This month’s Well Testing feature showcases three papers presented at SPE conferences and selected by reviewer Arvind Kumar that highlight new combinations of technologies, along with workflows automated in innovative ways, deployed to ensure precise measurement, accurate forecasting, and environmentally conscious operations.
In paper SPE 224937, the authors address the limitations of drillstem tests (DST) in interpreting flow potential in challenging Southeast Asian reservoirs. Their solution is to combine DST with interval-pressure transient tests and deep transient testing to enable a solution that is environmentally conscious yet tailored to the challenges posed by testing each zone individually. Test cases describe an integrated workflow for a log-to-reservoir-scale model constructed from formation testing data and high-resolution logs that is used to generate a zonal-inflow-performance relationship.
An automated well-test-scheduling workflow for steady-state production-well tests across an operator’s Permian Basin assets is the subject of paper SPE 230051. The workflow assists field personnel in prioritizing tests on a daily basis while intaking and interpreting a wide range of data sources. Once tests are completed, an automated well-test-validation workflow ensures test quality and communicates results to the field using a mobile application. The process has increased per‑well testing frequency and dramatically reduced test-turnover time from 4 days to less than 2 hours while increasing test acceptance from 65 to 75%.
Paper SPE 230172 describes an autodiagnostic solution designed for multiphase flowmeters (MPFMs), starting with a review of the various applications of MPFMs and moving to an Abu Dhabi onshore field that uses several different types of MPFM, reviewing best practices and lessons learned. Ultimately, the authors describe the reasons that some MPFMs do not deliver optimal performance and provide a solution that significantly improved flow-test quality, reducing operating expense and inefficiencies in reservoir management.
Summarized Papers in This February 2026 Issue
SPE 224937 Pairing Wireline Formation Testing With Drillstem Testing Unlocks Potential by Dennis Ling, SPE, Saifon Daungkaew, SPE, and Morten Kristensen, SPE, SLB, et al.
SPE 230051 Integrated Approach Schedules, Validates Steady-State Production-Well Tests by Emmanouil Karantinos, XTO Energy, and Akshith Yalala and Craig Ellis Newlin, ExxonMobil, et al.
SPE 230172 Multiphase-Flowmeter Systems Use Autodiagnostic Solution by Erismar Rubio, SPE, Gaurav Gupta, SPE, and Abdallah Al Ameri, ADNOC, et al.
Arvind Kumar, SPE, is the global digital subject matter expert for the reservoir engineering domain at SLB. He has 12 years of experience in the industry. Kumar has held various reservoir-engineering roles such as in formation testing, deep transient testing, advanced well-test interpretation, reservoir modeling, integrated formation evaluation, and well-performance modeling at SLB. Currently, he is involved in development and deployment of digital reservoir-engineering solutions across the globe. Kumar holds a PhD degree in reservoir engineering and a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Dhanbad, India.