MODEL FOR ESTIMATING SKIN FACTOR OF PERFORATED LINERS IN HORIZONTAL WELLS

Abstract

One notable completion method for enhancing productivity in horizontal wells is the use of perforated liners. However, a major challenge common to horizontally completed wells is to perform an accurate measurement of the skin factor. Perforated liners can create several hurdles, capable of negatively affecting productivity, such as partial plugging, flow convergence, and turbulence. This paper introduces a new analytical skin factor model which incorporates distance between perforations and explains the effects of flowrate on skin for various parameters like perforation radius, wellbore radius, and distance between perforations for perforated liner completions. Results show that skin factor is directly proportional to flow rate and distance between perforations, however, they are inversely proportional to wellbore radius and penetration. From sensitivity analysis, the distance between perforations represents a key source to flow convergence and restriction to flow. This work describes how model validation shows good agreement with the existing model, and demonstrates the application of the new model.