Summary
The principal focus of this work is on pressure-transient analysis of a finite-conductivity inclined fracture connected to a slanted wellbore, on the basis of a semianalytical model. Detailed analysis of unsteady-state pressure behavior of a fully penetrating inclined fracture in an infinite-slab reservoir was provided. The study has shown that a finite-conductivity inclined fracture may exhibit five flow regimes: bilinear flow, formation linear flow, early radial flow, compound linear flow, and pseudoradial flow. The characteristics of bilinear flow and formation linear flow are predominantly determined by fracture conductivity. In the case of a low formation-thickness/fracture-half-length ratio and small inclination angle, both early radial flow and compound linear flow may be absent. Analytical solutions for transient responses during different flow regimes are similar to that for a fully penetrating vertical fracture and can be correlated with the cosine of fracture-inclination angle with consideration of permeability anisotropy. Effect of inclination angle and reservoir-permeability anisotropy on transient responses is strong, which extends to pseudoradial-flow period. Formation thickness mainly influences the middle to late flow periods. In addition, the pseudoskin factor is also investigated in detail.
