Effect of Accelerational Pressure Drop in a Horizontal Wellbore

Abstract

ABSTRACT It is desirable that a horizontal well is properly designed with regard to the production performance, as well as the well completion. A rigorous analysis of flow hydrodynamics in a horizontal well was performed by including the accelerational pressure drop in the wellbore. This has been recognized as one of the unsolved, yet most important problems in the production engineering. Pertinent experimental data were acquired with a large scale test facility, which was suitable for acquiring data on the relationship between the pressure drop along the wellbore and the fluid influx from the reservoir. An initial mechanistic model was improved by including the accelerational pressure drop in the wellbore. As evident from the comparison of the experimental data with the model, the improved model described more rigorously the flow behavior m a horizontal well configuration. The model would be applied for field applications, by combining with the Inflow Performance Relationship (IPR) approach and the black oil model.