Isochronal tests for gas wells

The isochronal test[1] is a series of single-point tests developed to estimate stabilized deliverability
characteristics without actually flowing the well for the time required to achieve stabilized conditions at each
different rate. This article discusses the implementation and analysis of the isochroncal testing for gas well
deliverability tests. Both the Rawlins and Schellhardt and Houpeurt analysis techniques are presented in terms
of pseudopressures.

Contents
[hide]

Isochronal test procedure and analysis

Rawlins-Schellhardt analysis

Houpeurt analysis

Example: Analysis of isochronal tests

o

4.1 Solution

Nomenclature

References

Noteworthy papers in OnePetro

External links

See also

Isochronal test procedure and analysis

The isochronal test is conducted by alternately producing the well then shutting it in and allowing it to build to
the average reservoir pressure before the beginning of the next production period. Pressures are measured at
several time increments during each flow period. The times at which the pressures are measured should be the
same relative to the beginning of each flow period. Because less time is required to build to essentially initial
pressure after short flow periods than to reach stabilized flow at each rate in a flow-after-flow test, the
isochronal test is more practical for low-permeability formations. A final stabilized flow point often is obtained at
the end of the test. Fig. 1 illustrates an isochronal test.
Tes isochronal dilakukan dengan bergantian memproduksi baik maka menutupnya dan memungkinkan
untuk membangun ke tekanan reservoir rata sebelum awal masa produksi berikutnya. Tekanan diukur
dengan beberapa peningkatan waktu selama setiap periode aliran. Waktu di mana tekanan diukur harus
relatif sama untuk setiap awal periode aliran. Karena sedikit waktu yang diperlukan untuk membangun
tekanan dasarnya awal setelah periode aliran pendek daripada untuk mencapai stabil aliran di setiap
tingkat dalam uji aliran-aliran purna, tes isochronal lebih praktis untuk formasi permeabilitas rendah.
Sebuah titik aliran stabil akhir sering diperoleh pada akhir tes. Gambar. 1 menggambarkan tes
isochronal.

Fig. 1 Pressure and flow rate history of a typical isochronal test.

The isochronal test is based on the principle that the radius of drainage established during each flow period
depends only on the length of time for which the well is flowed and not the flow rate. Consequently, the
pressures measured at the same time periods during each different rate correspond to the same transient
radius of drainage. Under these conditions, isochronal test data can be analyzed using the same theory as a
flow-after-flow test, even though stabilized flow is not attained. In theory, a stabilized deliverability curve can be
obtained from transient data if a single, stabilized rate and the corresponding BHP have been measured and
are available.
Tes isochronal didasarkan pada prinsip bahwa radius drainase didirikan selama setiap periode aliran
hanya bergantung pada lamanya waktu yang baik yang mengalir dan tidak laju aliran. Akibatnya,
tekanan diukur pada periode waktu yang sama pada setiap tingkat yang berbeda sesuai dengan radius
transien yang sama drainase. Dengan kondisi tersebut, data uji isochronal dapat dianalisis
menggunakan teori yang sama sebagai tes aliran-aliran purna, meskipun stabil aliran tidak tercapai.

Secara teori, kurva deliverability stabil dapat diperoleh dari data sementara jika satu, stabil tingkat dan
BHP sesuai telah diukur dan tersedia.
The transient flow regime is modeled by

....................(1)
where ps is the stabilized BHP measured before the test. The transient equation can be rewritten in a form
similar to the stabilized equation for a circular drainage area. To start this process, write

....................(2)
Further, a transient radius of drainage is defined as

....................(3)
By substituting Eq. 3 into Eq. 2 and rearranging, the transient solution becomes

....................(4)
which is valid at any fixed time because rd is a function of time and not of flow rate. rd has no rigorous physical
significance. It is simply the radius that forces the transient equation to resemble the pseudosteady-state
equation. In addition, do not confuse rdwith ri, which is the transient radius of investigation given by Eq. 5.

....................(5)
Similar to Houpeurts equations, rewrite Eq. 4 as

....................(6)
where

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

and

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

b is not a function of time and will remain constant. Similarly, the intercept at is constant for each fixed time line
or isochron.
The theory of isochronal test analysis implies that the transient pressure drawdowns corresponding to the same
elapsed time during each different flow period will plot as straight lines with the same slope b. The intercept a t
for each line will increase with increasing time. Therefore, draw a line with the same slope, b, through the final,
stabilized data point, and use the coordinates of the stabilized point and the slope to calculate a stabilized
intercept, a, independent of time, where (for radial flow) the stabilized flow coefficient is defined by

....................(9)

Rawlins-Schellhardt analysis
In logarithmic form, the empirical equation introduced by Rawlins and Schellhardt for analysis of flow-after-flow
test data is

....................(10)
For isochronal tests, plot transient data measured at different flow rates but taken at the same time increments
relative to the beginning of each flow period. The lines drawn through data points corresponding to the same
fixed flow time prove to be parallel, so the value of n is constant and independent of time. However, the
intercept, log (C), is a function of time, so a different intercept must be calculated for each isochronal line. This
"transient" intercept is log(Ct). In terms of this transient intercept, Eq. 11becomes

....................(11)

....................(12)
is replaced by ps in the modified equation.

The conventional Rawlins-Schellhardt method of isochronal test analysis is to plot

for each time, giving a straight line of slope 1/n and an intercept of

Houpeurt analysis
Recall that the Houpeurt equation for analyzing flow-after-flow tests is

....................(13)
Eq. 13 assumes stabilized flow conditions; however, in isochronal testing, measured transient data are being
recorded. Consequently, for each isochronal (or fixed time) line, the equation for transient flow conditions is

....................(14)
where

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

and

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

The form of Eq. 14 suggests that a plot of pp/q = [pp(ps) pp(pwf,s)]/q vs. q will yield a straight line with
slope b and intercept at. This theory can then be extended to the stabilized point and calculate a stabilized
intercept, a, using the coordinates of the stabilized point. The slope b remains the same.

Example: Analysis of isochronal tests

Estimate the absolute open flow (AOF) of this well[1] using both the Rawlins and Schellhardt and the Houpeurt
analyses. Table 1summarizes the isochronal test data. Assume pb = 14.65 psia.

Solution
Rawlins-Schellhardt analysis technique. First, plot pp = pp(ps) pp(pwf) vs. q on log-log coordinates (Fig 2) and
include the single stabilized, extended flow point. Table 2 gives the plotting functions.

Fig. 2 Rawlins-Schellhardt analysis.

Table 1

Table 2

Calculate the deliverability exponent, n, for each line or isochron using least-squares regression analysis. Note
that, because the first data point for each isochron does not align with the data points at the last three flow
rates (Fig. 2), the first data point is ignored in all subsequent calculations.
Table 3 summarizes the deliverability exponents determined with a least-squares regression analysis for each
isochron. The arithmetic average of the n values in Table 3 is 0.89.

Table 3

Because 0.5

1.0, AOF can be calculated or determined graphically using Fig. 3. AOF will be calculated in

this example. First, determine the stabilized performance coefficient using the coordinates of the stabilized,
extended flow point and n =

Then calculate the AOF potential:

To determine the AOF graphically, first calculate the pseudopressure at pb and compute

Then, draw a line of slope 1/

through the stabilized flow point, extrapolate the line to the flow rate at

pp = pp(ps) pp(pb), and read the AOF directly from the graph. The result is qAOF = 4.04 MMscf/D.

Fig. 3 Rawlins-Schellhardt analysis result.

Houpeurt analysis technique. Plot pp/q = [pp(ps) pp(pwf )]/q vs. q on Cartesian graph paper (Fig. 4). Table
4 gives the plotting functions. Construct best-fit lines through the isochronal data points for each time. Note
that, for each flow time, the point corresponding to the lowest rate does fit on the same straight line, so all four
data points will be used for the analysis of each isochron.

Fig. 4 Houpeurt analysis of isochronal test data.

Table 4

Next, determine the slope b of each line or isochron. Values of b from least-squares regression analysis are
summarized in Table 5. The arithmetic average value of the slopes in Table 5 is 2.074 104 psia2/cp/
(MMscf/D)2.

Table 5

Calculate the stabilized isochronal deliverability line intercept using pp/q = 2.113 106 psia2/cp/(MMscf/D) at
the extended, stabilized point.

Calculate the AOF potential using the average value of b and the stabilized value of a.

Fig. 5 illustrates the results.

Fig. 5 Houpeurt analysis of isochronal test data result.

Nomenclature
at

af

, transient deliverability coefficient, psia2-cp/MMscf-D

, depth of investigation along major axis in fractured well, ft

afbf , area of investigation in fractured well, ft2

(gas flow equation)

bf

=
, depth of investigation of along minor axis in fractured well, ft

compressibility, psi1

cf

formation compressibility, psi1

cg

gas compressibility, psi1

co

oil compressibility, psi1

ct

Soco + Swcw + Sgcg + cf = total compressibility, psi1

cw

water compressibility, psi1

total compressibility evaluated at average drainage area pressure, psi1

performance coefficient in gas-well deliverability equation, or wellbore storage

coefficient, bbl/psi

non-Darcy flow constant, D/Mscf

net formation thickness, ft

kg

permeability to gas, md

Lf

fracture half length, ft

162.2 qB/kh = slope of middle-time line, psi/cycle

inverse slope of the line on a log-log plot of the change in pressure squared or
pseudopressure vs. gas flow rate

pp

pseudopressure, psia2/cp

ps

stabilized shut-in BHP measured just before start of a deliverability test, psia

pw

BHP in wellbore, psi

pwf

flowing BHP, psi

pws

shut-in BHP, psi

flow rate at surface, STB/D

rd

effective drainage radius, ft

re

external drainage radius, ft

rw

wellbore radius, ft

skin factor, dimensionless

Sg

gas saturation, fraction of pore volume

So

oil saturation, fraction of pore volume

Sw

water saturation, fraction of pore volume

elapsed time, hours

reservoir temperature, R

pseudopressure change since start of test, psia2/cp

viscosity, cp

gas viscosity evaluated at average pressure, cp

porosity, dimensionless