An Account of Decline-Type-Curve Analysis of Vertical, Fractured, and Horizontal Well Production Data

Author(s):  
Anibal Araya ◽  
Erdal Ozkan
1998 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ram G. Agarwal ◽  
David C. Gardner ◽  
Stanley W. Kleinsteiber ◽  
Del D. Fussell

SPE Journal ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (01) ◽  
pp. 97-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayala H Luis F. ◽  
Peng Ye

Summary Rate-time decline-curve analysis is the technique most extensively used by engineers in the evaluation of well performance, production forecasting, and prediction of original fluids in place. Results from this analysis have key implications for economic decisions surrounding asset acquisition and investment planning in hydrocarbon production. State-of-the-art natural gas decline-curve analysis heavily relies on the use of liquid (oil) type curves combined with the concepts of pseudopressure and pseudotime and/or empirical curve fitting of rate-time production data using the Arps hyperbolic decline model. In this study, we present the analytical decline equation that models production from gas wells producing at constant pressure under boundary-dominated flow (BDF) which neither employs empirical concepts from Arps decline models nor necessitates explicit calculations of pseudofunctions. New-generation analytical decline equations for BDF are presented for gas wells producing at (1) full production potential under true wide-open decline and (2) partial production potential under less than wide-open decline. The proposed analytical model enables the generation of type-curves for the analysis of natural gas reservoirs producing at constant pressure and under BDF for both full and partial production potential. A universal, single-line gas type curve is shown to be straightforwardly derived for any gas well producing at its full potential under radial BDF. The resulting type curves can be used to forecast boundary-dominated performance and predict original gas in place without (1) iterative procedures, (2) prior knowledge of reservoir storage properties or geological data, and (3) pseudopressure or pseudotime transformations of production data obtained in the field.


2007 ◽  
Vol 10 (03) ◽  
pp. 312-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher R. Clarkson ◽  
R. Marc Bustin ◽  
John P. Seidle

Summary Coalbed-methane (CBM) reservoirs commonly exhibit two-phase-flow (gas plus water) characteristics; however, commercial CBM production is possible from single-phase (gas) coal reservoirs, as demonstrated by the recent development of the Horseshoe Canyon coals of western Canada. Commercial single-phase CBM production also occurs in some areas of the low-productivity Fruitland Coal, south-southwest of the high-productivity Fruitland Coal Fairway in the San Juan basin, and in other CBM-producing basins of the continental United States. Production data of single-phase coal reservoirs may be analyzed with techniques commonly applied to conventional reservoirs. Complicating application, however, is the unique nature of CBM reservoirs; coal gas-storage and -transport mechanisms differ substantially from conventional reservoirs. Single-phase CBM reservoirs may also display complex reservoir behavior such as multilayer characteristics, dual-porosity effects, and permeability anisotropy. The current work illustrates how single-well production-data-analysis (PDA) techniques, such as type curve, flowing material balance (FMB), and pressure-transient (PT) analysis, may be altered to analyze single-phase CBM wells. Examples of how reservoir inputs to the PDA techniques and subsequent calculations are modified to account for CBM-reservoir behavior are given. This paper demonstrates, by simulated and field examples, that reasonable reservoir and stimulation estimates can be obtained from PDA of CBM reservoirs only if appropriate reservoir inputs (i.e., desorption compressibility, fracture porosity) are used in the analysis. As the field examples demonstrate, type-curve, FMB, and PT analysis methods for PDA are not used in isolation for reservoir-property estimation, but rather as a starting point for single-well and multiwell reservoir simulation, which is then used to history match and forecast CBM-well production (e.g., for reserves assignment). CBM reservoirs have the potential for permeability anisotropy because of their naturally fractured nature, which may complicate PDA. To study the effects of permeability anisotropy upon production, a 2D, single-phase, numerical CBM-reservoir simulator was constructed to simulate single-well production assuming various permeability-anisotropy ratios. Only large permeability ratios (>16:1) appear to have a significant effect upon single-well production characteristics. Multilayer reservoir characteristics may also be observed with CBM reservoirs because of vertical heterogeneity, or in cases where the coals are commingled with conventional (sandstone) reservoirs. In these cases, the type-curve, FMB, and PT analysis techniques are difficult to apply with confidence. Methods and tools for analyzing multilayer CBM (plus sand) reservoirs are presented. Using simulated and field examples, it is demonstrated that unique reservoir properties may be assigned to individual layers from commingled (multilayer) production in the simple two-layer case. Introduction Commercial single-phase (gas) CBM production has been demonstrated recently in the Horseshoe Canyon coals of western Canada (Bastian et al. 2005) and previously in various basins in the US; there is currently a need for advanced PDA techniques to assist with evaluation of these reservoirs. Over the past several decades, significant advances have been made in PDA of conventional oil and gas reservoirs [select references include Fetkovich (1980), Fetkovich et al. (1987), Carter (1985), Fraim and Wattenbarger (1987), Blasingame et al. (1989, 1991), Palacio and Blasingame (1993), Fetkovich et al. (1996), Agarwal et al. (1999), and Mattar and Anderson (2003)]. These modern methods have greatly enhanced the engineers' ability to obtain quantitative information about reservoir properties and stimulation/damage from data that are gathered routinely during the producing life of a well, such as production data and, in some instances, flowing pressure information. The information that may be obtained from detailed PDA includes oil or gas in place (GIP), permeability-thickness product (kh), and skin (s), and this can be used to supplement information obtained from other sources such as PT analysis, material balance, and reservoir simulation.


Author(s):  
Arifur Rahman ◽  
Fatema Akter Happy ◽  
Mahbub Alam Hira ◽  
M. Enamul Hossain

Decline curve analysis is one of the most widely used production data analysis technique for forecasting whilst type curve analysis is a graphical representation technique for history matching and forecasting. The combination of both methods can estimate the reserves and the well/reservoir parameters simultaneously. The purpose of this study is to construct the new production decline curves to analyze the pressure and production data. These curves are constructed by combining decline curve and a type curve analysis technique that can estimate the existing reserves and determine the other well/reservoir parameters for gas wells. The accuracy of these parameter estimations depends on the quality and type of the pressure and production data available. This study illustrates the conventional decline curve that can be used to analyze the gas well performance data with type curves based on pseudo time function. On the other hand, log-log plots are used as a diagnostic tool to identify the appropriate reservoir model and analogous data trend. Pressure derivative and type curves are used to construct a radial model of the reservoir. In addition, Blasingame and Fetkovich type curves analysis are also presented in a convenient way. The decline curve analysis shows steady state production for a long time, then a decline is observed which indicates a boundary dominated flow. The Blasingame type curve matching points is going downward, which indicate the influence of another nearby well. The reservoir parameters that are obtained by using the decline curve and type curves analysis show a similar trend and close match for different approaches. These observations closely match results of different analysis. This analysis improves the likelihood of the results being satisfactory and reliable, though it changes with time until the end of the production period. This analysis technique can be extended to other type of well/reservoir system, including horizontal wells and fractured reservoirs.


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