Flow Regime

Dr Mostafa Ghasemi
Email: mostafa.baboli@utp.edu.my
Ext:7375
Room: No.8, 2nd floor, Block J3
Pseudo Steady state
Skin Effect
 Skin Effect

It is well known that the properties of the reservoir near the wellbore
are usually altered during drilling, completion, and stimulation
procedures. The invasion of drilling fluids, the presence of mudcakes
and cement, partial penetration of the formation, and insufficient
perforation density are some of the factors that cause "damage" to the
formation, and, more important, cause an additional, localized
pressure drop during flow (see Figure 5 , The near-wellbore skin effect
and Figure 6 , The positive and negative skin effects).
Skin Effect

Figure 5
Skin Effect

Figure 6
Damage caused by Production
 Skin Effect
Skin is the term used to refer to the alteration of permeability that
exists near the wellbore.

The skin factor, s, is used to quantify the skin. If the well has been
damaged, there is an additional pressure drop at the wellbore for a
given flow rate and the skin factor is positive. If the well has been
stimulated and the pressure drop at the wellbore has been decreased,
the skin factor is negative.

We should point out that, unlike well-bore storage, which has an effect
only on the early data, the skin effect is constant throughout a well test
(unless the skin is a function of flow rate). A supplemental positive or
negative pressure drop caused by the skin remains throughout the test.
Its magnitude will change as the flow rate changes.
Drawdown Test- No Damage
 Reasons for Positive Skin

Overbalanced drillings (filtrate loss)

Damaged perforations

Gravel Pack

Unfiltered completion fluid

Fine migration after long-term production

Non darcy flow (predominantly in gas wells)

Condensate banking (act like turbulence)

Partial completion
Pre-Acid Treatment Post-Acid Treatment
Perforation Damage Completion Damage
 Reasons for Negative Skin

Acidizing

Hydraulic Fracturing

- Frac Pack (0 to -0.5)

- Hard rock Frac (up to -6)

Natural Fractures
Solution Incorporating Skin
Drawdown Test
Ei function solution
Ei -function solution (line-source solution) is first proposed by Matthews and Russell in
1967. It is based on the following assumptions:
Infinite acting reservoir, i.e., the reservoir is infinite in size.
The well is producing at a constant flow rate.
The reservoir is at a uniform pressure, , when production begins.
The solution has the following form:
70.6 948 2
, = + (1)

where, p(r,t) = pressure at radius r from the well after t hours

t=time, hrs
k=permeability, md


=flow rate,
Q=o STB/D

 Logarithmic approximation
For x<0.01, the function has the following
logarithmic approximation:
= ln(1.781) (2)
948 2
where, =

Substituting Eq. 2 into Eq. 1 gives:

(3)
For the bottomhole flowing pressure, i.e., @r= , at any time, Eq. 3
can be rewritten as:

p wf pi
162.6Qo Bo o kt
log

3.23 (4)

o ct rw
2
kh
The skin effect
Skin due to damage Skin due to stimulation

(ks > k)

(ks < k)
The skin effect contd

Where
141.2
= (5)

= additional pressure drop due to skin effect
S= skin factor

Skin factor (S) is a dimensionless variable used to quantify the magnitude of skin effect.
 Incorporating skin into the Ei-Function solution
For rw r rs
70.6 948 2
, = + 2

For r > rs
70.6 948 2
, = +

For r=rw
70.6 948 2
= + 2

 Log approximation to the Ei-Function

For r=rw
162.6
= 2 3.23 + 0.8686

Skin and permeability
Skin and permeability contd

2 1
=
log 2 log(1 )