Fundamental Testing and Production Surveillance

American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers, Inc. This paper was prepared for the 42nd Annual Fall Meeting of the Society of Petroleum Engineers of AIME, to be held in Houston, Tex., Oct. 1–4, 1967. Permission to copy is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words. Illustrations may not be copied. The abstract should contain conspicuous acknowledgment of where and by whom the paper is presented. Publication elsewhere after publication in the JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY or the SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS JOURNAL is usually granted upon request to the Editor of the appropriate journal provided agreement to give proper credit is made. Discussion of this paper is invited. Three copies of any discussion should be sent to the Society of Petroleum Engineers office. Such discussion may be presented at the above meeting and, with the paper, may be considered for publication in one of the two SPE magazines. With the changes of automation, increased job responsibilities, greater number of wells per man, and a steadily increasing number of wells under various stages of secondary recovery operations, proper production surveillance has become a major challenge. True, automatic equipment records well production accurately but well test equipment capacity and improvement appraisals still require trained personnel. Engineering duties and, in many cases, reduced engineering manpower may leave an overall testing program foundering. Reservoir engineers continue to rely on reported field tests to guide future programs and expenditures. It is mandatory that tests not only reflect production but be accompanied with proper data to reflect true well capacity. To insure this level of operation the following program is suggested:Continuous training and orientation.Complete test procedure.Adequate test facilities. This program is explained with recommendations for necessary tools and practices. Introduction Well testing may be generally defined as a measurement of production during a given time interval, usually twenty-four hours. Tests are required for the many needs of production evaluation and for allowable proration by regulatory bodies. Actually, well tests are the pulse-beat of our industry, the indicator of change and the warning light defining future needs. Accurate tests represent equity at the unit bargaining table, permit efficient scheduling of work and are basic to sound budget estimates. Improved communications have made it possible to have current data available to everyone concerned and well test results play a greater part in decisions than ever before.