Petroleum Engineering Department
Reservoir Engineering I
REE0320702
Fundamentals of Fluid Flow in Porous Media
Semester 7th (2023-2024)
UNSTEADY-STATE (TRANSIENT) FLOW
Figure A, shows a shut-in well at the center of a reservoir of radius re and pressure
pi, zero producing time. If the well is allowed to flow at a constant q, a pressure
disturbance will be created at the sand face. The pressure disturbance will move
away from the wellbore at a rate that is determined by: Permeability, Porosity,
Fluid viscosity and Rock and fluid compressibilities.
Figure B shows that at time t1, the pressure disturbance has moved a distance r1
into the reservoir. This radius increases with time and is called radius of
investigation rinv. As long as the rinv has not reached the reservoir boundary (re),
the reservoir will be acting as infinite. Figure C describe a well producing at a
constant Pwf. It illustrates the propagation of rinv with time. When the pressure
disturbance reaches the boundary, rinv = re. The transient (unsteady-state) flow is
defined as time period during which the boundary has no effect on the pressure
behavior and the reservoir will behave as its infinite in size.
Basic Transient Flow Equation
Under the steady-state flowing condition, the same quantity of fluid enters the
flow system as leaves it. In unsteady-state flow condition, the flow rate into a
volume of a porous media may not be the same as the flow rate out. Accordingly,
the fluid content of the porous medium changes with time. Additional variables in
unsteadystate flow are: Time t, Porosity φ, Total compressibility, ct
The transient-flow equation is based on combining three equations and a set of
boundary and initial conditions.
a. Continuity Equation b. Transport Equation c. Compressibility Equation
d. Initial and Boundary Conditions.
The two boundary conditions are:
• The formation produces at a constant rate into the wellbore.
• There is no flow across the outer boundary and the reservoir behaves as re = ∞.
The initial condition simply states the reservoir is at a uniform pressure when
production begins, i.e., time = 0.
The flow element (control volume) has a width of dr and is located at a distance of
r from the center of the well. The porous element has a differential volume of dV.
According to the concept of the material balance equation:
(56)
where dv is the volume of the small element of thickness dr.
Mass, entering the volume element during time interval ∆t:
(Mass)in = ∆t[Aνρ]r+dr (57)
ν = velocity of flowing fluid, ft/day, ρ = fluid density at (r + dr), lb/ft3
A = area at (r + dr), ∆t = time interval, days
The area of the element at the entering side is: Ar+dr = 2π(r + dr)h (58)
Combining Eqn. (57) with (58) gives:
[Mass]in = 2π ∆t (r + dr) h (νρ)r+dr (59)
Mass leaving the volume element:
[Mass]out = 2π ∆t r h (νρ)r (60)
Total accumulation of mass:
The volume of an element with a radius (r) is given by:
Differentiating the above equation with respect to r gives:
Total mass accumulation during
Substituting for dV ,
Replacing the above terms in mass balance Eqn. (56) gives:
Eqn. (63) is the continuity equation, and it provides the principle of conservation of
mass in radial coordinates. The transport equation must be introduced into the
Eqn. to relate the fluid velocity to the pressure gradient. Darcy’s Law is essentially
the basic motion equation, which states that the velocity is proportional to the
pressure gradient (∂p/∂r). From Eqn. (25):
Combining Eqn. (64) with Eqn. (63) results in:
(Expanding the right-hand
Side)
Porosity is related to the formation compressibility by the following:
Finally, substituting the above relation into Eqn. (66) and the result into Eqn. (65):
Eqn. (68) is the general partial differential equation used to describe the radial flow
in porous media. It is valid for gases or liquids. Equations are developed to describe
the flow behavior of compressible and slightly compressible fluids.
Radial Flow of Slightly Compressible Fluids
To simplify Eqn. (68), assume that the permeability and viscosity are constant over
pressure, time, and distance ranges.
Combining Eqns. (70) with (70) and rearranging gives:
Eqn. (72) is called the diffusivity equation. It is one of the most important
equations in petroleum engineering. It is particularly used in well testing analysis
where the time t is recorded in hours. The equation can be rewritten as:
When the reservoir contains more than one fluid, total compressibility should be:
co, cw and cg refer to the compressibility of oil, water, and gas, respectively, while
So, Sw, and Sg refer to the saturation of these fluids.
The term [0.000264 k/φμct] (Eqn. 73) is called the diffusivity constant η, or:
The diffusivity equation (76) is designed to determine the pressure as a function of
time t and position r.
Assumptions and limitations used in developing Eqn. (76):
1. Homogeneous and isotropic porous medium 2. Uniform thickness
3. Single phase flow 4. Laminar flow
5. Rock and fluid properties independent of pressure
For a steady-state flow condition, ∂p/∂t = 0, and therefore Eqn. (76) reduces to:
Eqn. (77) is called Laplace’s equation for steady-state flow. To solve equation (76),
it is necessary to specify an initial condition and impose two boundary conditions.
The initial condition states that the reservoir is at a uniform pi when production
begins. The two boundary conditions are: the well is producing at a constant (q)
and that the reservoir behaves as if it were infinite in size, i.e., re = ∞.
