Experimental Investigation and Modeling of the Effects of Rising Gas Bubbles in a Closed Pipe

Al-Darmak, S., Falcone, G. , Hale, C. and Hewitt, G. (2006) Experimental Investigation and Modeling of the Effects of Rising Gas Bubbles in a Closed Pipe. In: SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, ATCE 2006, San Antonio, Texas, USA, 24-27 Sept 2006, ISBN 9781555631499 (doi: 10.2118/103129-MS)

Abstract

Transient multiphase flow in the wellbore causes problems in well test interpretation when the well is shut-in at surface and the pressure is measured down-hole. Pressure build-up (PBU) data recorded during a test can be dominated by transient wellbore effects (i.e. phase change, flow reversal and re-entry of the denser phase into the producing zone), making it difficult to distinguish between true reservoir features and transient wellbore artefacts (Gringarten et al., 2000). This paper is a follow up to SPE 96587 (Ali et al., 2005), which presented experimental results of phase redistribution effects on PBU data. Though the results of the experiments were revealing, they are complex as they reflect the real well situation. To obtain results in which the phase redistribution in the well is studied independently of the interaction with the reservoir, a further set of experiments were carried out, in which the tube (simulating the well) was isolated at both the top and the bottom at the same time. The pressure distribution was measured during the transient following shut-in and for the steady-state final condition in which there was a liquid-filled zone at the bottom of the test section and a gas-filled zone at the top. A substantial number of tests were conducted in the bubbly flow region and could therefore be analysed by a simple one-dimensional model for bubbly flow. The results of the comparison between the model and the experimental data are presented in this paper.

• Item Type: Conference Proceedings
• Additional Information: Proceedings - SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, volume 6, pages 4116-4121.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Falcone, Professor Gioia
• Authors: Al-Darmak, S., Falcone, G., Hale, C., and Hewitt, G.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Systems Power and Energy
• ISBN: 9781555631499