. This maybe a big help, since + and h are often not known in tight gas formations. fhe equation for Vpfor the constant rate is given by:

bottom-hole pressure. Actually, it is seen that the dab-starts bending downward ~er about fifteen years. Applying our linear ftow analysis indicates that the well encountered the outer boundmy at y, at this time. Note that this we~is riot tendirig toward pseudo-radial flow since that would m&e the curve bend upward from the half-slope, not downward. For this well, we need fiber analysis and finally confirmation by reservoir simulation since the variation of production rates and possible variation of pressures must have some effect on the decline curve. Nonetheless, the log-log decline cmve =ma to& a usefil and easy anaIysis=ttiI for our example well. Fig. 7 shows the lfq~ vs. ~plot for the example well for a period of nearIy 23 years. The cumulative production is also

=90.8T4g
(~t)i
CR

r {}
~

......................................

(30)

and for the constant pwfcase by: ...

a straight line when plotted vs. ~ (not shown in the paper), The slope of the cumulative curve is 21mW. This tends to smooth the data, but subtilties in the bounda~ effect may not be seen as easily. This figure was used to obtain both the slope, mm, and end of half-slope time, t,k. The values are 0.00009 and 5,625 respectively. Other well data are given in Table 1. The results of the calculations from Eqs. 24, 29, 31, and 32 are as follows: ,,

~=t::{~cp~(P)}& (31)
We notice that the dculation of V does not depend on having good estimates of k, h, and+. Calculation of OGIP. Once the pore volume is calculated, then OGIP can be direct.Iy calculated by the following quation
~G1p=

.. ,.:,. . .

A = 2,872,000 ftz = 65.9 acres

Vp =

3.% x 107rcf

OGIP = 6.67

X109 SCf= Bcf 6.67

v, - Sw) (1 ..............................................(32) R

If gas compressibility dominates c,, the calculation of becomes insensitive to the value used for Sw.Thus, we may determine OGIP accurately without actually having good knowledge of k, h, +, and SW
OHP

Example Calculation We choose to appiy our linear flow analysis techniques to production data of a hydrauficdly fractured tight gas weIl in a South Texti fieid. We &dmonthly rates for our plots. There were no recorded presmtis m the earIy years, but it was assumed that pressure was constant throughout the producing time of the well. 3?iE 6 shows a log-log decline curve for the example welI. The production rate foIIows a half-slope pattern for most of its life. This is an indication of linear flow with constant

The above anaIysis should be accurate if aII the assumed conditions are perfeetly met. In the example \v~lI asweII-as many other wells in the same field, the reservoir/fracture system seems to cause linear flow, no pseudo-radial flow was deteeted. However, the conditions of constant rate or constant Pwf were never perfect. In some cases, the actual flowing conditions were not even close to either case. Therefore, it was necessary to cotitrm or modi~ the analysis by -history matching with GAS~17, a single phase gas simulator. The simulation results were close to the resuIts we obtained with the simple hand calculation technique. -_, Discussion The analysis presented here may be usefil for many fbctured tight gas wells. This method based on Iinear flow anaIysis has not previously appeared in the literature aIthough much of the mathematics was previously avaiIable. We expect that there will be increasing use of long hydraulic fractures in the future and closer well spacing as well. These two wiII tend to filtill the conditions of this linear flow analysis method. .... 269

R.A. WAUENBARGER,

A.H. EL-BANBI, M.E. VILLEGAS, .I.B. MAGGARD

SPE 39931
.L

~ analysis here is simple but may have wide application. It is worthwhile to discuss several aspects of its application. In a recent anaIysis of a field with about 60 wells, longkrm linear flow was observed in about one-third of the wells. Many of the other weIIs could not be analyzed because of severe rate fluctuation caused by gas market problems. But none of &. wells showed pseudo-radial flow theoretically _ in weIIs with hydraulic fractures. Ftite Conductivity Fracture% This analysis has been for ate fracture conductivity. When formation permeability is -mely low, the conductivity of the fracture will behave as ... tiough it is relatively high in most cases. If the fracture condti~-~ is significantly Iow (Fo less than 50) then this tid appear as a skinw in long-term production behavior. This type of behavior was analyzed by Agarwal, et a17. ~Is tid be recognizable by a non-zero intercept on the y axis of the 1/q~vs. &plot. ~ intercept was not noticed on any of the well+ in the field analyzed. It should. be recognized, however, that the early khavior was sometimes interrupted by the problems of pu~ng a new well on production. It is interesting that pressure buildup tests on the example well have shown early flow to be dominated by hi-linear flow, indicating that the ticture conductivity was limited. Still, this was not noticeable on the long-term production behavior. Possible Causes of Linear Flow Behavior. In Fig. 1 the ticture length extends all the way to the drainage boundary (xf = x.), This may not seem to be plausible in some cases, However, there may be other reasons for seeing this type of linear behavior. Stright and Gordon18 reported long-term linear behavior in tight gas wel[s which did not have particularly large fracture treatments. They believed that this might be caused ~ natural fticturing in the formation caused by normal tectonic processes in a relatively hard formation, These titures would tend to be parallel to the fracture plane and wotid promote Iinear flow even if the fracture length were limited. Fig 8 shows how directional fractures in a reservoir wotid tend to change the reservoir into an equivalent long, Skinnyw reservoir. The sketch on the left shows natural tictures oriented in the x direction. Mer the transformation which accounts for the anisotropic permeability, the dimensions in the x direction are changed to: .

Y = yJ~

......................................................(34)

It is likely that anisotropy is sometimes much more severe than this example. The calculated fixf from either Eq. 23 or 24 would be ye product of the square root of the equivalent &~;;bility given by Eq. 35 and the transformed dimension Xl ..... . -<

K=~~

............................ ................................ (35) ..-.

... -. .- ;.

However, the calculated drainage area, A, and consequently determined the pore volume, VP,and the OGIP are correctly ... even with the anisotropy. KohIhaas and Abbott]g reported another possible reason for linear flow behavior other than the geometry of Fig. 1. They described massive tight formations which could be expected to have layers of higher permeability. The pressure drops in the higher permeability layers would then cause vertical linear flow into the higher permeability layers. This, too, would result in long-term linear behavior. Layered Reservoirs at Linear Flow. The analysis given here is for a single layer reservoir. If the well. produces from mdtiple layers, it would still appear as linear flow if. flow is ,, i~lnite acting= in alI layers. The calculated fix~ product would be a thickness weighted average summation of these values for the individual layers as shown by the following ~tion:

fix

fn

;6
j=l

..................................j .........(36)

Determination of Fracture Wngth. This is a continual puzzle for a fractured well. In our fractured well analysis, it is seen that the A XJ product is determined from the well behavior. The conventional thought is that &rmcability must W determined from a pre-fracture buildup test. This would work in a simple reservoir, but it is eipected tl~at ~ny tight gas reservoirs will behave like rntitiple-layered resew.oirs, In these cases, the permeability averaging that takes place before . the fracture treatment and the ~k Xj averaging that takes place after the fracture treatment may not bc related, Some type curves of complicated cases may help this probIem but the results may not be unique. ,; .L 270

x = xJ~

...................................................... (3,3)

while the dimensions iri they direction are changed to:

SPE 39931

PRODUCTION

ANALYSIS OF LINEAR FLOW INTO FRACTURED

TIGHT GAS WELLS

_.

...

-....=-

.*

Forecasting. Once OGIP bs been determined, forecasting is atrai@tiorward. Usethe mostrecent data which has a reliable vaIue o[itabilized rate and ~ttom-hole pressure. From this, a productivity index can be determined directly, based on the foIIowing equation:

L2/mt3, STBID/psi Jg =gas productivity index, L4t2/m, Mscf,cp~/psiz. k =permeability, L2, md kj =fracture permeability, L2, md k. =permeability in the Xdirection, L*, rnd kY =permeability in the Ydirection, L2, md K = uivaIent permeability for anisotropic reservoir, ? L,md
mcp = slope of l/q~ vs. &,

J g

.[mb)-mbti)l 9g
-4

..= ....................................(37) .

D12/Mscf

If the boundary effects have not yet been observed, this will be a conservative forecast. The average pressure, ~, is determined from material balance, using actual cumulative production. Forecasting is then just a matter of selecting time intervals and applying material balance and productivity index equations at each fiture time interval. Conclusions 1. Many weIIs in tight gas reservoirs have long-term production which exhibits only linear flow. These wells do not show pseudo-radial flow as sometimes expected with hydrmdic fmctures. 2. The equations for analyzing long-term (constant p.,) linear flow production are different than for buildup analysis (constant rate). Both sets of equations are presented here. 3. Drainage area can be directly determined if the outer boundary effect has been observed. (If the resemoir is still infinite-acting, this would be a minimum value). Knowledge of permeability, k, is not required. 4. Pore vohune and OGIP can be directly determined if the outer boundary effect has been observed. (If the reservoir is stiIl intinite-acting, these would be minimum values). Knowledge of permeability, k, thickness, h, and porosity, @, are not required. 5. If gas compressibility dominates cl, the calculation of OGIP becomes insensitive to the value used for Sw.Thus, we may determine OG]P accurately without actually having good kmowIedge of k, h, +, and SW. Nomenclature A = weI1drainage area, L2, flz. B = oil FVF, dimensionless, RB/STB Bz =gas FVF, dimensionless, rcflsef Bxi =gas FVF at initial pressure, dimensionless, rcflscf c~ gas ~biIity, Lt2/m, psa-l c~= total compressl%ility, Lt2/m, psal Fm = dimensionless fracture conductivity ~ =formation volume factor, dimensionless h =net formation thickness, L, fit Jo = productivity index for constant p.f production, LZ/mt3, ST13/D/psi Jm = productivity index for constant rate production, 27i

ma = slope of ~ vs.&, psi2/cp D1n m(p) = real gaspseudopressure, fits, p:iaz[~ m(~) = mo) at average reservoir pressure, fit3, psiazlep m@Wf) = m(p) at flowing wellbore pressure, fit3, psizlcp n = number of layers in a linear layered reservoir OGIP = Original Gas in Place, m3, scf _p = absolute pressure, tit, psia p =average reservoir pressure, fif~, psia

PD = dimensionless pressure PO =arbit~ry lower limit of nl@) integration, m/Lt2, psia p~f bottom-hole flowing pressure, m/Lt2, psia qD = dimensionless flow rate q~ =gas flow rate, L3/t, Msc~ q = oil flow rate, L3/t, STB/D SW= water saturation, fraction t = producing time, days ?W = dimensionless time based on Xf tDY = dimensionless time based on y, T = reservoir temperature, T, % VP= pore volume, L3, ft3 w = fracture width, L, R. Xj= fracture half-length, L, ft. ~ ,.. x= = reservoir half-width, L, ft. X. = transformed reservoir half-widtl; because of anisotropy, L, R. ,. y. = distance from fracture to outer boun@~, L, R, z = gas deviation factor, dimensionless ~ =porosity, fraction g =viscosity, tit, cp * =gas viscosity, mfLt, ep Subscripts ehs = end of half-slope period i = initial conditions j = layer index Acknowledgments We thank Tai Pham of Coastal Oil and Gas Corp. for sl]aring fidd data with us. We also thank the Reservoir Modeling Consortium for providing funding for this project.
.,

8
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R.A. WATTENBARGER,

A.H. EL-BANBI, M.E. VILLEGAS, J.B. MAGGARD

.=SPE 39931

..
Prats, M., Hazebr~& P. and Stickler, W. R.: Effect of Verticrd Fractures on Reservoir Behavior-CompressibIeFluid Case, SP~(June 1962), 87-94. Russe~ D.G. and Trui~ N.E.: Transiat Pressure JPT (Get. Behavior MVerticaIIy Fractured Re-oirsfl 1964), I 159-1170. Wattenbarger, R A., and Ramey, H. J.: Well Test Interpretation of ~ertically Fractured Gas Wells: J. Pet. Tech. (May 1969) 625-32; Tmns., AIME, 246. Morse, R..A. and Von Gonten, D.: productivity of Verti~y Fractured Wells Prior to Stabilized Flowfl paper SPE 3631 presented at the 1971 Annual Technical C@~_a and Exhibition, New Grleans, Ott.3-6. -g= AIain C., Ramey, H. J. , Jr., and Raghavan, R: Unsteady-State Pressure Distributions Created by a WeIl With a SingIe ktinite-conductivity Vertical Fractnr~n Soc.Pet.~.J. (Aug. 1974) 347-360,Trans., ~. Cinco, H., Samaniego, F. and Dominguez, N..: Transient Pressure Bhvior for a Well With a Finite-Conductivity VerticalFracture, ~(Aug. 1978), 253-264. AgarwaI, R. G., Carter, R.D. and Pollock, C.B.: Evaluation and Pdormance Prediction of LowPaability Gas We~s Stimulated by Massive Hydraulic Fracturing: JPT March, 1979) 362-372; Trans. AlME, 267. Cinco-Ley, H., Smiego, F.: Transient Pressure Analysis for Fractured Wells: JPT (Sept. 1981) 17491766. Gringarta A.G.:=Xoir Limit Testing for Fractured WelIs~ paper SPE 7452 presented at the 53rd Annual Fall Technical Conference and Exhibition, Houston, Texas, Oct., 1978. Miller, F. G.: Theory of Unsteady-State Influx of Water in Linear Reservoir, Joumai gj the Institute OS Petroleum, Vohune 48, Number 467- Nov. 1962,365-79. Nabor, G. W., and Barham, R. H.: %inear Aquifer Behavior: JPT, (May, 1964), 561-563, Carslaw, H. S., and Jaeger, J. C.: Conduction oJ Heat in Solids, Oxford University ~ess, Second Edition, 1959. W~barger, R. A., E1-Banbi, A., and Maggard, J. B.: -y wfi for the Reservoir Modeling Consortium, Texas A&MUniversity, May, 1996. A1-Hussainy, R., Ramey, H.J., Jr., and Crawford, P.B.: me Flow of ~ Gas Through Porous Media; JPT ~y 1966) 624-636. Earlougher, R. C., Jr.: Advances in Well Test Analysis, -graph Vol. 5, Society of Petroleum Engineers of AIME, New YorkR~lIas, 1977. Fra@ M.L. and Wattenbarger, R.A.: Gas Re~oir Decline-curve AnaIysis Using Type Curves With Real Gas P=bpressures and Normalized Timefl SPEl?E (Dec. 1987) 671-6=. @ W. J. and Watibarger, Robert A.: Gas Reservoir weeting, SPE Textbook Series, Vol. 5, 19%. Stright, D. H., and Gordon, J, I,: Decline Curve Analysis in Fracf.ured bw Permeability Gm Wells in the Piceance Bash paper S-E 11640 prewted at the 1983 SPEiDGE Symposium on Low Permeability held in
272

References
1.

2.

Denver. Colorado, March 14-16, 1993. 19. Kohlh&, C. A., and Abbott, W. A.: Application of Linear and Spherical Flow Analysis Teckiques to Field Problems-Case Studies; paper SPE 11088 presented at the 57th Annual Fall Cotimence and Exhibition held jn New GrIms, LA, Sept. 26-29, 1982. .

3---

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12. 13.

14.

15.

16.

17. 18.

SPE M31 ..

..-

PRODUCTION

ANALYSIS OF LINEAR FLOW INTO FRACTURED

TIGHT GAS WELLS

Table 1- Datafor Initial ressure, Pt p Mom-hole flowing pressure, * ~udo-~ure at p,, rn(pl) pseudo-preaaure at M, *) gas specif~ gravity, y~ reservoir temperature, T formation net pay thickness, h fornlatii ~oany, + average ater saturath, SW w totsl cornpreaaibilii et pj, c

example well.
6600 1600 2.67 X 10 1.69X108 0,717 290 92 0.15 0.47 3.s3 x 10+ p @~:p pailcp F ft.

Xf
q

Ye

Xe
Fig. 1- A hydraulically fiacturad well in a rectangular resewoir.

100

10

0.1 aol 0.1 f;ye Fig. 2- Constant rate qnd constant pw solutions for closed linear reservoirs. 10 100

273

10

R.A. WATTENBARGER,

A.H. EL-BANBI, ME. VILLEGAS, J.B. MAGGARD

SPE 39931

-.

10

.. .
A . .

ill 0.1

f&
,-

100

lm --9
.2.

Fig.3-

Constant production rate type curve for closed linear reservoirs.

,.. .

. .

10

0.01

0.1
. ...,.

;
10 100

t;xf

Ha. 4- Constant ptitype

curve for cIosed tinear reservoirs.

.-.. .

SPE 39931

PRODUCTION

ANALYSIS OF LINEAR FLOW INTO FRACTURED

TIGHT GAS WELLS

11

0.1

0.01
O.wl

0.01
tDye curve for closed linear reservoirs,

10

Fig. 5- kfine

Io,oou

,................

10

100

i,Ooo

10,OOO

t (days)
Fig. 6- iog-log decline curve for example well.

f2

R.A. WATTENBARGER,

A.H. EL-BANBI, M.E. VILLEGAS, J.B. MAGGARD

SPE 39931 . *:_ ~_._, .&

..=-

0.035

-.

0.010

0.005
O.m o
,. ~ m. 7- Square rOOt Of time plot for the reciprocal (::ys ): 70

10

30

40

80

90

Im

of rate of the example well.

...

. .

1111
1:2

1111
2:1
from natural fractures, a square with kx = 16 kY transforms to a 4:1 rectangle.

kx=16ky

Fig. 8- Effect of anisotropy