Prosper® Tutorial 10:

Modelling a gas
injection well
 Objectives
The main objectives of this example are to show:

 How to set up a PROSPER model for a water injector.

 How to enter the PVT data.

 How to enter the IPR data.

 How to describe the down hole equipment.

 How to perform a system calculation (VLP + IPR) to estimate the well injection flow
rate for a given WHFP.

 How to generate and export lift curves to GAP/MBAL/REVEAL or any third party software
(Eclipse, VIP, and so on)
 Statement of the Problem

A well is to be drilled to inject gas into a reservoir.

Fluid data (PVT), reservoir data (IPR) and down hole equipment description (VLP) are provided.

It is required to:

- Estimate the initial flow rate against a well head flowing pressure of 2500 psig.

- Generate a well performance curve (Rate vs. well head flowing pressure).

- Generate lift curves to be utilised by a simulator (Reveal, GAP, MBAL, Eclipse, VIP, and so on).
 PVT Input Data

The basic available PVT data are:

Parameter Value
Gas gravity: 0.6 (Air = 1)
Separator pressure: 250 psig
Condensate to Gas Ratio: 0 stb/MMscf
Condensate Gravity: 50 API
Water to Gas Ratio: 0 stb/MMscf
Water salinity: 10000 ppm
Impurities (S2S, CO2 & N2 ): 0%
Injection gas temperature at the well head: 60 degF
 System Equipment Input Data

The system equipment input section is sub-divided into 5 sub-sections:

-Deviation survey.

-Surface equipment.

-Down hole equipment.

-Geothermal gradient and.

- Average heat capacities.

 System Equipment Input Data
Deviation survey:

In PROSPER, the deviation survey can have its origin anywhere: well head, sea-bed, platform,
RKB an so on.

The key thing is to describe all the equipment in the well in a manner consistent with respect to
the origin selected.

The well head depth does not have to coincide with the origin of the deviation survey.

Measured Depth in ft True Vertical Depth in ft

0 0
8000 8000
 System Equipment Input Data
Surface Equipment:

All equipment located downstream of the well head are part of the surface equipment. The surface
equipment can include: well head chokes, risers, flow lines, fittings, and so on.
In this example the surface equipment will not be modelled.

Down hole Equipment:

The down hole equipment include the tubings, casings, nipples, Sub-surface Safety valves
and so on.
Equipment Measured depth Internal diameter Roughnes in
type in ft (down to) in inches inches Rate multiplier

Xmas Tree
(Well Head) 0 N/A N/A N/A
Tubing 7800 3.992 0.0018 1
Casing 8000 8.3 0.0018 1
 System Equipment Input Data
Static Geothermal Gradient:
The geothermal gradient expresses the rate of increase in temperature per unit depth. The
geothermal gradient is independent of the well flow rate.
When using the rough approximation temperature prediction method, the geothermal gradient is
entered versus measured depth. PROSPER internally converts the measured depth into
true vertical depth. It is the temperature gradient based upon the true vertical depth that is used
during the calculation.

Measured Depth in ft Static temperature in deg F

0 70
8000 200

The overall heat transfer coefficient is 3 btu/h/ft2/F.

Note: The overall heat transfer (also called U value) is a composite number that captures
the different heat transfer mechanisms taking place: conduction, convection and radiation. It can
be thought of as the inverse of the thermal resistance in the surroundings of the wellbore.
 System Equipment Input Data

Average Heat Capacities.

Here are the default average heat capacities to be used:

Phase Heat Capacity in btu/lb/F

Oil: 0.53
Gas: 0.51
Water: 1
 Reservoir Input Data:
PROSPER has more than 20 different inflow models for injection wells. The IPR model
selection depends upon the purpose of the study, the suitability of the particular model and the
data available for the study.
Petroleum Experts / Enter Skin
IPR model: by hand
Static Reservoir Pressure: 2000 psig
Reservoir Temperature: 200 degF
Water Gas ratio: 0 stb/MMscf
Condensate Gas ratio 0 stb/MMscf
Compaction Permeability Reduction model: No
Reservoir Permeability: 150 mD
Reservoir Thickness (True stratigraphic thickness) : 100 ft
Drainage Area: 340 acres
Dietz shape factor: 31.6
Well bore radius (Drill bit radius): 0.354 ft
Perforation interval: 100 ft
Time since Production started: 10 days
Reservoir porosity: 25%
Connate water saturation: 20%
Non-Darcy Flow Factor (D): Calculated
Permeability entered: Total Permeability
Mechanical skin: +5
 Step by Step

The following pages provide a step-by-step procedure that will lead to the solution of the problem:

- Construct a PROSPER model for a producing water injection well.

- Use the PROSPER well model to estimate the water injection rate with an injection pressure of
1000 psig at the well head.

System Options:

Simply select | File | New if a PROSPER file is already open.

Otherwise, select | Options | Options and make the following choices.

Fluid: Dry and wet gas.

Well type: Injector.

 Step by Step

Select | Done to complete this step.

 Step by Step
PVT data Input:

In order to enter the PVT data, simply select |PVT|Input Data and populate the screen as
shown below:

Parameter Value
Gas gravity: 0.6 (Air = 1)
Separator pressure: 250 psig
Condensate to Gas Ratio: 0 stb/MMscf
Condensate Gravity: 50 API
Water to Gas Ratio: 0 stb/MMscf
Water salinity: 8000 ppm
Impurities (H2 S, CO2 & N2 ): 0%
 Step by Step

Select | Done to complete this step.

 Step by Step
Saving the file:
Like working with any other computer program, it is good practice to save the file
frequently in order to avoid data loss in case the computer crashes for instance.
To save a file, simply select | File | Save as ...
Afterwards, simply browse to the place where the file is to be saved.
It is suggested to save the file as *.OUT file.

The rest is self-explanatory.

 Step by Step
System Equipment Description:
The first step is to enter the injected fluid temperature of 60 degF at surface as shown in the
screen shot below.
In order to describe the system equipment, select | System | Equipment (Tubing etc) | All

Now by selecting | Edit, the software will take

the user through all the screens necessary to
input the equipment data starting with the
deviation survey.
 Step by Step
Deviation Survey.
Here are the data to enter:

Measured Depth in ft True Vertical Depth in ft

0 0
8000 8000

Note: It is possible to input or import a large deviation survey

table into PROSPER. A filtering algorithm is implemented that
will select up to 20 of the most relevant data points
describing the well trajectory.

For this, the | Filter button located on the top right of this
screen is to be used.

Select | Done and the next screen labelled Surface

Equipment will follow.
 Step by Step

Surface Equipment.

This model will not include any surface equipment. Therefore, one simply need to select
| Cancel to skip this step.

Now select the "Cancel" button located on the top left of the screen and this will take the user to
the next screen: the down hole equipment description screen.
 Step by Step

Down Hole Equipment:

The down hole equipment include the tubings, casings, nipples, Sub-surface Safety
valves, and so on.

Equipment Measured Internal

type depth in ft diameter in Roughness
inches
in Rate
(down to) inches multiplier
Xmas Tree 0 N/A N/A N/A
(Well Head)
Tubing 7800 3.992 0.0018 1
Casing 8000 8.3 0.0018 1
Step by Step

The deepest entry in the down hole equipment

section is the datum depth for the static
reservoir pressure that will be entered in the
IPR section.
It is recommended to take the top
perforation as the reference depth for the
static reservoir pressure. This would mean
that the down hole equipment description shall
stop at the top of the perforation. This is also
true for multiple-zone completion because the
pressure drop between the zones will be taken
into account by the appropriate Inflow model
(multi-layer IPR model with dP or multilateral
IPR model).

Select | Done to proceed to the next screen: the

geothermal gradient.
 Step by Step
Geothermal gradient.

The data available are:

Measured Depth in ft Static temperature in deg F

0 70

8000 200

The overall heat transfer coefficient is 3 btu/h/ft2/F.

Step by Step

Select :| Done to proceed to the average heat

capacity screen.
 Step by Step
Average Heat Capacities.

The default average heat capacity values will be used for this example

Note: The | Default button will reset any user-entered values.

With | Done the entry screen of the Equipment data section will be accessed:

It is now possible to visualise a sketch of the well bore with | Summary | Draw Down hole.
 Step by Step
Equipment Summary.

From the Equipment Data screen, one can generate a sketch of the well bore with | Summary.
Afterwards, one then selects | Draw Down hole this is the sketch of the well bore that would
appear:

Select | Main to exit the screen.

 Step by Step
Inflow Performance Relation (IPR):

For the selection of the IPR model, simply select | System | Inflow Performance and make the
appropriate choices as follows:

IPR model selection:

Petroleum Experts /
IPR model: enter Skin by hand
Static Reservoir Pressure: 2000 psig
Reservoir Temperature: 200 degF
Water Gas Ratio: 0 stb/MMscf
Condensate Gas Ratio: 0 stb/MMscf
Compaction Permeability Reduction No
model:
 Step by Step

 
 

To proceed, simply select the Input Data button in the top right corner of the screen above:
 Step by Step

Permeability: 150 mD
IPR data entry:
Reservoir Thickness (True
stratigraphic thickness) : 100 ft

Drainage Area: 340 acres

Dietz shape factor: 31.6
Well bore radius (Drill bit radius): 0.354 ft
Perforation interval: 100 ft
Time since Production started: 10 days
Reservoir porosity: 25%
Connate water saturation: 20%
Non-Darcy Flow Factor (D): Calculated
Permeability entered: Total Permeability
 Step by Step

From the screen above, select the the tab "Mech/Geom Skin" at the bottom left corner of the
screen in order to enter the mechanical skin:
 Step by Step
IPR : Skin value entry

Mechanical skin: +5
 Step by Step
IPR : Generating an IPR plot

Once the IPR data input is completed, it is a good practice to create an IPR plot to verify that
everything make sense. For this, select | Calculate and the software will create and display the
following plot:

Note that the concept of AOF

(Absolute Open Flow potential)
does not apply to an injection well.
The value displayed is simply the
highest rate at which the IPR
pressure was calculated.

Please select | Main and then save

the PROSPER file with | File | Save
to secure all changes made.
 Step by Step

Estimation of the well injection flow rate:

The response of a well bore combines fluid properties (PVT), reservoir data (IPR) and tubing
response (VLP).
The fluid properties are used to compute the reservoir response (IPR) and the tubing response
(VLP).
For a given set of boundary conditions (given reservoir pressure and well head flowing
pressure), the well flow rate is the intersection between the IPR curve and the VLP curve.

In order to compute this intersection point with PROSPER, simply select | Calculation | System
as per screen-shot below:
 Step by Step

After selecting the system calculation, one needs to enter the well head flowing pressure as per
screen-shot below:
 Step by Step

For an injection well, the top node pressure is

the pressure upstream of the system. Since
here there is no pipeline in this PROSPER
model, the top node pressure is the well head
flow pressure.
 Step by Step

Surface Equipment Correlation: This applies to any pipeline in the model. Since this model
does not include any pipeline, the choice of a pipeline correlation is irrelevant.

Vertical Lift Correlation: Petroleum Experts 2.

Solution Node: Bottom Node

Rate Method: Automatic – Linear.

Left Hand Intersection: Disallow.

One can proceed with | Continue | Continue and Calculate. Afterwards, select | Plot to
visualise the system plot:
 Step by Step
Afterwards, select | Plot | System Plot to visualise the system plot:

The well can inject around 70 MMscf/d.

Select | Main to get back to the main PROSPER screen and save the file to secure all
changes made.
 Step by Step
Lift Curve generation for gas injectors:

Lift curves express the pressure drop across a tubing for a given set of variables. Different
software providers use different formats and acronyms for lift curves.

The most common acronyms are:

- VLP for Vertical Lift Performance.

- TPD for Tubing Performance Data.
- TPC for Tubing Performance Curves.
- VFP for Vertical Flow Performance and so on.

For water injection wells, the variables involved in lift curve generation are:

- Liquid rate and

- Well Head flowing pressure (= first node pressure)
 Step by Step
Recommendation:

In this example, we will demonstrate how to generate lift curves with PROSPER since lift curves
generation is a key task that PROSPER is used to perform. However, if a project involves the
generation of lift curves for multiple wells, a more efficient approach would involve the use of GAP,
the network modelling and optimisation tool developed by Petroleum Experts.

Here are the reasons why:

- GAP will instruct PROSPER to generate the lift curves using the very same PROSPER well model
created by the user and linked to the well icon in GAP.
- GAP will use PROSPER to generate and save lift curves for any number of wells in batch-mode.
This can be done overnight for instance to save time.
- GAP will ask for the right input variables depending upon the well type. The input variable
selection for lift curves can sometime be delicate because different simulators use different
names for the same quantity, for example some lift tables formats require the variable gas lift
injection rate but other lift tables formats require the variable Gas Liquid Ration injected instead.
 Step by Step
Recommendation:

In order to generate wells' VLP, one first needs to work out the variables involved. Here these
variables are liquid rates and WHFP.
The second step is to choose values for the variables in such a manner that the host application
(GAP, MBAL, REVEAL, Eclipse, ..) can reasonably interpolate between them to find the solution
needed. Extrapolation and very large variable spacing are to be avoided.

In this example, the following values will be used:

- Gas Rates: from 5 MMscf/d to 150 stb/d.

- WHFP: from 1500 psig to 6000 psig.

In order to enter the data for the lift curve generation , select | Calculation | VLP (Tubing
Curves) | 3 Variables
 Step by Step

The next screen shot can be used to generate the range of rates to use. Use the |
Generate button to automate the data entry:
 Step by Step
The following rates values are generated wit | Done.

A few notes:

The values for top node pressure will be overwritten

through the sensitivity variables. One shall make
sure that the right VLP correlation is selected. Here,
the Petroleum Experts 2 correlation will be used.
The "User Selected" rate method gives control to the
user to enter the rates he /she think will best describe
the expected operating ranges of the well.
One shall ensure that the first and last node are
correctly selected.
 Step by Step
In order to proceed, select | Continue, select the relevant variables and populate the entries
as per screen-shot below:

Now select | Continue to proceed.

The lift curve calculation is triggered with | Continue |

Calculate.

Be patient. This might take a while!

At the end, a message will confirm that the calculation has

completed.
 Step by Step
It is always good practice to plot and visualise the lift curve before exporting them.

In this example, select | Plot to see the following:

One can see that the lift

curves all have the right
shape and are smooth.

One can return to the

previous screen with |
Finish.
 Step by Step
In order to export the lift curve,select the button "Export Lift Curve“.

The following screen appears where one has to select the format for the host application
(in this case Schlumberger - Eclipse):
 Step by Step

The process is completed with | Continue | Save

and the file is saved and loaded automatically for
viewing:

Select | File | Exit | Main to complete the exercise.