EFFECT OF MUD FILTRATE INVASION ON APPARENT PRODUCTIVITY IN DRILLSTEM TESTS IN LOW-PERMEABILITY GAS FORMATIONS Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • Summary This paper shows that mud-filtrate invasion prior to drillstem testing in low-permeability gas formations can cause significant reduction of gas flow rate observed during the test. In addition, apparent gas permeabilities determined from test data can be much lower than the true values. These conclusions are supported by simulator results and field data. Introduction Interpretation of drillstem tests (DST's) in low-permeability gas formations is difficult. and this difficulty leads to uncertainty in identifying formations that, when stimulated, could become commercial completions. Operators have tong suspected that mud-filtrate invasion into these low-permeability formations could contribute to these uncertainties because of significant alterations in relative permeability and capillary pressure. These uncertainties led us to a study of the effects of mud-filtrate invasion on response in a DST; this paper reports the results of that study. In this investigation, we used a two-phase, two-dimensional, fully implicit reservoir simulator to model DST's. The input data for the simulator were obtained from special core analyses. openhole tops, and DST's from the Falher sandstone in western Canada. Model Description The two-dimensional, two-phase model used in this study has been described previously in the literature. The model simulates the flow of gas and water in the formation using a simultaneous determination of saturations and pressures from finite-difference approximations of the gas and water flow equations. Capillary pressure and relative permeability data are input into the model; the model is therefore capable of simulating imbibition, water blocking, and cleanup effects. These effects are potentially important in DST performance. To simulate a DST, uniform initial pressures and saturations were established in the model for all reservoir cells. To model the imbibition of filtrate into the formation prior to the DST, the pressure in the wellbore was set equal to (and maintained at) the hydrostatic mud pressure, and the water (filtrate) saturation was maintained at 100%. Water saturations and pressures around the wellbore increased during the imbibition period as filtrate moved into the reservoir. To model a mud filter cake, the permeabilities in the formation adjacent to the wellbore were reduced. Following the imbibition period, a flow period was simulated. During the flow period, the pressure in the wellbore was maintained at a fixed pressure and the wellbore volume was set equal to the value of a typical drillpipe open to flow. Following the flow period, a pressure buildup test was simulated, with the wellbore volume set equal to a typical volume below the shut-in valve in a DST tool assembly . JPT P. 299^

published proceedings

  • JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY

author list (cited authors)

  • HOLDITCH, S. A., LEE, W. J., LANCASTER, D. E., & DAVIS, T. B.

citation count

  • 6

complete list of authors

  • HOLDITCH, SA||LEE, WJ||LANCASTER, DE||DAVIS, TB

publication date

  • February 1983