(2024042) A Case Study That Examines the Use of Nodal Analysis In Predicting The Magnitude of The Impact of Infill Drilling on A Gas Gathering System

Nodal analysis is an approach for modeling a system of components to determine the impact of changes to any component in that system. It is a tool typically employed to ensure production is maximized in individual producing wells. However, this tool can also be used to analyze pipeline systems to study the impact of changes in deliverability.

This case study reviews the process used and the recommendations made from a nodal analysis that was performed to assess the impact on a gas gathering system from the infill drilling of 13 additional wells. From that analysis, an investment was made to upsize the gas gathering system to maximize the value from the existing and new wells feeding that pipeline. 

The nodal analysis approach began by developing an inflow and outflow performance model for the existing wells and gas gathering system. Once this model was validated, a prediction was developed to determine the inflow and outflow performance over time to include the new wells to be drilled. This performance over time prediction was then used to evaluate the economic benefits of making changes to the existing gas gathering system. This paper provides a review of the nodal analysis process taken and a lookback to compare the actual performance to the predicted performance.