PERFORM® - FAQs -
Q. Is training available?
A. Yes. Training is held in our Houston office about 2-4 times a year. Training dates are announced periodically on our web site. On-site training at client's offices is available for a fee.
For pricing and registration please contact us at sales.psg@ihs.com or (972) 705-0402. Or go to our training web page.
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Q. What type of analysis can you do with PERFORM?
A. You can do system (NODAL) analysis for well with one or more reservoir layers and with multilaterals. You also can perform Gradient analysis for wellbore, wellbore/flowline, and pipeline. In addition, you can model velocity strings, coiled tubing, flow assurance (hydrate, scale predictions), gaslift, etc. PERFORM is much more than a simple nodal analysis program.
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Q. How hard is it to learn and use PERFORM?
A. PERFORM is very user-friendly and very easy to learn. Our users constantly comment on its ease of use. With some background in petroleum engineering, you can easily use PERFORM for analysis.
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Q. I am familiar with the use of metric units. Do I have to use Field units?
A. PERFORM provides three standard systems: US Oilfield, International Metric, and Canadian Oilfield, which you can select or you can design your own custom units systems to meet your particular needs.
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Q. There is no solution point, but I think there should be one. What do I do?
A. Make sure the Calculation Limits in Analysis Settings are greater than the solution point.
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Q. I am not able to compare the correlations I have in my gradient graph to my actual data. How should I proceed?
A. In order to compare actual data to the correlation's results, select VIEW from the application menu and then select the "Graph Selections" option. Select "data file overlay" option. This option will display the data from your file along with the comparison curve(s).
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Q. How do I change the text attributes and the graph colors?
A. Move the mouse on the graph to the object you want to change (i.e., curve, X&Y axis, etc.) and double click. A menu will appear with the formatting options available. Note: The graph title box cannot be edited.
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Q. I cannot see the outflow and/or inflow curve(s) after calculation is completed.
A. If there is data in the system report for outflow and/or inflow, the background color and the line color are the same. Change the line color.
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Q. Can I model a multi-layered or multilateral well?
A. Yes, you can model up to 10 reservoir layers. Note that PERFORM allows you to input different reservoir characteristics (pressure, fluid properties, etc) for each layer thus allowing you to model complex real-life cases.
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Q. Can I model injection of fluids (water/gas)?
A. Yes. With PERFORM, you can analyze water and gas injection.
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Q. How can I calculate the pressure drop only for a pipeline or flowline?
A. Select gradient and check the flowline/pipeline option.
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Q. What is the maximum length for flow line?
A. PERFORM allows up to 10 sections, and the maximum length of each section is limited to 20 miles.
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Q. How do I enter the data for 23 miles of the same size pipeline?
A. Enter the 20 miles for the first section and 3 miles of the same size pipeline for the next section.
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Q. Is it possible to predict Scale and/or Hydrate formation in the system?
A. PERFORM enables you to calculate or predict scale and hydrate deposition in the well system. For scale prediction, the basic information required is the water analysis and the gradient rate. For hydrate you will need the fluid composition (for oil) and inhibitor data (if selected).
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Q. I'd like to predict Hydrate and/or Scale but they are disabled. What should I do?
A. Hydrate and Scale are only available for Gradient Analysis.
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Q. How can I disable the range checking, because my data is outside of the range?
A. Check Export mode and deselect or uncheck the "Perform Range Checking option" in Options menu/Input Mode.
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Q. Can I use PERFORM to design a Gas Lift installation?
A. You can predict how the well will behave when it is placed on gaslift under continuous gaslift from a single injection point. It is not intended for design purposes. We do offer another program - GasLIFT™ - that allows the detailed, interactive design of a continuous gas lift installation.
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Q. Can I select a multiphase correlation for a gas well or vise versa?
A. Check Export mode and check "Allow use of all outflow correlations" in Options menu/Input Mode.
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Q. Is it possible to use more than one correlation in the well?
A. Yes. You can use two correlations for wellbore calculations and two for the flowline.
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Q. Can I model Coiled tubing and Velocity strings?
A. Both Coiled tubing and Velocity strings may be modeled with PERFORM. Calculations are performed either for tubular flow or annular flow.
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Q. I entered all the data for an oil well, but the graphs show gas rate instead of liquid or oil rate.
A. Select Analysis Setting and change the Output Rate Units to Liquid, Oil or Water.
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Q. Can I export the reports to either Microsoft Excel or Word?
A. No, but you can cut and past the active report or graph to Excel or Word. From Edit menu select Copy to Clipboard, or just Ctrl+C, to copy the active report or graph and past it in Word or Excel.
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Q. Can I model injection in multilateral.
A. No, PERFORM only allows production calculations in multilaterals and multilayers.
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Q. Can I model the performance of horizontal wells?
A. Yes, and several correlations are available for steady-state, pseudosteady-state and transient flow.
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Q. How does PERFORM calculate the pressure drop in horizontal tunnel?
A. It uses Dikken method to calculate the pressure drop, and the value depends on the turbulent term, Alpha. Alpha ranges between 0.0 (turbulent flow) and 0.25 (completely laminar).
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Q. Can I enter the rates for outflow calculation?
A. You can enter up to 16 rates by selecting the User-entered Rates in Options menu\Outflow Rates.
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Q. Can I change the range of the rates for outflow calculation?
A. Not directly, but you can enter up to 16 rates by selecting the User-entered Rates in Options menu\Outflow Rates.
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Q. If I have some PVT data available, how are these data combined with the correlations?
A. The PVT data entered in the fluid properties are used in PERFORM to adjust the values calculated using the PVT correlations.
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Q. How long can I use the application on a trial basis?
A. With a trial license you can use our fully functional software for 15 days.
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Q. What is the best method to register my product?
A. The best way to register your application is, what's best for you. Our phones have basic coverage from 6:00am to 6:00pm CDST. You are welcome to leave a voice mail, or you may send e-mail to, register.psg@ihs.com. What ever way you choose, please be prepared to give us your 4 digit user-id and 3 digit registration number.
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Q. I recently switched from Windows 95/98 to Windows NT/2000, and my bitlock application no longer works, what happened?
A. Windows NT/2000 has a different internal architecture than Windows 95/98/ME, and requires a special driver to be installed before accessing the bitlock. We have included bitlock drivers and the utility required to install them with your application product in a self-extracting zipfile named "Rainbow.exe".
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Q. Can I move the application after installation?
A. You can move your application after installation, only if you have a bitlock or you unregister and uninstall the application. To receive a new installation password, you must present the unregistration number.
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