Petroleum Engineering 324

Reservoir Performance

Skin Factor Concept

05 March 2007

Thomas A. Blasingame, Ph.D., P.E.

Department of Petroleum Engineering Texas A&M University
College Station, TX 77843-3116 (USA)
+1.979.845.2292
t-blasingame@tamu.edu
PETE 324 (07A) Skin Factor Concept

Slide 1

Skin Factor: Orientation

"Skin Factor" Concept: (Radial flow system with
near-well damage or stimulation)
z Derive the skin factor identity for a well in a radial flow

system with a "skin zone" where the well has nearwell damage or stimulation.
z Explain how this model can be used both in theory
and applications.
z Discuss any limitations (physical or conceptual) that you
note.

"Skin Factor" Concept Based on:

z Finite thickness model for the radial flow skin factor.
z Effective wellbore radius concept.

PETE 324 (07A) Skin Factor Concept

Slide 2

Skin Factor: Finite Thickness Model

"Finite Thickness" Concept:
z Assumption of a simple 2-zone radial composite

reservoir model.
z Steady-state flow is assumed in the "inner-zone" and
any other relevant flow regime can exist in the "outerzone".

PETE 324 (07A) Skin Factor Concept

Slide 3

Skin Factor: Finite Thickness Model

"Finite Thickness" Concept:
z Darcy's law for radial flow.

z Cross-sectional area, Ar

z Substitute, rearrange and

z Solve for the "baseline"

integrate across the "skinzone"

pressure, pw*

z Substitute, the permeability

of the skin zone, ks

z Skin zone pressure drop, ps = pw* - pw. Solve for ps and s.

PETE 324 (07A) Skin Factor Concept

Slide 4

Skin Factor: Finite Thickness Model

"Pressure Behavior in a 2-Zone Radial Composite Reservoir" :
s
Comments
Case
k = ks

No damage or stimulation

ks = -ln(rs/rw)

Maximum stimulation

ks = 0

Maximum stimulation

PETE 324 (07A) Skin Factor Concept

Slide 5

Skin Factor: Effective Wellbore Radius Concept

"Effective Wellbore Radius" Concept:
z Not based on a physical model.
z Mathematical trick to represent the skin factor as an
effective (apparent) wellbore radius.
z This wellbore radius can be used in any radial flow
solution to represent the skin factor. (very useful)

PETE 324 (07A) Skin Factor Concept

Slide 6

Skin Factor: Effective Wellbore Radius Concept

"Effective Wellbore Radius" Concept:
z Completely generalizes the skin factor not as a physical
pressure drop, but rather as a mathematical identity.

PETE 324 (07A) Skin Factor Concept

Slide 7