Estimating Pressure Drop in Vertical Wells Using Group Method of Data Handling (GMDH) Approach; a Comparative Study

A reliable estimation of the pressure drop in well tubing is essential for the solution of a number of important production engineering and reservoir analysis problems. Different methods have been discussed and analyzed in the literature. This includes the basics of each method, the variables used and the limitations and constraints.
This project aims to construct a tool that can estimate the pressure drop in vertical well using the minimum possible variables. In this project group method of data handling (GMDH) approach is used in order to build the model. And for the optimization of the model, Trend analysis is also used for the sake of having a physically sound model.
The developed model GMDH has shown an outstanding results and it has outperformed all empirical correlations and mechanistic models which have been used in the comparison. The analysis of the results also confirmed with the testing set which has not seen by the GMDH during the development of the model which could still achieve an accurate estimation of the pressure drop.
The GMDH model is developed and the objective is successfully achieved. Moreover, the simplicity and good functionality of the model made it a better choice when it comes to predict a pressure drop in any multiphase vertical well.