Nontechnical Guide to Petroleum Geology, Exploration

Petroleum Engineering 324
Well Performance
Credit 3: (3-0)
Required for Petroleum Engineering Majors
Catalog Description: Steady-state, pseudosteady-state, and transient well testing methods to determine
well and reservoir parameters used in formation evaluation; applications to wells that produce gas and
liquid petroleum; rate forecasting; deliverability testing.
Prerequisites(s): PETE 301 & 310; GEOL 404
Instructor:
Thomas A. Blasingame, Ph.D., P.E.,
Professor, Department or Petroleum Engineering
RICH 815 — +1.979.845.2292 — t-blasingame@tamu.edu
Textbook Required:
1. Fundamentals of Formation Testing, Schlumberger (2006). (Schlumberger donation)
2. Earlougher, R.C., Jr: Advances in Well Test Analysis, Monograph Vol. 5, SPE (1977).
3. Horne, R.N.: Modern Well Test Analysis: A Computer-Aided Approach, Petroway (1995).
4. Dake, L. P.: The Practice of Reservoir Engineering, Elsevier (2001).
5. Dynamic Flow Analysis, Kappa Engineering (2007). (free — distributed electronically)
Topics Covered:
Module 1: Introductory Materials, Objectives of well tests, reservoir models, and plotting methods.
Module 2: Fundamentals of Flow in Porous Media, Material balance concepts (constant compressibility
and dry gas systems), Steady-state and pseudo-steady state flow concepts, Inflow Performance
Relations (IPRs) for Gas-Oil and Gas-Condensate Reservoir Systems, and Development of the
diffusivity equation: Liquid and gas systems.
Module 3: Solutions/Models for Well Test Analysis, Steady-state, pseudosteady-state, and transient radial
flow. Dimensionless variables — radial flow diffusivity equation, Solutions of the diffusivity
equation (various cases — concept of "type curves"), Variable-rate convolution: general and
single-rate drawdown cases, and Wellbore Phenomena.
Module 4: Well Test Analysis, Variable-rate convolution: Single-rate pressure buildup case. Conventional
analysis of pressure drawdown/buildup test data, Analysis of gas well tests, Unfractured and
fractured wells, and dual porosity reservoirs, Design of well tests, and Software for the analysis
of well test data.
Module 5: Analysis and Modelling of Production Data, Production analysis: Introduction, empirical
analysis/forecasting, and deliverability testing, Fetkovich-McCray decline type curve analysis,
and Software for the analysis of production data.
Class/Laboratory Schedule: Three 50-min lecture sessions per week
Method of Evaluation:
Homework/Quizzes 20%
Projects 20%
Examinations (2) 50%
Class Participation/Pop Quizzes 10%
Total 100%
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