Well Test Interpretation in Hydraulically Fracture

Wells

Basically, there are two Learning objectives:

▪ Interpret pressure transient data in hydraulically fractured wells.
▪ Identify specific flow patterns around hydraulically fractured wells
Hydraulic Fracture
▪ Goal of Hydraulic Fracture
▪ Enhance the connection between a wellbore and the (producing) reservoir by creating a
Conductive flow path
▪ Fractures enlarge effective wellbore radius rw
▪ Fracture can increase Kh.
▪ Fracture can reduce skin

Motivation for Hydraulic Fracture

▪ Enhance production from low permeability reservoirs
▪ Connect wellbore to natural fracture system in reservoir
▪ More uniform depletion in layered reservoir
▪ Reduce sand control problems
▪ Mitigate drilling/cementing induced formation damage

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 Flow Patterns in Hydraulically Fractured Wells
Fracture linear flow:
Fracture linear flow is very short and may be masked by well bore-storage effects. During this flow
period, most of the fluid entering the well bore comes from fluid expansion in the fracture, and the
flow pattern is essentially linear. Because of its extremely short duration, the fracture-linear-flow
period often is of no practical use in well-test analysis.

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 Bilinear Flow:
Bilinear flow evolves only in finite-conductivity fractures as fluid in the surrounding
formation flows linearly into the fracture and before fracture-tip effects begin to influence
well behavior.

▪ Fractures are considered to be finite conductivity when CrD < 100.

▪ Most of the fluid entering the well bore during this flow period comes from the formation

▪ During the bilinear-flow period, bottom hole pressure (BHP), pwf is a linear function of
t ¼ on Cartesian coordinate paper. A log-log plot of (pi -pwf) as a function of time
exhibits a slope of one fourth. The pressure derivative also has a slope of one fourth
during this same time period.

▪ The bilinear-flow period depends on fracture conductivity as given by:

Formation-linear flow:

▪ Formation linear flow occurs only in high conductivity (CrD> 100) fractures.
▪ This period continues to a dimensionless time of tLfD=0.016.
▪ On Cartesian coordinate paper, pwf is a linear function of t½ and a log-log plot of both (pi - pwf)
and the pressure derivative as a function of time exhibits a slope of one half.

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Elliptical flow:
▪ Elliptical flow is a transitional flow period and occurs between a linear- or near- linear-flow
patern at early times and a radial-or near-radial-flow pattern at late times

Infinite Conductivity and Uniform Flux Vertical Fracture

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Pseudo radial flow:
▪ It occurs with fractures of all conductivities. After a sufficiently long flow period, the fracture
appears to the reservoir as an expanded. At this time, the drainage pattern can be considered a
circle for practical purposes.
▪ The larger the fracture conductivity, the later the development of an essentially radial drainage
pattern. If the fracture length is large relative to the drainage area, then boundary effects distort
or entirely mask the pseudo radial flow regime
▪ Pseudo radial flow begins at tLfD = 3 for high-conductivity fractures (CrD>100) and at slightly
smaller values of tLfD for lower values of CrD.

Pseudo radial-Flow Method.

▪ This method applies when a short, highly conductive fracture is created in a high-permeability
formation so that pseudo radial flow develops in a short time. The time required to achieve
pseudo radial flow for an infinitely conductive fracture (CrD >100) in either a flow test or a
pressure-buildup test is estimated by

▪ The beginning of pseudo radial flow is characterized by the flattening of the pressure derivative
on a log-log plot and by the start of a straight line on a semi-log plot. In this case we can use the
previous methods discussed to define skin factor and permeability.

▪ For a highly conductive fracture, skin factor is related to fracture half-length by:

Lf = 2rwe-s

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 Specialized Methods for Post-Fracture Well-Test Analysis
▪ The objectives of post-fracture pressure-transient-test analysis are as follows:
1) To assess the success of the fracture treatment.
2) to estimate the fracture half-length, fracture conductivity, and formation permeability.

Type Curves for Fractured Vertical Wells

Gringarten-Ramey-Raghavan Type Curve
Application: for analysis of data from a constant-rate flow test.
Assumptions:
1. The fracture is infinitely conductive,
2. The well is centered in a square drainage area with no-flow boundaries,
3. The fracture has two equal length wings, and
4. Wellbore-storage effects are ignored.

Cinco-Ley et al.Type Curve

Applications: for analysis of data from a constant-rate flow test or a pressure buildup test.
Assumptions:
1. The fracture has finite conductivity that is uniform throughout the fracture,
2. The fracture has two equal-length wings, and
3. Wellbore-storage effects are ignored.

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Agarwal et al.’s Type Curve
Application: for analyzing flow tests or long-term production data in wells produced at essentially
constant BHP.
Assumptions:
1) The fracture has finite conductivity that is uniform throughout the fracture.
2) The fracture has two equal-length wings.

When a well produces at constant BHP, wellbore-storage effects (other than wellbore unloading
immediately after starting production from a previously shut-in well) are not present, so wellbore
storage is not of concern in analyzing test data for this case.

Barker-Ramey Type Curve

Application: to analyze constant-rate flow test or pressure-buildup test including wellbore-storage
effects.
1) The fracture is infinitely conductive.
2) The fracture has two equal-length wings.