Patent ID: 8839668

Claim:
A programmable storage device having program instructions stored thereon for causing a programmable control device to perform a formation pressure test method, comprising: preconfiguring a formation tester to test each of one or more stations of a formation with at least two autonomous drawdowns and buildups; obtaining a first drawdown pressure by performing a first of the autonomous drawdowns toward a first preconfigured volume of a total available volume with a first preconfigured flow rate at one of the stations; obtaining a first buildup pressure by performing a first of the autonomous buildups at the one station; determining a second volume as a fraction of the total available volume remaining from an actual volume used in the first drawdown; determining a second flow rate from the first preconfigured flow rate scaled by a ratio based on a difference between the first buildup pressure and the first drawdown pressure; performing a second of the autonomous drawdowns toward the second volume with the second flow rate at the one station; obtaining a second buildup pressure by performing a second of the autonomous buildups at the one station after success of the second autonomous drawdown; comparing the first buildup pressure measured in the first autonomous buildup to the second buildup pressure measured in the second autonomous buildup; and proceeding with operation of the formation tester based on the comparison.