Drilling and Reservoir EngineeringProduction Optimisation and Nodal Analysis
A well producing well below its potential rarely raises an alarm; it simply settles into a lower rate that everyone accepts as normal. Nodal analysis exposes that gap. Delegates build inflow performance relationships using productivity index, Vogel and composite models, then vertical lift performance from multiphase flow correlations, and intersect the two to locate the operating point. Sensitivities on tubing size, wellhead pressure, skin, water cut and gas oil ratio show where effort pays. Choke performance, flowline and gathering network constraints and calibration of models against production tests follow. The later sessions turn the method into a surveillance routine: exception based monitoring, ranking optimisation opportunities and building the business case for each. Delegates leave able to model a well and recover deferred production.
Course objectives
- Construct inflow performance relationships for oil and gas wells
- Generate vertical lift performance curves with multiphase flow correlations
- Determine the operating point from the inflow and outflow intersection
- Run sensitivities on tubing size, skin, wellhead pressure and water cut
- Calculate choke performance for critical and subcritical flow
- Assess back pressure from flowlines and gathering networks
- Calibrate well models against production test data
- Rank optimisation opportunities and justify them economically
Who should attend
- Production engineers and production technologists
- Petroleum engineers responsible for well performance
- Production surveillance analysts
- Field and asset engineers in mature fields
- Facilities engineers dealing with network constraints
Course outline
- 01The production system and pressure losses
- 02Inflow performance relationships
- 03Skin, damage and inflow sensitivity
- 04Multiphase flow and vertical lift performance
- 05Finding the operating point
- 06Chokes, flowlines and network back pressure
- 07Model calibration with production tests
- 08Surveillance and exception based monitoring
- 09Opportunity ranking and economics
Scheduled sessions
| Dates | Venue | Format | Price | Register |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 to 11 December 2026 | Online | Online | R8,500 per delegate | |
| 28 December 2026 to 1 January 2027 | Lusaka, Zambia | Classroom | USD 1,325 per delegate | |
| 15 to 19 February 2027 | Windhoek, Namibia | Classroom | R19,950 per delegate |
Production Optimisation and Nodal Analysis
From R8,500