SPE 77701 - Gas/Condensate and Oil Well Testing - From the Surface

By Chris Fair, SPE, Data Retrieval Corp., Betsy Cook, SPE, Nexen Petroleum U.S.A. Inc., Tom Brighton, BG-Group, | Thu, 9 Jun 2005

Abstract

Since Cullender and Smith (1) , surface pressures have been
used to calculate bottomhole pressures on shallow, dry gas
wells. If the original Cullender and Smith equations are
modified to account for produced liquids, the correlation may
be extended to gas/condensate wells that are single-phase in
the well bore. Single-phase liquid wells (water injectors and
oil wells above the bubble point) can also yield accurate well
test results from the surface. Testing from the surface reduces
the cost and eliminates the risk of running tools into well
bores. Surface testing also allows the testing of high-pressure/
high-temperature wells that cannot be tested with a
downhole gauge because of harsh conditions. Thus, to reduce
the cost and risk (or when no other option is available), many
operators have chosen to run their pressure transient tests from
the surface on single-phase wells.

Click below to DOWNLOAD the complete article in PDF format