.
PRESSURE BUILD-UP IN WELLS
BY
D. R. HORNER*
Synopsis
The report presents a method of analysis of the
pressurc build-up curve obtained from a closed-in
well by olotting the bottom hole pressure against the
~
+
logarithm of to 9, where 9 is the closed-in time
9
and to is the past producing life of the well.
In all cases it proves to be possible to determine
the permeability of the formation from the slope of
this curve.
Mehods are also given for extrapolating the
recorded pressures to infinite closed-in time for the
cases of
I-a new well far from any reservoir boundary
II-a new well close to a fault, but far from any
other boundary
III-a well in a finite reservoir.
Several illustrative examples are discussed.
Rsum
Le rapport prsente une mthode danalyse de la
courbe de remonte de pression dans un puits ferm
obtenue en reprsentant la pression de fond en
fonction du logarithme de -$--,a
8
tant le temps
coul aprs la fermeture et to la dure de la vie
productive passe du puits.
I1 en ressort quil est possible dans tous les cas
de dterminer la permabilit de la formation
partir de linclinaison de cette courbe.
On indique aussi des mthodes pour lextrapolation
des pressions enregistres pour une priode de
fermeture infinie dans les cas ci-aprs :
I-un nouveau puits loign des limites du rser-
voir ;
II-un nouveau puits se trouvant proximit dune
faille, mais loin de toute autre limite;
III-un puits situ dans un rservoir limit.
* N.V. De Bataafsche Petroleum Maatschappij, The Hague,
Netherlands.
Plusieurs exemples donns . titre dillustration sont
discuts.
Acknowledgements
The author wishes to state that he was not con-
cerned with the development of the theories herein
presented. They were evolved over a considerable
period by the reservoir engineering section of the
production department of the head office of the
Bataafsche Petroleum Maatschappij in The Hague.
Among others who worked on the matters herein
presented should be mentioned Messrs B. P. Boots,
I;. Brons, D. N. Dietz, M. Jakobs and W. R. van
Wijk *.
Contents
P A R T I-THEORY
I, I-Basic Equations and Assumptions . . . . . 504
I, 2-Basic Solution to the Equation of Flow . . . 504
I, 3-Pressure Build-up in a Single Well in an In-
finite Reservoir . . . . . . . . . . . . 504
a) Constant Production Kate before Closing in 504
b) Variable Production Rate before Closing in 505
c) Interpretation of Build-up Equations V, VI,
VI1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506
d) Conditions of Applicability . . . . . . . 506
I, 4-Influence of a Fault in an Otherwise Infinite
Reservoir . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506
I, 5-Well a t the Centre of a Finite Circular Reservoir 508
P A R T I I-AP ELI CATI O N S
II, 1-Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . 510
II, a-Examples of the Pressure Build-up in a New
Well . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5x0
II, 3-Examples of the Pressure Build-up in a Well
near a Linear Barrier Fault . . . . . . . 513
II, 4-Example of the Pressure Build-up in a Weil
in a Finite Reservoir . . . . . . . . . . 517
II, j-Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518
* Now professor of Physics at the Landbouwhogeschool,
Wageningen, Netherlands.
504 PROCEEDINGS T H I R D WORLD PETROLEUM CONGRESS-SECTION
PART I-THEORY
i-Basic Equations and Assumptions
The mathematical study of the sub-surface flow
of reservoir fluid requires that certain simplifying
assumptions be made as to the nature of the porous
medium and the fluids which it contains. I n effect,
the only practicable method at present available re-
quires such sweeping simplifications in order to
obtain a solution at all, that the solution so obtained
requires considerable testing in practice in order to
determine its usefulness and its limitations.
Thus it is general practice to develop the flow
equations assuming the reservoir to be homogeneous,
horizontal and of uniform thickness throughout. The
fluid is assumed to obey diircys law and to be
present in one phase only. Furthermore, it is assumed
that the compressibility and the absolute viscosity
of the fluid remain sensibly constant over the range
of temperature and pressure variation encountered in
the formation and that the density of the fluid obeys
an exponential type law
p = poe-c(po-p) . . . . . . . . . . . . (1)
where p is the density at some pressure p,
po is the density at some standard pressure
(conveniently taken as the original reser-
voir pressure po)
and c is the compressibility (assumed constant).
Then if we consider one well drilled into such a
reservoir and assume furthermore that the flow to
the well is radial (which implies either an infinite
reservoir or a finite circular reservoir with the well
at its centre) it may be shown that the equation of
flow ( I ) * is
where r is the distance from the centre line of the
well in centimetres,
t is the time in seconds,
p is the reservoir pressure in atmospheres at
distance r and time t,
f is the formation porosity expressed as a
fraction of the bulk volume,
k is the formation permeability in darcies,
p is the fluid viscosity in centipoises
and c is the fluid compressibility measured in
volumes per volume per atmosphere.
Of these basic assumptions it would Seem that by
far the most critical is the one which requires the
presence of only a single phase of reservoir fluid, in
that both the compressibility and the permeability are
* References given at end of paper.
II
very sensitive to changes in pressure below the bubble
point. However, although the theory is developed for
the case where pressures are everywhere above the
bubble point, the equations often seem to fit when
this condition does not hold.
2-Basic Solution to the Equation of Flow
There are a number of exact solutions of equation
II (for various boundary conditions) given in the
literature, but these suffer from the disadvantage
that they involve complicated integrals and Bessel
functions which make them very unwieldy for cal-
culation purposes. W e therefore make use of the so-
called point-source solution
where po is the initial reservoir pressure in atmos-
pheres,
h is the formation thickness in centimetres
and q is a constant rate of production of the well
expressed as cubic Centimetres of sub-
surface volume (under original conditions)
per second.
This equation III is an exact solution of equation
II for the following boundary conditions :
(i) external boundary at infinity at constant
pressure po
and (ii) internal boufidary (i.e. the well radius)
vanishing and with a constant flow rate q
across it (i.e. for a mathematical sink in an
infinite reservoir).
Thus the only error introduced by using equation .
III as the basic solution for the case of an infinite
reservoir is in considering the well radius as infinitely
small. This error is considered to be negligible for
the applications of this report.
3-Pressure Build-up in a Single Well in an
Infinite Reservoir
a) C o n s t a n t P r o d u c t i o n R a t e b e f o r e
Closing in
Consider a single well in an infinite reservoir
-f Values of the Ei-function, defined by the equation
Ei (-x) = -
are available from references (2) and (3).
Tliis function is -CO for x zero arid increases monotonic-
ally to zero as x goes from zero to +m. AS x approaches
zero, E i (-x) - in x += .5772..., and so for small values of
X, say for X smaller than about .OIS we ma> write with
close approximation
+
Ei (-x) e l n x . 5 7 7 2 ... .
 D. R. HORNER-PRESSURE BUILD-UP I N \VELLS 505
which was completed and first brought into produc- in. However, such conditions do not normally obtain,
tion at time zero, and which subsequently produced and so some correction must be applied to take
at a constant rate q until time to, when it was closed account of the varying rates at which a well will have
in. Then, ignoring the effects of the after-produc- produced during its history. Two methods of cor-
+
tion *, the well pressure p at time t o 9. (i.e. 9 rection may be used, one of which may be said to
after closing in) may be obtained by superimposing enable a theoretically precise solution to be obtained
two solutions of the form of 'equation III and then (at least in principle) while the other is nothing but
writing r a for r thus a good working approximation.
To illustrate the precise method we suppose that
the production history of the well was as shown
by the broken line in figure I. T o this we ap-
proximate by a series of steps (as shown) and then
modify the equation V to read
where p,, = pressure at well bore in atmospheres 5qolll t,+9
and rn =' well radius in centimetres. P, = Po--
Now for small values of its argument the Ei- 4xkh( to+8-tl
function may be accurately approximated by a loga- t o f3-h to+9.-tz
rithmic function. (See footnote to page 2.) If this +ql ln to+9-t, +qzInt,+9.-tj
approximation be in fact made in equation IV above
we derive the basic build-up equation for a single
well in an infinite reservoir as
+q3 in 1 . . . . .. .
. (VI)
where the t's and the q's are as indicated in fig. I,
qp to+$
p, = Po---ln
4zkh
~

9 . . . . . . . (VI and are so chosen that they represent the same total
production as the well actually made.
The error involved in this approximation will be, However, this equation V I is rather laborious in
very small after a comparatively short time. It will, application, and will normally be more precise than
25 rW2fp c is warranted by the other inaccuracies which are un-
indeed, have dropped to % as soon as%> ~~
avoidably present-in fact only rarely has it ever
k proved of value to apply this elaborate method. In-
a condition which will usually be satisfied within a stead, the equation V is usually modified by simply
matter of seconds after closing in the well. As we introducing a so-called corrected time t,, and writing
have introduced errors into the calculations (by com-
pletely ignoring the after-production) which may
affect the validity of our equations for a period of
an hour or more after closing the well in, it is clear where q is calculated from the last established pro-
that both the approximation to the exact solution by duction rate before closing in the well; t , is ob-
the Ei-function and the approximation to the Ei- tained by dividing the total cumulative production
function by the In-function are entirely justifiable. of the well by the last established production rate.
Thus in the case of a well which has produced uni-
formly since completion at a rate q from an infinite
reservoir we may expect the bottom hole pressure to
build up in accordance with equation V.
b) V a r i a b l e P r o d u c t i o n R a t e b e f o r e
Closing in
In the previous paragraph we derived a build-up
equation V for a well which produces uniformly at
rate q from time zero to time to and is then closed
* When a well is closed in at the surface, production from
the formation does not cease immediately. Instead, there is
some as yet undetermined period of time during which the
formation produces fluid into the well bore (at a decreasing
rate) thereby building up the pressure within the well. I t
is this quantity of fluid-the volume which is produced by
the formation into the well after closing in at the surface- Fig. I. Illustration of accurate method for correcting for
which is herein termed the "after-produrtion". variable production rate.
506 PROCEEDINGS T H I R D WORLD PETROLEUM CONGRESS-SECTION II

c) I n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f B u i l d - u p E q u a - fault (fig. 2 a ) we may consider two similar wells

t i o n s V, VI, VI1 Q and Q producing from an infinite reservoir (fig.
It is immediately evident that if we plot p w against 2 b), where the fault has now been removed and the
well Q is inserted in such a manner as to have an
ln (using to for to as necessary) or against effect equivalent to that of the fault. This require-
9 ment is simply that Q be identical to Q and at the
t o +8 t~+8-t1
qo ln t0+8-t1 + % l n to+8-t,
+ etc. if -we are mirror image of Q in the fault plane, i.e. at a distance
2a from Q. Thus the pressure in Q at time to f8
using the accurate correction method, w e may (8 after closing in) is
expect the points to fall on a straight line, at least
after the effects of the after-production have dis-
appeared. If indeed it does prove possible to draw
such a straight line, two deductions can be made
immediately. They are :
(i) by extrapolating the line to a2fpc
-Ei(- k9 ........ (VIII)
I
where the first two Ei-functions, unchanged from
equation IV, represent the effect of the well Q, and
the last two Ei-functions are the contribution of the
image well Q. As before we may substitute the
etc. = o in the accurate case), which is equiv- In-function for the Ei-function in the first two terms
alent to extrapolating to 8 infinite, we may to give the build-up equation
read pl. = po which is of course equal to p , the
fully built up pressure of the well. This value is,
of course, identical with the initial pressure, as
we are at present only considering an infinite
reservoir.
+Ei (-k9)l
a2fpc
......... (IX)

(i;) The gradient of this line is equal to 9

4xkh
4xkh
~ (or to
in the accurate case) --and so knowing
Now the distance a will normally be large enough
to make the last term sensibly zero and the other Ei-
values for q, p and h it is possible to determine function sensibly constant until 8 becomes quite
a value for the permeability k measured in situ. large. This means that for the first part of the build-
This value of k has the advantage that it is a up the curve will be approximately
mean value for the whole well drainage area.
I nto+g 8- Ei(-*) ... (X)
k to
d) C o n d i t i o n s o f A p p 1i c a b i 1 i t y
that is the first part is a straight line of normal
The theory detailed above is, however, only ap-
plicable strictly to an infinite reservoir, which is a
theoretical conception which does not exist in fact.
Thus the above method can only be expected to be ap-
plicable in the case of a well which has not yet
produced sufficient fluid materially to have dimin-
ished the overall static reservoir pressure, i.e. a new
well in which the effects of the reservoir boundary
have not yet become apparent.

4-Influence of a Fault in an Otherwise Infinite

Reservoir
The problem of a well producing from a point
distant a cm from a linear barrier fault may be
simply solved by the method of images. This means a b
that instead of considering one well Q producing Fig. 2. Application of the method of images to the case of
from a semi-infinite reservoir bounded by the linear the linear barrier fault.
 D. R . HORNER-PRESSURE BUILD-UP I N IVELLC 507

(&) slope when plorted against In to+ 9~

t o + ; this part of the curve may

plotted against In ___
9 - B
Extrapolation of this line, however, would give a be correctly extrapolated to pn = po at In to+&
__ .
= o.
final pressure below the true value (p,). However, 8
as 9 becomes very large the arguments of both the there Will be a range of transition values
Ei-functions in equation IX become small and they of ln t,
__ +a where the line of the form of equation X
may then be approximated to by In-functions. Thus 8
for very large 9 equation IX becomes merges into the line of the form of equation XI. It
is also theoretically possible to determine the quantity
PW = P O - z9h In- t o +9$ ......(XI) a2fpc
(and hence a) by fitting the build-up curve
k
that is the last part of the build-up curve is a straight to the exact equation IX and thus to determine the
line of slope- 9 P (i.e. twice the normal when distance of a fault from a well (although not, of
zxkh course, its orientation).

206

160

GO

40

Fig. 3. Illustration of the theoretical case of a linear barrier fault.

508 PROCEEDINGS T H I R D WORLD PETROLEUM CONGRESS-SECTION II

A calculated plot of equation I X is included (fig. obtained by including this correction term in equation
3) to illustrate the form of the build-up which can III to give

+ -14 9x Pk h
be expected.
p=po Ei (-
I 1-4 k t
r2f p c

5-Well at the Centre of a Finite Circular

Reservoir . . . . . . . . .(XIII)
Exact solutions to the flow equation II are avail-
where for simplicity we define the function y by
able in the literature for the case of a single well in
the centre of a finite circular reservoir. A solution (4)
which only errs insofar as it treats the well as a y(ii) =Ei (-u) -+ U-e-U
I
mathematical sink in a finite reservoir (i.e. is as
accurate in this case as is the Ei-solution for an in- It is of importance to be able to consider this
finite reservoir) is function y as a known function. Accordingly a plot
of y for a large range in values of u is appended
p, = po
4P -
+ 27tkh
, 13 +:ln -
4 rb
-
rw
-~
rw2
_______
2rb2 -fpcrb2
zkt (fig. IO).
Now this equation X I I I is not even a mathematical
solution of the basic flow equation II. However,
the closeness of the approximation of this equation
. . .(XII) to equation X I I may be easily shown to be usually
satisfactory, the error is certainly never more than
a few percent. As an example fig. 4 shows the
[where r b =I external reservoir radius (cms) and the accuracy of equation X I I I by comparison with
x, (n = I, 2, ... .o) are the roots of Jl(x) = O ] , equation X I I in the particular case where rb/rr =
but this solution is clearly too complicated to be of 1000.
other than theoretical interest. Just as was done in paragraph I, 3a, we super-
Accordingly an approximate solution is derived impose two solutions of the form of equation X I I I
by modifying the equation III. Taking r b to be the and write r W for r to give our approximation to the
radius of the finite reservoir boundary, we may say build-up equation in a finite reservoir as
that the pressure drop caused by a well in an infinite
reservoir is less than the pressure drop caused by an
identical well in a finite reservoir by an amount
dependent on the quantity of fluid which (in the
infinite case) has flowed in across a circle of radius
-y(=$-)rh2f p c 1 . . . . . . .. {Xlv)
r,. The method then is to calculate the volume of
fluid which in the infinite case has crossed the ex- Now until 9 is very large the second y-function will
ternal boundary r b at any time t. Then we may say be almost zero and the first will be nearly constant,
that this quantity of fluid (say Q b ) , had it been and the equation X I V reduces to
produced from the finite reservoir, would have caused
an additional average pressure drop throughout the
finite reservoir equal to

where for convenience we write u1 for- r b 2 f p c .

Qb

hydrocarbon-f illed reservoir pore volume 4kto

I Thus we still have that, over the range of values
and this quantity be of 8 which will normally be measured, a plot of p n
compressibility
culated to be against In to+
___ will be linear and its slope will
9
rb2
f pc
- still be ~ However, linear extrapolation to
4xk h
4xkh
o will indicate a false value for the final
Thus the pressure history of a circular field with build up (which false value we may indicate by p*)
one uniformly producing well at its centre may be defined by
 D. R, HORNER-PRESSURE BUILD-UP I N WELLS 509

p" =Po---- q v y(u,) . . . .(XVI) tion XVI f o r y(u1) and thus'we may derive a value
4xkh of u1 =
rb2f p c.
~

Thus, knowing po and having determined 9v 4 k to

47tkh Now if we return to the former equation XIV
~

arid p* frclm the build-up curve, we may solve equa- and let 9 become infinite, the equation becomes

I l l
5 IO. 15 20 25

Fig. 4. Comparison between precise theory and approximation of this report for the 6

case of a well in a finite circular reservoir.

510 PROCEEDINGS THIRD WORLD PETROLEUM CONGRESS-SECTION
p p - qto 9P
O n r b 2 f h c= Po-(qnkh)
. (_
-
*
r b 2 f l_
4kt0
* C / t_. . . . . . . . . (XVII)
where p. is the final static (i.e. fully built up)
PART II-APPLICATIONS
1-Introduction
Part II of this report is intended to be largely
complete in itself. The object of this part is, by
the use of several examples, to illustrate the methods
of applying the more important equations developed
in Part I. These equations are collected for easy
reference in the Summary of Equations Chart, Ap-
pendix A ; each equation is repeated in two forms
namely exactly as derived in Part I and also as
modified for use with practical oil-field units. All
the symbols used in the report are collected in a
table (Appendix B) to which reference should be
made for the units which are to be used for the
various quantities involved, and for the values of
the numerical constants of conversion (A, B, D, F
and G) to be used with the particular units em-
ployed.
The examples chosen to illustrate the use of the
methods here presented are all from wells in the
Casabe field, Colombia, and have been selected from
a batch of 66 pressure surveys in this field made
between August, 1948, and April, 1950. Those which
have been selected for inclusion in this report have
been so chosen because they clearly emphasize certain
points of particular interest; i t must be emphasized
that the accuracy and compatibility of the exper-
imental data obtained from the five wells here con-
sidered is in no way superior to that of the other 61
which are not included.
It is perhaps of interest to state that the oilbear-
ing formations of the Casabe field consist of three
series of lenticular multiple sands A, B and C
of which the A and B sands are of Oligocene and
the C sand is of Eocene age. They are fine grained
to silty, rather argillaceous, and fairly well con-
solidated. The oil is heavy (ZOO-ZIO API) and
viscous ( 4 cp~ +). Some doubt exists as to the
bubble point. It was first thought that. the oil in
all sands was undersaturated, but it now appears
that pressures in the A sands at least are below
t It is of interest to observe that this limiting form of
equation XIV may be expressed thus
(Present Reservoir Pressure) = (Initial Pressure) -
(Total Volume Withdrawn) 1
X which is
(Total Reservoir Pore Volume) Com~ressibiitv
precisely what we should expect from dementarj consider-
ations.
II
closed in pressure, and then, substituting the known
rb2fpc
values of p,, qp
___ and- in XVII we may
4nkh 4kt0
obtain a value of pB,thereby correctly extrapolating
the build-up curve.
the bubble point. This, however, does not appear to
affect the build-up curves.
2-Examples of the Fressure Build-up in a
New Well
The earlier theory developed in Part I (I, 3)
is designed to apply to a single well in an infinite
field. Such a condition never obtains, of course, but
it is further pointed out (I, 3d) that the case
of a new well in a finite field is similar so long as
the total withdrawal from the well has been kept
small. It is difficult to lay down a criterion for the
order of this smallness-practical applications seem
to indicate that a normal well may be allowed to
produce for a, period of weeks or even of several
months and it will still obey the infinite reservoir
theory. Thus we may apply the infinite reservoir
theory to the following case.
CB-161 was completed to the A sands on 7th
February 1950, and it was closed in from 16th
February to 8th March while continual bottom hole
pressure measurements were being taken. As will
be apparent from the analysis of the results, it was
not really necessary to leave the well closed in for
such a long period in order to obtain adequate data,
although it is interesting to observe how closely the
pressure in the well followed the predicted course
over such a long time.
This being a new well, we apply the theory for a
single well in an infinite reservoir, as has been al-
ready explained. Reference to the Summary of Equa-
tions Chart, Appendix A, shows that the equation
for the build-up in this case is number V, which in
practical units is
Reference to the table of Appendix B gives a def-
inition of these symbols and of the units in which
they are to be measured. The U.S. system of units
being in use in Casabe, we must use the value of G
given in the tabulation as pertaining to this system,
namely 162.6. Thus equation Va is modified to
which is thus the equation which we must attempt
 D. R. HORNER-PRESSURE BUILD-UP IN WELLS 511

to fit to the experimental data. As the method of
to+$
analysis consists of plotting loglo __ against pw,
9 calculated from column 2, and finally the values of
we firstly require a value for to. As has been pre-
viously explained (I, 3b) the equation V (or
its modified form, Vb) assumes that q, the rate of
production, has remained constant for the whole life
of the well (to). This not being in fact true, the
method of correction is to take the last available
production rate-in this particular case, 641 bbljday-
as the value for q, and to use a corrected time t,,
instead of the theoretical to, where te is obtained
by dividing the total cumulative production of the
well (in this case, 5847 bbl) by this last production
rate.
Hence for t o in Vbabove we substitute
to = cum* prod. - s847 daYs = 21g hours
Last prod. rate 641
Thus the build-up equation Vb may be modified
by the insertion of this value of t, for to. This gives
Columns I and 2 are derived directly from the
bottom hole pressure readings, columns 3 and 4 are
pw from column I are plotted against the corres-
ponding values of loglo "9 + $ from column 4
9
as in figure 5.
It is convenient to plot p wvertically and in a con-
ventional manner, but to plot log,o 'I9
9
'
+ horizon-
tally from right to left, i.e. with the zero on the
right hand side as has been done in fig. 5, as this
gives a more vivid impression of &sing pressure.
If agreement is to be obtained with the theory,
and thus with the derived equation Vc, the points
when so plotted should fall on a straight line, ex-
cepting only possibly ihe points corresponding to
small 9 when the effects of the after-production (see

pw = po- 162.6_
qP
_ log,,,
Cokh 9
219 +
8 . (VC) .
footnote on page 3) may be still felt.
As can be seen from fig. 5, the accuracy with
The value of q = 641 bbllday could now be in- which these experimental points do in fact plot on a
serted, but it is perhaps more convenient to leave straight line in this case-and particularly the very
this until a later stage. last point which represents nearly 20 days closed in-
The method of treating the experimentally ob- is really quite remarkable.
tained pressure data may be most easily explained The interpretation- of this figure 5 is simple. Firstly
by reproducing the measured values exactly as they we may deduce a value f o r PO, which is done by
were reported from well CB-161. extending the straight line plot to the point cor-
Pressure
PI
CI. time
9
responding to loglo 219
9
+ 9 = o and reading the
(PSid (hours)
corresponding pressure which gives in this case a
I 192 19 12.53 I .@o value for po of 1280 psig. Although we have defined
I200 25 9.760 ,9894 po to be the initial reservoir pressure, this must be
1206 31 8.065 .9066
I212 37 6.919 .84m interpreted somewhat widely. In this case, for exam-
1216 43 6.093 .7848 ple, the well considered was drilled as an infilling
I220 49 5.469 .7379 well into an already heavily drilled field, and so the
1223 55 4.982 .6974
1227 61 4.590 .6618 pressure po = 1280 psig must be interpreted as the
1230 67 4.269 .6303 reservoir pressure at the well at the moment of its
1232 73 4.000 .602I
I235 79 3.772 .5766 completion.
1236. 85 3.576 .5534 In addition to this pressure determination we
1237 91 3.407 4324 may determine the permeability k from the slope of
I239 97 3.258 .SI30
I 241 103 3.126 .4950 the straight line. This can perhaps best be done by
1242 109 3.009 .4784 selecting two arbitrary and fairly widely separated
1241 1 I5 2.904 .4630 points A and B on the line (fig. 5 ) . The pressure
I243 I21 2.810 487
1244 127 2.724 .4352 difference between A and B is 1272-1182 = g o psi,
I245
1247
I249
I33
I39
I45
2.647
2.576
2.510
4228
.4109
.3997
and the corresponding difference in loglo 219
9
+'
1249 151 2.450 .3892
I250 157 2.395 .3793 is 1.2 - .I =' 1.1. The slope of the line is then ob-
1267 477 1.459 .i641 tained hy division thus
512 PROCEEDINGS T H I R D WORLD PETROLEUM CONGRESS-SECTION II

0.5

Fig. 5 and 6. Observed pressure build-up curves in new wells.

 D. R . HORNER-PRESSURE BUILD-UP I N WELLS 513
Difference in pressure 3-Examples of the Pressure Build-up in a Well
Slope =
Difference in loglo 219 +8
9
near a Linear Barrier Fault
The theory which has been developed for a linear
-
--90 -- 82 barrier fault is strictly only applicable to a well in
1.1 an otherwise infinite reservoir. However, we may
approximate to this condition by a new well close
and this slope we m w equate to the coefficient of to a fault and considerably farther from any other
barrier. Such a well is CB-123, completed to the C-
log10 219 + 'in the build-up equation Vc. Thus we
sands at the beginning of September 1949; it was
have closed in for test from 4th November 1949 to 5th
82 =' 162.6 ~ 'P January 1950. Reference to Appendix A shows that
C,kh the relevant equations are numbers IX, X and XI,
from which we may deduce which, subsituting. the values of A, D, F and G
Cokh 162.6 appropriate to U.S. units from Appendix B, become
- 1.98 . . . , .(XVIII)
4P - 82 9
pw=po--- " 162.6 log,,- t O +

In the particular case of the well CB-161 the fol- Cokh 9

lowing additional data are available :
-70.60Ei (- 3793
k(
Rate of production q =' 641 bbljday (Ref. page 9)
Viscosity = 40 1
From PVT data
t o + 9)
Shrinkage factor Co = 9 3
Pay thickness h = 349 ft From Electric log + 70.60Ei (- 3793 a 2 f ~ c )
k9
j . . (Ixa)
and if we substitute these values of p , Co and h in
the above equation XVIII we have which is valid for all ranges of 9. and which may be
approximated to by
-93 x k x 349 = 1.98

that is
641 x 40
.o127 k = 1.98
prv =Po--- '
Cokh 1
162.6 log,, to+%
__
9

or k= I .98
--
.o127 - 156mD
-70.60 E i (- 3793
kto
") I . . . (Xa)
Thus we have derived a value of 1280 psig for the for all save very large values of$, and by
reservoir pressure and 156 md for the permeability,
both of which are in good agreement with other data
for the Casabe field.
Figure 6 shows an example of the build-up for very large 9 .
of another new well. This requires no further com- The exact equation IXa is not of great interest as
ment, except to note that it is included only because far as the applications are concerned. Instead, the
it is an exceptionally good example of a very long two approximations Xa and XIa are used.
period closed in. Firstly we require a value of to, which is derived
The data relevant to this example are: as for the previous example. We use q = 275 bbllday
and to = 1353 hours. The value of q, as before, we
Well No CB-125, A sands
do not yet substitute. However, we insert the value
q = 280 bbllday of to in the two approximate equations which become
t, ='764 hours (31.8 days)
Max. C. I. time 2847.7 hours (118.7 days)
k (from the slope of the line) = 88 md Pw = po - " '162.6 log,, I353+ 9
Cokhi 9
~

The points corresponding to very large closed-in

times do not, of course, plot with the same accuracy -70.60Ei(,-- 3793a2f P c )
I353 k
1 .. .(Xb)
on the straight line. This is because the earlier group
of 17 points were obtained from one (or perhaps for all but very large 9, and
two) runs of the pressure gauge, while the last 8
points are eight spot readings taken at widely spaced pv = p. -325.1 q P 1353+ (XIb)
values of 9. Co k h log'' 9
~

Proceedings 3rd W.P.C., Section II 33

 D. R. HORNER-PRESSURE BUILD-VP I N \!-ELLS 515
for very large 9. Just as in the previous example, we c = 5.1 X IO-^ vols/vol/psi
k = 270 md
plot p- against loglo 1353+ The resulting plot is the above equation XIX becomes
9
shown in fig. 7. Theoretical requirements are that 3793 xa2x . 2 5 x 4 0 x 5.1 x IO-^
the early part of the curve be a straight line (repre- -Ei(-
I353 x 270
) = 2.53
sented by equation Xb) and that the latter part be
also a straight line (according to equation XIb) of i.e. -Ei (-.530 X 1 0 - 6 a2) -2.53
twice the slope of the early part. These two straight and reference to a table of Ei-functions (2,3) shows
lines should be joined by a transition zone. that, for this value of -Ei (-.530 X 1o-6a2) the
There are, indeed, two well defined straight lines I quantity
and II, but their slopes are respectively 330 and 125, .530 X 10-6 a2 = .o468 .
i.e. in a ratio of 2.64: I, instead of 2 : I. This may be whence a2 =8.83 X 104
explained, however, by the fact that the particular or a = 297 feet
well in question is subjected to the influence of two However, this figure is not in agreement with the
intersecting faults, the effect of which may be present (rather obscure) subsurface picture which
theoretically shown to be to increase the ratio of the places the fault at about 1100 feet from the well.
two slopes. Instead of proceeding in the manner just detailed,
As before, a value of po may be obtained by extra- however, we may modify our approach thus.
polating the line I to give po = 2263 psig. Firstly, we accept the possibility that the slopes
T h e value of k is obtained from the slope of the of the lines I and II (figure 7) may not be exactly
straight line II, and proceeds just as before: in the ratio of 2 : I. If we suppose this ratio to be
b : I a first approximation to the build-up equation
162.6 >[l.= slope of line II = 125
may be obtained by modifying equation I X to read
Co k h
(in practical units)
and substituting the known values
q = 275 bbljday (Ref. page I I )
p = 40 cp
Co = .93
1
from P V T data
-(b-1) AEi [-D a E (t2
h == 57 f t (Electric log) o+$)
we have + (b-I) AEi (-- D ak 9 E c
2 f 1 ..(IXb)

The problem of fitting this equation to the ob-

i.e. 33,700 = 125 served points can then be performed thus.
k An approximate value of b is derived from the
whence k = 270 md. ratio of the two slopes, a value of po is obtained by
We may also estimate the distance of the fault the extrapolation of the last part of the build-up
froin the well by the following method. curve and a value of a is obtained just as previously
[
-3793 a2f E 1 described i.e. by equating the -Ei function to
We equate the function -Ei

to the value of 2.3 loglo 1353+9

I353 k
at the point of
2.3 x 9
log10 to+
at the point of intersection of the

9 two straight lines. It is convenient that, given this

intersection of the two straight lines I and II (fig. 7). point of intersection, the value of a thereby deter-
mined is independent of the slopes of the lines.
These lines intersect at loglo 1353+ 1.1, and
=
Due to some uncertainty in the value of by (for
9 in practice 9 must usually be very large indeed before
so we have the equation line I is thoroughly established, and so it is possible
-Ei (-I353k >= 2.3 X 1.1= 2.53 . .(XIX) for some of the later points in the transition zone to
be mistaken for points on this line I ) it may not
Now if we substitute the known values now be taken as definite that the best possible values
f = 25 of a, b and po have now been chosen, although it may
P = 40 cp be expected that they will not differ too widely from
the final values.
i. Note that the factor 2.3 is a universally applicable con- Thus the equation IXb is now plotted to see how
stant for this method (actually it is In IO). nearly the calculated curve fits the observed points ;
516 PROCEEDINGS THIRD WORLD PETROLEUM CONGRESS-SECTION II

Fig. 8. Observed pressure build-up curve in well possibly affected by a linear barrier fault.

in the event of an unsatisfactory fit, the three quan-
tities a, b and po may be somewhat modified, and a
process of trial and error will finally lead to the best
values. Fortunately this seems to be fairly quick in
application.
The end result of such a process may be seen in
figure 7, in which the broken line has been calculated
to fit the observed points using the method outlined
above.
The final best values of the quantities a, b and
PO were not widely divergent from the values already
obtained, as may be seen in the following tabulation
 D. R. HORNER-PRESSURE BUILD-UP IN WELLS 517

1 Best values
1 Previously tained to calculate k. However, linear extrapolation
of the straight line region of this build-up curve does

Po
I from Eqn IXb
325 f t
2.81
2270 psi 1
obtained values
297 ft
2.64
2263 psi
not give the value of the reservoir pressure.
As an example of the method we include the results
of a long survey made on well CB-IIO (pw plotted
There is a further possible use of this linear
barrier fault theory. to +)' figure g . The relevant equations
against loglo ___
3
Figure 8 shows the usual p n v s . logIo to+
_ _ plot
3 are XV, X V I and XVII. W e proceed thus:
of well CB-I 17. The unexpectedly high pressure The slope of the initial straight part is measured
reading at II34 psig may be easily explained by the to be 121, and then from equation XV we equate this
presence of a fault. Thus a straight line II may first
be drawn through the other (earlier) points, and its value to the coefficient of loglo- to give an
9
slope measured-in this example it has a value of 96
(whence k may be obtained as before, formula Xb). equation x a n d taking G
121 = G =' 162.6 (U.S.
Then through the exceptionally high pressure point
Co k h
at 1134 psig we draw a line I at twice the slope of units, Appendix B) we get
the line II, i.e. at a slope of 192 and extrapolate this
to give a value of po = 1312 psig.
This method must, of course, be used with con-
siderable discretion.
which may be solved for k, knowing q, p , Co and
4-Example of the Pressure Build-up in a Well h, as before.
in a Finite Reservoir If we extrapolate the straight line, however, we
The method again is to plot pn against get a false pressure reading p* =' 1313 psig. T o
correct this we also need to know the value of PO.
to+ 8
log10 7g-and from the straight line plot so ob- We take in this case 1343 psig (as measured in a

1300

1200
-PY

1100

1000
25 20 1.5 1.0 o5 O

Fig. 9. Observed pressure build-up curve in wAl in a finite reservoir,

-c

-Q

-r! I
--
(o
-9

0
-4
-06 - 3 - -
n

N
-?

N
-0
9
 i). R. HORNER-PRESSURE BUILD-UP I N WELLS 519
previous pressure survey) and use equation XVI, in this equation XVIIa to give
which is (Ref. Appendix A) p. =' 1343 - 70.60 x .744 f .537
= I343 -98
= I245 psig
as the calculated static pressure at the well after
infinite time closed in.
Substituting- then the values
p"
Po ='
13'3 ps!g
I343 Pslg
I
as above
Agreement is here not too good-the apparent
error in p B is about 55 psi as may be seen from
figure 9. This is, as yet, the only well which we have
A = 70.60 (ref. Appendix B) had closed in for long enough to be able to make
9-
and - P (from slope of linear part such a check. Accordingly this method must still be
Co k h-' '744 of curve, as calculated treated as unproven.
above)
in equation XVIa, we have 5-Comments
In the application of these methods there are
I313 = 1343- 70.60 X .744 y ( k to certain definite dangers. Firstly it is not always clear
which part of the build-up curve is to be used to
which may be solved for y to give determine k. It is not uncommon for many of the
early pressure readings to fall on a straight line, when
plotted against loglo to +' although they have been
~

8
taken during the period of the after-production. This
This y-function is plotted in fig. IO. Reference to report does not attempt to cover this period of after-
this figure shows that if p(u) = .571,then u = .537. production, and this early straight line, having a
Thus we have for this case slope
- often many times greater than the true value of
B rb2f p c
= -537 h will thus give incorrect
W
k values of k and PO.
kt0 Secondly, when the after-production has ceased, all
Now we go to equation XVII, which we write wells show an initial slope of-and yet for extra-
Cok h
polation purposes it is necessary to know which case
must be catered for; infinite, semi-infinite or finite
reservoir. Thus a good deal of care must be exer-
cised in analysing the results of build-up curves if
and we substitute the values reliable data are to be obtained.
After analysing a large number of wells by this
Po = I343 Psig method we have obtained the impression that accept-
A = 70.60 able values for the permeability are more frequently
obtained than for the extrapolated pressure. This is
%h = -744 as obtained above probably due to the fact that whereas one is content
i
Brb2f p. c with only an approximate value of k the limits of
= *537 error within which the reservoir pressure is required
kto are very much smaller.
1

Bibliography
( I ) Muskat, Mow of Homogeneous Fluids Through Porous I and II, Federal Work Agency, Works Project Admin-
Media, Chap. X, Sec. 10.2, Eqn I. istration for the City of New York.
(2) Jahnke und Emde, Funktionentafeln Section I, pp. 6-8. (4) Muskat, Flow of Homogeneous Fluids Through Porous
(3) Tables of Sine, Cosine and Exponential Integrals, Vol5 Media, Chap. X, Sec. 10.13, Eqn 2.
520 PROCEEDINGS T H I R D WORLD PETROLEUM CONGRESS-SECTION II

APPENDIX B - LIST OF SYMBOLS

SYMBOL 1 DEFINITbON
I Part I
Ifetric System
Part I I
1 U.S. System
I
A A numerical constant 9.517 70.60
a Distance from well to fault m ft
B A numerical constant 717.6 948.2
Co Shrinkage factor, tank volume divided by - -
subsurface volume
C Compressibility vols/vol/atm vols/vol/kg/cm2 vols/vol/psi
D A numerical constant - 2870 3793
Ei The exponential integral function (cf. footnote - - -
e
F
to page 2 )
The exponential constant
A numerical constant
I -- - -

I -
43.83 325.1
f Porosity a fraction a fraction a fraction
G
- A numerical constant 21.91 162.6
h Pay thickness m ft
JO Bessel function of the first kind of order zero -
Ji Resse1 function of the first kind of order unit] - -
k Permeability md md
In Logarithm to base e -
Logarithm to base IO -
Viscosity e CP
Pressure at distance r and time t kg/cm2
Initial reservoir pressure, or reservoir pressure kg/cm2
at moment of completion of well
Final closed-in static pressure in-the well atm kg/cm2
Pressure in the well during build-up atm kg/cm2
False extrapolated pressure atm kg/cm2
Total inflow over circle r = rb cc of subsurface -
volume
q Rate of production of well, assumed constant t cc of subsurface m3/day
volume per sec.
go, qi, qB,q3 Well production rates associated with ti, tz, ts cc of subsurface
(see fig. I ) volume per sec.
r Distance from well centre-line cm m ft
rb Radius of external (assumed circular) reservoir cm m ft
boundary
rw Radius of well I cm -
P Density of reservoir fluid at pressure p P l C C -
Po Density of reservoir fluid at pressure po W/CC - -
t Time (measured from time zero at moment of sec hour hour
completion of weil)
to Value of to corrected for non-constancy of q t sec hour hour
to Value of t at moment of closing in the weli sec hour hour
t,, t,, t Various times associated with go, ql, qr, q, sec - -
(see fig. I )
3 Time elapsed since closing in the well sec hour hour
U An independent variable - - -
rbzfpc
4 k t o
X
~. An indeDendent variable
X The nthAroot(in order of increasing magnitude)
of Ji (x) = o I
Y The y-function, defined by y(u) = Ei(-u) i- -e-"
U
(See fig. IO)

t For methods of correction when q has not been kept constant, see paragraph I, 3b.
 D. 8. HORNER-PRECSRE
DISCUSSION
In view of the similarity of the subjects treated
this paper and the second part of the foregoing paper
(by A. Houpeurt) were discussed simultaneously.
Mr. B. P. BOOTS,rapporteur (N.V. De Bataafsche
Petroleum Maatschappij, The Hague, Netherlands)
thought that as far as the analysis of new wells was
concerned, the formation tester method would be less
accurate and would only reflect permeability close to
the well, but that it had the advantage of giving
earlier data.
For the cases of a well near a fault and a well in
a finite reservoir, he enquired whether the writer
could explain the descrepancies in examples II 3 and
IT 4. H e also enquired how the after-production
period could be detected and eliminated from con-
sideration.
Mr. W. R. VAN WIJK (Landbouwhogeschool, Wa-
geningen, Netherlands) wondered what would be the
effect of regional permeability changes (e.g. near to
a fault) and of interference by other producing wells
on build-ups of protracted duration. In agricultural
work the same basic differential equation is studied
in connection with water levels in soils; in this con-
nection analogue computers involving the flow of
heat have been used. H e wondered whether a similar
model might not be useful in the present connection.
Mr. D. COMINS(Anglo-Iranian Oil Co., Ltd., Lon-
don, U.K.) explained that for tight formation he pre-
f erred direct measurements. They had developed a
method for small producers of setting the packer
and then leaving the tool closed in order to record
the subsequent fa!l of pressure. After a while the
tool is opened for just long enough to draw the
pressure down below reservoir pressure and is then
closed again, thus recording a rising pressure.
Even if final equilibrium is not reached, upper
and lower limits are obtained for the reservoir pres-
sure.
His experience was that, under suitable conditions
(e.g. with the packer set in a pilot hole) a satisfactory
pack-off had been maintained for several hours. H e
had known one test to last as long as 28 hours.
Mr. A. HOUPEURT (Institut Franais du Ptrole,
Paris, France) said that it was in fact because of the
effect of the reservoir boundary that they had devel-
oped the method of using pressures measured by the
formation tester. They had tried closing a producing
well at varous occasions during its life for a quarter
of an hour, then opening it up and observing the
flowing pressures during the next 2 hours; this gives
acceptable permeability readings. They had also
found excessive pressure drops in some flowing
wells which they had attributed to the effect of the
reservoir boundaries.
If we consider a well surrounded by two zones of
different permeabilities, say K close to the well and
BUILD-UP I N WELLS 52 f
k further away, where K > k, would not this pro-
duce an effect similar to that of a fault?
Mr. D. R. HORNER (N.V. De Bataafsche Petro-
leum Maatschappij, The Hague, Neherlands) replying
to the discussions, said that the after-production
period may be distinguished by
I-its short duration
2-its characteristic swans neck shape
3-the unacceptable values of k and p o which will
be derived if the after-production period is used in
error to evaluate these quantities.
It is also a case of knowing the behaviour of the
wells in the particular field.
For the case of fig. 7 the error could lie in an
inaccurate subsurface picture, e.g. in the presence of
a secondary fault.
The failure of fig. 9 could be explained by
asymmetry, or, more probably, by the conception of
an expanding and contracted reservoir boundary a s
the example considered is an interspaced well.
H e agreed with Mr. Van Wijk as to the danger
of errors due to the causes which he mentioned and
for that reason strongly advocated studying new
wells wherever possible. As for interference of other
wells, he quoted an example from Casabe to show
that opening up the four surrounding wells of a five-
spot onlynnoticeably affected the build-up of the
central closed-in well some 3% months later. This
was on a 750 spacing.
The main unsolved problem was that concerning
the change of compressibility when pressures passed
through the bubble point, and for this case he knew
of no analogue computer. Otherwise the problems
were usually so!uble by relaxation methods.
H e was very interested in the method using the
formation tester presented by Mr. Houpeurt et al.
and stressed its value for obtaining data from a for-
mation which it was not proposed to put on produc-
tion immediately. H e thought that both methods could
usefully be employed for a new well.
H e would have expected the effect of after-pro-
duction to distort the flowing pressure readings ob-
tained by he method suggested by Mr. Houpeurt in
his discussion.
H e agreed with Mr. Houpeurts remarks on the
subject of two zones of different permeabilities. H e
had seen some build-up curves which tended to sup-
port such a theory but unfortunately it was not pos-
sible to leave the wells closed in for long enough to
confirm this hypothesis.
H e stressed that most of these difficulties could
be overcome by working with new wells; it was his
experience that a well usually behaved as though it
were in an infinite reservoir for perhaps a month
or two after completion.