scholarly journals MRST-Shale: An Open-Source Framework for Generic Numerical Modeling of Unconventional Shale and Tight Gas Reservoirs

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bin Wang
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Modeling ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Shale Gas ◽  
History Matching ◽  
Hydraulic Fractures ◽  
Natural Fractures ◽  
Gas Reservoirs ◽  
Pressure Drops ◽  
Shale Gas Reservoirs ◽  
Fracture Models

We present a generic and open-source framework for the numerical modeling of the expected transport and storage mechanisms in unconventional gas reservoirs. These unconventional reservoirs typically contain natural fractures at multiple scales. Considering the importance of these fractures in shale gas production, we perform a rigorous study on the accuracy of different fracture models. The framework is validated against an industrial simulator and is used to perform a history-matching study on the Barnett shale. This work presents an open-source code that leverages cutting-edge numerical modeling capabilities like automatic differentiation, stochastic fracture modeling, multi-continuum modeling and other explicit and discrete fracture models. We modified the conventional mass balance equation to account for the physical mechanisms that are unique to organic-rich source rocks. Some of these include the use of an adsorption isotherm, a dynamic permeability-correction function, and an embedded discrete fracture model (EDFM) with fracture-well connectivity. We explore the accuracy of the EDFM for modeling hydraulically-fractured shale-gas wells, which could be connected to natural fractures of finite or infinite conductivity, and could deform during production. Simulation results indicates that although the EDFM provides a computationally efficient model for describing flow in natural and hydraulic fractures, it could be inaccurate under these three conditions: 1. when the fracture conductivity is very low. 2. when the fractures are not orthogonal to the underlying Cartesian grid blocks, and 3. when sharp pressure drops occur in large grid blocks with insufficient mesh refinement. Each of these results are very significant considering that most of the fluids in these ultra-low matrix permeability reservoirs get produced through the interconnected natural fractures, which are expected to have very low fracture conductivities. We also expect sharp pressure drops near the fractures in these shale gas reservoirs, and it is very unrealistic to expect the hydraulic fractures or complex fracture networks to be orthogonal to any structured grid. In conclusion, this paper presents an open-source numerical framework to facilitate the modeling of the expected physical mechanisms in shale-gas reservoirs. The code was validated against published results and a commercial simulator. We also performed a history-matching study on a naturally-fractured Barnett shale-gas well considering adsorption, gas slippage & diffusion and fracture closure as well as proppant embedment, using the framework presented. This work provides the first open-source code that can be used to facilitate the modeling and optimization of fractured shale-gas reservoirs. To provide the numerical flexibility to accurately model stochastic natural fractures that are connected to hydraulically-fractured wells, it is built atop other related open-source codes. We also present the first rigorous study on the accuracy of using EDFM to model both hydraulic fractures and natural fractures that may or may not be interconnected.

scholarly journals A Novel Optimization Workflow Coupling Statistics-Based Methods to Determine Optimal Well Spacing and Economics in Shale Gas Reservoir with Complex Natural Fractures

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 3965
Author(s):  
Cheng Chang ◽  
Chuxi Liu ◽  
Yongming Li ◽  
Xiaoping Li ◽  
Wei Yu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Shale Gas ◽  
History Matching ◽  
Net Present Value ◽  
Hydraulic Fractures ◽  
Natural Fractures ◽  
Gas Reservoirs ◽  
Gas Reservoir ◽  
Shale Gas Reservoir ◽  
Shale Gas Reservoirs ◽  
Well Spacing

In order to account for big uncertainties such as well interferences, hydraulic and natural fractures’ properties and matrix properties in shale gas reservoirs, it is paramount to develop a robust and efficient approach for well spacing optimization. In this study, a novel well spacing optimization workflow is proposed and applied to a real shale gas reservoir with two-phase flow, incorporating the systematic analysis of uncertainty reservoir and fracture parameters. One hundred combinations of these uncertainties, considering their interactions, were gathered from assisted history matching solutions, which were calibrated by the actual field production history from the well in the Sichuan Basin. These combinations were used as direct input to the well spacing optimization workflow, and five “wells per section” spacing scenarios were considered, with spacing ranging from 157 m (517 ft) to 472 m (1550 ft). An embedded discrete fracture model was used to efficiently model both hydraulic fractures and complex natural fractures non-intrusively, along with a commercial compositional reservoir simulator. Economic analysis after production simulation was then carried out, by collecting cumulative gas and water production after 20 years. The net present value (NPV) distributions of the different well spacing scenarios were calculated and presented as box-plots with a NPV ranging from 15 to 35 million dollars. It was found that the well spacing that maximizes the project NPV for this study is 236 m (775 ft), with the project NPV ranging from 15 to 35 million dollars and a 50th percentile (P50) value of 25.9 million dollars. In addition, spacings of 189 m (620 ft) and 315 m (1033 ft) can also produce substantial project profits, but are relatively less satisfactory than the 236 m (775 ft) case when comparing the P25, P50 and P75 values. The results obtained from this study provide key insights into the field pilot design of well spacing in shale gas reservoirs with complex natural fractures.

scholarly journals History Matching and Forecast of Shale Gas Production Considering Hydraulic Fracture Closure

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1634 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juhyun Kim ◽  
Youngjin Seo ◽  
Jihoon Wang ◽  
Youngsoo Lee
Keyword(s):  
Shale Gas ◽  
Hydraulic Fracture ◽  
History Matching ◽  
Gas Flow ◽  
Fluid Pressure ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Hydraulic Fractures ◽  
Gas Reservoirs ◽  
Shale Gas Reservoirs ◽  
Fracture Closure

Most shale gas reservoirs have extremely low permeability. Predicting their fluid transport characteristics is extremely difficult due to complex flow mechanisms between hydraulic fractures and the adjacent rock matrix. Recently, studies adopting the dynamic modeling approach have been proposed to investigate the shape of the flow regime between induced and natural fractures. In this study, a production history matching was performed on a shale gas reservoir in Canada’s Horn River basin. Hypocenters and densities of the microseismic signals were used to identify the hydraulic fracture distributions and the stimulated reservoir volume. In addition, the fracture width decreased because of fluid pressure reduction during production, which was integrated with the dynamic permeability change of the hydraulic fractures. We also incorporated the geometric change of hydraulic fractures to the 3D reservoir simulation model and established a new shale gas modeling procedure. Results demonstrate that the accuracy of the predictions for shale gas flow improved. We believe that this technique will enrich the community’s understanding of fluid flows in shale gas reservoirs.

scholarly journals An Analytical Model for Production Analysis of Hydraulically Fractured Shale Gas Reservoirs Considering Irregular Stimulated Regions

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 5899
Author(s):  
Kaixuan Qiu ◽  
Heng Li
Keyword(s):  
Differential Equations ◽  
Laplace Transform ◽  
Analytical Model ◽  
Shale Gas ◽  
History Matching ◽  
Complex Geometry ◽  
Hydraulic Fractures ◽  
Gas Reservoirs ◽  
Shale Gas Reservoirs ◽  
Time Space

Shale gas reservoirs are typically developed by multistage, propped hydraulic fractures. The induced fractures have a complex geometry and can be represented by a high permeability region near each fracture, also called stimulated region. In this paper, a new integrative analytical solution coupled with gas adsorption, non-Darcy flow effect is derived for shale gas reservoirs. The modified pseudo-pressure and pseudo-time are defined to linearize the nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs) and thus the governing PDEs are transformed into ordinary differential equations (ODEs) by integration, instead of the Laplace transform. The rate vs. pseudo-time solution in real-time space can be obtained, instead of using the numerical inversion for Laplace transform. The analytical model is validated by comparison with the numerical model. According to the fitting results, the calculation accuracy of analytic solution is almost 99%. Besides the computational convenience, another advantage of the model is that it has been validated to be feasible to estimate the pore volume of hydraulic region, stimulated region, and matrix region, and even the shape of regions is irregular and asymmetrical for multifractured horizontal wells. The relative error between calculated volume and given volume is less than 10%, which meets the engineering requirements. The model is finally applied to field production data for history matching and forecasting.

Modeling of Hydraulic Fracture Network Propagation in Shale Gas Reservoirs

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chong Hyun Ahn ◽  
Robert Dilmore ◽  
John Yilin Wang
Keyword(s):  
Shale Gas ◽  
Hydraulic Fracture ◽  
Fracture Propagation ◽  
Fracture Network ◽  
Hydraulic Fractures ◽  
Natural Fractures ◽  
Gas Reservoirs ◽  
Complex Fracture ◽  
Shale Gas Reservoirs ◽  
Hydraulic Fracture Network

The most effective method for stimulating shale gas reservoirs is horizontal drilling with successful multi-stage hydraulic fracture treatments. Recent fracture diagnostic technologies have shown that complex fracture networks are commonly created in the field. The interaction between preexisting natural fractures and the propagating hydraulic fracture is a critical factor affecting the complex fracture network. However, many existing numerical models simulate only planar hydraulic fractures without considering the pre-existing fractures in the formation. The shale formations already contain a large number of natural fractures, so an accurate fracture propagation model needs to be developed to optimize the fracturing process. In this paper, we first understood the interaction between hydraulic and natural fractures. We then developed a new, coupled numerical model that integrates dynamic fracture propagation, reservoir flow simulation, and the interactions between hydraulic fractures and pre-existing natural fractures. By using the developed model, we conducted parametric studies to quantify the effects of rock toughness, stress anisotropy, and natural fracture spacing on the geometry and conductivities of the hydraulic fracture network. Lastly, we introduced new parmeters Fracture Network Index (FNI) and Width Anistropy (Wani) which may describe the characteristics of the fracture network in shale gas reservoirs. This new knowledge helps one understand and optimize the stimulation of shale gas reservoirs.

scholarly journals The Application of Integrated Assisted History Matching and Embedded Discrete Fracture Model Workflow for Well Spacing Optimization in Shale Gas Reservoirs with Complex Natural Fractures

Geofluids ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Qiwei Li ◽  
Jianfa Wu ◽  
Cheng Chang ◽  
Hongzhi Yang ◽  
Chuxi Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Shale Gas ◽  
Reservoir Simulation ◽  
History Matching ◽  
Fracture Model ◽  
Natural Fractures ◽  
Gas Reservoirs ◽  
Discrete Fracture Model ◽  
Shale Gas Reservoirs ◽  
Well Spacing ◽  
Discrete Fracture

An appropriate well spacing plan is critical for the economic development of shale gas reservoirs. The biggest challenge for well spacing optimization is interpreting the subsurface uncertainties associated with hydraulic and natural fractures. Another challenge is the existence of complex natural fractures. This work applied an integrated well spacing optimization workflow in shale gas reservoirs of the Sichuan Basin in China with both hydraulic and natural fractures. The workflow consists of five components: data preparation, reservoir simulation, estimated ultimate recovery (EUR) analysis, economic calculation, and well spacing optimization. Firstly, the multiple realizations of thirteen uncertain parameters of matrix and fractures, including matrix permeability and porosity, three relative permeability parameters, hydraulic fracture height, half-length, width, conductivity, water saturation, and natural fracture number, length, and conductivity, were captured by the assisted history matching (AHM). The fractures were modeled by the embedded discrete fracture model (EDFM) accurately and efficiently. Then, 84 AHM solutions combining with five well spacing scenarios from 517 ft to 1550 ft would generate 420 simulation cases. After reservoir simulation of these 420 cases, we forecasted the long-term gas production for each well spacing scenario. Gas EUR degradation and well interference would imply the critical well spacing. The net present value (NPV) for all scenarios would be calculated and trained by K -nearest neighbors (KNN) proxy to better understand the relationship between well spacing and NPV. In this study, the optimum well spacing was determined as 793 ft, corresponding with a maximum NPV of 18 million USD, with the contribution of hydraulic fractures and natural fractures.

History Matching of Stimulated Reservoir Volume of Shale-Gas Reservoirs Using an Iterative Ensemble Smoother

SPE Journal ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (02) ◽  
pp. 346-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haibin Chang ◽  
Dongxiao Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Shale Gas ◽  
History Matching ◽  
Fracture Network ◽  
Hydraulic Fractures ◽  
Gas Reservoirs ◽  
Stimulated Reservoir Volume ◽  
Reservoir Volume ◽  
Shale Gas Reservoirs ◽  
Iterative Ensemble Smoother

Summary Economic production from shale-gas reservoirs typically relies on the drilling of horizontal wells and hydraulic fracturing in multiple stages. In addition to the creation of hydraulic fractures, hydraulic-fracturing treatment can also reopen existing natural fractures, which can create a complex-fracture network. The area that is covered by the fracture network is usually termed the stimulated reservoir volume (SRV), and the spatial extent and properties of the SRV are crucial for shale-gas-production behavior. In this work, we propose a method for history matching of the SRV of shale-gas reservoirs using production data. For each hydraulic-fracturing stage, the fracture network is parameterized with one major fracture of the hydraulic fractures and the SRV that represents minor hydraulic fractures and reopened natural fractures. The major fracture is modeled explicitly, whereas the SRV is modeled by the dual-permeability/dual-porosity (DP/DP) model. Moreover, the spatial extent of the SRV is parameterized by the level-set-function values on a predefined representing-node system. After parameterization, an iterative ensemble smoother is used to perform history matching. Both single-stage-fracturing cases and multistage-fracturing cases are set up to test the performance of the proposed method. Numerical results demonstrate that by use of the proposed method, the SRV can be well-recognized by assimilating production data.

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