Southern North Sea Tight-Gas Field Development Planning Using Hydraulic Fracturing

Author(s):  
Bart Vos ◽  
Josef R. Shaoul ◽  
Klaas Johan De Koning
2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Edmund Langford ◽  
George Douglas Westera ◽  
Brian Holland ◽  
Bogdan Bocaneala ◽  
Mark Robert Norris

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aamir Lokhandwala ◽  
Vaibhav Joshi ◽  
Ankit Dutt

Abstract Hydraulic fracturing is a widespread well stimulation treatment in the oil and gas industry. It is particularly prevalent in shale gas fields, where virtually all production can be attributed to the practice of fracturing. It is also used in the context of tight oil and gas reservoirs, for example in deep-water scenarios where the cost of drilling and completion is very high; well productivity, which is dictated by hydraulic fractures, is vital. The correct modeling in reservoir simulation can be critical in such settings because hydraulic fracturing can dramatically change the flow dynamics of a reservoir. What presents a challenge in flow simulation due to hydraulic fractures is that they introduce effects that operate on a different length and time scale than the usual dynamics of a reservoir. Capturing these effects and utilizing them to advantage can be critical for any operator in context of a field development plan for any unconventional or tight field. This paper focuses on a study that was undertaken to compare different methods of simulating hydraulic fractures to formulate a field development plan for a tight gas field. To maintaing the confidentiality of data and to showcase only the technical aspect of the workflow, we will refer to the asset as Field A in subsequent sections of this paper. Field A is a low permeability (0.01md-0.1md), tight (8% to 12% porosity) gas-condensate (API ~51deg and CGR~65 stb/mmscf) reservoir at ~3000m depth. Being structurally complex, it has a large number of erosional features and pinch-outs. The study involved comparing analytical fracture modeling, explicit modeling using local grid refinements, tartan gridding, pseudo-well connection approach and full-field unconventional fracture modeling. The result of the study was to use, for the first time for Field A, a system of generating pseudo well connections to simulate hydraulic fractures. The approach was found to be efficient both terms of replicating field data for a 10 year period while drastically reducing simulation runtime for the subsequent 10 year-period too. It helped the subsurface team to test multiple scenarios in a limited time-frame leading to improved project management.


1991 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 469-475 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. D. Heinrich

AbstractThe Ravenspurn South Gas Field is located in the Sole Pit Basin of the Southern North Sea in UKCS Block 42/30, extending into Blocks 42/29 and 43/26. The gas is trapped in sandstones of the Permian Lower Leman Sandstone Formation, which was deposited by aeolian and fluvial processes in a desert environment. Reservoir quality is poor, and variations are mostly facies-controlled. The best reservoir quality occurs in aeolian sands wth porosities of up to 23% and permeabilities up to 90 md. The trap is a NW-SE-striking faulted anticline: top seal is provided by the Silverpit Shales directly overlying the reservoir, and by Zechstein halites. Field development began early in 1988 and first gas was delivered in October 1989. Production is in tandem with the Cleeton Field, about 5 miles southwest of Ravenspurn South, as the Villages project. Initial reserves are 700 BCF and field life is expected to be 20 years.


2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathieu Darnet ◽  
Peter Van Loevezijn ◽  
Frans Hollman ◽  
Rob Wervelman ◽  
Matthias Bruehl ◽  
...  

2003 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 691-698
Author(s):  
M. J. Sarginson

AbstractThe Clipper Gas Field is a moderate-sized faulted anticlinal trap located in Blocks 48/19a, 48/19c and 48/20a within the Sole Pit area of the southern North Sea Gas Basin. The reservoir is formed by the Lower Permian Leman Sandstone Formation, lying between truncated Westphalian Coal Measures and the Upper Permian evaporitic Zechstein Group which form source and seal respectively. Reservoir permeability is very low, mainly as a result of compaction and diagenesis which accompanied deep burial of the Sole Pit Trough, a sub basin within the main gas basin. The Leman Sandstone Formation is on average about 715 ft thick, laterally heterogeneous and zoned vertically with the best reservoir properties located in the middle of the formation. Porosity is fair with a field average of 11.1%. Matrix permeability, however, is less than one millidarcy on average. Well productivity depends on intersecting open natural fractures or permeable streaks within aeolian dune slipface sandstones. Field development started in 1988. 24 development wells have been drilled to date. Expected recoverable reserves are 753 BCF.


2016 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil Tupper ◽  
Eric Matthews ◽  
Gareth Cooper ◽  
Andy Furniss ◽  
Tim Hicks ◽  
...  

The Waitsia Field represents a new commercial play for the onshore north Perth Basin with potential to deliver substantial reserves and production to the domestic gas market. The discovery was made in 2014 by deepening of the Senecio–3 appraisal well to evaluate secondary reservoir targets. The well successfully delineated the extent of the primary target in the Upper Permian Dongara and Wagina sandstones of the Senecio gas field but also encountered a combination of good-quality and tight gas pay in the underlying Lower Permian Kingia and High Cliff sandstones. The drilling of the Waitsia–1 and Waitsia–2 wells in 2015, and testing of Senecio-3 and Waitsia-1, confirmed the discovery of a large gas field with excellent flow characteristics. Wireline log and pressure data define a gross gas column in excess of 350 m trapped within a low-side fault closure that extends across 50 km2. The occurrence of good-quality reservoir in the depth interval 3,000–3,800 m is diagenetically controlled with clay rims inhibiting quartz cementation and preserving excellent primary porosity. Development planning for Waitsia has commenced with the likelihood of an early production start-up utilising existing wells and gas processing facilities before ramp-up to full-field development. The dry gas will require minimal processing, and access to market is facilitated by the Dampier–Bunbury and Parmelia gas pipelines that pass directly above the field. The Waitsia Field is believed to be the largest conventional Australian onshore discovery for more than 30 years and provides impetus and incentive for continued exploration in mature and frontier basins. The presence of good-quality reservoir and effective fault seal was unexpected and emphasise the need to consider multiple geological scenarios and to test unorthodox ideas with the drill bit.


2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pungki Ariyanto ◽  
Mohamed.A.. A. Najwani ◽  
Yaseen Najwani ◽  
Hani Al Lawati ◽  
Jochen Pfeiffer ◽  
...  

Abstract This paper outlines how a drilling team is meeting the challenge of cementing a production liner in deep horizontal drain sections in a tight sandstone reservoir. It is intended to show how the application of existing technologies and processes is leading to performance gain and improvements in cementing quality. The full field development plan of the tight reservoir gas project in the Sultanate of Oman is based on drilling around 300 wells targeting gas producing horizons at measured depths of around 6,000m MD with 1,000m horizontal sections. Effective cement placement for zonal isolation is critical across the production liner in order to contain fracture propagation in the correct zone. The first few attempts to cement the production liner in these wells had to overcome many challenges before finally achieving the well objectives. By looking at the complete system, rather than just the design of the cement slurry, the following criteria areas were identified: –Slurry design–Mud removal and cement slurry placement–Liner hanger and float equipment Improvements have been made in each of these areas, and the result has been delivery of a succesfully optimised liner cementing design for all future horizontal wells.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document