Chapter II

Outflow and System

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 Outflow
• At the end of this section, you will be able to…
• Calculate the Outflow Pressure for a given set of conditions against
variable flow rates assuming:
– No gas
– Simplified distribution of Outflow components: THP, Gravity, and Friction

• Plot the Tubing Pressure on a Pressure/Depth Plot

• Plot the Outflow Curve on a Pressure-Flow Plot

• Understand the effect of the following sensitivities on the

Pressure/Depth and Pressure/Flow Plots:
– THP, Tubing Size, Fluid Density, Flow Rate

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 Outflow
• The second component that determines well
performance (with Inflow) is called ‘Outflow’.

• Inflow: Relationship between pressure and flow at

the well face.

• Outflow: Relationship between pressure and flow

connecting the surface and the well face.

• Another way to think about out flow is the

pressure required to push the fluid from the well
face to the surface.

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 Outflow
The factors that affect Outflow are:
– Wellhead Pressure
– Vertical Depth
– Flowing Fluid Properties (WC, GOR, oil density, fluid
viscosity)
– Geometry (well deviation)
– Flow regime (single phase (laminar or turbulent), multi-
phase, slug flow, annular flow, etc.)
– tubing size, weight, and surface roughness
– Flow Rate

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 Outflow
However, we generally make a simplification of outflow and
group it into three categories:
Outflow Pressure (PO) = …
– Tubing Head Pressure (PTHP)
– Gravity Component (Depth and fluid properties) (PGRAVITY)
– Tubing Friction (everything else) (PFRICTION)

• For our simplified discussion of outflow (without gas), we

will use hand calculations for these three components.

• When we discuss PVT and gas effects, we will look at

more exact ways of calculating outflow.

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 Outflow Components - THP
• The PTHP component of PO is simple, since it is
normally given to us.

• Normally, PTHP is determined by the surface

production system. However…

• During a shut-in condition, the PTHP component

becomes as large as it needs to be to stop flow!

• When using a choke, the PTHP can be made to be

whatever the operator desires.

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 Outflow Components - Gravity

• PGRAVITY is simply determined by the vertical depth

and the average fluid gradient of the fluid in the
tubing.

• PGRAVITY = d * GAVG
(d= vertical depth)
( G = S.G. * 0.433)

• This should look familiar!

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 Outflow Components - friction
• Friction is quite more complicated than the other two PO
components.

• Friction is a function of: The fluid phases, flow regime,

well deviation and profile, fluid viscosity, and tubing size
all determine friction.

• There are several possible ways to estimate the friction in

a pipe due to flow. Examples are the Darcy-Weisbach
equation, Hazen-Williams formula and the Moody
diagram. But we have to choose one, so…

• REDA has historically used the Hazen-Williams formula for

friction losses.

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 Hazen-Williams Formula for friction
loss
• Basic formula is given by:
1.85
 100Q 
f  2.083   ID 4.8655
• Where:  34.3C 
– f = friction loss rate (ft/1000-ft of tubing length (measured))
– C = Hazen-Williams roughness constant:
• Typically 120 for most steel tubing applications
• Can be less for highly corroded tubing – 90 to 110.
– Q = Flow (BPD)
– ID = Inside diameter of pipe (in.)
– Limitations:
• The Hazen-Williams formula should be used for turbulent flow
(Reynold’s number > 105)

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 Hazen-Williams Formula for friction
loss
• To find the total friction HEAD (in distance), multiply f by
the total measured length of the tubing:

HFRICTION = f * LTUBING

• And to find the friction pressure, convert the friction

head to pressure using the average fluid gradient

PFRICTION = HFRICTION * GAVG

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Hazen-Williams Formula for friction loss

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 Outflow on Pressure-Depth Plot Pressure ->

• The Pressure/Depth plot is the

ideal tool to represent a single set
of data graphically.
• THP affects the PO the same

<- Vertical Depth

regardless of depth, so we will
draw a vertical line at THP.

• PGRAVITY increases linearly with

depth
• PFRICTION increases with depth

• The sum of all three is our

outflow pressure, or pressure
in tubing, vs. depth.
Set 1.07

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 Outflow
Converting Pressure/Depth to an Outflow Curve
• Series of points at successively increasing flow
rates and record the calculated pressure at the
end of the tubing or, preferably, at the well face.

• All other variables (depth, WHP, geometry,

correlation, WC, GOR, etc.) are fixed.

• The result is the IPC: Intake Pressure Curve

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 Outflow – IPC Curve Example
If we consider our previous example, but instead of
one flow rate we look at a set of flow rates…
– We can make a table with the components that
determine PO.
– PTHP will not change with Flow Rate
– PGRAVITY will not change with flow rate
– f, HFRICTION, and PFRICTION will change with flow rate.
Q PTHP PGRAV F HFRICTION PF PO
Bpd Psi Psi Ft/1000-ft Ft Psi Psi
0 200 1418 0 0 0 1618
1000 200 1418 10 37 15 1633
2000 200 1418 36 132 54 1672
3000 200 1418 76 280 115 1733
4000 200 1418 129 477 196 1814
5000 200 1418 195 720 296 1914
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 Outflow – IPC Curve Example
Graphically:
Intake Pressure Curve

2500
P-Friction
Tubing Intake Pressure (psi)

2000
P-THP
1500

1000 P-Gravity

500
P-O
(Outflow
0 Pressure)
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000
Flow (bpd)

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 Outflow - Sensitivities
Remember that the IPC is for a variable flow rate
with all other variables fixed. What happens if we
change…

• Tubing Size?

• Average Fluid Density?

• Tubing Head Pressure?

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1.08

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 Outflow - Summary
Basic Tool: Pressure/Depth Plot (also called a ‘gradient
traverse’ plot)
– Good for a single set of values
Basic Tool: Flow-Pressure Plot
– For a given set of parameters, varying Q.
Basic Tool: Flowing Correlations
– Impossible to calculate the relationship analytically.
– We try to select a flowing correlation that will match the
expected conditions
Changes with time:
– Almost all changes will work to increase density (increase
wc, decrease in GLR), friction loss by scale build-up as well.

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 System
• Upon completion of this section, you should be able to:
• Calculate the system pressure from Inflow pressure and
outflow pressure for a given well

• Determine if a well will flow naturally and at what rate.

• Determine the lift requirement, in pressure, for a well to flow

above its natural flow rate, or at any flow rate if it does not
flow naturally.

• Understand how the system curve for a given well will change
with time

• Plot the system curve on a pressure/flow plot.

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 System Pressure
• The System Pressure is : Simply enough, the System
Pressure, PSYS, is equal to the Outflow Pressure minus the
Inflow Pressure at a given flow rate

PSYS = PO – PWF

• Conceptually:
– PWF > PO (Psys is negative), then the flowing reservoir pressure is
more than sufficient to push the well fluid to the surface.
– PWF = PO (Psys is zero), then the flowing reservoir pressure is
exactly what is needed to push the fluid to surface, and this is
our equilibrium (natural) flow rate.
– PWF < PO (Psys is positive), the flowing pressure is insufficient to
push the fluid to surface.

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 System Pressure
• The System Pressure Curve is the result of
subtracting the Inflow Curve from the Outflow Curve
from Q = 0 to Q = QMAX. (i.e.Outflow – Inflow)

• PSYS @ Q=QMAX should equal PO, since PWF = 0.

• We can represent this graphically by showing all

three curves (IPR, IPC, PSYS) on the same
Pressure/Flow Plot.

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 System Pressure on Pressure/Flow Plot
PR PWF = IPR PSYS ends at QMAX, PO = IPC
PSYS @ QMAX = PO
Pressure (PWF, PO, PSYS)

Outflow

System
Inflow

QMAX Flow ->

Expected
PSYS = PO - PWF Natural Q

PSYS for naturally flowing well

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 System Pressure on Pressure/Flow Plot
PSYS ends at QMAX, PO = IPC
PSYS @ QMAX = PO

Outflow

Syste
PWF = IPR m
PR Inflow
Pressure (PWF, PO, PSYS)

PSYS = PO - PWF

QMAX Flow ->

PSYS for dead well

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1.09

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 System Pressure corrected for depth
• While the ideal place to compare inflow and
outflow is at mid-perfs, as AL engineers we are
often more concerned with the relationship at the
pump setting depth.

• One primary reason for doing this is to make sure

we have the proper QMAX for our system curve.
Remember that the depth correction from mid-
perfs to pump intake results in a tangible limit on
the maximum production.

• Therefore, we will correct the INFLOW to pump

depth and stop the OUTFLOW at the pump depth.
Remember that this is easy without gas.

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1.10

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 Changes of system with time
• To evaluate the changes in the system curve with
time:
– Determine the change in the IPR (inflow)
– Determine the change in the IPC (outflow)
– The changes in IPR and IPC determine the resultant
change in the system curve.
– Make sure your key points on the System curve are
correct:
 PSYS(Q=0) = PO(Q=0) – PR (Since Pwf = Pr)
 PSYS(QMAX) = PO(QMAX)) (Since Pwf = zero)

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