Download or read book Fracture Modeling and Flow Behavior in Shale Gas Reservoirs Using Discrete Fracture Networks written by Joachim Nwabunwanne Ogbechie and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fluid flow process in fractured reservoirs is controlled primarily by the connectivity of fractures. The presence of fractures in these reservoirs significantly affects the mechanism of fluid flow. They have led to problems in the reservoir which results in early water breakthroughs, reduced tertiary recovery efficiency due to channeling of injected gas or fluids, dynamic calculations of recoverable hydrocarbons that are much less than static mass balance ones due to reservoir compartmentalization, and dramatic production changes due to changes in reservoir pressure as fractures close down as conduits. These often lead to reduced ultimate recoveries or higher production costs. Generally, modeling flow behavior and mass transport in fractured porous media is done using the dual-continuum concept in which fracture and matrix are modeled as two separate kinds of continua occupying the same control volume (element) in space. This type of numerical model cannot reproduce many commonly observed types of fractured reservoir behavior since they do not explicitly model the geometry of discrete fractures, solution features, and bedding that control flow pathway geometry. This inaccurate model of discrete feature connectivity results in inaccurate flow predictions in areas of the reservoir where there is not good well control. Discrete Fracture Networks (DFN) model has been developed to aid is solving some of these problems experienced by using the dual continuum models. The Discrete Fracture Networks (DFN) approach involves analysis and modeling which explicitly incorporates the geometry and properties of discrete features as a central component controlling flow and transport. DFN are stochastic models of fracture architecture that incorporate statistical scaling rules derived from analysis of fracture length, height, spacing, orientation, and aperture. This study is focused on developing a methodology for application of DFN to a shale gas reservoir and the practical application of DFN simulator (FracGen and NFflow) for fracture modeling of a shale gas reservoir and also studies the interaction of the different fracture properties on reservoir response. The most important results of the study are that a uniform fracture network distribution and fracture aperture produces the highest cumulative gas production for the different fracture networks and fracture/well properties considered.

Download or read book Embedded Discrete Fracture Modeling and Application in Reservoir Simulation written by Kamy Sepehrnoori and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2020-08-27 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The development of naturally fractured reservoirs, especially shale gas and tight oil reservoirs, exploded in recent years due to advanced drilling and fracturing techniques. However, complex fracture geometries such as irregular fracture networks and non-planar fractures are often generated, especially in the presence of natural fractures. Accurate modelling of production from reservoirs with such geometries is challenging. Therefore, Embedded Discrete Fracture Modeling and Application in Reservoir Simulation demonstrates how production from reservoirs with complex fracture geometries can be modelled efficiently and effectively. This volume presents a conventional numerical model to handle simple and complex fractures using local grid refinement (LGR) and unstructured gridding. Moreover, it introduces an Embedded Discrete Fracture Model (EDFM) to efficiently deal with complex fractures by dividing the fractures into segments using matrix cell boundaries and creating non-neighboring connections (NNCs). A basic EDFM approach using Cartesian grids and advanced EDFM approach using Corner point and unstructured grids will be covered. Embedded Discrete Fracture Modeling and Application in Reservoir Simulation is an essential reference for anyone interested in performing reservoir simulation of conventional and unconventional fractured reservoirs. - Highlights the current state-of-the-art in reservoir simulation of unconventional reservoirs - Offers understanding of the impacts of key reservoir properties and complex fractures on well performance - Provides case studies to show how to use the EDFM method for different needs

Download or read book Hydraulic Fracture Modeling written by Yu-Shu Wu and published by Gulf Professional Publishing. This book was released on 2017-11-30 with total page 568 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hydraulic Fracture Modeling delivers all the pertinent technology and solutions in one product to become the go-to source for petroleum and reservoir engineers. Providing tools and approaches, this multi-contributed reference presents current and upcoming developments for modeling rock fracturing including their limitations and problem-solving applications. Fractures are common in oil and gas reservoir formations, and with the ongoing increase in development of unconventional reservoirs, more petroleum engineers today need to know the latest technology surrounding hydraulic fracturing technology such as fracture rock modeling. There is tremendous research in the area but not all located in one place. Covering two types of modeling technologies, various effective fracturing approaches and model applications for fracturing, the book equips today's petroleum engineer with an all-inclusive product to characterize and optimize today's more complex reservoirs. - Offers understanding of the details surrounding fracturing and fracture modeling technology, including theories and quantitative methods - Provides academic and practical perspective from multiple contributors at the forefront of hydraulic fracturing and rock mechanics - Provides today's petroleum engineer with model validation tools backed by real-world case studies

Download or read book Discrete Fracture Network Modeling of Hydraulic Stimulation written by Mark W. McClure and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-06-15 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discrete Fracture Network Modeling of Hydraulic Stimulation describes the development and testing of a model that couples fluid-flow, deformation, friction weakening, and permeability evolution in large, complex two-dimensional discrete fracture networks. The model can be used to explore the behavior of hydraulic stimulation in settings where matrix permeability is low and preexisting fractures play an important role, such as Enhanced Geothermal Systems and gas shale. Used also to describe pure shear stimulation, mixed-mechanism stimulation, or pure opening-mode stimulation. A variety of novel techniques to ensure efficiency and realistic model behavior are implemented, and tested. The simulation methodology can also be used as an efficient method for directly solving quasistatic fracture contact problems. Results show how stresses induced by fracture deformation during stimulation directly impact the mechanism of propagation and the resulting fracture network.

Download or read book Geomechanics and Hydraulic Fracturing for Shale Reservoirs written by Yu Wang and published by Scientific Research Publishing, Inc. USA. This book was released on 2020-07-01 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is intended as a reference book for advanced graduate students and research engineers in shale gas development or rock mechanical engineering. Globally, there is widespread interest in exploiting shale gas resources to meet rising energy demands, maintain energy security and stability in supply and reduce dependence on higher carbon sources of energy, namely coal and oil. However, extracting shale gas is a resource intensive process and is dependent on the geological and geomechanical characteristics of the source rocks, making the development of certain formations uneconomic using current technologies. Therefore, evaluation of the physical and mechanical properties of shale, together with technological advancements, is critical in verifying the economic viability of such formation. Accurate geomechanical information about the rock and its variation through the shale is important since stresses along the wellbore can control fracture initiation and frac development. In addition, hydraulic fracturing has been widely employed to enhance the production of oil and gas from underground reservoirs. Hydraulic fracturing is a complex operation in which the fluid is pumped at a high pressure into a selected section of the wellbore. The interaction between the hydraulic fractures and natural fractures is the key to fracturing effectiveness prediction and high gas development. The development and growth of a hydraulic fracture through the natural fracture systems of shale is probably more complex than can be described here, but may be somewhat predictable if the fracture system and the development of stresses can be explained. As a result, comprehensive shale geomechanical experiments, physical modeling experiment and numerical investigations should be conducted to reveal the fracturing mechanical behaviors of shale.

Download or read book A Comprehensive Numerical Model for Simulating Two phase Flow in Shale Gas Reservoirs with Complex Hydraulic and Natural Fractures written by Mohammad Hamad AlTwaijri and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Increase in energy demand has played a significant role in the persistent exploitation and exploration of unconventional oil and gas resources. Shale gas reservoirs are one of the major unconventional resources. Advancements in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques have been the key to achieve economic rates of production from these shale gas reservoirs. In addition to their ultra-low permeability, shale gas reservoirs are characterized by their complex gas transport mechanisms and complex natural and induced (hydraulic) fracture geometries. Production from shale gas reservoirs is predominantly composed of two-phase flow of gas and water. However, proper modeling of the two-phase behavior as well as incorporating the complex fracture geometries have been a challenge within the industry. Due to the limitation of the local grid refinement (LGR) approach, hydraulic fractures are assumed to be planar (orthogonal), which is an unrealistic assumption. Although more flexible approaches are available, such as the use of unstructured grids, they require significantly high computational powers. In this research, an efficient embedded discrete fracture model (EDFM) is introduced to explicitly model complex fracture geometries. The EDFM approach is capable of explicitly modeling complex fracture geometries without increasing the computational demand. Utilizing EDFM alongside a commercial simulator, a 3D reservoir model is constructed to investigate the effect of complex fracture geometries on the two-phase flow of a shale gas well. In this investigation, varying degrees of hydraulic fracture complexity with 1-set and 2-set natural fractures were tested. The simulation results confirm the importance of properly modeling fracture complexity, highlighting that it plays an integral part in the estimation of gas and water recoveries. In addition, the simulation results hint to the pronounced effect of fracture interference as fracture complexity increases. Finally, variable fracture conductivities and initial water saturation values were analyzed to further assess their effect on the two-phase production behavior of the shale gas well. This study examines the effect of non-orthogonal complex fracture geometry on the two-phase flow of shale gas wells. The work can provide a significant insight toward understanding the extent to which fracture complexity can affect the performance of shale gas wells.

Download or read book Discrete Fracture Network Modeling of Hydraulic Stimulation written by Mark McClure and published by Springer. This book was released on 2013-06-19 with total page 90 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discrete Fracture Network Modeling of Hydraulic Stimulation describes the development and testing of a model that couples fluid-flow, deformation, friction weakening, and permeability evolution in large, complex two-dimensional discrete fracture networks. The model can be used to explore the behavior of hydraulic stimulation in settings where matrix permeability is low and preexisting fractures play an important role, such as Enhanced Geothermal Systems and gas shale. Used also to describe pure shear stimulation, mixed-mechanism stimulation, or pure opening-mode stimulation. A variety of novel techniques to ensure efficiency and realistic model behavior are implemented, and tested. The simulation methodology can also be used as an efficient method for directly solving quasistatic fracture contact problems. Results show how stresses induced by fracture deformation during stimulation directly impact the mechanism of propagation and the resulting fracture network.

Download or read book Development of Hydraulic Fracture Network Propagation Model in Shale Gas Reservoirs written by Chong Ahn and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The most effective method for stimulating shale gas reservoirs is a massive hydraulic fracture treatment. Recent analysis using microseismic technology have shown that complex fracture networks are commonly created in the field as a result of the stimulation of shale wells. The interaction between pre-existing natural fractures and the propagating hydraulic fracture is a critical factor affecting the created 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 research, we first characterized the mechanics of hydraulic fracturing and fluid flow in the shale gas reservoir. Then, a 2D, single-phase numerical model and a 3D, 2-phase coupled model were developed, which integrate dynamic fracture propagation, interactions between hydraulic fractures and pre-existing natural fractures, fracture fluid leakoff, and fluid flow in a petroleum reservoir. By using the developed model, we conducted parametric studies to quantify the effects of treatment rate, treatment size, fracture fluid viscosity, differential horizontal stress, natural fracture spacing, fracture toughness, matrix permeability, and proppant size on the geometry of the hydraulic fracture network. The findings elucidate important trends in hydraulic fracturing of shale reservoirs that are useful in improving the design of treatments for specific reservoir settings.

Download or read book Shale Gas and Tight Oil Reservoir Simulation written by Wei Yu and published by Gulf Professional Publishing. This book was released on 2018-07-29 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Shale Gas and Tight Oil Reservoir Simulation delivers the latest research and applications used to better manage and interpret simulating production from shale gas and tight oil reservoirs. Starting with basic fundamentals, the book then includes real field data that will not only generate reliable reserve estimation, but also predict the effective range of reservoir and fracture properties through multiple history matching solutions. Also included are new insights into the numerical modelling of CO2 injection for enhanced oil recovery in tight oil reservoirs. This information is critical for a better understanding of the impacts of key reservoir properties and complex fractures. - Models the well performance of shale gas and tight oil reservoirs with complex fracture geometries - Teaches how to perform sensitivity studies, history matching, production forecasts, and economic optimization for shale-gas and tight-oil reservoirs - Helps readers investigate data mining techniques, including the introduction of nonparametric smoothing models

Download or read book Transport in Shale Reservoirs written by Kun Sang Lee and published by Gulf Professional Publishing. This book was released on 2019-02-20 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Transport in Shale Reservoirs fills the need for a necessary, integrative approach on shale reservoirs. It delivers both the fundamental theories of transport in shale reservoirs and the most recent advancements in the recovery of shale oil and gas in one convenient reference. Shale reservoirs have distinctive features dissimilar to those of conventional reservoirs, thus an accurate evaluation on the behavior of shale gas reservoirs requires an integrated understanding on their characteristics and the transport of reservoir and fluids. - Updates on the various transport mechanisms in shale, such as molecular diffusion and phase behavior in nano-pores - Applies theory to practice through simulation in both shale oil and gas - Presents an up-to-date reference on remaining challenges, such as organic material in the shale simulation and multicomponent transport in CO2 injection processes

Download or read book Development of a Multi mechanistic Triple porosity Triple permeability Compositional Model for Unconventional Reservoirs written by Nithiwat Siripatrachai and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most existing compositional reservoir simulators often model fractures using local grid refinement, unstructured-grid, or fine-grid models. Modeling different scales of fractures requires a large number of grid blocks to capture the heterogeneity of the formation. Using a large number of grid blocks presents computational challenges, even with todays powerful processors. An enhanced matrix permeability on the grid block that hosts short-scale fractures is commonly used to eliminate natural fractures and simplify the model. Additionally, several existing multi-porosity models may not be able to capture heterogeneity and flow behavior in different porosity domains. Sequential flow assumption is frequently made in their models. Flows between different porosity types are not fully coupled, and in some model, a simplified inter-porosity transmissibility function is used for any porosity pairs. The oil and gas reserves and flow of reservoir fluids are strongly dependent on phase behavior. Large capillary pressure values are encountered in tight formations such as tight-rocks and shales. The tiny pore throats in these formations result in large capillary pressure. The effect of capillary pressure in tight formations can significantly impact the fluid phase behaviors in the reservoir during production and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes. Not incorporating this effect into the simulation can result in an inaccurate estimation of ultimate recovery as well as inefficient design and implementation of EOR techniques. In spite of this, the effect of capillary pressure on phase behavior in tight reservoirs has not been well studied using compositional simulation, especially for hydraulically fractured reservoirs.In this research, a fully implicit, multi-mechanistic, fully coupled, triple-porosity, triple-permeability compositional model has been developed for unconventional reservoirs. The hydraulically fractured tight rock and shale reservoir is treated as a triple-porosity system consisting of matrix blocks, natural fractures (micro fractures), and hydraulic fractures (macro fractures). Small-scale fractures are handled by a dual-continuum model. An embedded discrete fracture model is used to effectively and efficiently capture the flow dynamics of hydraulic fractures at any orientations, honoring the complexity and heterogeneity of the fracture networks. The triple-porosity model enables us to assign reservoir properties corresponding to the porosity type. The flows in three porosity types are fully coupled without making the assumption of sequential flow. The inter-porosity fluid transfer honors the geometry of the intersecting porosity pair. The development of the proposed numerical model incorporates the effect of capillary pressure on phase behavior. The transport of hydrocarbon follows a multi-mechanistic flow mechanism that is driven by pressure and concentration fields. The simulator has been validated with analytical solutions and a commercial reservoir simulator for a single-porosity model and a dual-porosity, dual-permeability model, both with and without grid refinement. With the proposed model, we can accurately capture major physics of transport phenomena that have been done to date and have the most realistic modeling of fluid flow in hydraulically fractured tight rock and shale reservoirs. The simulator is used in parametric studies to investigate the production performance from hydraulically fractured reservoirs under different modeling techniques and the effect of capillary pressure on phase behavior on reserves and ultimate recovery. The simulator is used to study the impact of inter-porosity transport on the recovery and fluid transport and phase behavior in hydraulically fractured tight rocks and shale formations under high capillary pressure. The outcomes of this project are an improved understanding of phase behavior and fluid flow in hydraulically fractured shale and tight rocks and an increased accuracy of the production prediction and ultimate recovery.

Download or read book Emerging Technologies in Hydraulic Fracturing and Gas Flow Modelling written by Kenneth Imo-Imo Israel Eshiet and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2022-11-02 with total page 174 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Emerging Technologies in Hydraulic Fracturing and Gas Flow Modelling features the latest strategies for exploiting depleted and unconventional petroleum rock formations as well as simulating associated gas flow mechanisms. The book covers a broad range of multivarious stimulation methods currently applied in practice. It introduces new stimulation techniques including a comprehensive description of interactions between formation/hydraulic fracturing fluids and the host rock material. It provides further insight into practices aimed at advancing the operation of hydrocarbon reservoirs and can be used either as a standalone resource or in combination with other related literature. The book can serve as a propaedeutic resource and is appropriate for those seeking rudimentary information on the exploitation of ultra-impermeable oil and gas reservoirs. Professionals and researchers in the field of petroleum, civil, oil and gas, geotechnical and geological engineering who are interested in the production of unconventional petroleum resources as well as students undertaking studies in similar subject areas will find this to be an instructional reference.

Download or read book Fractured Vuggy Carbonate Reservoir Simulation written by Jun Yao and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-08-08 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book solves the open problems in fluid flow modeling through the fractured vuggy carbonate reservoirs. Fractured vuggy carbonate reservoirs usually have complex pore structures, which contain not only matrix and fractures but also the vugs and cavities. Since the vugs and cavities are irregular in shape and vary in diameter from millimeters to meters, modeling fluid flow through fractured vuggy porous media is still a challenge. The existing modeling theory and methods are not suitable for such reservoir. It starts from the concept of discrete fracture and fracture-vug networks model, and then develops the corresponding mathematical models and numerical methods, including discrete fracture model, discrete fracture-vug model, hybrid model and multiscale models. Based on these discrete porous media models, some equivalent medium models and methods are also discussed. All the modeling and methods shared in this book offer the key recent solutions into this area.

Download or read book Development of an Efficient Embedded Discrete Fracture Model for 3D Compositional Reservoir Simulation in Fractured Reservoirs written by Ali Moinfar and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Naturally fractured reservoirs (NFRs) hold a significant amount of the world's hydrocarbon reserves. Compared to conventional reservoirs, NFRs exhibit a higher degree of heterogeneity and complexity created by fractures. The importance of fractures in production of oil and gas is not limited to naturally fractured reservoirs. The economic exploitation of unconventional reservoirs, which is increasingly a major source of short- and long-term energy in the United States, hinges in part on effective stimulation of low-permeability rock through multi-stage hydraulic fracturing of horizontal wells. Accurate modeling and simulation of fractured media is still challenging owing to permeability anisotropies and contrasts. Non-physical abstractions inherent in conventional dual porosity and dual permeability models make these methods inadequate for solving different fluid-flow problems in fractured reservoirs. Also, recent approaches for discrete fracture modeling may require large computational times and hence the oil industry has not widely used such approaches, even though they give more accurate representations of fractured reservoirs than dual continuum models. We developed an embedded discrete fracture model (EDFM) for an in-house fully-implicit compositional reservoir simulator. EDFM borrows the dual-medium concept from conventional dual continuum models and also incorporates the effect of each fracture explicitly. In contrast to dual continuum models, fractures have arbitrary orientations and can be oblique or vertical, honoring the complexity and heterogeneity of a typical fractured reservoir. EDFM employs a structured grid to remediate challenges associated with unstructured gridding required for other discrete fracture models. Also, the EDFM approach can be easily incorporated in existing finite difference reservoir simulators. The accuracy of the EDFM approach was confirmed by comparing the results with analytical solutions and fine-grid, explicit-fracture simulations. Comparison of our results using the EDFM approach with fine-grid simulations showed that accurate results can be achieved using moderate grid refinements. This was further verified in a mesh sensitivity study that the EDFM approach with moderate grid refinement can obtain a converged solution. Hence, EDFM offers a computationally-efficient approach for simulating fluid flow in NFRs. Furthermore, several case studies presented in this study demonstrate the applicability, robustness, and efficiency of the EDFM approach for modeling fluid flow in fractured porous media. Another advantage of EDFM is its extensibility for various applications by incorporating different physics in the model. In order to examine the effect of pressure-dependent fracture properties on production, we incorporated the dynamic behavior of fractures into EDFM by employing empirical fracture deformation models. Our simulations showed that fracture deformation, caused by effective stress changes, substantially affects pressure depletion and hydrocarbon recovery. Based on the examples presented in this study, implementation of fracture geomechanical effects in EDFM did not degrade the computational performance of EDFM. Many unconventional reservoirs comprise well-developed natural fracture networks with multiple orientations and complex hydraulic fracture patterns suggested by microseismic data. We developed a coupled dual continuum and discrete fracture model to efficiently simulate production from these reservoirs. Large-scale hydraulic fractures were modeled explicitly using the EDFM approach and numerous small-scale natural fractures were modeled using a dual continuum approach. The transport parameters for dual continuum modeling of numerous natural fractures were derived by upscaling the EDFM equations. Comparison of the results using the coupled model with that of using the EDFM approach to represent all natural and hydraulic fractures explicitly showed that reasonably accurate results can be obtained at much lower computational cost by using the coupled approach with moderate grid refinements.

Download or read book Modern Fracturing written by Michael J. Economides and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 509 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Natural gas is rapidly emerging as a premier fuel for the world economy with markedly increasing trans-national trade. With proven reserves far exceeding those for crude oil, natural gas is likely to be around for centuries. This is a book about enhancing natural gas production using one of the most important and widespread well completion technologies -- hydraulic fracturing. The book addresses the way that natural gas is produced from reservoirs and then describes diagnostic techniques that can pinpoint whether the well is producing as it should or whether intervention should be undertaken, which is the central theme of this book."--Back cover.

Download or read book Modeling and Simulation of Fluid Flow in Naturally and Hydraulically Fractured Reservoirs Using Embedded Discrete Fracture Model EDFM written by Mahmood Shakiba and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Modeling and simulation of fluid flow in subsurface fractured systems has been steadily a popular topic in petroleum industry. The huge potential hydrocarbon reserve in naturally and hydraulically fractured reservoirs has been a major stimulant for developments in this field. Although several models have found limited applications in studying fractured reservoirs, still more comprehensive models are required to be applied for practical purposes. A recently developed Embedded Discrete Fracture Model (EDFM) incorporates the advantages of two of the well-known approaches, the dual continuum and the discrete fracture models, to investigate more complex fracture geometries. In EDFM, each fracture is embedded inside the matrix grid and is discretized by the cell boundaries. This approach introduces a robust methodology to represent the fracture planes explicitly in the computational domain. As part of this research, the EDFM was implemented in two of The University of Texas in-house reservoir simulators, UTCOMP and UTGEL. The modified reservoir simulators are capable of modeling and simulation of a broad range of reservoir engineering applications in naturally and hydraulically fractured reservoirs. To validate this work, comparisons were made against a fine-grid simulation and a semi-analytical solution. Also, the results were compared for more complicated fracture geometries with the results obtained from EDFM implementation in the GPAS reservoir simulator. In all the examples, good agreements were observed. To further illustrate the application and capabilities of UTCOMP- and UTGEL-EDFM, a few case studies were presented. First, a synthetic reservoir model with a network of fractures was considered to study the impact of well placement. It was shown that considering the configuration of background fracture networks can significantly improve the well placement design and also maximize the oil recovery. Then, the capillary imbibition effect was investigated for the same reservoir models to display its effect on incremental oil recovery. Furthermore, UTCOMP-EDFM was applied for hydraulic fracturing design where the performances of a simple and a complex fracture networks were evaluated in reservoirs with different rock matrix permeabilities. Accordingly, it was shown that a complex network is an ideal design for a very low permeability reservoir, while a simple network results in higher recovery when the reservoir permeability is moderate. Finally, UTGEL-EDFM was employed to optimize a conformance control process. Different injection timings and different gel concentrations were selected for water-flooding processes and their impact on oil recovery was evaluated henceforth.

Download or read book Various Topics in Unconventional Reservoir Simulation written by Yajie Zhao and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With the recent progress in technologies such as hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, unconventional resource development has exploded in recent years. Nevertheless, significant challenges remain for shale reservoirs because of the extensive number of uncertainties. Without proper characterization processes, extracting economic values from these projects will be difficult, and optimizations for future plans will also be challenging. Therefore, efficient models in production mechanism, management and optimization have gradually become hot topics among the petroleum industry. This study aims to address various crucial challenges during the production process of shale reservoirs, including unconventional well gas oil ratio (GOR) characterization, choke management, and well spacing optimization. Due to the ultra-low permeability and porosity, the fluid phase behavior in shale reservoirs significantly differs from the conventional fluid behavior and increases the production forecasting complexity. A substantial effort to better understand the mechanism is to characterize the unconventional well GOR, which always plays as a critical indicator to help predict long-term oil/gas production trends and develop appropriate production strategies. In this research, GOR behavior was first evaluated by a set of comprehensive sensitivity studies in a tight oil well model, which helped to investigate the key drivers that can impact the GOR response in unconventional resources. Then, a parent-child well-set case in Eagle Ford was presented. Through detailed characterization of the producing GOR, an improved understanding of the parent-child well behavior and the fracture hit impact can be obtained. In order to improve the efficiency of field operation, seeking for proper operation plan has been the focusing topic among the oil and gas industry. Choke management strategy selection is one of the essential measures to regulate fluid flow and control downstream system pressure, which could significantly impact the well production rate and estimated ultimate recovery (EUR). In this study, we utilized the non-intrusive embedded discrete fracture model (EDFM) method to handle complicated fracture designs and predicted the long-term EUR from conservative to aggressive choke strategy. Meanwhile, a series of sensitivity studies were presented to evaluate the impacts of various factors on shale gas production, including fracture permeability modulus, fracture closure level, and natural fractures network. The model becomes a valuable stencil to design fracture closure and complex fracture networks, which is a significant improvement for a more reliable choke management model in unconventional area. Another crucial part for well performance improvement is well spacing optimization. Consistent estimates of well spacing help reduce the impact of complex uncertainties from unconventional reservoirs, thereby improving the EUR and enhancing economic growth. We demonstrated a case study on well spacing optimization in a shale gas reservoir located in the Sichuan Basin in China. By using the advanced EDFM technology, complex natural fractures can be effectively captured and simulated. In this study, five different well spacing scenarios ranging from 300 m to 500 m were simulated individually to find the optimum well spacing that maximizes the economic revenue. As the practicability and the convenience showed in this workflow, it becomes feasible to be utilized in any other shale gas well