PETE 4052

Lecture 4

Well Testing
Damage and Stimulation: The Skin Effect

Spring 2002
February 4

Damage and Stimulation: The Skin Effect

Outline
0.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Synopsis
Description of Damage and Stimulation
A Radial Composite Model for Damage and Stimulation
A Lumped Model for Damage and Simulation: Skin Effect
Inflow Equation Including Skin
Discussion

Related reading
Dake: p 115-121.
Horne: Section 2.3, p. 12-16 (attached)

4.0 Synopsis
We have discussed radial and linear flow in composite systems in Lecture 3. When the region of
alteration is very small, it may be necessary and useful to idealize the altered region as a zerothickness skin. Skins are used to describe both damage and stimulation.
Key concepts:
Representation of damage or stimulation as an altered region around the wellbore
Pressure drop across the altered zone
Idealization of the altered zone as a zero-thickness skin
Definition of skin
Dimensionless pressure
Flow efficiency
Apparent wellbore radius

4.1 Description of Damage and Stimulation

The processes of drilling, completing and producing an oil or gas well include many mechanical,
hydraulic, and chemical processes. Many wells are drilled overbalanced, so that drilling fluids
migrate into the near-well area. The fine particles in the muds may plug pore throats, or the
filtrate may react chemically with clays in the formation either of these processes can reduce
the near-well permeability dramatically. Completions may further reduce the productive capacity
of the well: the well may be cased and perforated (reducing the inflow area compared to an openhole completion), partially penetrating (reduced thickness for inflow), or internal gravel-packed
(pressure loss through perforations, gravel, and screen). On the other hand, the pressure-drop in
the near-well area can sometimes be increased. This could be accomplished by fracture treatments
or acid treatments. Attempts to lower the pressure drop in the near-well area are often called
stimulation.
We will present some sketches of these situations in the lecture.

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PETE 4052
Lecture 4

Well Testing
Damage and Stimulation: The Skin Effect

Spring 2002
February 4

4.2 A Radial Composite Model for Damage and Stimulation

Figure 4.1 From the centerline (CL), the
wellbore extends to rw. A region of altered
permeability, ks, extends rw to the skin radius,
rs. The unaltered permeability, k, then extends
to the outer radius, re. From Horne.

The simplest model for wellbore alteration is a

radial composite model. The permeability is
assumed to be altered from the formation
permeability, k , to the altered or skin
permeability, k s , in a region rw r rs
(Fig. 4.1). For situations with ks < k (damage),
this results in an increased pressure drop,
p s . Note that p s is NOT the pressure
drop across the skin region! It is the change in
pressure drop for the composite model (the
model with altered permeability) compared
with the model with no altered permeability
region. For damage, p s is positive whereas
p s is negative for stimulation. I guarantee
some students will confuse p s with
p ( rs ) p rw . Look at Figure 4.1, and make
certain that you understand the difference!

We can now write expressions for the pressure drops using our knowledge of the radial flow
equation and series flow. The pressure drop across the skin region is

p(rs ) p(rw ) s

qB rs
........................................(4.1)
ln
2k s h rw

Note that this pressure drop increases as rs increases and ks decreases: this makes senses, because
thicker, lower permeability skin zones cause more pressure drop, and more damage. If the
permeability had not been altered, the pressure drop would be

p(rs ) p(rw ) 0

qB rs
.........................................(4.2)
ln
2kh rw

Combining Eqns. (4.1) and (4.2), we get an equation for p s :

p s p ( rs ) p ( rw ) s p (rs ) p (rw ) 0

qB rs 1 1

ln

2h rw k s k

qB rs k

ln
1
2kh rw k s

.................................(4.3)

1 . Note that p s will be positive when k>ks, and negative when k<ks.
ks

If the well is very damaged, and k s k , then this term will be positive, and p s will tend to be
k

1 can
large (and could approach infinity). If the well is stimulated, k s k , and the and
ks

be no smaller than -1. This is an important point: the amount of damage is theoretically unlimited,
but the maximum possible stimulation is limited. The pressure drop p ( rs ) p rw will always

Examine the term

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PETE 4052
Lecture 4

Well Testing
Damage and Stimulation: The Skin Effect

Spring 2002
February 4

be positive for a producing well, p s can be negative (for stimulation) or positive (for damage).

rs

The magnitude of the pressure drop also increases as the dimensionless skin radius
rw
r

s
. This makes sense: thicker skin, more effect. Finally, the
increases due to the term ln
r
w
qB
pressure drop is scaled by the group
. Thus, for example, higher flow rates imply higher
2kh
p s .

qB
, more closely. Because the left hand side (LHS) of Eqn. (4.3)
2kh
rs
k

qB
and
1 are dimensionless, the dimensions of
is a pressure, and the terms ln
2kh
ks

rw
Lets examine this group,

rs k

qB

1 . The
scales the dimensionless groups ln
2kh

rw k s
pressure drop is proportional to this group; increasing q has the same effect as decreasing h or k
by the same factor. We will use this scaling later in the course, and in the discussion of skin
below: it is the basis of dimensionless pressure for radial flow.
must be pressure. That is,

4.3 A Lumped Model for Damage and Stimulation: Skin Effect

As it turns out, well test analysis allows us to estimate p s but it does not allow us to estimate
either ks or rs. These would be nice to know, it is just that the time scales and physical limitations

s

of well tests usually prevent their estimation. For this reason, instead of the product ln
r
w
k

1 reservoir engineers usually must work with another variable called skin and

ks

represented as s. Rewriting Eqn. (4.3),

qB rs k

p s
ln
1
2kh rw k s
............................................(4.4)
qB

s
2kh
The definition of skin in terms of the composite radial model is

s ln

rs

rw

1 ....................................................(4.5)

ks

2kh
p s .......................................................(4.6a)
qB

and in terms of pressure drop s is

in consistent units, or
s

0.00708kh
p s ..................................................(4.6b)
q B

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PETE 4052
Lecture 4

Well Testing
Damage and Stimulation: The Skin Effect

Spring 2002
February 4

in field units.
We can use Eqn. (4.5) to obtain a skin value if we have a model for the radial distribution of
permeability, whereas we will use Eqn. (4.6) to estimate s from p s , which can be inferred from
a well test.
Skin as a Dimensionless Pressure
The skin factor s is dimensionless. In fact, it can be thought of as the dimensionless pressure drop
due to near-well permeability alteration. In radial flow, the dimensionless pressure and
dimensional pressure are related by
2kh
pD
p ......................................................(4.7a)
qB
in consistent units, or
pD

0.00708kh
p .................................................(4.7b)
qB

in field units. We will use these definitions extensively in well test design and analysis.

4.3 Inflow Equation Including Skin

We know the steady-state radial flow of incompressible liquids can be expressed as

Solving for ( p p w ),

2kh ( p p w )
B
r

ln
rw

( p pw )

Using the concept of p s

qB r

ln
2kh rw

( p pw )

qB r
p s
ln
2kh rw

( p pw )

qB r
qB

ln
s
2kh rw
2kh

.......................................(4.8)
qB r
s
ln
2kh rw

2kh( p p w )
q
r

s
B ln
rw

Skin is simply added to the log term in the denominator of the inflow equation. So we can
visualize s as a sort of additional distance that the fluid must flow. Of course, it is actually
dimensionless.
( p pw )

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PETE 4052
Lecture 4

Well Testing
Damage and Stimulation: The Skin Effect

Spring 2002
February 4

4.4 Discussion
Range of Skin Values
Skin values can easily be computed using Eqn. (4.5). Such a plot is shown in Figure 4.2. The
most important thing to note is how very large the positive (damage) skins can be; the absolute
value of the stimulated skins is very small in comparison (for the same permeability ratio k s / k
and radius ration rs / r .

Figure 4.2 Skin as a function of size and permeability of altered zone.

This behavior is easy to understand if we consider the pressure profiles. Rather than looking at
the profiles in r (Fig. 4.1), it is easier to plot them in ln(r ) (Fig 4.3). Note that the profiles take a
different form if we assume constant rate versus constant pressure drop. Take a while to study this
diagram; think about it and make sure you understand it.
Effect of Skin on Rate
If we examine the radial inflow equation with skin [Eqn. (4.8)], we can see flow rate for a given
r

s . For typical well spacings,

available pressure drop is inversely related to ln
rw

re / rw 2000 so than the logarithm will have a value of about 8 (note that our analysis isnt very
sensitive to the ratio because we are taking its log). This means that a skin value of 8 roughly cuts
the flow rate in half, or of -4 will roughly double the flow rate. Keep in mind that this simple
analysis does not consider tubing pressure drops.

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PETE 4052
Lecture 4

Well Testing
Damage and Stimulation: The Skin Effect

Spring 2002
February 4

Figure 4.3 Radial pressure profiles. The vertical axis is pressure, the horizontal
axis is the log of radius. The left side of the figure is the well, the right side is
the outer boundary. The hatched region has altered permeability.

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PETE 4052
Lecture 4

Well Testing
Damage and Stimulation: The Skin Effect

Spring 2002
February 4

Flow Efficiency
The flow efficiency of a well is simply the ratio of its unaltered flow capacity to it actual flow
capacity. This is [from Eqn. (4.8)],
q( s)
FE
q ( s 0)

re
rw

ln

........................................................(4.9)

re
s
rw
Eqn. (4.9) applies to steady-state systems only. As noted by Horne, FE is harder to interpret in
general (for example, for transient systems). It is usually more consistent to use s, but flow
efficiency can be a useful and simple-to-explain quantification of rate change due to damage or
stimulation.
ln

Apparent Wellbore Radius

We can also express the effect of skin as an equivalent wellbore radius, using the radial inflow
equation with skin [Eqn. (4.8)]:

2khp
2khp

r
r
ln e s ln w a
re
re

Rearranging,

re
rwa

ln

re
s
rw

ln

re
exp ln e s
rwa
rw
................................................(4.10)
r
re
e s e
rwa
rw
rw a rw e s
Positive skins cause an additional resistance; this effect is similar to reducing the wellbore radius.
Conversely, negative skins are analogous to increasing the wellbore radius.

Page 7 of 13

PETE 4052
Lecture 4

Well Testing
Damage and Stimulation: The Skin Effect

Spring 2002
February 4

Approximation for Fractures

The apparent wellbore radius of a infinite-conductivity fracture (we will discuss the ideas of
uniform flux, finite-conductivity, and infinite-conductivity later in the course) can be related to the
fracture half-length and thus to the skin (Earlougher, p. 154):
xf
rwa
2
xf
e s
......................................................(4.11)
2r
w

xf
2rw

s ln

Thus, very long fractures will have large negative skins.

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PETE 4052
Lecture 4

Well Testing
Damage and Stimulation: The Skin Effect

Page 9 of 13

Spring 2002
February 4

PETE 4052
Lecture 4

Well Testing
Damage and Stimulation: The Skin Effect

Page 10 of 13

Spring 2002
February 4

PETE 4052
Lecture 4

Well Testing
Damage and Stimulation: The Skin Effect

Page 11 of 13

Spring 2002
February 4

PETE 4052
Lecture 4

Well Testing
Damage and Stimulation: The Skin Effect

Page 12 of 13

Spring 2002
February 4

PETE 4052
Lecture 4

Well Testing
Damage and Stimulation: The Skin Effect

Page 13 of 13

Spring 2002
February 4