Evaluating the Performance of Horizontal Multi-Frac Wells in a Depleted Gas Condensate Reservoir in Sultanate of Oman

The Saih Rawl gas condensate field has been producing for 20 years from multiple fractured vertical wells covering a very thick gross interval with varying reservoir permeability. After many years of production, the remaining reserves are mainly in the lowest permeability upper units. A pilot program using horizontal multi-frac wells was started in 2015, and five wells were drilled, stimulated and tested over a four-year period. The number of stages per horizontal well ranged from 6 to 14, but in all cases production was much less than expected based on the number of stages and the production from offset vertical wells producing from the same reservoir units with a single fracture. The scope of this paper is to describe the work that was performed to understand the reason for the lower than expected performance of the horizontal wells, how to improve the performance, and the implementation of those ideas in two additional horizontal wells completed in 2020. The study workflow was to perform an integrated analysis of fracturing, production and well test data, in order to history match all available data with a consistent reservoir description (permeability and fracture properties). Fracturing data included diagnostic injections (breakdown, step-rate test and minifrac) and main fracture treatments, where net pressure matching was performed. After closure analysis (ACA) was not possible in most cases due to low reservoir pressure and absence of downhole gauges. Post-fracture well test and production matching was performed using 3D reservoir simulation models including local grid refinement to capture fracture dimensions and conductivity. Based on simulation results, the effective propped fracture half-length seen in the post-frac production was extremely small, on the order of tens of meters, in some of the wells. In other wells, the effective fracture half-length was consistent with the created propped half-length, but the fracture conductivity was extremely small (finite conductivity fracture). The problems with the propped fractures appear to be related to a combination of poor proppant pack cleanup, low proppant concentration and small proppant diameter, compounded by low reservoir pressure which has a negative impact on proppant regained permeability after fracturing with crosslinked gel. Key conclusions from this study are that 1) using the same fracture design in a horizontal well with transverse fractures will not give the same result as in a vertical well in the same reservoir, 2) the effect of depletion on proppant pack cleanup in high temperature tight gas reservoirs appears to be very strong, requiring an adjustment in fracture design and proppant selection to achieve reasonable fracture conductivity, and 3) achieving sufficient effective propped length and height is key to economic production.

Revision of Pressure Transient Analysis in Mature Condensate-Rich Tight Gas Fields in Sultanate of Oman

Pressure transient analysis (PTA) has been used as one of the important reservoir surveillance tools for tight condensate-rich gas fields in Sultanate of Oman. The main objectives of PTA in those fields were to define the dynamic permeability of such tight formations, to define actual total Skin factors for such heavily fractured wells, and to assess impairment due to condensate banking around wellbores. After long production, more objectives became also necessary like assessing impairment due to poor clean-up of fractures placed in depleted layers, assessing newly proposed Massive fracturing strategy, assessing well-design and fracture strategies of newly drilled Horizontal wells, targeting the un-depleted tight layers, and impairment due to halite scaling. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to address all the above complications to improve well and reservoir modeling for better development planning. In order to realize most of the above objectives, about 21 PTA acquisitions have been done in one of the mature gas fields in Oman, developed by more than 200 fractured wells, and on production for 25 years. In this study, an extensive PTA revision was done to address main issues of this field. Most of the actual fracture dynamic parameters (i.e. frac half-length, frac width, frac conductivity, etc.) have been estimated and compared with designed parameters. In addition, overall wells fracturing responses have been defined, categorized into strong and weak frac performances, proposing suitable interpretation and modeling workflow for each case. In this study, more reasonable permeability values have been estimated for individual layers, improving the dynamic modeling significantly. In addition, it is found that late hook-up of fractured wells leads to very poor fractures clean out in pressure-depleted layers, causing the weak frac performance. In addition, the actual frac parameters (i.e. frac-half-length) found to be much lower than designed/expected before implementation. This helped to improve well and fracturing design and implementation for next vertical and horizontal wells, improving their performances. All the observed PTA responses (fracturing, condensate-banking, Halite-scaling, wells interference) have been matched and proved using sophisticated single and sector numerical simulation models, which have been incorporated into full-field models, causing significant improvements in field production forecasts and field development planning (FDP).

Features and Functions of Sŏnwŏnjŏn of the Late Chosŏn Period Reflected in Ritual Foods and Vessels, Interior Setting, and the Enshrined Portraits

Sŏnwŏnjŏn (璿源殿, Hall of Jade Source) stands out from other royal portrait halls within the late Chosŏn period on account of its unofficiality. This comes through in its rites, ritual foods and vessels, interior setting, and the enshrined portraits. Sŏnwŏnjŏn was an informal sacred hall where royal family members could personally present offerings and worship before portraits of late Chosŏn kings in the inner court. Birthday tea rituals (誕辰茶禮), which drew on non-Confucian traditions, were established as the representative rite of this hall. Unlike many other ritual halls at the time, these tea rituals often featured the active participation of royal women including queen dowagers and royal consorts. From the preparation of rituals to acts of veneration, they played an active role. This stands in stark contrast to the rites of Yŏnghŭijŏn (永禧殿, Hall of Eternal Happiness), the representative official portrait hall of late Chosŏn, which were always performed by male officials. Yŏnghŭijŏn primarily used oil-and-honey pastries (油蜜菓) and brass vessels for the offering tables. Conversely, Sŏnwŏnjŏn presented vessels made from the most luxurious materials of the time, such as silver, gold, and even jade. The vessels included delicacies comprised of various kinds of meat and fish dishes for the tea rituals. Objects originally produced for the king’s use in life were also incorporated into Sŏnwŏnjŏn rites. In sum, the ritual foods and vessels for tea rituals echoed the table setting for a king in the inner banquet (內進饌) to commemorate his birthday. The rites as well as the ritual foods and vessels of Sŏnwŏnjŏn seem to have followed the tea rituals of a spirit hall, in which a deceased king’s spirit tablet was enshrined for about two years and royal family members could serve as if the late king was alive. The physical environment of a chamber at Sŏnwŏnjŏn mimicked the interior setting of a spirit hall, and consisted of a baldachin, a three-sided Five Peak screen, a royal bed, and a set of four-panel peony paintings. This interior differs from one of official portrait halls, wherein there was a one-sided Five Peak screen and a royal bed without the use of Peony screens. Indeed, Sŏnwŏnjŏn functioned as a substitute for a spirit hall. In the 19th century, the hall was distinguished from a sprit hall by the more lavish decoration of its inner space with paintings rich in symbolism, additionally including Plum screens and Sea-and-Peaches of Immortality screens. The subject matter of the paintings expressed the royal family’s hope for the eternal life of their ancestors. Portraits selected for worship in Sŏnwŏnjŏn matched the intimate and informal character of this late Chosŏn portrait hall. Unlike Yŏnghŭijŏn in which full-length portraits of late Chosŏn kings in official attire were displayed, a majority of the displayed or enshrined portraits at Sŏnwŏnjŏn presented kings in ordinary attire. Moreover, half-length portraits were enshrined therein. Kings and also the queen dowagers were primarily responsible for deciding what went into it. While ritual requirements were important to these decisions, human feelings for the portrait subjects also influenced the selection.

Destruction of polymer insulation and threshold amplitudes of current pulses of different temporal shapes for electric wires and cables in the low- and high-current circuits of pulse power engineering, electrical engineering and electronic devices

Goal. Development of engineering method for settlement of threshold amplitudes Impk of single-pulse current ip(t) of different temporal shapes for electric wires and cables with polyethylene (PET), polyvinylchloride (PVC) and rubber (R) half-length insulation, used in modern pulsed power engineering, electrical engineering and electronics in their low- and high-current circuits. Methodology. Basis of the theoretical and applied electrical engineering, electrical power engineering, electrophysics bases of technique of high-voltage and large pulsed currents, bases of low- and high-current electronics, measuring technique, electromagnetic compatibility and standardization. Results. Development of engineering method is executed on close calculation determination of threshold amplitudes Impk of single-pulse axial-flow current ip(t) of different temporal shapes for electric wires and cables with copper (aluminum) current-carrying parts and PET, PVC and R half-length insulation, used in the ow- and high-current circuits of pulsed electrical power engineering, electrical engineering and electronics. Electrothermal resistibility of half-length insulation of the examined cable and wire products (CWP), proper maximum to the possible temperatures of heating of current-carrying and insulating parts of the probed wires and cables and shutting out the offensive of the phenomenon destruction in the indicated insulation of CWP, was fixed based on this method. Calculation analytical correlations are obtained for finding in probed CWP of threshold numeral values of Impk amplitudes of pulses of current ip(t), time-varying both on aperiodic dependence of type τf/τp with duration of their front τf and duration of their pulses τp and by law of exponential attenuation sinewave. It is shown that at Imp>Impk destruction of their half-length insulation, resulting in the decline of service life of CWP, will come from the thermal overheat of current-carrying parts of the examined electric wires and cables. The examples of practical application of the offered method are resulted upon settlement for a radiofrequency coaxial cable RC 50-4-11 with middle sizes is easily soiled with continuous PET insulation of threshold amplitudes of Impk of standard aperiodic pulses of current ip(t) from nano-, micro- and millisecond temporal ranges of shape of τf/τp=5 ns/200 ns, τf/τp=10 μs/350 μs and τf/τp=7 ms/160 ms. It is shown that with the proper growth of parameter τp>>τf for flow on a continuous copper tendon and split copper shell of radiofrequency coaxial cable RC 50-4-11 with middle sizes is easily soiled indicated homopolar pulses of current ip(t) substantial diminishing of their threshold amplitudes of Impk (with 531,2 кА for the nanosecond pulse of current of type 5 ns/200 ns to 1.84 кА for the millisecond impulse of current of type of 7 ms/160 ms takes place). Originality. An engineering method is first developed for close settlement of threshold numeral values of Impk amplitudes of single-pulse axial-flow current ip(t) of arbitrary peak-temporal parameters for electric wires and cables with copper (aluminum) current-carrying parts and PET, PVC and R half-length insulation. Practical value. Application in electrical engineering practice of the offered engineering method for determination of threshold amplitudes Impk of the indicated pulses of axial-flow current ip(t) for the probed electric wires and cables will allow considerably to increase service life of examined CWP.

Design guidelines for bump-type compliant conical foil bearing

The integral bump foil strip cannot optimize the performance for the compliant conical foil bearing (CFB) as the uneven distribution of structural stiffness. To maximize the bearing characteristics, this paper proposed different bump foil schemes. Firstly, the anisotropy of CFB was studied based on the nonlinear bump stiffness model, and the circumferentially separated foil structure was proposed. Moreover, an axially separated bump foil structure with the variable bump length was introduced to make the axial stiffness distribution more compliant with the gas pressure. In addition, the effect of foil thickness was also discussed. The results show that CFB with integral bump foil exhibits obvious anisotropy, and the suggested installation angle for largest load capacity and best dynamic stability are in the opposite position. Fortunately, a circumferential separated bump foil can improve this defect. The characteristics of CFB with axial separated foil structure can be improved significantly, especially for that with more strips and the variable bump half-length design. The suitable bump and top foil thickness should be set considering the improved supporting performance and proper flexibility. The results can give some guidelines for the design of CFB.

Parameter Optimization of Segmental Multicluster Fractured Horizontal Wells in Extremely Rich Gas Condensate Shale Reservoirs

For economic and efficient development of extremely high-condensate shale gas reservoirs, a numerical model of segmental multicluster fractured horizontal well was established considering the effect of condensate and desorption, and the optimization of fracturing segments, fracturing clusters, half-length of main fracture, fracture permeability, fracture mesh density, and fracture distribution patterns were studied. It is indicated that the horizontal well whose design length is 2,700 m performs best when it has 43 fracturing segments with three clusters in each segment and the fracture permeability is 300 mD. The production capacity of horizontal wells is positively linearly correlated with the half-length of fractures. Increasing fracture half-length would be an effective way to produce condensate oil near wellbore. An effective fractured area can be constructed to remarkably improve productivity when the half-length of the fracture is 50 m and the number of secondary fractures is four in each segment. On the basis of reasonable fracture parameters, the staggered type distribution pattern is beneficial to the efficient development of shale gas-condensate reservoirs because of its large reconstruction volume, far pressure wave, small fracture interference, and small precipitation range of condensate.

Advanced Fracturing Design Simulator-Assisted Modeling Coupled with Application of Enhanced Stimulation Fluids Raises Performance of Acid Fractured Wells

Important factors affecting acid fracturing efficiency include etched fracture geometry, cleanup, and optimum differential etching to retain open channels after fracture closure. A recently applied integrated approach combined improvements in all three factors: new fracture simulation techniques enabled fracture geometry optimization, single-phase retarded acid provided significant increase in half-length, and high retained permeability viscous fluids supported better fracture cleanup. The approach was successfully implemented in several carbonate oil fields and resulted in a substantial productivity index increase. The approach enables acid fracture optimization in three steps. First, the high retained permeability, low-pH pad fluids and polymer-free leakoff control acids are used in combination to enhance formation cleanup after a treatment and to reduce the concentration of polymers in fissures network of naturally fractured carbonate reservoirs. Second, a new single-phase retarded acid is used to achieve longer half-length due to retarded reaction with formation rock and favorable viscous fingering effects. Third, a new acid fracturing simulation model is used to optimize fracture geometry. The simulation technique employs an innovative transport model that includes the viscous fingering effect, advanced leakoff simulation, changing acid rheology upon spending, and a novel calculation approach to mixed fluids' rheology. This combined concept was applied during acid fracturing treatments in moderate permeability wells of carbonate reservoirs with target intervals up to 4,600 m TVD and temperatures up to 125°C. The treatments consisted of guar-free low-pH pad fluid, polymer-free leakoff control acid, and single-phase retarded acid. Treatment optimization was performed using an advanced acid fracturing simulator to properly address the transport processes within the fracture in a low-stress-contrast environment. After the treatments, the pressure transient analysis indicated a strong linear regime for more than 15 hours, indicating effective fracture half-length at least 25% higher than average half-length after acid fracturing in offset wells where the conventional approach had been applied. Post-treatment half-length calculations showed a good match with advanced simulator results and proved the importance of accounting for viscous fingering effects during acid fracture half-length calculations. Calculation of the productivity index from the production data showed at least 15% increase compared to conventional acid fracturing treatments. The post-fracturing production decline rate was at least 20% slower than that of the conventional treatment in offset wells, which can be explained by the longer conductive fracture.

Flood Control Method in Fields with Hard-To-Recover Reserves

This paper presents a method for predicting the development of Auto-HF (crack) in injection wells of the reservoir pressure maintenance system during the development of low-permeable reservoirs, in order to ensure the optimal front of oil displacement by water by regulating the bottom-hole pressure of injection wells based on the derived dependence of the half-length of the Auto-HF (crack).

Modeling Boundary-Dominated Flow in Hydraulically-Fractured Wells

This paper presents a simple method to model boundary-dominated flow in hydraulically fractured wells, including horizontal wells with multiple fractures. While these wells are almost always producedat more nearly constant BHP rather than constant rate, use of material-balance time transforms variable-rate production profiles to constant-rate profiles, allowing us to use the pseudo-steady-state (PSS) flow equation for modeling. However, the PSS equation requires use of shape factors in applications, and shape factors available in the literature are available only for square-shaped bounded reservoirs with hydraulic fractures. In this work, we derived shape factors for wells centered in rectangular-shaped drainage areas with different length-to-width aspect ratios. The superposition principle can be used to transform transient radial flow and transient linear flow solutions into bounded reservoir solutions. At large times (when boundary-dominated flow is established), results from these solutions are similar to those obtained from the PSS equation. Therefore, for a pre-defined reservoir geometry, pressure drop values from superimposed transient flow equationscan be substituted back into the PSS equation to calculate shape factors for that reservoir geometry.We used shape factors previously presented by other authors for square drainage areas to validate themethod before applying it to calculate shape factors for more general drainage area configurations. We present shape factors for different fracture half-length to fracture-spacing ratios ranging from 0.2 to 10. Calculated shape factors, when plotted against the fracture half-length to fracture-spacing ratio, produced a smooth curve which can be used to interpolate shape factor values for other fracture configurations. We present applications of this methodology to example low-permeability wells. The use of the PSS equation for wells with vertical fracturescan be extended to multi-fractured horizontal wells (MFHWs) by incorporating the number of fractures in the equation; hence, shape factorsderived for wells with vertical fractures can also be used for MFHWs. Although our results are rigorously correct only for fluids with constant compressibility, use of pseudo-pressure and pseudo-time transformations extend application to compressible fluids, notably gases. Using the PSS equation in production data analysis allows us to calculate contributing reservoir volume and drainage area in a simple manner not requiring use of specialized software.

A Novel Shale Gas Production Prediction Model Based on Machine Learning and Its Application in Optimization of Multistage Fractured Horizontal Wells

Shale gas production prediction and horizontal well parameter optimization are significant for shale gas development. However, conventional reservoir numerical simulation requires extensive resources in terms of labor, time, and computations, and so the optimization problem still remains a challenge. Therefore, we propose, for the first time, a new gas production prediction methodology based on Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) and Convolution Neural Network (CNN) to complement the numerical simulation model and achieve rapid optimization. Specifically, through sensitivity analysis, porosity, permeability, fracture half-length, and horizontal well length were selected as influencing factors. Second, the n-factorial experimental design was applied to design the initial experiment and the dataset was constructed by combining the simulation results with the case parameters. Subsequently, the gas production model was built by GPR, CNN, and SVM based on the dataset. Finally, the optimal model was combined with the optimization algorithm to maximize the Net Present Value (NPV) and obtain the optimal fracture half-length and horizontal well length. Experimental results demonstrated the GPR model had prominent modeling capabilities compared with CNN and Support Vector Machine (SVM) and achieved the satisfactory prediction performance. The fracture half-length and well length optimized by the GPR model and reservoir numerical simulation model converged to almost the same values. Compared with the field reference case, the optimized NPV increased by US$ 7.43 million. Additionally, the time required to optimize the GPR model was 1/720 of that of numerical simulation. This work enriches the knowledge of shale gas development technology and lays the foundation for realizing the scale-benefit development for shale gas, so as to realize the integration of geological engineering.