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Summary. The combined plot of log pressure change and log derivative of pressure change with respect to superposition time as
a function of log elapsed time was first introduced by Bourdet et al. I as an aid to type-curve matching. Features that are hardly
visible on the Horner plot or are hard to distinguish because of similarities between one reservoir system and another are easier to
recognize on the pressure-derivative plot. Once the patterns have been diagnosed on the log-log plot, specialized plots can be used
to compute reservoir parameters or the data can be matched to a type curve.
The Horner plot has been the most widely accepted means for curves that appear flat determined where to draw the lines on
analyzing pressure-buildup data since its introduction in 1951. 2 the Horner plots, which were determined from a least-squares
The slope of the line obtained by plotting pressure vs. log Horner fit using the points between the arrows on the plot. When the
time is used to compute the reservoir permeability. (Horner time Horner plot line has been diagnosed from the derivative
is the log of production time plus shut-in time divided by shut-in response, the values computed for permeability, skin, and
time.) The extension of this line to the time 1 hour after the start extrapolated pressure will be based on the radial flow response
of the buildup provides a means for calculating the skin factor. The required for the Horner analysis. I
extension of this line to when the Horner time equals 1 is the ex- The Horner plots were drawn with Horner time increasing
trapolated pressure used to determine the average reservoir on the horizontal plot axis. This means that the earliest data
pressure. 3 points appear to the right of the plot and the last data point
Another widely used aid to pressure-transient analysis is the plot appears farthest to the left. For this reason, the flow regimes
of log pressure change vs. log elapsed (shut-in) time. This plot serves represented by different line types appear in reverse order on
two purposes. First, the data can be matched to type curves.v> the Horner plots.
which are plots of analytically generated reservoir response patterns Using common response patterns like those shown in Fig.
for specified reservoir models. Second, the type curves can illus- as a reference, even the novice can begin to spot trends in
trate the expected trends in pressure-transient data for a large variety actual data that characterize certain well/reservoir systems.
of well and reservoir systems. Once the system has been diagnosed, various portions of the
The visual impression afforded by the log-log presentation has data can be replotted in specialized plots that produce a line
been greatly enhanced by the introduction of the pressure for points within a specific range of values identified on the
derivative. 1.6,7 In practice, the derivative of the pressure change log-log pressure/pressure-derivative diagnostic plot.
is taken with respect to the superposition time function.s which The following examples should help the reader to discern
corrects for variations in the surface flow rate that occurred before what to look for in the log-log diagnostic plots shown in Fig. 1.
the flow period being analyzed. As such, it represents the slope Example A illustrates the most common response-that of a
of the generalized Horner plot for buildup data. When the data homogeneous reservoir with wellbore storage and skin.
produce a straight line on a semilog plot, the pressure derivative Well bore-storage derivative transients are recognized as a
will, therefore, be constant. That is, the log-log pressure-derivative "hump" in early time. I The flat derivative portion in late time
plot will be flat for that portion of the data that can be correctly is easily analyzed as the Horner semilog straight line.
analyzed as a straight line on the Horner plot. Example B shows behavior of an infinite conductivity,
Many analysts rely on the plot of log-log pressure vs. which is characteristic of a well that penetrates a natural
pressure derivative to diagnose which reservoir model can fracture.f The half slopes in both the pressure change and its
represent a given pressure-transient data set. Patterns visible in derivative result in two parallel lines during the flow regime,
the log-log diagnostic and Horner plots for five frequently representing linear flow to the fracture.
encountered reservoir systems are shown in Fig. 1. The Example C shows the homogeneous reservoir with a single
simulated curves in Fig. 1 were generated from analytical vertical planar barrier to flow or a fault. The level of the
models. For each case, the log-log plot illustrates the features second-derivative plateau is twice the value of the level of the
typically seen in real data. The curves on the left represent first-derivative plateau, and the Horner plot shows the familiar
buildup responses; the derivatives were computed with respect slope-doubling effect. 2
to the Horner time function. The curves on the right show Example D illustrates the effect of a closed drainage
what the same examples look like on a plot of pressure vs. log volume. Unlike the drawdown pressure transient, which has a
Horner time. unit-slope line in .late time that is indicative of pseudosteady-
For each log-log plot, the upper curve is the pressure state flow, the buildup pressure derivative drops to zero.? The
change, ap, vs. the shut-in time, ill, and the lower curve is permeability and skin cannot be determined from the Horner
the pressure change derivative, (ilp)' ill. Patterns in the plot because no portion of the data exhibits a flat derivative for
pressure derivative that are characteristic of a particular this example. When transient data resemble Example D, the
reservoir model are shown in a different type of line that is only way to determine the reservoir parameters is with a type-
reproduced on the Horner plot. The portions of the derivative curve match.> .
Example E exhibits a valley in the pressure derivative that
Copyright t966 Society 01 Petroleum Engineers is indicative of reservoir heterogeneity. In this case, the feature
1280 Journal of Petroleum Technology. October 1988
Log - Log
Diagnostic Plot Horner Plot
10.0 ,-------------------------,
10
(~p)' ~I Q. 5.0
.. I
" "
a
WELLBORE ----- \- ----oi
STORAGE \ / Well with Wellbore
RADIAL FLOW
..... Storage and Skin in a
l'lF~ ~ ~ -. ~ <.,
Homogeneous Reservoir
0.0 +----r----,.---r--r----..,--"'''''''r
1
.....
10 10 10' 10 10' 10 10$ 10
4.0"T""-------------------------,
10
--
I"
10' ~p
(~p)'~t 2.0
e,
10
.~TRANSITION
....... ..............
RA01AL
FLOW
/
....
b
Well with Infinite
"",,- .... Conductivity Vertical
~RFLOW 0.0 .... -------_. Fracture in a
10.1 " Homogeneous Reservoir
10 to') tOl 10" 10' 10' 10' 10' 10' 10' 10 ' 10'
~t (tp+~t)/At
10.0
10'
10' ~p
N"J
Q. S.O C
10'
lL:1/
,0-
(~p)'
~
~t
___
,"7 .~~ Well with Wellbore
---
.:::...- WELLBORE""""'--- 'RADIAL -SEALING
-, Storage and Skin in a
STORAGE FLOW FAULT
WELLBORE
>..~ '" NO FLOW
5.0 Well with Wellbore
Storage and Skin in a
T(i I
~ STORAGE '\ BjNDARY
Homogeneous Reservoir
with Closed Outer
10
. , \
" . Boundary
0.0
10' Hi) 10.2
., 10'
10" 10 10' 10' 10' 10' 10 10'
~t (tp+~I)/~1
10.0
10'
~ ..'<,
~p
~~
,
10'
e
(~p)'td
. / PSEUDOSTEADY STATE
C. 5.0 Well with Wellbore
10' I~I'" FLOW FROM MATRIX
c- ' / \- TO FISSURES---,.~ Storage and Skin in a
Y ~~~~8A~Rl /
~, ,<#"/ /
'. Dual Porosity System
10
RAOIAL FLOW
( IN FISSURES)
._,'
RAOIAl FLO'N
/,/
'. with Pseudo-Steady
(TOTAL SYSTEM)
State Flow from Matrix to
10
10 10' 10 10
, 10' 10 10
, 0.0
10' 10 10
, 10' 10 10'
.
10
Fractures
r:
~t (tp+~t)/~1