An Investigation of Pressure Buildup Tests in Bounded Reservoirs

One of the most important aspects of formation evaluation is the design, implementation, and interpretation of a pressure buildup test. Basically, this test requires that a producing well be shut in and that the associated change in bottom-hole pressure be measured as a function of shut-in time. Muskat¹ introduced the first interpretation method for these pressure data to the petroleum industry in 1937, but for the most part, its significance was largely overlooked until the late 1940's. At that time, van Everdingen and Hurst² revived new interest in transient pressure analysis with their classical paper on the behavior of unsteady-state fluid flow in a porous media.