New Features/Enhancements

• RTA Horizontal, Vertical, Composite and Fracture Analytical models have been added
• Import functionality for analytical models from RTA has been added
• A start-up screen has been implemented that allows the selection of building a model in either Geodetic or Cartesian mode, and allows for certain imports to be performed up front when Geodetic mode is chosen
• A Delivery Point facility is automatically added at the zero location when a model is started in Cartesian mode
• The Apply Changes dialog for on-screen changes has been enhanced. The new apply changes dialog allows the user to apply changes in mass to all configurations, all future configurations or to only the current configuration. Changes can also be applied to each individual facility type as was done in previous versions
• Dropdown menus have been updated and reorganized to better facilitate the workflow of the software
• The dual display/configurations dates have been removed and replaced with access to a single date that performs the functions that both dates did previously
• Icon based access to editors has been removed as the default display mode
• The Project Manager tab has been changed to the Forecast View tab
• A number of the GIS toolbar icons have been updated
• Tracking options (Composition, Surface Loss, Working Interest and Energy Content) have been moved from the Forecast Options editor to the Forecast Options dropdown list

Corrected Issues

• A number of issues with the production import have been dealt with. Limitations with the import of production data that had inconsistencies such as duplicate data, dates out of order, or a mixture of daily and monthly data will now import and provide warnings describing the discrepancies in the data and any modifications that were made
• The UTM system will now provide and require the correct Northing value for locations in the southern hemisphere
• When an on-screen edit is made the entire model forecast will no longer be deleted. Instead only that part of the forecast which is affected by the change that has been made will be deleted
• Piper should no longer crash when the computer running the program is disconnected from the network and the license manager checks for license availability. The lack of a license will cause the program to shut-down, but the user will be warned and given the opportunity to save the model
• CBM well gas rates will now display the correct gas rate for that well rather then the nodal rate that include all gas rates flowing upstream of the well
• Turning on the well uplift map will no longer cause the CBM flowing pressure and liquid layer rate to change
• When latitude and longitude values are pasted into the GIS Position editor in the DLS region, the DLS location will no longer be displayed with an “E” where there should be a “W”
• An error of an “unmapped flow regime” that would appear intermittently when either running a forecast using Beggs and Brill or using the wellbore tuning editor with a well that uses Beggs and Brill will no longer occur
• Changing well type or compressor type from one configuration to another will not cause a duplicate facility to be created in the configuration(s) where the change occurs
• The rate versus cumulative plot in the Production plotting tab will not start at -32600Bcf for Merak and DP2 files
• Import options that are not available in Cartesian mode (shapefile import, location import and image import) are now grayed out in that mode
• In Cartesian mode, disabled links in loops will have their length adjusted as needed to complete the correct loop distance. Non-loop links will not have their length adjusted when in a loop with a disabled link
• Resizing the GIS toolbar will no longer cause Piper to crash
• The scale on the print preview should now reflect the actual scaled length on the map
• Piper will no longer crash when you try to load the same shapefile twice
• The on-screen undo option is now disabled when the user exits the on-screen editing by going into an editor
• Sandface location options will no longer appear for the node import
• The cntl-L option will no longer be frozen in the on state if a file is saved with the cntl-L option on
• The outlet gas through a compressor now correctly accounts for the fuel gas that is removed by the compressor
• Color selection and ranging issues with the well drawdown map have been corrected
• Wells using the percent reduction method for liquid loading will no longer display an incorrect status box message

New Features

An on-screen auto-diameter option is accessible from the GIS toolbar. Links created on-screen can be added with a pre-selected diameter associated to them.

The diameter of an existing link can now be changed on-screen. The change can be made by right mouse clicking a link and selecting the “Edit Diameter” option. Multiple links can be selected and edited at the same time using the “Edit Diameters” option

Petalas and Aziz multiphase correlation has been added. It is available as a multiphase pipeline flow correlation

An option to Group Layers by Hierarchy has been added to the Property Manager. This option is accessible by right mouse clicking anywhere on the Property Manager. The visibility of layers (such as diagnostic maps, images, and shapefiles) can be moved forward and be sent backward by moving them up and down the hierarchy.

Diagnostic Map display color opacity has been increased

Node location data can be imported from Excel, CSV or text file

Absolute elevation data (MSL elevations) can be imported and associated with nodes. The import can be from a text or Excel format files. Imported elevation data will be populated in the GIS Position Editor

Relative elevations of links can be calculated from the difference in absolute elevations of the source and destination node. The calculator is located as an option in the Gathering System editor

A new Diagnostic Maps to display drawdown and uplift potential for wells has been added

Added option to model the effects of liquid loading for sandface deliverability wells by defining a percentage reduction in the rate of the well at the time that the well loads

Re-designed the workflow and user interface for the Wellbore tuning editor

Redefined variable names in the Wellbore Tuning editor to better reflect function

Improved redraw speed of the Wellbore Tuning plot

Added a Measured Gas Line Pressure annotation for Wells and CBM Wells

Added ability to toggle on the Coleman and Turner Liquid Lift correlation curves from the Well Deliverability Plot

A legend that shows pipeline diameters on the print and print preview screens has been added. The legend is accessible as a “Design, Preview, and Print Reports” schematic. It can also be recalled on-screen by right-mouse clicking on the GIS and selecting the options Layers?Information Legends

An “Include in Apply to All” option has been added to the location information for each facility annotation. With this option, facility and link annotations can be modified on a global basis without affecting the location of the annotations

Added a sort by name option in the Goto editor

Default color ranges for diagnostic maps now are consistent with color ranges used in legacy versions of Piper

Fixes

Deleting or creating a node on-screen in a multi-configuration model will now enable the Apply Changes for the GIS Position editor

Wellbore Tuning editor will now apply default values for “?P in Casing when loaded” and “?P in Tub/Ann when loaded” equal to 0.265psi/ft x segment height until a value is explicitly defined by the user

When facilities are deleted (onscreen or in an editor) or the Change Facility Type option is used, the row number in the facility tool tip will be updated properly to reflect the row number in the editor.

The speed for deleting large number of facilities on-screen has been improved

When you right click and select “Edit…” from the popup menu of a facility after having made an on-screen deletion or through the editor, the proper row number will be highlighted in the facility’s editor.

For a Piper model with multiple configurations, changing a well from one type to another type will no longer bring up the apply changes dialog after the well deliverability editor is exited.

Running a deliverability plot at the well on a fixed rate well should no longer cause a crash

Changing the name of a facility to a name that is different then the node name will no longer cause the forecast plot of that facility to show no data when accessed through the Output ? Plots menu option.

A number of refresh issues that occurred after making changes through the Gathering System editor in Cartesian mode have been fixed

Speed of copy, paste, cut and clear functions in the Gathering System editor have been improved

Issues where Piper was incorrectly identifying loop links where none existed and disabling links incorrectly have been rectified

Un-used facility editor will now refresh immediately after on-screen editing changes are applied

Point and Polyline shapefiles with Z or M values can now have their location and line imported and displayed (Z and M values will be ignored)

Issues with the on-screen undo, such as crashes that occurred after being used in conjunction with the Change Facility Type option and Remove Facility option, have been resolved

Using the split link option on loop links now works correctly

Production volumes import option for Production History now works correctly

Friction pressure loss map will no longer show negative values in some directions within loop links

Delivery Point annotation will now display all annotation data after a forecast is run

Any refresh issues with annotations should be fixed

Known Issues

When the only change made through on-screen editing is a change to an existing diameter, the forecast is not deleted.

When new Match data is imported, the existing forecast is not automatically deleted.

The Node Import will import nodes and location data for the current configuration only. The user will need to add imported nodes to other configurations manually.

Copy and paste of UTM data from the GIS Position editor will not add data correctly

Open file will not work after cancelling the import of a legacy Piper file.

The working interest option will at times give the wrong sales gas and working interest gas within a loop. The workaround is to change the location of the loop link to the other end of the loop from where it currently resides.

The liquid loading message displayed in the Status window will describe a well as being switched to “Artificial Lift” even when the “Percent Reduction” or “Add dP when Segment Loads”

The liquid loading message displayed in the Status window will at times not be displayed when a well loads

The scale in the “Design, Preview, and Print Reports” is not reflecting actual scaled values

The Control-L option to view loop links will freeze to the ‘on’ state under certain scenarios. To turn this option off when it appears frozen, right mouse click on-screen, select Custom Internal Layers and then toggle the LoopHighlightLayer to off

The “Percent Reduction” option for liquid loading does not work yet for Transient wells.

When a user begins to build a system by first dropping or importing facilities other then the Delivery Point, link colors will not refresh immediately for the first 5-10 links created or until a refresh is performed. The workaround is to press the present forecast button to initiate a system refresh if link colors do not immediately refresh)

The forecast report of a compressor with fuel gas used will not reflect the fuel gas consumption in the outlet gas rate.

New Features

Pipeline diameter colors are displayed and can be toggled on in the Link Colors editor

Pipeline line thickness is editable and can be changed in the Link Colors editor

Ctrl-L function used to display loop links is now functional

When the split link function is used, link data such as diameter, distance, and elevation are conserved with the resulting new links

A linkage created between facilities existing on the same geodetic location will be given a length of 0.001

Fixed rate wells are now selected as the default well type for all Merak and DP2 files that are imported

Known Issues / Fixes

Saving new production history into a file where production history already exists now correctly overwrite the existing data with the new data

Fixed issue where default pipe units were being displayed in a link annotation

The Delivery Point editor is now correctly sized

Fixed issue where some production history data was being overwritten when legacy files were imported into version 6.0

Corrected issues where node names generated by name generator were not being compared against existing names

Fixed issue where facilities were named using NTS naming convention were being named with the locations of the ¼ unit and block reversed

Resolved crash when a CBM well is dropped on-screen on a date that was not yet a configuration date

Resolved issue where loop links were not being detected when added on-screen in future configurations

GIS Map mode button is now disabled after the first facility is dropped on-screen

Renaming a node in the GIS Position editor will not delete links that use that node as a source or destination in the Gathering System editor

Issue where multiple copy and paste selections in an editor would crash the software has been resolved

Various issues with copy and paste in the gathering system editor have been resolved

All location data is now populated (Lat/long, DLS, NTS, etc) when any change is made to the GIS Position editor as well as after the import of a legacy Piper file

Bearing and Map Distance data will be automatically populated when copy and paste function is used to create links in the Gathering System editor

Time lag when deleting cells in an editor has been fixed

Issue where shapes were printing with additional lines on some color printers has been resolved

Annotation data for CBM wells can be switched between the layers that exist for that well

Flow Type and diameter for link annotation is now displayed

Show/hide function for annotations is now working

Various crashes caused by annotations being displayed have been fixed

Resolved issue where auto-match button was calculating abnormally high pressures when EOT was greater then or equal to MPP

By default the delta pressure in the casing and tubing/annulus will be set to zero

Corrected issue where the scale in the Production plotting editor was not being automatically adjusted when new wells are imported

New Features

Models can be created by dropping and connecting nodes and facilities on-screen

Nodes, facilities and pipelines can be moved, deleted, and redefined in existing gathering systems on-screen

Geodetic map supports Latitude/Longitude, UTM, DLS and NTS coordinate systems

GIS Position Editor has been added to store and edit the geodetic location of all nodes and facilities in the gathering system

Legacy Piper files can be imported and located geodetically

Expanded import interface has been developed for Production History data import

Added location Import to import the geodetic locations of wells from Excel and text files

Added match Import to import current rate and pressure data from Excel and text files

Improved DP2 and Merak import naming conventions

Import module has been developed to geodetically locate image files (PNG, JPG, GIF, TIFF, BMP)

Import module has been developed to underlie Shapefiles (topography, culture, well or pipeline locations)

Added a split link functionality to break links on-screen

Created improved printing interface that allows the ability to add images, text, lines or shapes to the print layout

Tool has been developed to customize naming of nodes and facilities that are dropped on-screen

Cartesian mode option has been added where relative positions are used to define the location of facilities and linkages

Models built or imported in Cartesian mode can be converted to Geodetic mode and located geodetically

New Turner Critical Velocity map has been added to test gas velocities in pipeline segments against the critical velocity needed to lift liquids as defined by Turner

CBM wells are now defined through the Well Deliverability editor

Wellbore Tuning editor interface has been upgraded to promote ease of use

Gasified Liquid Gradient has been replaced with a delta pressure that can be specified by the user

Non-flowing pressures (casing or tubing) can be used to calculated deliverability (C value) for Sandface wells

Known Issues / Fixes

Certain Shapefiles cannot be imported due to an incompatible projections. In a future release these Shapefiles will be able to be loaded.

The GIS Position editor elevation column is currently not tied to the elevation change column in the gathering system editor. In a coming release elevations specified for GIS Positions will be used to calculate relative elevation changes between source and destination nodes.

Issues with pressure loss convergence have been resolved

Loop link convergence has been modified to improve convergence time and to eliminate convergence problems when the flow through loop links is zero.

CBM well convergence issues where CBM wells operating at pressures extremely close to their reservoir pressure had difficulty converging have been resolved

Convergence routines have been modified for improved speed and reliability

Known Issues/Fixes

Issues with pressure loss convergence have been resolved.

Loop link convergence has been modified to improve convergence time and to eliminate convergence problems when the flow through loop links is zero.

F.A.S.T. CBM™ well convergence issues where CBM wells operating at pressures extremely close to their reservoir pressure had difficulty converging have been resolved.

Convergence routines have been modified for improved speed and reliability.

Detailed gas composition issue, where Sandface deliverability wells would shut-in at pressures that were lower then their shut-in pressures, has been resolved.

Fixed problem where copy and paste of new F.A.S.T. CBM™ data over existing F.A.S.T. CBM™ data in the CBM Pools menu would result in an invalid argument error.

F.A.S.T. CBM™ import issue where new well data was not being applied correctly when a CBM layers well name was changed has been resolved.

A total pressure loss link forecast plot has been added.

Editor displays have been updated so that facilities are sorted in the order of the configuration date they were created on.

Known Issues/Fixes

Development well rules have been updated.

CBM development wells no longer show up in the editor list of available nodes.

Issue where CBM development pools were being incorrectly assigned has been resolved.

Issue where CBM development wells were being drawn with the wrong colour has been resolved.

CBM development wells are now automatically updated upon the import of new parent well data.

Issue where CBM development wells were being updated incorrectly upon import of new parent well data has been resolved.

Issue where imported F.A.S.T. CBM™ names were overwriting existing FAST Piper™ names has been resolved.

Known Issues/Fixes

Issues with pressure loss convergence have been resolved.

Loop link convergence has been modified to improve convergence time and to eliminate convergence problems when the flow through loop links is zero.

F.A.S.T. CBM™ well convergence issues where CBM wells operating at pressures extremely close to their reservoir pressure had difficulty converging have been resolved.

Convergence routines have been modified for improved speed and reliability.

Detailed gas composition issue, where Sandface deliverability wells would shut-in at pressures that were lower then their shut-in pressures, has been resolved.

Fixed problem where copy and paste of new F.A.S.T. CBM™ data over existing F.A.S.T. CBM™ data in the CBM Pools menu would result in an invalid argument error.

F.A.S.T. CBM™ import issue where new well data was not being applied correctly when a CBM layers well name was changed has been resolved.

A total pressure loss link forecast plot has been added.

Editor displays have been updated so that facilities are sorted in the order of the configuration date they were created on.

New Features

Improvements/additions to CBM Wells feature, including binary mixtures (Methane; CH4 and Carbon Dioxide; CO2). Added Matrix Shrinkage support; Seidle & Huitt as well as Constant Exponential Permeability Increase (CEPI).

CBM Development Well Manager changes: split the CBM Well editor into Producing Wells and Development Wells tabs; split the CBM Pools editor into Producing Wells and Development Wells tabs.

Added input on-stream date for CBM development wells.

There are now five (5) user definable columns for sorting Development Well Manager to facilitate various development scenarios.

Updated FAST CBM™ file (*.CBM) open and selection capabilities for populating CBM Well, CBM Wellbores, CBM Pools, CBM Relative Permeability, CBM Gas Properties, and CBM Matrix Shrinkage editors.

Added support for multi-well CBM pools.

Upgraded calculations for multiple layer CBM wells to calculate sandface flowing pressure for each layer and test for liquid loading at each layer

Added a CBM Fixed Rate option to CBM wells in CBM Well Options editor.

Liquid Loading logic added to Wellbores (Sandface, Transient, and CBM wells) such that wells are now tested at the sandface and End of Tubing.

Updated Sandface C calculation in the Wellbore Tuning editor to include liquid loading logic.

Added wellbores to CBM and Transient Wells.

Added Artificial Lift and Artificial Lift-No Wellbores.

Added Coleman et al diagnostic curves to the Wellbore Tuning Plot.

Added Coleman et al liquid loading prediction for forecast calculations.

Removed concept of liquid loaded pressure loss from wellbores and replaced with new liquid loading logic and concept of Gasified Liquid columns to wellbores.

Moved Turner et al and new Coleman et al test switch for liquid loaded wells from Well Options to Wellbore Descriptions editor.

Added support for artificial lift with and without an explicit wellbore description. Artificial lift is assumes a positive displacement device not utilizing reservoir energy to lift liquids production. Artificial Lift is now included for sandface, transient, and CBM wells.

Added wellbores for transient wells.

Added sorting to most editors to make it easier to organize and find input data.

Added Measured Gas Line and Measured Water Line Pressure support to the Well Options and CBM Well Options. The Measured Gas Line Pressure will greatly enhance tuning gathering systems as these values can be displayed with the wells and can be used to generate Bubble Maps highlighting the difference between measured and calculated well line pressures.

Added option to direct water from CBM wells down the gas pipeline. Previous versions assumed water from CBM wells would be separated and transported from the lease by an alternate method.

Enhanced calculations to use pseudo-pressures for transient wells.

Enhanced calculations to use pseudo-time also known as Material Balance Time for transient wells.

Known Issues/Fixes

Development wells require designation of a parent from the Producing Well tab from the CBM Wells editor.

Development wells tab of the CBM Wells editor used to preload future CBM wells independent of the Project Manager. This is now resolved.

Greatly reduced time to open and close editors for large files.

Improved Cut/Copy/paste functionality.

Reduced time to load and save files (most noticeable with large files).

Enhanced the forecast solution routines to use over-relaxation techniques to increase the solver’s reliability. In most cases the software will be faster and more reliable but the enhancements will slow the solution time.

Revised License Manager includes a “Checkout” system to allow network installed users to borrow a license for short periods such as field trips.

Revised water compressibility to be internally calculated based on pressure instead of explicitly input by the user.

Changed the total compressibility, for transient wells, to be calculated based on reservoir pressure instead of being explicitly input by the user.

Changed Variable Pressure loss facility input requirements to include the gas throughput rate and current operating pressure. The previous version calculated these parameters internally but contributed greatly to system instabilities especially when the pressure loss was included inside a flow loop.

Changed functionality of fixed pressure loss in Fixed Pressure loss, Separators, and Refrigeration facilities to test viability of the input pressure loss. If not achievable, then pressure loss is reduced until gas flow through the facility is reduced to zero. This change only affects fixed pressure losses in flow loops.

New Features

Added Binary mixtures (Methane; CH4 and Carbon Dioxide; CO2) to CBM Wells.

Added Matrix Shrinkage support; Seidle & Huitt as well as Constant Exponential Permeability Increase (CEPI) to CBM Wells.

Modified the CBM Development Well Manager:
• Split the CBM Well editor into “Producing Wells” and “Development Wells” tabs.
• Split the CBM Pools editor into “Producing Wells” and “Development Wells”tabs.
• Development wells tab of the CBM Wells editor used to preload future CBM wells independent of the Project Manager.
• Development wells require designation of a parent from the Producing Well tab from the CBM Wells editor.
• Input on-stream date for CBM development wells.
• Includes five (5) user definable columns for sorting Development Well Manager to facilitate various development scenarios.

Updated FAST CBM™ file (*.CBM) open and selection capabilities for populating. CBM Well, CBM Wellbores, CBM Pools, CBM Relative Permeability, CBM Gas Properties, and CBM Matrix Shrinkage editors.

Added support for multi-well CBM pools.

Upgraded calculations for multiple layer CBM wells to calculate sandface flowing pressure for each layer and test for liquid loading at each layer.

Added a CBM Fixed Rate option to CBM wells in CBM Well Options editor.

Liquid Loading logic added such that wells are now tested at the sandface and End of Tubing for Wellbores (Sandface, Transient, and CBM wells).

Updated Sandface C calculation in the Wellbore Tuning editor to include liquid loading logic.

Added wellbores to CBM and Transient Wells.

Added Artificial Lift and Artificial Lift-No Wellbores.

Added Coleman et al diagnostic curves to the Wellbore Tuning Plot.

Added Coleman et al liquid loading prediction for forecast calculations.

Removed concept of liquid loaded pressure loss from wellbores and replaced with new liquid loading logic and concept of Gasified Liquid columns to wellbores.

Moved Turner et al and new Coleman et al test switch for liquid loaded wells from Well Options to Wellbore Descriptions editor.

Added support for artificial lift with and without an explicit wellbore description. Artificial lift is assumes a positive displacement device not utilizing reservoir energy to lift liquids production.  Artificial Lift is now included for Sandface, Transient, and CBM Wells.

Greatly reduced time to open and close editors for large files.

Added sorting to most editors to make it easier to organize and find input data.

Added Measured Gas Line and Measured Water Line Pressure support to the Well Options and CBM Well Options.  The Measured Gas Line Pressure will greatly enhance tuning gathering systems as these values can be displayed with the wells and can be used to generate Bubble Maps highlighting the difference between measured and calculated well line pressures.

Added option to direct water from CBM wells down the gas pipeline.  Previous versions assumed water from CBM wells would be separated and transported from the lease by an alternate method.

Improved Cut/Copy/Paste functionality.

Reduced time to load and save files (most noticeable with large files).

Enhanced the forecast solution routines to use over-relaxation techniques to increase the solver's reliability.  In most cases the software will be faster and more reliable but the enhancements will slow the solution time.

Revised License Manager includes a “Checkout” system to allow network installed users to borrow a license for short periods such as field trips.

Revised water compressibility to be internally calculated based on pressure instead of explicitly input by the user.

Enhanced calculations to use pseudo-pressures and pseudo-time (also known as Material Balance Time) for Transient Wells.

Changed the total compressibility to be calculated based on reservoir pressure for Transient Wells, instead of being explicitly input by the user.

Added wellbores to Transient Wells.

Known Issues/Fixes

Changed Variable Pressure loss facility input requirements to include the gas throughput rate and current operating pressure. The previous version calculated these parameters internally but contributed greatly to system instabilities especially when the pressure loss was included inside a flow loop.

Changed the functionality of fixed pressure loss in Fixed Pressure loss, Separators, and Refrigeration facilities to test viability of the input pressure loss.  If not achievable, then pressure loss is reduced until gas flow through the facility is reduced to zero. This change only affects fixed pressure losses in flow loops.

Known Issues/Fixes

Fixed the wellbore tuning editor so that the data in the editor accurately reflects the date selected in the wellbore tuning editor date tree. If you selected the date via the Configuration Date in the main interface or in the Project Manager prior to opening the wellbore tuning editor, the data was loaded correctly. However, if you selected a new date in the editor Date Tree in the Wellbore Tuning editor, the data would not change to reflect the selected date.

Disallowed negative values for Offtake and Intake facilities. Use of an intake facility with a negative rate to remove gas from the system effectively created an Offtake facility without the minimum pressure limit. This can result in non-viable solutions such as negative pressures.

Changed the editor to map connection functionality such that the map is not redrawn every time the Configuration Date is changed in the editor Date Tree. As files become large, the time required to re-draw the map was becoming onerous.

Fixed the calculation of cumulative values in the annual well tabular reports.

Fixed the re-sizing of facilities and labels issue that occurred after cancelling a print job to Adobe Acrobat Writer (PDF) at the point where you name the output file.

Fixed an export problem in files with multiple configuration dates in which some future “pipeline links” were not included.

Improved convergence routines for wells.

Fixed calculation issues for working interests at Offtakes and through Loops Links. Also fixed some associated tabular report issues.

Changed the Go To function on the Map to accept long names.

Changed Bubble Maps scaling so it does not include the placement of the labels in its calculations. Also fixed a problem with display of the bubble map legend.

Fixed problems with matching the production history cumulative gas production with the model forecast of gas production where the dates overlap for monthly and daily forecasts.

Fixed a problem with the CBM import feature in which only the last gas composition and relative permeability data were being imported from F.A.S.T. CBM™ files.

Known Issues/Fixes

Fixed the Gathering System (Link) editor to eliminate generation of duplicate links. This problem was most often encountered in systems with loops and systems with future gathering system changes using the Configuration Manager.

Resolved several other issues related to applying / scheduling link changes through future configurations.

Changed most read-only (Grayed-out) cells in the input editors to read-write (Light Blue). Data input to light-blue cells is not used in the calculations whereas data input to white cells is used in the forecasting calculations. Consequently, the color of some cells changes but there is no change to the software’s use of this data. This change was made in response to user requests to be able to cut/copy/paste all data in the editors more reliably. This also resolved some obscure crash issues with pasting.

Fixed the editors so that user changes to the row-order of editor data are stored. For example, this eliminates the problem wherein pipeline links added to the Gathering System (Link) editor are not moved by the software.

Improved the speed of pasting in all editors.

Fixed two errors wherein the software would crash when deleting many rows of data.

Fixed the Wellbore Tuning plot so that the Current Operating Conditions symbol shows up on the plot.

Changed the solution strategy for low drawdown wells. Low drawdown wells can sometimes reach a point where the software cannot finalize a solution – it cannot resolve if the well should produce or be shut-in. The new solution will allow the software to resolve most wells more quickly and more reliably but there are still some scenarios in multiphase flow that may cause problems. Please contact us at piper@fekete.com or call us at 403.213.4200 or 1.800.625.2488 (toll-free) if you suspect this situation may be causing your runs to abort.

Revised the input editors so that forecast records are not deleted when the OK button is selected and no changes were made to the editor.

Fixed a display problem wherein updates to the remarks column in the editors were not be shown in the map.

Fixed an initialization problem in the pools associated with transient wells.

Fixed transient wells so that the well comes on-stream correctly when the on-stream date does not fall on a configuration date.

Resolved the “unmapped flow regime” error message such that it should no longer appear.

Fixed production plots such that new wells are added reliably. Also fixed production history importing such that matches of old wells are retained.

Fixed the Access Database code so that forecast runs made with large database files will not slow down.

Fixed a problem with label scaling in map print-outs

New Features

Includes an analytical coal bed methane (CBM) forecasting module. This module utilizes the forecasting portion of FAST CBM™.

An over-relaxation technique has been added to promote quicker and more reliable solutions for sandface wells and loop links.

A new generalized pressure loss facility has been added to use a node-based user-defined “fixed” or “variable” pressure loss. The intent of this facility is to let the user categorize and enter a step-change pressure loss that is a fixed (hydrostatic-type) or variable (friction-type).

Input editors improve user awareness of configuration changes, add more Windows-based functionality (resizable editors & columns), and facilitate cut/copy/paste operations. In addition the “Apply Process” editor has been improved to handle large cases.

A new bubble map has been added to provide a visual representation of the pressure differential between measured line pressure and calculated line pressure at each well.

The new multi-page printing feature allows the user to expand the print area to many pages that can be placed side-by-side. Selection of the optimum number of print pages can be done interactively in print preview mode, and blank pages can be flagged to not print (which reduces paper wastage).

FAST Piper™ now utilizes MS Access 2000, Oracle and SQL Server (vs. Access 97) to store calculated results from present and future forecasts. This allows model forecasts to exceed 100 MB (usually for large input files with numerous future configurations and long forecast duration). All forecasts continue to default to MS Access 97 but the user or database manager can change the default to any of the other three databases. Note: Oracle and SQL Server will require setup and login assignment by your database administrator prior to use.

Known Issues/Fixes

Fixes have been made to the following issues:

• Compressor fuel gas volumes/rates were incorrectly calculated when the compressor curves option was selected and current operating conditions required a “Recycle” volume.
• During a forecast run (with multiple configurations), if deliverability was changed after a well was shut-in, the well would not be re-tested and consequently would not restart.
• Future changes in delivery point pressure would be delayed for 1 timestep.
• Sandface wells with high friction and pressure loss in the wellbore would sometimes shut-in when valid solutions existed. In extreme cases the forecast would abort.

Known Issues/Fixes

A recently discovered calculation error has been fixed. This error is considered serious and so all known users are being notified. The error results in F.A.S.T. Piper™ under-predicting production rates because certain wells are shut-in inappropriately. Fortunately, the error only occurs under certain conditions. These conditions are outlined below:
• A user-defined recovery factor was assigned to at least one pool in the Pools Editor.
• A future forecast has been run.
• A pool with a user-defined recovery factor has reached its assigned recovery factor limit.
• A change is then made to any “time-based sensitive data” at a configuration date between the Forecast Start Date and the point-in-time when the wells in an affected pool are shut-in.
All of the above conditions must exist before this error will occur.

When all of these conditions exist, the flag that tracks the producing status of wells in a pool with a user-defined recovery factor is not re-tested when the forecast is restarted. Consequently, all wells in affected pools remain shut-in at the time the run is re-started.

Workarounds: Until you install Version 5.309, you can use either of the following two workarounds:
• Delete all user-defined Pool Recovery Factors in the Pools Editor.
-OR-
• Start all forecasts at the first configuration. You can achieve this by clicking on the Delete Forecast Button in the Configuration Tab. This will override the program’s normal restart from the last configuration date strategy. Re-starting forecasts from the first configuration will always re-set the status of each pool’s recovery limit flag.

Please visit the upgrade page to download the latest version or contact us directly for a CD.

Known Issues/Fixes

Fixed a bug wherein the deliverability calculations for some wells would not be handled correctly in future system configurations. This error can only occur if more than one configuration date exists in a file. The problem occurs when the software erroneously reports that:
• "Can't calculate wellhead C for well: WellName. Flowing pressure exceeds static wellhead pressure." But the well continues to produce.
-AND/OR-
• "Test Well: WellName C value has changed. Old values: C = 1.953101e-005 10^3m^3/d/(kPa^2)^n, n = 1.000000. New values: C = 0.000000e+10^3m^3/d/(kPa^2)^n, N = 1.000000. Well : WellName has dropped below minimum specified gas rate limit."

This well is shut-in even though no change was made to trigger recalculation of C.

Fixed a bug wherein the software would crash if a number was typed into a cell in the compressor editor and then changed the units. Hitting Enter or Tab or "clicking in another cell" after entering a value will usually alleviate this issue.

New Features

Bubble Maps, Production History/Forecast Plotter, and more pressure loss correlations have been added.

New Pressure Loss Correlations: Additional single phase and multiphase correlations have been added. The user can now utilize separate correlations for wellbores and pipelines. In addition, the pressure loss correlation for each wellbore maybe specified separately. Old files (when first read by version 5.300) will always default to use the original correlations to maintain calculation integrity. There are small differences in the "old" and "new" calculations due mainly to changes in the methods used to calculate gas properties. Tuning parameters for Roughness and Correlation Adjustment have been added. As always, we recommend that tuning parameters not be adjusted unless the accuracy of all pipeline diameters, gas flow rates and pressure measurements have been confirmed!

Production History/Forecast Plotter: Visually compare historical production with F.A.S.T. Piper™ forecast data. Allows the user to confirm that a good match between historical and forecast rates has been achieved. It also provides confirmation of the input original gas-in-place volumes.

Isobaric Pressure Maps – Bubble Maps: Provides a visual representation of the backpressure at each well in the system in Map mode. The user can customize the pressure ranges and colours in the bubble map.

Project Manager: The Scheduler dialogue will now only be activated when more than one configuration case exists. This should help prompt users when they inadvertently create a future system configuration change.

Updated Help Manual: The help manual has been revised to include support for the Release Notes in F.A.S.T. Piper™.

Improved Stability: The operation of the program is more stable and user friendly!

Improved Forecast & System Changes Reports: All reports have been updated and streamlined.

Net Elevation Checker for Looped Systems: Check on the net elevation of the destination node for each link relative to the Delivery Point by placing the mouse pointer over the link. The net elevation is shown in the Status Box. If the mouse crosses a Loop Link then the net elevation will reflect the difference in elevation between each path from the Delivery Point to the Destination node of the Loop Link. This value should be zero. If not, then there is an imbalance in the loop elevations. To activate this mode you must be in Map mode and then press the "Ctrl + L" keys. To exit the mode then press the "Ctrl + L" keys again or perform an edit on the file.

New Features

New Graphics and Plotting Engine: The interface system for plots has been rewritten to be more intuitive and user friendly.

Intakes and Offtakes: With these facilities a fixed rate of gas can be added to or removed from a gathering system.

Well Profiles: The user can now enter a forecast or production profile of fixed gas rates.

Liquid Columns in Wellbore Tuning: Liquid columns in the wellbore can be accounted for using the “Stagnant liquid column ?P” in the wellbore tuning editor.

System Changes Reports: Trying to track changes in a large system? The system changes reports outputs the original configuration with a listing of all the subsequent changes.

Improved Case/Configuration Manipulation in Project Manager: Cases and configurations are now easier to move, delete and duplicate. Simply right mouse click on the row to bring up the options.

Updated Help Manual: The help manual has been revised to include support for the Release Notes in F.A.S.T. Piper™.

New Features

Configuration Manager: Time based model management. Reconfigure model at any period. Restart a forecast. View forecast results in the gathering system map at any period.

Advanced Reservoir Modeling: Connected, Water Drive, and Over-Pressured features have been added.

Database Management: Input data and forecast results managed using database technology.

Unlimited File Size: The number of pipeline links, wells, pools, compressors etc. are only limited by your PC's memory.