Simultaneous Determination of Reservoir Pressure and Initial Fluid-in-Place From Production Data and Flowing Bottom Hole Pressure -- Application

Abstract

Abstract This work presents procedures on how to apply a newly developed method to simultaneously determine the average reservoir pressure and initial fluid in place using surface production data and flowing bottom hole pressure. This new method is derived from a combination of a generalized material balance formulation and pseudo steady state theory. Reservoir simulation was used to generate production history and flowing bottom hole pressure via hydraulic tables, which were used to calculate average reservoir pressure and initial fluid in place in order to validate the accuracy of this new method. Five examples were investigated for production with vertical and horizontal wells in oil and gas reservoirs at constant rate or constant flowing bottom hole pressure. Calculated initial-fluid-in-place and average reservoir pressures agree very well with that derived from reservoir simulation. This new method is useful in analyzing surface production data in the following conditions: (1) reservoirs significantly lack data, (2) buildup tests are inconclusive in determining average pressure, (3) buildup tests are expensive or difficult to run such as wells in tight and over-pressured reservoirs or with subsea completion.