Routine testing of wells with electric submersible pumps (ESPs) is usually conducted monthly to monitor liquid rates, water cut (WC), and gas/oil ratio (GOR). This monthly testing is the most common form of production and reservoir surveillance and is implemented in even the most mature fields where cost control generally takes precedence over reservoir surveillance. However, this technique has its limitations. The most common limitation is insufficient testing duration to capture a representative sample of reservoir fluids. This testing duration issue is often the case in low-flow rate and deep wells, which require several time-consuming whole or complete liquid holdup periods. Other potential problems include insufficient resolution or repeatability to identify trends in liquid and water-cut rates over short periods of time. To date, the only method for resolving these issues has been to install permanent multiphase meters on each well. Although this method has been implemented in some fields, it is uneconomical for most wells. An analytical method is described for a flow rate calculation that can be implemented in wells produced with ESPs and equipped with downhole gauges and real-time monitoring systems.

These downhole gauges and real-time monitoring system provide continuous real-time virtual flow rate measurements and therefore, both liquid and water-cut trends, which deliver the required resolution and repeatability to support both well performance diagnostics and near-wellbore reservoir analysis. This technique, which has the advantage of being valid for both transient and steady-state conditions, provides instantaneous flow rate data when used with real-time data. Case studies presented will illustrate model calibration and its application to back allocation and transient analysis. Examples are provided to show how the data can be used to rapidly identify changes in productivity index and reservoir pressure across the drainage area; thereby, enabling real-time production optimization.