Diffusivity Equation - WTA 1

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Diffusivity Equation - WTA 2

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Diffusivity Equation - WTA 3

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Diffusivity Equation - WTA 4

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Diffusivity Equation - WTA 5

• Obtained by
y combining
g
– Continuity equation
– Equation of state for slightly compressible liquids
– Flow equation - Darcy’s law

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Diffusivity Equation - WTA 6

The continuityy equation

q is a restatement of the conservation of matter.
That is, the rate of accumulation of fluid within a volume element is given
by the rate at which the fluid flows into the volume minus the rate at which
the fluid flows out of the volume.

Nomenclature
A = Cross-sectional area open to flow, ft2
m = Rate of accumulation of mass within the volume, lbm/sec
v = Fluid velocity, ft/sec
ρ = Density of fluid, lbm/ft3

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Diffusivity Equation - WTA 7

This equation
q describes the change
g in density y with p
pressure for a
liquid with small and constant compressibility.

Nomenclature
c = Compressibility, psi-1
p = P
Pressure, psii
ρ = Density of fluid, lbm/ft3

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Diffusivity Equation - WTA 8

Nomenclature
A = Cross sectional area open to flow, cm2
k = Permeability, darcies
L = Length of flow path, cm
p = Pressure, atm
Δp = Pressure difference between upstream and
downstream sides, atm
q = Flow rate, cm3/sec
ux = Flow velocity, cm/sec
x = Spatial coordinate, cm
μ = Viscosity, cp

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Diffusivity Equation - WTA 9

• The diffusivity
y equation
q is obtained by
y combining
g
- The continuity equation
- The equation of state for a slightly compressible liquid
- Darcy’s law

• Other transient flow equations may be obtained by combining

different equations of state and different flow equations
- Gas flow equation
- Multiphase flow equation

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Diffusivity Equation - WTA 10

L is here length
g

T is time

In oil field units, η is in units of ft2/hr

h is the formation thickness (in field units in ft)

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Diffusivity Equation - WTA 11

P is here p
pressure in p
psi.

In oil field units, the units of ct is 1/psi.

cr is solid rock compressibility in 1/psi.

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Diffusivity Equation - PTT Interpretation and Analysis 12

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Diffusivity Equation - WTA 13

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Diffusivity Equation - WTA 14

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Diffusivity Equation - WTA 15

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Diffusivity Equation - WTA 16

Here,, pi
p is the initial p
pressure,, which is assumed to be uniform in
the reservoir

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Diffusivity Equation - WTA 17

The Ei-function solution to the diffusivity

y equation
q assumes line
source well (finite size of wellbore can be neglected).
This solution is valid only for r > rw .
It predicts the pressure response in the reservoir as a function of
both time t and distance from the center of the wellbore r.

The above pressure equation is in oil field units; k is in md, ct is

in 1/psi, h is in ft etc., time t is in hours.

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Diffusivity Equation - WTA 18

The argument
g of the Ei-function,, x,, is given
g by:
y

948 φ μ c t r 2
x=
kt

Short times or large distances ⇒ large x

Long times or short distances ⇒ small x

For short times, x > 10, pressure response predicted by the Ei-
function is negligible.
For long times, x < 0.01, pressure response may be calculated
using the logarithmic approximation to the Ei-function.
For intermediate times, 0.01 < x < 10, the full Ei-function must be
used to calculate the pressure response.

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Diffusivity Equation - WTA 19

At any
yggiven p
point in the reservoir,, at sufficiently
y early
y times,, the
pressure response is essentially negligible.
This approximation applies whenever

948 φ μ c t r 2
> 10 .
kt

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Diffusivity Equation - WTA 20

At any
yggiven p
point in the reservoir,, at sufficiently
y late times,, the
pressure response is approximately logarithmic in time.
This approximation applies whenever

948 φμ c t r 2
< 0 . 01
.
kt

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Diffusivity Equation - WTA 21

Consider the p
pressure p
profile in an infinite-acting
g reservoir during
g
drawdown.
At t = 0 the pressure is uniform throughout the reservoir.
At t = 0.01 hours only a small region within 10 ft of the wellbore
has shown the effects of the transient.
Sometime later,
later at t =1 hour,
hour the pressure transient has moved
into a larger region, perhaps 100 ft from the wellbore.
Still later, at t =100 hours, the pressure transient has moved even
further from the wellbore.
As production continues, the pressure transient continues to
move through the reservoir until it has reached all of the
boundaries of the reservoir.

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Diffusivity Equation - WTA 22

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Diffusivity Equation - WTA 23

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Diffusivity Equation - WTA 24

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Diffusivity Equation - WTA 25

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Diffusivity Equation - WTA 26

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Diffusivity Equation - WTA 27

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Diffusivity Equation - WTA 28

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Diffusivity Equation - WTA 29

• Assumptions
p
– Radial flow
– Infinite-acting reservoir
– Homogeneous reservoir

• Effect of reservoir properties

– Increasing porosity, viscosity, or total compressibility
increases the time required to reach a given radius of
investigation.
– Increasing permeability decreases the time required to
reach a given radius of investigation
investigation.
– Changing the rate has no effect on the radius of
investigation.

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Diffusivity Equation - WTA 30

Consider what happens

pp when we shut in the well from the
previous slide for a buildup.
At the instant of shutin, Δt=0, the pressure begins to build up in
the well. However, this rise in pressure does not affect the entire
reservoir at once.
At Δt = 0.01 hours,, the pressure
p buildup
p has affected only
y that
part of the reservoir within about 10 ft of the wellbore. A pressure
gradient still exists in the bulk of the reservoir. This means that
fluid continues to flow in most of the reservoir, even during
buildup.
At Δt =1 hour, the pressure has built up in a larger area, within
about
b t 100 ft off th
the wellbore.
llb
As the shutin period continues, the region within which the
pressure has built up grows until the entire reservoir is at uniform
pressure.

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Diffusivity Equation - WTA 31

Exercise 6
R di l Flow
Radial Fl and
d Radius
R di off Investigation
I ti ti
Calculate Radius of Investigation for an
Undersaturated Oil Reservoir

Calculate the time required to reach a radius of investigation of 745 feet

for the following situation. Use the data and results from Exercise 2 in the
section “Part-2 Basics_WTA,” with the following additional information.
Undersaturated oil reservoir (above the bubblepoint)

φ = 0.17

μ = 1.06 cp

ct = 1.36x10-5 psi-1

ko = 250 md

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Diffusivity Equation - WTA 32

Exercise 7
R di l Flow
Radial Fl and
d Radius
R di off Investigation
I ti ti
Calculate Radius of Investigation for a
Saturated Oil Reservoir

Calculate the time required to reach a radius of investigation of 745

feet for the following situation. Use the data and results from Exercise
3 in the section “Part_2_Basics_WTA” with the following additional
information.

Saturated oil reservoir ((below the original

g bubblepoint)
p )

φ = 0.17

μ = 1.185 cp

ct = 1.42 x 10-4 psi-1

kro = 0.8

k = 250 md (absolute permeability)

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Diffusivity Equation - WTA 33

Exercise 8
R di l Flow
Radial Fl and
d Radius
R di off Investigation
I ti ti
Calculate Radius of Investigation for a
Low-Pressure, High-Permeability
Gas Reservoir

Calculate the time required to reach a radius of investigation of

745 feet for the following situation. Use the data and results from
Exercise 4 in the section “Part-2_Basics_WTA” with the following
additional information.
Low-pressure, high-permeability gas reservoir

φ = 0.12

μ = 0.01151 cp

ct = 6.52 x 10-3 psi-1

k = 100 md

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Diffusivity Equation - WTA 34

Exercise 9
R di l Flow
Radial Fl and
d Radius
R di off Investigation
I ti ti
Calculate Radius of Investigation for a
High-Pressure, Low-Permeability
Gas Reservoir

Calculate the time required to reach a radius of investigation of 745

feet for the following situation. Use the data and results from
Exercise 5 in the section “Part-2 Basics_WTA,” with the following
additional information.

High-pressure, low-permeability gas reservoir

φ = 0.04

μ = 0.02514 cp

ct = 1.151 x 10-4 psi-1

k = 0.08

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