| THEORY & FORMULAE |
For a gas-oil isotropic reservoir with the perforated interval at the lower bottom of the oil zone, Mayer & Garder proposed the following equation for determining the Critical oil flow rate (Qoc):
Where:
Qoc = critical oil well rate, STB/day
h = oil column thickness, ft
hp= perforated interval, ft
ko= effective oil permeability, md
(ko= rock permeability x oil relative permeability)
re = drainage radius of well, ft
rw = wellbore radius, ft
Bo = formation volume factor of oil
μ o = oil viscosity, cp
ρ o = oil density, lb/ft3
ρ g = gas density, lb/ft3
Note that the critical rate is the oil rate below which gas breakthrough will never occur; this rate may be too low for practical and economic reasons.