SPWLA Glossary

The gathering of data on a formation to determine its potential productivity before installing casing in a well. The conventional method is the drill-stem test. Incorporated in the drill-stem-testing tool are a packer. valves, or ports that can be opened and closed from the surface, and a pressure-recording device. The tool is lowered to bottom on a string of drill pipe and the packer set, isolating the formation to be tested from the formations above and supporting the fluid column above the packer. A port on the tool is opened to allow the trapped pressure below the packer to bleed off into the drill pipe, gradually exposing the formation to atmospheric pressure and allowing the well to produce to the surface, where the well fluids can be sampled and inspected. From a record of the pressure readings, a number of facts about the formation can be inferred.