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Analysis of pumping tests of the Culebra dolomite conducted at the H-11 hydropad at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) site

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:5862372

The Culebra Dolomite Member of the Permian Rustler Formation was hydrologically evaluated in a series of pumping tests conducted at the H-11 hydropad at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) site. At H-11, the Culebra dolomite is a 25-ft thick argillaceous dolomite with 0.1- to 0.5-foot thick layers with a high density of vugs. The vugs range in size from 0.1 to 0.5 inches in diameter; most are 0.1 to 0.2 inches in diameter. The thin vuggy layers alternate with thicker, more competent layers which have few vugs, but which do contain high-angle fractures. Some of the vugs and fractures are gypsum-filled. Three pumping tests consisted of 12- to 21-hour pumping periods at each of the three wells, while using the other two wells at the hydropad as observation wells. An additional pumping test was conducted at H-11b3 with H-11b1 and H-11b2 as observation wells. The test was a 32-day multirate test with four pumping and recovery periods. The original tests were conducted by lowering a submersible pump and pressure transducers in the boreholes. The additional test added a downhole packer with feed-through assembly designed to isolate the test interval and reduce or minimize the effect of wellbore storage. The data from all tests were recorded and stored on floppy disks. The pumping tests at the H-11 hydropad were analyzed with the INTERPRET reservoir-analysis software. 46 refs., 46 figs., 12 tabs.

Research Organization:
Intera Technologies, Inc., Austin, TX (USA); Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC04-76DP00789
OSTI ID:
5862372
Report Number(s):
SAND-87-7124; ON: DE88002246
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English