Results

Empirical and/or semianalytical tools are frequently applied in most waterflood operations, although grid-based models are also often used. This paper examines the performance of some commonly used tools, such as the water-oil ratio (WOR), Y-function, and Arps. Besides those tools, we introduce a semianalytical approach, which is a modified version of the Y-function formulation. Two other tools that have gained significant traction in unconventional-reservoir performance forecasting, the stretched-exponential decline model (SEDM) and the capacitance-resistance model (CRM), are also used here.

Based on synthetic and field data, the results show that the Arps method is remarkably accurate in all flooding situations, regardless of the underlying physical mechanisms; other published data tend to support this notion. Similarly, both the SEDM and the proposed modified-Y-function method also yield solutions with good accuracy. The latter solutions tend to be pessimistic, however.

Diagnostic fracture injection testing (DFIT) is an invaluable tool for evaluating reservoir properties in unconventional formations. The test comprises injection of water over a very short time period, initiating a fracture at the end of a well's horizontal section, followed by a long shut-in period. Analysis of the falloff data with the G-function plot reveals the fracture closure pressure, and the fracture pseudolinear-flow period leads to the initial reservoir pressure.

In most tests, wellhead pressure (WHP) measurements are used because of cost considerations. A wellbore heat transfer model is used to allow conversion of WHP to bottomhole pressure (BHP) by accounting for changing fluid density and compressibility along the wellbore. This model, in turn, allowed us to assess the quality of solutions generated with the WHP data. For DFIT analysis, we adapted the modified-Hall plot for the injection period, whereas both the pressure-derivative and G-function plots were used for the analysis of falloff data. The derivative signature of the modified-Hall plot allows unambiguous estimation of the fracture breakdown pressure (pfb) during the injection period. As expected, the pfb always turns out to be higher than the fracture closure pressure (pfc), estimated with the two methods during pressure falloff, thereby instilling confidence in the solutions obtained.

A statistical design of experiments with coupled geomechanical/fluid-flow simulation capabilities showed that the formation permeability is by far the most important variable controlling the fracture closure time. Mechanical rock properties, such as Young's modulus of elasticity and the Poisson's ratio, play minor roles. In microdarcy formations, a longitudinal fracture takes much longer to close than its transverse counterpart.

Summary

Estimating in-place volume associated with each well, leading to estimation of total reservoir in-place volume, is the cornerstone to any reservoir-management practice. Yet, conventional methods do not always lend themselves to routine applications, particularly when used in singular fashion. However, combining these methods on the same plot has considerable merit in that they converge to the same solution when material-balance (MB) -derived average-reservoir pressure is used in a volumetric system.

This study presents a systematic procedure for estimating the gas-initially-in-place (GIIP) volume when real-time surveillance data of pressure, rate, and temperature are available at the wellhead. Specifically, we show that log-log diagnosis, followed by combined static- and dynamic-MB analysis and transient-productivity-index (PI) analysis, leads to consistent solutions. Thermodynamic behavior of fluids is also explored to ensure that converted pressures at the bottomhole and measured rates have consistency and accuracy for reservoir-engineering calculations.

Layered systems were selected for this study because they represent most situations. Two synthetic cases probed issues pertaining to average-reservoir-pressure computation with the pseudosteady-state (PSS) approach, and two field examples validated the approach presented here.

Summary

Permeability is the cornerstone of any reservoir-flow modeling that leads to field development and production management. Typical sources of permeability include cores, logs, wireline formation tests [or minidrillstem tests (mini-DSTs)], and conventional DSTs. However, integrating various sources of permeability at different scales is problematic. Anchored in mini-DST-derived permeability, this study endeavors to integrate various sources of permeability, leading to reservoir description in a turbidite sandstone reservoir in the Sabah basin, Malaysia.

Pressure-transient-test data recorded during a mini-DST operation differed significantly from data gathered during a conventional DST. Even though test quality was excellent, interpretation challenges were numerous in this well. Consequently, multidisciplinary information was brought to bear for integration of data derived from mini-DSTs. Other sources of information included sidewall cores, spot pressure measurements, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and microelectrical imaging logs. This case study demonstrates that, in this particular setting, the use of mini-DSTs was cost-effective and yielded the subsurface information required to plan field-development options.

Summary

Underbalanced drilling (UBD) offers a unique opportunity to estimate undamaged, in-situ formation properties upon first contact with the formation while drilling. This paper compares well-testing techniques developed for UBD with conventional methods. The reservoir flow rates in combination with flowing bottomhole pressures (BHPs) acquired while drilling can be used to identify productive intervals and estimate dynamic reservoir properties.

Unlike typical UBD projects where reservoir benefits are the primary focus, the driver for this mature field was overcoming the drilling problems associated with the wide reservoir-pressure variability caused by nearby producers and injectors. UBD was piloted as a means to achieving the requisite lateral lengths for reserves capture and meeting production targets. Minimizing formation damage and characterizing the reservoir while drilling were added benefits.

Several reservoir-characterization methods based on rate-transient analysis (RTA) were used to perform well testing while drilling. Rate-integral-productivity-index (RIPI) analysis uses the rate and pressure data acquired during drilling to determine whether additional holes drilled contribute and to ascertain the relative quality of this rock. In the increasing-boundary method, real-time rate and pressure data during drilling, circulating, and tripping allowed assessment of formation properties through history matching. Pressure-buildup data were also available during trips because the concentric annuli allowed the pressure to be monitored below the downhole isolation valve. These data enabled the estimation of reservoir pressure and productivity index (PI) with a proxy vertical-well model for each productive interval drilled. These interpretation methods show close agreement in results and lend credence to the UBD-derived parameters.