Pressure Studies in Bounded Reservoirs
Authors: Hovanessian S.A. 
Published: December 2007

Analytical solutions are obtained for calculating the pressure distribution in rectangular fields due to injection and/or producing wells located anywhere within the field. The field is assumed to be homogeneous with either constant pressure or no-flow boundaries. These solutions are extended to include the calculation of average reservoir pressure and permeability from pressure build-up curves. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the application of equations to practical problems.

Introduction

Pressure distribution analyses are of considerable importance in the field of reservoir mechanics. A number of papers dealing with this subject have appeared in the petroleum literature. Perrine in 1956 presented a summary of the methods available for pressure build-up calculations and discussed the applicability of each in some detail. More recently (1958), Hazebroek, et al, discussed a theoretical method for obtaining pressure distribution in a radial field. Also in 1958, Nisle gave a theoretical solution of the pressure distribution in a field extending to infinity with a partially penetrating line source at the origin. Mathews, et al, applied the method of images to existing solutions for pressure distribution in radial fields and obtained expressions for calculating pressures in bounded reservoirs. However, a literature survey revealed that a general analytical solution for the pressure distribution in a rectangular field, with injection and/or production wells located anywhere within the field, was not available. Such a solution could be used to approximate the pressure distribution in a field the shape of which is nearly rectangular. Furthermore, it could be applied to pressure calculations pertaining to a single well taken from a system of wells which were drilled in a rectangular pattern. In this case the boundaries of the well drainage area are considered to be the perpendicular bisectors of the lines joining the well and its nearest neighbors. The basic problem considered in this paper consists of a rectangular field with either constant pressure or no-flow boundaries and with either an injection or production well located anywhere within the field. The physical properties of the rock and fluids present are considered to be constant. Analytical expressions are obtained for the pressure distribution within the field during the production or injection periods. These expressions, which are infinite series, can be used to evaluate pressure at any point within the field as a function of time and position. For fields containing more than one well (production and/or injection), the solutions for each well acting independently are superposed. That is, at any point in the field, the pressures due to each injection or production well acting alone can be algebraically added to give the pressure resulting from all wells acting simultaneously. Evaluation of the series solutions given in this paper is readily accomplished by means of an electronic digital computer; and, in most cases, sufficient accuracy is obtained by setting the upper limits of summation at 20. These solutions are extended to include the calculation of average reservoir pressure and permeability from build-up data. A number of numerical examples are given to illustrate application of the solutions to actual field problems.

ANALYTICAL SOLUTIONS

The partial differential equation representing the pressure distribution in a homogeneous rectangular field (see Fig. 1), having a single source or sink of strength, can be written:

............................(1)

where

x, y = space coordinates, ft, (l, q) = location of source or sink, ft, p = pressure at (x, y), psi, 0 = porosity, fractional

SPEJ

P. 223^