Linear Post Linear Flow Production Analysis

Abstract

This study was motivated by the production data observed from multi-fractured horizontal wells in the field that have two infinite acting flow regimes. These two infinite acting flow regimes appear as two straight lines on a plot of cumulative production versus the square root of produced time. This phenomenon has been coined linear post linear flow, and it appears to be the most prominent flow regime in various plays including the Permian Basin, Eagle Ford Shale, Bakken Shale, and the SCOOP and STACK plays of Oklahoma.

The objectives of this study were to reproduce field production responses of linear post linear flow through numerical simulation, and to develop a model for forecasting production in such cases. To accomplish these goals numerical simulations representing an element of symmetry along a multi-fractured horizontal well containing three fractures were run with varying fracture spacing and length. The simulations were successful in predicting linear post linear flow.