Petroleum Engineering 648 Pressure Transient Testing
Petroleum Engineering 648 — Pressure Transient Testing
Course Introduction — Thomas A. Blasingame, Ph.D., P.E.
Spring 2017
Instructor Information:
Petroleum Engineering 648 Instructor: Dr. Tom Blasingame TA: Mr. Alex Valdes-Perez
Pressure Transient Testing Office: Richardson 821A Office: Richardson 821A
Texas A&M University TL: +1.979.845.2292 TL: N/A
RICH 319 MW 19:50-21:05 EM: EM:
(in-class lectures) (Please always use e-mail to contact me) (Please always use e-mail to contact the TA)
Orientation for PETE 648: (specific to 2017)
The offering of PETE 648 in the Spring 2017 term remains a bit of a "rebuild" from the course I taught in the early 2000s — a "rebuild" in the sense that I lost all of my course material for PETE 648 in a computer theft in 2004 (lesson-learned: always keep your files backed-up). Another faculty member taught this course from 2004-2014, and I did continue to teach PETE 324 (the undergraduate version of this course) through 2009. However; PETE 648 is (and should be) of more depth and breadth than PETE 324. You are free to review any/all of my archives on my website (http://www.pe.tamu.edu/blasingame/data/z_zCourse_Archive/), including those for PETE 324 and PETE 663. The reference materials are generally well-organized and provide the means for self-study, and the assignments are both straightforward and extremely well-documented.
Goals for PETE 648: (specific to 2017)
Familiarity with the background, solutions, assumptions/limitations, diagnostics, and methodology for the analysis and interpretation of pressure transient test data and production data. The successful student will have developed both familiarity and mastery of the course materials and assignments. In particular, the course reading assignments (i.e., the "Reading Portfolio") are a critical component, as also are the assigned problems in the "Homework Portfolio," as these text example problems are essential to understanding the scope of pressure transient testing.
Assignments for PETE 648: (specific to 2017)
(Due 17 Apr 2017) Reading Portfolio [Paper reviews for assigned publications.] (50 papers/20 points) 20 percent
(Due 24 Apr 2017) Homework Portfolio [Problems from Lee, et al text.] (25 problems/50 points) 50 percent
(Due 01 May 2017) Final Examination [Problems taken from literature and field cases.] (6 problems/30 points) 30 percent
Total = 100 percent
Philosophy about Students:
I am a teacher, that role defines my life and my career. I am not the best teacher you will ever have, but I can almost guarantee that I will be the best "motivator" you have ever had. Students always come first with me — BUT, students must pull their own weight, I have zero tolerance for those who exhibit a low effort or "just want to get by." My goals as a teacher are:
● To create materials and exercises that ensure that the student masters the concepts/applications for a given topic.
● To challenge the student to become a creative and independent thinker.
● To provide an understanding of a student/young engineer's responsibilities as a professional (i.e., the work always comes first).
Philosophy about Life:
● Most Appropriate Quote:
Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work... (hard work is the only path…)
Thomas A. Edison, American Inventor (1847-1931)
● Important Rules for Life:
— Never own anything that eats while you sleep… — Always work harder than those you work for…
— Never own anything that needs repainting… — If you have to herd cats, then be a rat…
— Never own anything that you can't drive a nail in... — Never say no, and there's no limit to where you can go…
Brief Bio: Thomas A. Blasingame, Ph.D., P.E.
● Professor, Department of Petroleum Engineering at Texas A&M University in College Station Texas.
● Holds a joint appointment in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at Texas A&M University.
● Holder of the Robert L. Whiting Professorship in Petroleum Engineering.
● B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Petroleum Engineering from Texas A&M University.
● Teaching/Research activities: ● Technical Contributions:
— Petrophysics — Pressure transient test analysis
— Reservoir engineering — Analysis of production data
— Analysis/interpretation of well performance — Reservoir management
— Exploitation of unconventional reservoirs — Diagnostic characterization of reservoir performance
— Technical mathematics — General reservoir engineering
● Student counts to date (Jan 2017): 61 M.S. (thesis), 32 M.Eng. (report, non-thesis), and 13 Ph.D. students.
Guidance:
● Orientation — This is graduate school, the (only) person you are competing against is in the mirror.
● Work Quality — My highest commandment is that you submit your best work; and ONLY your best work.
● Focus — This is an essential course in reservoir engineering.
● Timeliness — This material is very straightforward, but there is much to learn — do not underestimate your workload and timing.
● Course Materials — The material will teach itself (… I am just more of a guide/coach), but you must put your full effort into the course.
● Connections — I am here to help; I will answer any/all relevant correspondence within 24 hours (unless I am totally offline).
Practical Points for PETE 648: (specific to 2017)
A few practical points for the Spring 2017 term:
● I am on the SPE Board and have at least 2 travel interruptions that will affect PETE 648 in January and in March.
● There will also be occasions where I am on "family rotation," and may lecture remotely, but in general I will try to lecture in person.
● Software is not permitted for coursework, but I do plan a number of demonstrations of software at/near the end of the term.
Petroleum Engineering 648 — Pressure Transient Testing
Instructor Information, Texts, Reference Materials, and Basis for Grade, Policies and Procedures, Scholastic Dishonesty
Spring 2017
Instructor Information:
Petroleum Engineering 648 Instructor: Dr. Tom Blasingame TA: Mr. Alex Valdes-Perez
Pressure Transient Testing Office: Richardson 821A Office: Richardson 821A
Texas A&M University TL: +1.979.845.2292 TL: N/A
RICH 319 MW 19:50-21:05 EM: EM:
(in-class lectures) (Please always use e-mail to contact me) (Please always use e-mail to contact the TA)
Texts:
Required Texts: (to be purchased) [*Available from http://store.spe.org/— you must have these texts.]
1. Lee, W.J.: Well Testing, SPE (1982).*
2. Lee, W.J., Rollins, J.B., and Spivey, J.P.: Pressure Transient Testing, SPE (2003).*
3. Matthews, C.S. and Russell, D.G.: Pressure Buildup and Flow Tests in Wells, Monograph Vol. 1, SPE (1967).*
4. Earlougher, R.C., Jr.: Advances in Well Test Analysis, Monograph Vol. 5, SPE (1977).*
Required Texts: (provided in electronic form)
1. Rawlins, E. L. And Schellhardt, M. A.: Back-Pressure Data on Natural-Gas Wells, Monograph Vol. 7, USBM (1935).
2. ERCB: Theory and Practice of the Testing of Gas Wells (3rd Edition), Energy Resources Conservation Board, Calgary, AB, Canada (1975).
3. Mattar, Louis: Well Test Interpretation, Fekete Associates, Calgary, Alberta, Canada (2004).
4. Houze, Olivier, et al: Dynamic Data Analysis, Kappa Engineering, Sophia Antipolis, France (2016).
etc.: (can be purchased) [#Available from http://store.spe.org/— you should have these texts.]
1. Horne, R.N.: Modern Well Test Analysis: A Computer-Aided Approach (1995). (not available from http://store.spe.org/)
2. Lee, W.J. and Wattenbarger, R.A.: Gas Reservoir Engineering, SPE (1996).#
3. Dake, L. P.: Fundamentals of Reservoir Engineering, Elsevier (1978).#
4. Dake, L. P.: The Practice of Reservoir Engineering, Elsevier (2001).#
5. Bourdet, D.: Well Test Analysis: The Use of Advanced Interpretation Models, Elsevier (2002). (not available from http://store.spe.org/)
6. Raghavan, R.: Well Test Analysis, Prentice Hall (1993). (not available from http://store.spe.org/)
Reference Materials:
Course materials for this semester are located at:
— General archive for PETE 648:
http://www.pe.tamu.edu/blasingame/data/P648_17A/
— Reference archive for PETE 324: (old undergraduate well testing course — notes, old exams, old assignments, etc.)
http://www.pe.tamu.edu/blasingame/data/z_zCourse_Archive/P324_reference/
Basis for Grade: [Grade Cutoffs (Percentages) → A: 90 B: 89.99 to 80 C: 79.99 to 70 D: 69.99 to 60 F: < 59.99]
Reading Portfolio [Paper reviews for assigned publications.] 20 percent
Homework Portfolio [Problems from Lee, W.J., Rollins, J.B., and Spivey, J.P.: Pressure Transient Testing, SPE (2003).] 50 percent
Final Examination [A set of problems assigned by the instructor, taken from the literature and field cases.] 30 percent
Total = 100 percent
Policies and Procedures:
1. Students are expected to attend class every session. Resident (not Distance Learning) students are REQUIRED to attend class every session. Distance Learning students are expected to review lecture materials within 24 hours of the lecture being given. This is not a casual requirement, penalties can and will be assigned for missing class.
2. Policy on Grading
a. All work in this course is graded on the basis of answers only — any partial credit is at the discretion of the instructor.
b. All work requiring calculations shall be properly and completely documented for credit.
c. All grading shall be done by the instructor, or under his direction and supervision, and the decision of the instructor is final.
3. Policy on Re-grading
a. Only in very rare cases will exams be considered for re-grading — partial credit (if any) is not subject to appeal.
b. Work which, while possibly correct, but cannot be followed, will be considered incorrect.
c. Grades assigned to problems in the Homework Portfolio will not be considered for re-grading. (specific to PETE 648)
d. Grades assigned to the Reading Portfolio will not be considered for re-grading. (specific to PETE 648)
e. If re-grading is necessary, the student is to submit a letter to the instructor explaining the situation that requires consideration for re-grading, and the material to be regraded must be attached to this letter. The letter and attached material must be received within one week from the date returned by the instructor.
4. The grade for a late assignment is zero. Late or not, all assignments must be turned in.
5. Each student should review the University Regulations concerning attendance, grades, and scholastic dishonesty. In particular, anyone caught cheating on an examination or collaborating on an assignment where collaboration is not specifically authorized by the instructor will be removed from the class roster and given an F (failure grade) in the course.
Scholastic Dishonesty:
THE STUDENT IS HEREBY WARNED THAT ANY/ALL ACTS OF SCHOLASTIC DISHONESTY WILL RESULT IN AN "F" GRADE FOR ALL ASSIGNMENTS IN THIS COURSE. As a definition, "scholastic dishonesty" will include any or all of the following acts:
● Unauthorized collaborations — you are explicitly forbidden from working together on EXAMINATION(S).
● Using work of others — you are explicitly forbidden from using the work of others — "others" is defined as students in this course, as well as any other person. You are specifically required to perform your own work.
Note: Collaboration is permitted on the "homework portfolio." (specific to PETE 648)
Petroleum Engineering 648 — Pressure Transient Testing
Work Requirements, Work Standard, Student Obligation, E-mail Protocols, Computational Tools, and Course Description
Spring 2017
Work Requirements: (layout/format/etc.)
● You must show ALL work — as appropriate, YOU MUST:
— Show all details in your calculations (no skipped steps) — all portions of all analysis relations must be shown.
— Show all units in each calculation.
● Work layout: (as appropriate for a given problem)
— NEATNESS: You will be graded on the neatness of your work.
— LABELS: All work, trends, and features on every plot MUST be appropriately labeled — no exceptions.
■ Work: All work must be fully labeled and documented — equations, relations, calculations, etc.
■ Trends: This includes the slope, intercept, and the information used to construct a given trend.
■ Features: Any description of features/points of interest on a given trend (specific times/pressures, flow regimes, etc.).
— LINES: Use appropriate drafting care in construction of lines, trends, arrows, etc.
— SKETCHING: Take great care in any sketches you create/use in your work.
● Plots/Plotting: (as required)
— SYMBOLS: Use symbols for "data."
— LINES: Use lines to represent models/trends.
— COLORS: Use black for all axes and gridlines. Use primary colors (red, green, blue), (please) avoid pastel colors.
— etc.: Please do NOT use a border or "frame" around your plots.
Work Standard:
Simply put, the expectation of the instructor (Blasingame) is that "perfection is the standard" — in other words, your work will be judged against a perfect standard. If your submission is not your very best work, then don't submit it. You have an OBLIGATION to submit only your very best work.
Student Obligation:
You must prepare your work as instructed above, or you will be assessed grading penalties.
e-mail Protocols
In order to manage your correspondence, I require that you use the following protocol.
Subject Line: [YYYYMMDD] (YOURLASTNAME) Subject
(date) (your last name) (Subject of your e-mail)
Body:
Dr. BLASINGAME:
I would like to enquire about the following:
* Question 1 ... (be clear and concise)
* Question 2 ... (be clear and concise)
* Question 3 ... (be clear and concise)
I thank you for your assistance.
YourFirstName YOURLASTNAME
(contact information)
E: (TAMU)
E: (personal)
T: (a phone contact) (I will NEVER call you without first sending an e-mail or text)
Comments:
● (please) Do not forward/reply to emails that I send you from eCampus — SEND A NEW NOTE.
● The subject line is used to file e-mail by student name (this is why this specific subject line is required).
● Every effort will be made to answer every e-mail, but PLEASE avoid trivial enquiries (consult the syllabus for "administrative" issues).
● I am more than happy to address questions by e-mail — i.e., issues/errors/etc. and/or help with something relevant to the course.
● Courier New 10pt Bold font is required.
Computational Tools: (specific to PETE 648)
In this course you are NOT required to work in a particular computational environment. However; you should be/must be proficient at whatever computational tool(s) you use for work in this course (e.g., MS Excel). Please note that YOU are RESPONSIBLE for your computer-aided solutions. Depending on the assignment you may be asked for a copy of your source code and you should provide relevant commentary/docu-mentation in your source code (or spreadsheet) sufficient for your work to be traced.