SPE16388r
Type-Curve Analysis:
What It Can and Cannot Do
Alain C. Gringarten, Scientific Software-Intercomp
Summary. Type-curve analysis has been used for more than 20 years in the oil industry and for more than
40 years in hydrogeology. Yet, what it Involves and how useful it is in practice is still being debated within the
oil industry. This paper attempts to answer some of the questions that are most commonly raised about type
curves and type-curve analysis.
What Is a Type Curve?
A type curve is a graphic representation of the
theoretical response during a test of an interpretation
model that represents the well and the reservoir being
tested. For a constant-pressure test, the response is
the change in production rate; for a constant-rate test,
the response is the change in pressure at the bottom
of the well. Other types of response are also used,
such as the time derivative of the bottomhole
pressure.
Type curves are derived from solutions to the flow
equations under specific initial and boundary
conditions. For the sake of generality, type curves are
usually presented in dimensionless terms, such as a
dimensionless pressure vs. a dimensionless time. A
given interpretation model may yield a single type
curve or one or more families of type curves,
depending on the complexity of the model.
What Is Type·Curve Analysis?
Type-curve analysis consists of finding a type curve
that "matches" the actual response of the well and
the reservoir during the test. The reservoir and well
parameters, such as permeability and skin, can then
be calculated from the dimensionless parameters
defining that type curve.
The match can be found graphically, by physically
superposing a graph of the actual test data with a
similar graph of the type curve(s) and searching for
the type curve that provides the best fit. Alternatively,
an automatic fitting technique involving a linear or
nonlinear regression can be used.
Fig. 1 gives an example of a graphic type-curve
match. The graph of the data is positioned over the
graph of the type curves, with the axes kept parallel,
so that the test data match one of the type curves.
Reservoir parameters are calculated from the value of
the dimensionless parameter defining the type curve
being matched and from the x and y axis shifts.
How Can One Select a Type Curve To
Match Test Data?
First, one must find the interpretation model that best
represents the dynamic behavior of the well and
Copyright 1987 Society of Petroleum Engineers
Journal of Petroleum Technology, January 1987
reservoir during the test. This interpretation model
must be identified from the test data because it is
usually difficult to predict from static information.
The most efficient way to identify the interpretation
model is to use the derivative of the pressure with
respect to the natural log of some function of elapsed
time. A log-log plot of the pressure derivative vs.
elapsed time yields a limited number of characteristic
features for the various components of the
interpretation model that are easy to recognize. These
features are illustrated in Fig. 2. The possibilities are
(1) a maximum, (2) a minimum, (3) a stabilization,
and (4) an upward or a downward trend. The
maximum is found at early times and indicates
wellbore storage and skin: the higher the maximum,
the more damaged the well. No maximum indicates a
nondamaged or a stimulated well. The stabilization
indicates semilog radial flow and corresponds to the
semilog straight line on a Horner plot. A minimum
indicates heterogeneous behavior. An upward or
downward trend at the end of the data indicates
boundary effects. The complete interpretation model
is then obtained by combining these various
components. Examples of interpretation models are
shown in Fig. 3.
Once the interpretation model has been identified,
one must select the type curves corresponding to that
model that are the most appropriate for the range of
available test data.
What Is the Difference Between the
Various Published Type Curves?
For a given interpretation model, the mathematical
solution to the flow equations is unique, and type
curves derived from that solution should all be
identical. In practice, however, type curves may
differ by their presentation-e.g., if they use different
dimensionless or dimensional parameters-or by their
range of application. As a result, some published type
curves may not be usable with the available test data,
or may be more or less convenient to use. But even
if they look different, type curves corresponding to
the same interpretation model will give the same
analysis results if they all cover the range of available
test data.
11
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Fig 2-Pressure·denvallVe characteristic shapes 01 In-
terpretation model components
How Does Type-Curve Analrajs Compare
With Conventional Analysis?
Type curves describe the entire behavio r of Ihc
interpretat ion model corresponding to thc well and thc
reservoir and include thc various flow regimes that
successively dominate during thc test. As a result .
type-curve analysis provides all thc well and reservoir
parameters that can be obtained from well testing.
Conventional a nalysis methods. on the other
hand-and morc generally. analysis methods based on
straight lines- are valid only for a specific flow
regime. As a result, they provide only well and
reservoir paramete rs characteristic of that flow
reg line.
If a given fl ow regime ex ists during a test, the
correspondi ng straight-line and type-curve analyses
must yield the same value for the parameters that
characterize that flow regime. In such a case,
straight-li ne methods are easier to use if the straight
lines arc defined with little ambiguity.
The difficulty with conve ntional methods is
determining the existence of the particular flow
regime. In type-curve analysis. this is performed as
part of the identification of the applicable
interpretation model. In the conveTltional use of
straight-line analysis methods, on the other hand,
there is no such preliminary step. The flow regime is
12
presumed to ex ist, which mayor may not be the
case: an apparent straight line through a range of data
does not necessarily prove the existence of a specific
flow regime. An analysis based on an erroneous
straight line will of course yield totally erroneous
results. The most efficient procedure is to start with
the identification of the interpretation model. to
evaluate all the appropriate well and reservoir
parameters with type-curve analysis, and then to
confirm the resu lts with straight-line analyses if
applicable.
Can Type-Curve AnalysiS Provide a
Unique Answer?
Assuming that the tesl has been well designed so thai
the range of available test dalll is adequate , the
interpretation model can be determined with
reasonable certai nty. Its mcaning in terms of rese rvoir
description, on the other hand, may not be unique.
This nonuniqueness is inherent to the testing process
and is independent of the analysis technique used .
The interpretation model only indicates how many
different media arc contributing to the flow process
and how these media interact. But the analysis usually
cannot tell how these med ia are distributed. For
example, well test data can indicate that a reservoir
exhibits a double-porosity behavior, but they usually
cannot tell if the reservoir is fissured or multilayered
without additional nontesting information.
Assuming that the interpretation has been identified
correctly and that an adequate range of test data is
Journal of Petroleum Technology. January 1981

available, type-curve analysis should yield a unique
match. In practice, however, the lack of resolution of
the log-log representation used for most type curves
may create a problem. This can be resolved by
combining type-curve and straight-line analyses, as
mentioned before.
If the range of data is inadequate, and in particular
if semilog radial flow has not been reached during the
test, a unique answer cannot be obtained with type-
curve analysis without a validation process (of course,
no analysis is possible with conventional techniques,
either).
Does Type-Curve Analysis Really Improve
the Analysis Process?
A complete interpretation process should include (1)
the identification of the interpretation model, (2) the
validation of the interpretation model, and (3) the
calculation of the model parameters. Improvements in
the interpretation process can essentially come from
improvements in identification and validation.
For the identification part, type-curve analysis
represents a drastic improvement, especially with
pressure derivatives, because there is no identification
in conventional analysis: whatever straight line is
SPE 16388
drawn is assumed a priori to represent the required
flow regime.
The same applies to the validation part because no
validation is possible with conventional analysis. As
mentioned before, a first level of validation consists
of checking type-curve analysis results with straight-
line analysis techniques for the flow regimes
identified in log-log analysis. A second, more
stringent check consists of comparing a Horner plot
of the data with one predicted from the matched type
curve. As' a final check of the consistency of the
analysis, measurements taken during the entire test
(not just the period being analyzed) can be compared
with those calculated frpm the matched type curve.
To date, validation is not widely used with type-
curve analysis. It is expected that this will change
because the simple validation techniques described
earlier significantly improve the value of an analysis
by allowing the interpretation of data that could not
be uniquely analyzed otherwise and by providing a
measurement of the confidence in the analysis results.
JPT
This paper is SPE 16388, Technology Today Series articles provide useful summary
information on bOlh classic and emerging concepts In petroleum engineering, Pur·
pose: To provide the general reader with a basic understanding of a significant con·
cept. technique. or development within a specific area of technology,