Pressure-Dependent Natural-Fracture Permeability in Shale and Its Effect on Shale-Gas Well Production

2013 ◽  
Vol 16 (02) ◽  
pp. 216-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y.. Cho ◽  
O.G.. G. Apaydin ◽  
E.. Ozkan
Keyword(s):  
Shale Gas ◽  
Flow Model ◽  
Natural Fracture ◽  
Fracture Permeability ◽  
Gas Wells ◽  
Gas Well ◽  
Fracture Conductivity ◽  
Pressure Drops ◽  
Well Production ◽  
The Matrix

Summary This paper presents an investigation of the effect of pressure-dependent natural-fracture permeability on production from shale-gas wells. The motivation of the study is to provide data for the discussion of whether it is crucial to pump proppant into natural fractures in shale plays. Experiments have been conducted on Bakken-shale core samples to select appropriate correlations to represent fracture conductivity as a function of pressure (the actual characterization of fracture conductivity under stress for a specific formation is not an objective of the study). Correlations have been used in a flow model to demonstrate the potential impact of natural-fracture closure as pressure drops during production. Although the correlations indicate up to an 80% reduction in fracture permeability over practical ranges of pressure, the results of the flow model do not warrant the claims that fracture closing plays a significant role in the productivity losses of shale-gas wells. A history match of the performances of two wells in the Barnett and Haynesville formations also indicates that the effect of pressure-dependent natural-fracture permeability on shale-gas-well production is a function of the permeability of the matrix system. If the matrix system is too tight, then the retained permeability of the natural fractures may still be sufficient for the available volume of the fluid when the system pressure drops.

Economic benefit of shale gas exploitation based on back propagation neural network

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 8823-8830
Author(s):  
Jiafeng Li ◽  
Hui Hu ◽  
Xiang Li ◽  
Qian Jin ◽  
Tianhao Huang
Keyword(s):  
Neural Network ◽  
Shale Gas ◽  
Bp Neural Network ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Linear Prediction ◽  
Back Propagation ◽  
Back Propagation Neural Network ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Gas Well ◽  
Well Production

Under the influence of COVID-19, the economic benefits of shale gas development are greatly affected. With the large-scale development and utilization of shale gas in China, it is increasingly important to assess the economic impact of shale gas development. Therefore, this paper proposes a method for predicting the production of shale gas reservoirs, and uses back propagation (BP) neural network to nonlinearly fit reservoir reconstruction data to obtain shale gas well production forecasting models. Experiments show that compared with the traditional BP neural network, the proposed method can effectively improve the accuracy and stability of the prediction. There is a nonlinear correlation between reservoir reconstruction data and gas well production, which does not apply to traditional linear prediction methods

scholarly journals Prediction of Production Performance of Refractured Shale Gas Well considering Coupled Multiscale Gas Flow and Geomechanics

Geofluids ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiqiang Li ◽  
Zhilin Qi ◽  
Wende Yan ◽  
Zuping Xiang ◽  
Xiang Ao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Shale Gas ◽  
Gas Flow ◽  
Knudsen Diffusion ◽  
Stress Sensitivity ◽  
Production Performance ◽  
Design Parameters ◽  
Production Loss ◽  
Apparent Permeability ◽  
Gas Well ◽  
The Matrix

Production simulation is an important method to evaluate the stimulation effect of refracturing. Therefore, a production simulation model based on coupled fluid flow and geomechanics in triple continuum including kerogen, an inorganic matrix, and a fracture network is proposed considering the multiscale flow characteristics of shale gas, the induced stress of fracture opening, and the pore elastic effect. The complex transport mechanisms due to multiple physics, including gas adsorption/desorption, slip flow, Knudsen diffusion, surface diffusion, stress sensitivity, and adsorption layer are fully considered in this model. The apparent permeability is used to describe the multiple physics occurring in the matrix. The model is validated using actual production data of a horizontal shale gas well and applied to predict the production and production increase percentage (PIP) after refracturing. A sensitivity analysis is performed to study the effects of the refracturing pattern, fracture conductivity, width of stimulated reservoir volume (SRV), SRV length of new and initial fractures, and refracturing time on production and the PIP. In addition, the effects of multiple physics on the matrix permeability and production, and the geomechanical effects of matrix and fracture on production are also studied. The research shows that the refracturing design parameters have an important influence on the PIP. The geomechanical effect is an important cause of production loss, while slippage and diffusion effects in matrix can offset the production loss.

scholarly journals The Key Factors That Determine the Economically Viable, Horizontal Hydrofractured Gas Wells in Mudrocks

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 2348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Syed Haider ◽  
Wardana Saputra ◽  
Tadeusz Patzek
Keyword(s):  
Gas Flow ◽  
Horizontal Well ◽  
Source Term ◽  
Organic Matrix ◽  
Fracture Network ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Fracture Permeability ◽  
Gas Wells ◽  
Stimulated Reservoir Volume ◽  
Well Production

We assemble a multiscale physical model of gas production in a mudrock (shale). We then tested our model on 45 horizontal gas wells in the Barnett with 12–15 years on production. When properly used, our model may enable shale companies to gain operational insights into how to complete a particular well in a particular shale. Macrofractures, microfractures, and nanopores form a multiscale system that controls gas flow in mudrocks. Near a horizontal well, hydraulic fracturing creates fractures at many scales and increases permeability of the source rock. We model the physical properties of the fracture network embedded in the Stimulated Reservoir Volume (SRV) with a fractal of dimension D < 2 . This fracture network interacts with the poorly connected nanopores in the organic matrix that are the source of almost all produced gas. In the practically impermeable mudrock, the known volumes of fracturing water and proppant must create an equal volume of fractures at all scales. Therefore, the surface area and the number of macrofractures created after hydrofracturing are constrained by the volume of injected water and proppant. The coupling between the fracture network and the organic matrix controls gas production from a horizontal well. The fracture permeability, k f , and the microscale source term, s, affect this coupling, thus controlling the reservoir pressure decline and mass transfer from the nanopore network to the fractures. Particular values of k f and s are determined by numerically fitting well production data with an optimization algorithm. The relationship between k f and s is somewhat hyperbolic and defines the type of fracture system created after hydrofracturing. The extremes of this relationship create two end-members of the fracture systems. A small value of the ratio k f / s causes faster production decline because of the high microscale source term, s. The effective fracture permeability is lower, but gas flow through the matrix to fractures is efficient, thus nullifying the negative effect of the smaller k f . For the high values of k f / s , production decline is slower. In summary, the fracture network permeability at the macroscale and the microscale source term control production rate of shale wells. The best quality wells have good, but not too good, macroscale connectivity.

Exergy, Energy, and Gas Flow Analysis of Hydrofractured Shale Gas Extraction

2016 ◽  
Vol 138 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Noam Lior
Keyword(s):  
Shale Gas ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Gas Flow ◽  
Exergy Analysis ◽  
System Analysis ◽  
Embodied Energy ◽  
Gas Well ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Small Flow ◽  
Exergy Consumption

The objectives of this study are to (a) evaluate the exergy and energy demand for constructing a hydrofractured shale gas well and determine its typical exergy and energy returns on investment (ExROI and EROI), and (b) compute the gas flow and intrinsic exergy analysis in the shale gas matrix and created fractures. An exergy system analysis of construction of a typical U.S. shale gas well, which includes the processes and materials exergies (embodied exergy) for drilling, casing and cementing, and hydrofracturing (“fracking”), was conducted. A gas flow and intrinsic exergy numerical simulation and analysis in a gas-containing hydrofractured shale reservoir with its formed fractures was then performed, resulting in the time- and two-dimensional (2D) space-dependent pressure, velocity, and exergy loss fields in the matrix and fractures. The key results of the system analysis show that the total exergy consumption for constructing the typical hydrofractured shale gas well is 35.8 TJ, 49% of which is used for all the drilling needed for the well and casings and further 48% are used for the hydrofracturing. The embodied exergy of all construction materials is about 9.8% of the total exergy consumption. The ExROI for the typical range of shale gas wells in the U.S. was found to be 7.3–87.8. The embodied energy of manufactured materials is significantly larger than their exergy, so the total energy consumption is about 8% higher than the exergy consumption. The intrinsic exergy analysis showed, as expected, very slow (order of 10−9 m/s) gas flow velocities through the matrix, and consequently very small flow exergy losses. It clearly points to the desirability of exploring fracking methods that increase the number and length of effective fractures, and they increase well productivity with a relatively small flow exergy penalty.

scholarly journals Shale gas well productivity potential evaluation based on data-driven methods: case study in the WY block

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chaodong Tan ◽  
Hanwen Deng ◽  
Wenrong Song ◽  
Huizhao Niu ◽  
Chunqiu Wang
Keyword(s):  
Shale Gas ◽  
Production Optimization ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Operating Parameters ◽  
Geological Condition ◽  
Gas Wells ◽  
Gas Well ◽  
Geological Conditions ◽  
Potential Evaluation ◽  
Productivity Potential

AbstractEvaluating the productivity potential of shale gas well before fracturing reformation is imperative due to the complex fracturing mechanism and high operation investment. However, conventional single-factor analysis method has been unable to meet the demand of productivity potential evaluation due to the numerous and intricate influencing factors. In this paper, a data-driven-based approach is proposed based on the data of 282 shale gas wells in WY block. LightGBM is used to conduct feature ranking, K-means is utilized to classify wells and evaluate gas productivity according to geological features and fracturing operating parameters, and production optimization is realized through random forest. The experimental results show that shale gas productivity potential is basically determined by geological condition for the total influence weights of geologic properties take the proportion of 0.64 and that of engineering attributes is 0.36. The difference between each category of well is more obvious when the cluster number of well is four. Meanwhile, those low production wells with good geological conditions but unreasonable fracturing schemes have the greatest optimization space. The model constructed in this paper can classify shale gas wells according to their productivity differences, help providing suggestions for engineers on productivity evaluation and the design of fracturing operating parameters of shale gas well.

Comparison of Fractured-Horizontal-Well Performance in Tight Sand and Shale Reservoirs

2011 ◽  
Vol 14 (02) ◽  
pp. 248-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.. Ozkan ◽  
M Brown ◽  
R.. Raghavan ◽  
H.. Kazemi
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Fracture ◽  
Horizontal Well ◽  
Flow Model ◽  
Horizontal Wells ◽  
Natural Fracture ◽  
Well Performance ◽  
Fracture Conductivity ◽  
Fractured Horizontal Well ◽  
Shale Reservoirs ◽  
Fractured Horizontal Wells

Summary This paper presents a discussion of fractured-horizontal-well performance in millidarcy permeability (conventional) and micro- to nanodarcy permeability (unconventional) reservoirs. It provides interpretations of the reasons to fracture horizontal wells in both types of formations. The objective of the paper is to highlight the special productivity features of unconventional shale reservoirs. By using a trilinear-flow model, it is shown that the drainage volume of a multiple-fractured horizontal well in a shale reservoir is limited to the inner reservoir between the fractures. Unlike conventional reservoirs, high reservoir permeability and high hydraulic-fracture conductivity may not warrant favorable productivity in shale reservoirs. An efficient way to improve the productivity of ultratight shale formations is to increase the density of natural fractures. High natural-fracture conductivities may not necessarily contribute to productivity either. Decreasing hydraulic-fracture spacing increases the productivity of the well, but the incremental production gain for each additional hydraulic fracture decreases. The trilinear-flow model presented in this work and the information derived from it should help the design and performance prediction of multiple-fractured horizontal wells in shale reservoirs.

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