Technology Focus: Well Testing (February 2026)

_ This month’s Well Testing feature showcases three papers presented at SPE conferences and selected by reviewer Arvind Kumar that highlight new and high-resolution logs that is used to generate a zonal-inflow-performance relationship. An automated well-test-scheduling workflow for steady-state production-well tests across an operator’s Permian Basin assets is the subject of paper SPE 230051. The workflow assists field personnel in prioritizing tests on a daily basis while intaking and interpreting a wide range of data sources. Once tests are completed, an automated well-test-validation workflow ensures test quality and communicates results to the field using a mobile application. The process has increased per-well testing frequency and dramatically reduced test-turnover time from 4 days to less than 2 hours while increasing test acceptance from 65 to 75%. Paper SPE 230172 describes an autodiagnostic solution designed for multiphase flowmeters (MPFMs), starting with a review of the various applications of MPFMs and moving to an Abu Dhabi onshore field that uses several different types of MPFM, reviewing best practices and lessons learned. Ultimately, the authors describe the reasons that some MPFMs do not deliver optimal performance and provide a solution that significantly improved flow-test quality, reducing operating expense and inefficiencies in reservoir management. Summarized Papers in This February 2026 Issue SPE 224937 - Pairing Wireline Formation Testing With Drillstem Testing Unlocks Potential by Dennis Ling, SPE, Saifon Daungkaew, SPE, and Morten Kristensen, SPE, SLB, et al. SPE 230051 - Integrated Approach Schedules, Validates Steady-State Production-Well Tests by Emmanouil Karantinos, XTO Energy, and Akshith Yalala and Craig Ellis Newlin, ExxonMobil, et al. SPE 230172 - Multiphase-Flowmeter Systems Use Autodiagnostic Solution by Erismar Rubio, SPE, Gaurav Gupta, SPE, and Abdallah Al Ameri, ADNOC, et al.