2016 was another slow year in the oil industry as the price of oil remained low. Despite the ongoing downturn, the 18th meeting of the Win Cubed Well Test Network (WTN) was hosted by Tetra Technologies in Houston in April. There were 37 attendees present plus 11 others who participated by telephone. Delegates represented a broad spectrum of operators and service companies, as well as a few independent consultants. Fourteen presentations covered success stories and innovations developed and implemented in the industry. During the 2-day meeting, an enthusiastic and open-minded participation was commonplace. A significant portion of participants contributed to the discussion and, on the basis of experience, helped build on the presentations to ensure that relevant information was shared with the group. Plans are already under way for the WTN 2017 meeting in Houston. For those interested, further information about the meeting as well as steps to join the network can be found at www.wincubed.co.uk.
Continued enthusiasm in the well-testing segment of the oil industry is also apparent. Even though there was a smaller number of articles and presentations among various conferences related to well testing during 2016, there are articles that contribute significantly not only for the experts but also for the upcoming generation. The papers for this issue of JPT were selected to cover field applications as well as value added by consultants and academics. As difficult as it is to narrow down the list to three manuscripts, I have confidence that, in the end, these three manuscripts show insightful use of well-test data. The additional-reading articles selected offer many insights that are of value to the practitioner. Most certainly, the interested reader should seek further articles on this topic in the OnePetro library.
This Month's Technical Papers
Fieldwide Determination of Directional Permeabilities Through Transient Well Testing
Novel Solutions for Transient Sandface Temperature in Dry-Gas-Producing Wells
Case History: High-Pressure/High-Temperature Underbalanced Drillstem Testing
Recommended Additional Reading
SPE 177785 Successful Delivery of Downhole Measurements From Abu Dhabi Giant Offshore Field by Daniel Newton, Zakum Development Company, et al.
SPE 179008 Applied Buildup-Well-Test Interpretation: Field Testing of Conventional and Deconvolution Methods by Omar Rosario, PDVSA, et al.
SPE 181352 Consistent Integration of Drillstem-Test Data Into Reservoir Models on a Giant Field Offshore Norway by Jon Sætrom, Resoptima, et al.
SPE 181546 Temperature Transients Affect Reservoir-Pressure Estimation During Well Tests—Case Study and Model by Pierre-David Maizeret, Schlumberger, et al.
