Apparatus and Method for Pulse Testing a Formation

A system for pressure testing a formation, comprising:

• a downhole tool configured to measure formation pressure;
• storage containing pressure parameters of a plurality of simulated formation pressure tests;
• and
• a formation pressure test controller coupled to the downhole tool and the storage,
• wherein for each of a plurality of sequential pressure testing stages of a formation pressure test, the formation pressure test controller:
• retrieves formation pressure measurements from the downhole tool;
• identifies one of the plurality of simulated formation pressure tests comprising pressure parameters closest to corresponding formation pressure values derived from the formation pressure measurements;
• and
• determines a flow rate to apply by the downhole tool in a next stage of the test based on the identified one of the plurality of simulated formation pressure tests.

A computer-readable storage medium encoded with instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:

• retrieve formation pressure measurements from a downhole formation pressure measurement tool;
• identify one of a plurality of simulated formation pressure tests comprising pressure parameters closest to corresponding formation pressure values derived from the formation pressure measurements;
• and
• determine a flow rate to apply by the downhole tool in a next stage of the test based on the identified one of the plurality of simulated formation pressure tests.