Well Testing Methodology for Multiple Vertical Wells with Well Interference and Radially Composite Structure during Underground Gas Storage

Abstract

To achieve the goal of decarbonized energy and greenhouse gas reduction, underground gas storage (UGS) has proven to be an important source for energy storage and regulation of natural gas supply. The special working conditions in UGS cause offset vertical wells to easily interfere with target vertical wells. The current well testing methodology assumes that there is only one well, and the interference from offset wells is ignored. This paper proposes a solution and analysis method for the interference from adjacent vertical wells to target vertical wells by analytical theory. The model solution is obtained by the solution with a constant rate and the Laplace transform method. The pressure superposition is used to deal with the interference from adjacent vertical wells. The model reliability in the gas injection and production stages is verified by commercial software. Pressure analysis shows that the heterogeneity and interference in the gas storage are caused by long-term gas injection and production. As both the adjacent well and the target well are in the gas production stage, the pressure derivative value in radial flow is related to production rate, mobility ratio, and 0.5. Gas injection from offset wells will cause the pressure derivative to drop later. Multiple vertical wells from the Hutubi UGS are used to illustrate the properties of vertical wells and the formation.

Keywords

• underground gas storage
• multiple vertical wells
• flow behavior
• well interference
• case study
• analytical model