m

y of Petroleum Engineers
Soci@t

SPE 35591

Gas Reservoir Performance in Abnormally High Pressure Carbonates

Wei-Chun Chu, SPE, H. Kazemi, SPE, R. E. Buettner, SPE, and T. L. Stouffer, SPE, Marathon Oil Company
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where 6, is the effective compressibility

Ramagost and Farshad below:

:e=(swcw
Abstract
Two-dimensional r-z reservoir simulation and tank material
balance were used to develop a prediction technique for
gas reservoir performance in abnormally high pressure

+cf)f(l-sw),

defined

by

(2)

and
(3)
Ap, =pi~

reservoirs. It is shown that ~/Z versus Gp plot is very

sensitive to the variability of the effective compressibility,

Fetkovich, et al. have a similar but a more comprehensive

;,. Nevertheless, our technique gets around this problem

and, with availability of reliable reservoir history data,
accurately predicts the reservoir performance and original
gas in place, especially in single-well reservoirs such as
the Cotton Valley reefs in East Texas. The calculations
presented in the paper are simple and easy to use.

definition for ~ to account for shale dewatering, etc. In this

earlier work it is assumed that the effective compressibility
is essentially constant as the reservoir pressure declines.
New Developments
Our laborato~ measurements of the pore compressibility,
cl, under simulated reservoir conditions, however, indicate
that c, and, therefore, 6, vary significantly with reservoir
pressure
decline,
especially
in high permeability
sandstone reservoirs. In fact, at pore pressures in the
abnormal pressure region these compressibilities could be
an order of magnitude greater than in the normal pore
pressure region. A recent publication by Harari, et a/.3
provides data (please refer to Fig. 7 of Ref. 3) in support
of our experience.
To account for variability of 6, with pore pressure we
propose a simple modification of Eq. (1) as shown

Introduction
In abnormally high pressure sandstone gas reservoirs of
the Gulf of Mexico, where formation porosity and
permeability are relatively large, the early ~/7 decline rate
is smaller than the ~/~ decline rate at the normal pressure
levels. This concept is demonstrated by a field example in
a paper by Ramagost and Farshad. This behavior is
attributed
to the high pore compressibility
and/or
compaction of the reck frame. Ramagost and Farshad and
Fetkovich, et al. derived a material balance equation for
volumetric gas reservoirs shown by Eq. (1):2

(4)
References and illustrations at end of paper
where

213

Gas Resewoir Performance in Abnormally High Pressure Carbonates

SPE 35591

$~8c,A

;ai is the effective rock compressibility in the pressure

interval Apj= p, - Phl for j = O, 1, .... N. Eq. (4) is derived
from material balance.
To verify the validity of Eq. (4), a reservoir simulator
was used to model the depletion of an abnormally
pressured resetvoir with variable pore compressibility. The
depletion performance of the model matched very closely
the behavior predicted by Eq. (4). This is demonstrated by
Fig. 1. The relevant data for the simulation are shown in
Table 1 and Fig. 2. The data of Fig. 2 closely resembles
the data given in Fig. 7 of Ref. 3.
To use Eq. (4) properly, one needs to obtain accurate

tp =

0.0002637 kg

(DA)P,Y,$

(9)

where (tDJP.., the dimensionless time at the beginning of

pseudosteady-state
flow, is given for different well
locations in various reservoir drainage boundaries by
Earlougher in Figs. 6,3, 6.4, and 6.5 of his book. 5Other
calculations presented in this paper remain the same as in
a centrally located well in a circular resewoir.
Application to Single-Well Reservoirs
in recent years many gas reservoirs have been discovered
onshore or offshore that were produced with only one
production well until an accurate estimate of gas reserves
was obtained.e The method presented in the previous
section is most applicable to such single-well resewoirs or
to wells where the drainage volume remains relatively
constant and no significant flow takes place across the
drainage boundary. For the above situations, we offer the
following technique, which is based on an earfier work.4

values of ~ at different stages of depletion. To accomplish

this we normally rely on pressure buildup testing as
follows:
(1) Run a long pressure buildup test.
(2) Make a Horner plot to obtain kg and p*. In the
Horner plot, tP is replaced by the best estimate of
the stabilization time to minimize the cumulative
errors resulting from the uncertainties in the longterm historical production data and, foremost, the
variation of the total compressibility, Cp with longterm production. This concept was discussed in an
earlier publication by Kazemi.4 The following
equations can be used to estimate tP:

The accuracy of the calculated ~ depends on several

factors and most notably the value of @# in Eq. (8). To
improve the reliability of the calculated ~, we propose to
rearrange Eq. (8) as follows:
tDA = 0.0002637(k8h / jig )Sgtfl / (GBgiC,)

(5)

(lo)

To use Eq. (10), one needs to know G, which is the whole

where

purpose of ~/Z versus GP plot. We propose the following

algorithm:
(6)
a)

Estimate G(o) = (I$Ah)S8 / Bfi using the best

knowledge of $, A, h and S;

(3) Correct p* to ~ using

described by Earlougher.5

MBH

jj=p*_~ ;03~D,W/(tDA )

techniques

as
b)
(7)
c)

where
tDA = 0.0002637kKtP

/ (I$~gC,A)

Use G(o)in Eq. (1O) and (7) to obtain ~(o).

lOtF(0)w@

d)

Use G() in Eq. (1O) and (7) to obtain ~().

e)

Plot ~() / Z 1- ~cg, APi VS. GP to calculate G(2].

/=0
Test for convergence using the criteria

(8)

If the producing well is not centrally located with respect

to the drainage boundary of the well, Eq. 5 must be
replaced by:5

f)

C(2) _fjl)

214

/C(l) < ~,where

E = 10+

SPE 35591

W. C. Chu, H. Kazemi, R. E. Buettner, T. L. Stouffer

Repeat
the
iteration
convergence is achieved.

9)

sequence

d-f

until

Fig. 3 is a field example of ~/Z versus GP for a

single well draining an abnormally high pressure reef
reservoir with an initiai pressure of 13,100 psig. It can be
seen that the data form a straight line indicating a constant
pore compressibility in the entire pressure range. This
behavior does not conform to the observed behavior of
abnormally high pressure gas sands in the Gulf of Mexico.
This can be explained by the fact that carbonate reservoirs
have
smalier
and
less
pressure-sensitive
pore
compressibilities than high permeability sand resewoirs.

We have applied the above technique to our simulated

example with rapid convergence and excellent results.
Similarly, the technique was applied to a field example
with success.
Discussion
When using Eqs 1 and 5 two different compressibility
terms, q and q, are used. Cf is pore compressibility and is
defined as:

1 avp

c,

= =

Vp Jp

Conclusions
This paper provides an improved ~/Z versus GP plotting
technique
for
reservoirs
having
variable
pore
compressibilities as reservoir depletes. The technique is
general, but is particularly useful in evaluating gas in place
in abnormally high pressure reservoirs. Furthermore, for
single-well gas reservoirs, fairly common in the last
several years, a technique is provided to obtain average
reservoir pressure from the Horner plot while minimizing
the error that may result from the variability of the total
compressibility, c,, and uncertainties in the equivalent
production time, tP.

1 avp

v~

(11)

Jpn

cl is used to compute effective compressibility ~. as

defined by Eq. 2. c, is total compressibility and is defined
as:
c,

SWcw +Sgcg

+Cf

(12)

Substituting S#W + c, from Eq. 2 in Eq. 12, we get:

Nomenclature
c,

=(l-SW):=

+Sgc,

(13)

A
B9i
cc
c,
CD
c,
Cw
i.
G
G,
h
kg
m

.
Eq. 13 indicates that q is generaily much different than c.
because of the contribution of gas compressibility term to
the value of Cr Furthermore, c , varies with reservoir
pressure because of the pressure dependence of both
pore and gas compressibilities. This is why the use of tP,*
from Eq. (5) for tP (instead of the much larger
pseudoproduction time that dates back to the inception of
production) in the Homer plot minimizes the error in the
calculation of ~ from the MBH technique.
For wet gas the two-phase gas deviation

factor,

ZM ,should be used instead of Z in the ~/Z term. No

compressibility correction for condensate phase is No
compressibility
correction
for condensate
phase is
necessary in the calculation of ;. because condensate

P
Pi
P.

compressibility
is included in calculating Z 2$ in pm
depletion experiments. Condensate compressibility term
SCCCshould be, however, included in c , for the Horner
analysis as shown below:

F
z
s:

cl =

Swcw +Sccc + sgcg + Cf

sg

(14)

t
~

or,
c,=

(1- SW);= +Sccc + S,cg

tiA)Pss

(15)

Vp

215

drainage area of well

initial gas formation volume factor, rcf/scf
condensate compressibility, psi-
pore compressibility, psi, Eq. 11
gas compressibility, psi-
total compressibility, psi-, Eqs. 12-15
water compressibility, psi-
effective compressibility, psi-1, Eq. 2
gas in place, BCF
cumulative gas produced, BCF
reservoir thickness, ft
gas permeability, md
absolute value of the slope of the Homer
plot, psi/cycle
pressure, psi
initial reservoir pressure, psi
confining
net
confining
pressure,
pressure - pore pressure, psi
average reservoir pressure, psi
flow rate, Mscf/D
condensate saturation
water saturation
gas saturation
time, hr
production time, hr
pseudosteady-state time, hr, Eq. 5
dimensionless time, Eq. 8
dimensionless time at the be inning of
pseudosteady-state flow, Eq. 8
pore volume, ft3

Gas Reservoir Performance in Abnormally High Pressure Carbonates

z
z,

=
=

real gas deviation factor at ~

Y*+

two-phase deviation factor at ~

Fg
0=

viscosity at ~
porosity, fraction

real gas deviation factor

real gas deviation factor
pressure

at

initial

References
Ramagost, B. P. And Farshad, F. F.: SPE 10125,
1.
p/z Abnormally Pressured Gas Reservoir, 56th
Annual Fall Conference and Exhibition of the SPE
of AIME, San Antonio, TX, Oct. 5-7, 1981.
Fetkovich, M. J., Reese, D, E. And Whitson, C. H.:
2.
SPE 22921: Application of a General Material
Balance for High-Pressure Gas Reservoirs
66th
Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition of the
SPE of AIME, Dallas, TX, Oct. 6-9, 1991.
3.
Harari, Z., Wang, S. T. And Suner, S,: PoreCompressibility
Study of Arabian Carbonate
Resewoir Rocks, SPEFE (Dec. 1995), pp 207214.
Kazemi, H.: (Determining Average Reservoir
4.
Pressure for Pressure Buildup Tests, SPEJ (Feb.
1974), pp 55-62.
Earlougher, R. C., Jr.: Advances in Well Test
5.
Analvsis, Monograph Volume 5, SPE, 1977.
Williams, Peggy:
Cotton Valley Reefs, CM arrd
6.
--Gas Investor (Jan. 1996) pp 22-31.
S1 Metric Conversion Factors
Scf
Cp
ftx
md
psi
psi

x
x
x
x
x

2.831685
1.0
3.048
9.869233
6.894757
1.450377

E-02 = m3
E-03 = Pawi
E-01 = m
E-04 = ~mz
E+OO = kPa
E-01 = kpa

*Conversion factor is exact.

Acknowledgement
The authors are grateful to Marathon Oil Company for
permission to publish this paper.
Table 1. Data for Simulation Study of Figure 1
Pi

r~
rW

=
=
=

$=
Sw

G=
c,
h

=
=

12,500 psia
1,674 ft
0.354 ft
0.142 md
0.12
0.09
11OBCF
40x 10+ at 12,500 psia
314ft

216

SPE 35591

12600

.-m
W
a
u
5
:

10000

7600

i!
s
.$ 6000
c
z
s
2600

:(1.6.0)

0
o

60

30

Cumulative Production,
Hg. 1. Slmulatkm

d an Abndfmally

90

~p, BCF

High PNssura

Rosetvdlr

I
1000a

1000

Nef Owburdm! Prrssum,

10024O
PII, psia

FI*2.PmConlpmsslbility.

2000

t
I
o

02

oh

0.s

0s

NaFFIulhd

PrducUoFI,

CiP/Q

FIs S. PII FM far Fldd ExMw49.

217