Transient pressure behavior of Bingham non-Newtonian fluids for horizontal wells

Abstract

Heavy oil production in horizontal wells has gained a lot of attention in Kuwait. Oosthuizen et al. [Oosthuizen, R., Al Naqi, A., Al-Anzi, K., Gok, I., Zeybek, M., Cig, K., Al Hashim, H., 2007. Horizontal-well-production logging experience in heavy-oil environment with sand screen: a case study from Kuwait. SPE 105327, 15th SPE Middle East Oil & Gas Show and Conf., Bahrain, Mar. 11-14] presented a field example of heavy oil and water flow in a horizontal well. The field example is from Kuwait in Burgan Formation which is in Managish Field. They utilized advance production logging tool with distributed velocity and hold up distribution using tracer conveyance in sand screen completion. Unfortunately in Kuwait, interpretation of heavy oil horizontal well test data is still not well-understood compared with those for vertical well. Pressure transient modeling and analysis effort in the petroleum industry in Kuwait and elsewhere has mainly concentrated on the behavior of Newtonian fluids in homogeneous and heterogeneous reservoirs. Very little information is presently available on modeling of transient flow behavior of non-Newtonian fluids in reservoirs. This work presents new procedures, similarly to the TDS technique, for analyzing transient pressure tests of Bingham non-Newtonian fluids for horizontal wells. The flow of a slightly compressible Bingham fluid is discussed, and new analytical equations based on pressure and pressure derivative behavior of horizontal wells are developed. A simple log–log plot of pressure and pressure derivative with time provides accurate results of reservoir parameters so that both type-curve matching and multiple specialized plots are avoided. A step-by-step procedure for calculating reservoir and well parameters without type curve matching or regression analysis for six different cases is included in this work.