A NEW METHOD FOR PREDICTION OF THE CONDENSATE BANKING SIZE AROUND A GAS CONDENSATE WELL

Abstract

The main problem in the production operation from gas condensate reservoirs is well deliverability loss due to condensate formation and banking around the well as pressure falls below the dew point pressure. It is a common practice to calculate gas condensate well production performance based on the three flow regions. The size of Region 1 (a near wellbore region with high condensate saturation) plays an essential role in the productivity loss of gas condensate wells. In this study, a radial reservoir model is constructed using a compositional model to perform a number of analyses on a single well model. Real data from a large gas condensate reservoir located in the Middle East is applied to the reservoir model. Then, the impacts of affecting parameters are studied using the validated reservoir model. The results of this study show that key parameters, which have a significant effect on the size of condensate banking around gas condensate wells, are rock permeability, rock porosity, reservoir thickness, cumulative gas production, and pressure-dependent fluid parameters such as interfacial tension, viscosity, and density. Finally, using dimensionless analysis, a new relation is proposed to predict the radius of condensate banking (Region 1). This procedure is applicable in similar cases.