Study on the Impact of Massive Refracturing on the Fracture Network in Tight Oil Reservoir Horizontal Wells

Class III tight oil reservoirs have low porosity and permeability,which are often responsible for low production rates and limited recovery.Extensive repeated fracturing is a well-known technique to fix some of these issues.With such methods,existing fractures are refractured,and/or new fractures are created to facilitate communication with natural fractures.This study explored how different refracturing methods affect horizontal well fracture networks,with a special focus on morphology and related fluid flow changes.In particular,the study relied on the unconventional fracture model(UFM).The evolution of fracture morphology and flow field after the initial fracturing were analyzed accordingly.The simulation results indicated that increased formation energy and reduced reservoir stress differences can promote fracture expansion.It was shown that the length of the fracture network,the width of the fracture network,and the complexity of the fracture can be improved,the oil drainage area can be increased,the distance of oil and gas seepage can be reduced,and the production of a single well can be significantly increased.

Multistage hydraulic fracturing of a horizontal well for hard roof related coal burst control:Insights from numerical modelling to field application

Multistage hydraulic fracturing of horizontal wells(MFHW)is a promising technology for controlling coal burst caused by thick and hard roofs in China.However,challenges remain regarding the MFHW control mechanism of coal burst and assessment of the associated fracturing effects.In this study,these challenges were investigated through numerical modelling and field applications,based on the actual operating parameters of MFHW for hard roofs in a Chinese coal mine.A damage parameter(D)is proposed to assess the degree of hydraulic fracturing in the roof.The mechanisms and effects of MFHW for controlling coal burst are analyzed using microseismic(MS)data and front-abutment stress distribution.Results show that the degree of fracturing can be categorized into lightly-fractured(D≤0.3),moderately fractured(0.3<D≤0.6),well-fractured(0.6<D≤0.9),and over-fractured(0.9<D≤0.95).A response stage in the fracturing process,characterized by a slowdown in crack development,indicates the transition to a wellfractured condition.After MFHW,the zone range and peak value of the front-abutment stress decrease.Additionally,MS events shift from near the coal seam to the fractured roof layers,with the number of MS events increases while the average MS energy decreases.The MFHW control mechanisms of coal bursts involve mitigating mining-induced stress and reducing seismic activity during longwall retreat,ensuring stresses remain below the ultimate stress level.These findings provide a reference for evaluating MFHW fracturing effects and controlling coal burst disasters in engineering.

Application of Horizontal Well Seismic Geo-Steering Technology in XX Block Development

During the development phase horizontal wells are very efficient way to improve the production in the deep coal bed methane. The 8# coal seam in the XX block on the eastern edge of the Ordos Basin has challenges such as deep burial depth (>2000 m), thin coal sweet spot (3 m), and significant short-distance structural fluctuations. The challenges caused a high risk of missing targets and running out of the target layers, as well as difficulties in cementing and completion due to uneven well trajectories. To address these challenges, this paper focuses on solving the issues through detailed precise geological modeling, optimized trajectory design, and accurate seismic geology Steerable Drilling. 1) Based on reasonable velocity field construction and Time-Depth transformation, a precise directional model is constructed using the layer-by-layer approximation principle with reference to marker layers, improving the accuracy of the target spot and avoiding premature or delayed entry into the target;2) Based on a precise geological model, the dip angle of the strata ahead and the development of sweet spots are clearly defined, enabling optimized trajectory design for horizontal wells;3) Using “1 + N” dynamic modeling to update the geological model in real-time during the drilling process, and actively guide the drill bit through the horizontal segment smoothly by using multi-information judgment of the drill bit position. The actual drilling of 80 completed horizontal wells in this area show: That this approach effectively ensures the smooth trajectory and high-quality drilling rate of the horizontal well in the coal seam, providing a basis for subsequent hydraulic fracturing and increasing single-well production. At the same time, it has certain potential value and significance for similar coalbed methane developments under similar geological conditions.

Evaluation of hydraulic fracturing of horizontal wells in tight reservoirs based on the deep neural network with physical constraints

Accurate diagnosis of fracture geometry and conductivity is of great challenge due to the complex morphology of volumetric fracture network. In this study, a DNN (deep neural network) model was proposed to predict fracture parameters for the evaluation of the fracturing effects. Field experience and the law of fracture volume conservation were incorporated as physical constraints to improve the prediction accuracy due to small amount of data. A combined neural network was adopted to input both static geological and dynamic fracturing data. The structure of the DNN was optimized and the model was validated through k-fold cross-validation. Results indicate that this DNN model is capable of predicting the fracture parameters accurately with a low relative error of under 10% and good generalization ability. The adoptions of the combined neural network, physical constraints, and k-fold cross-validation improve the model performance. Specifically, the root-mean-square error (RMSE) of the model decreases by 71.9% and 56% respectively with the combined neural network as the input model and the consideration of physical constraints. The mean square error (MRE) of fracture parameters reduces by 75% because the k-fold cross-validation improves the rationality of data set dividing. The model based on the DNN with physical constraints proposed in this study provides foundations for the optimization of fracturing design and improves the efficiency of fracture diagnosis in tight oil and gas reservoirs.

Research into magnetic guidance technology for directional drilling in SAGD horizontal wells

SAGD horizontal wells are used to enhance oil recovery from heavy oil reservoirs.This technology requires precise separation between the production well and the injection well to ensure the efficient drainage of the reservoir.By studying the attitude of the downhole probe tube and the production well trajectory,an algorithm is proposed for eliminating ferromagnetic interference while drilling injection wells.A high accuracy filter circuit has been designed to correct the detected magnetic signals,which are ultra-weak,frequency-instable,and narrow-band.The directional drilling magnetic guidance system（DD-MGS） has been developed by integrating these advanced techniques.It contains a sub-system for the ranging calculation software,a magnetic source,a downhole probe tube and a sub-system for collecting ＆ processing the detected signals.The DD-MGS has succeeded in oilfield applications.It can guide the directional drilling trajectory not only in the horizontal section but also in the build section of horizontal injection wells.This new technology has broad potential applications.

Study on Horizontal Well Layout Boundary Considering Wellbore Pressure Loss

Based on the Dikken analytical calculation method of wellbore pressure loss under single-phase fluid and turbulent flow conditions, the correlation model between horizontal well output and horizontal section length and horizontal section distributed pressure difference is constructed. The influence degree of wellbore pressure loss on daily oil production of horizontal well, horizontal section pressure and production effect of horizontal well under different horizontal well lengths is analyzed, which provides certain reference for the design of horizontal well length and well layout.

Productivity analysis of horizontal wells intercepted by multiple finite-conductivity fractures

Horizontal wells in the anisotropic reservoirs can be stimulated by hydraulic fracturing in order to create multiple finite-conductivity vertical fractures. Several methods for evaluating the productivity of the horizontal wells have been presented in the literature. With such methods, however, it is still difficult to obtain an accurate result. This paper firstly presents the dimensionless conductivity theory of vertical fractures. Then models for calculating the equivalent wellbore radius and the skin factor due to flow convergence to the well bore are proposed after analyzing the steady-state flow in porous reservoirs. By applying the superposition principle to the pressure drop, a new method for evaluating the productivity of horizontal wells intercepted by multiple finite-conductivity fractures is developed. The influence of fracture conductivity and fracture half length on the horizontal well productivity is quantitatively analyzed with a synthetic case. Optimum fracture number and fracture space are further discussed in this study. The results prove that the method outlined here should be useful to design optimum fracturing of horizontal wells.

Numerical simulation and dimension reduction analysis of electromagnetic logging while drilling of horizontal wells in complex structures

Electromagnetic logging while drilling(LWD)is one of the key technologies of the geosteering and formation evaluation for high-angle and horizontal wells.In this paper,we solve the dipole source-generated magnetic/electric fields in 2D formations efficiently by the 2.5D finite diff erence method.Particularly,by leveraging the field’s rapid attenuation in spectral domain,we propose truncated Gauss–Hermite quadrature,which is several tens of times faster than traditional inverse fast Fourier transform.By applying the algorithm to the LWD modeling under complex formations,e.g.,folds,fault and sandstone pinch-outs,we analyze the feasibility of the dimension reduction from 2D to 1D.For the formations with smooth lateral changes,like folds,the simplified 1D model’s results agree well with the true responses,which indicate that the 1D simplification with sliding window is feasible.However,for the formation structures with drastic rock properties changes and sharp boundaries,for instance,faults and sandstone pinch-outs,the simplified 1D model will lead to large errors and,therefore,2.5D algorithms should be applied to ensure the accuracy.

Diagnostic Method and Adaptability Analysis of Multiple Water Breakthroughs in Horizontal Well in Combined Well Pattern

The combined well pattern has been widely used in reservoir development, with a common pattern being a horizontal well in the center for oil production and multiple vertical wells around for water injection. For this type of well pattern, determining the horizontal well is affected by which injection wells, especially when the injecting water breaks through, accurately determining the direction of water inflow will provide an important basis for targeted water well measures. Based on the production performance data of horizontal wells, the semi logarithmic relationship curves of water-oil ratio, derivative water-oil ratio, and cumulative production were used for the first time to determine the breakthrough problem of water injection in the surrounding water injection wells of horizontal wells based on their response characteristics. The adaptability of this method under different influencing factors was analyzed. Introducing the parameter of cumulative production not only preserves the variation trend of the derivative of water-oil ratio with time, but also facilitates the processing of actual production data.

Optimization of perforation distribution for horizontal wells based on genetic algorithms

Early water breakthrough and a rapid increase in water cut are always observed in high- permeability completion intervals when perforations are uniformly distributed in the wellbore in heterogeneous reservoirs. Optimization of perforating parameters in partitioned sections in horizontal intervals helps homogenize the inflow from the reservoir and thus is critically important for enhanced oil recovery. This paper derives a coupled reservoir-wellbore flow model based on inflow controlling theory. Genetic algorithms are applied to solving the model as they excel in obtaining the global optimum of discrete functions. The optimized perforating strategy applies a low perforation density in high- permeability intervals and a high perforation density in low-permeability intervals. As a result, the inflow profile is homogenized and idealized.

The critical rate of horizontal wells in bottom-water reservoirs with an impermeable barrier

Barrier impacts on water cut and critical rate of horizontal wells in bottom water-drive reservoirs have been recognized but not investigated quantitatively. Considering the existence of impermeable barriers in oil formations, this paper developed a horizontal well flow model and obtained mathematical equations for the critical rate when water cresting forms in bottom-water reservoirs. The result shows that the barrier increases the critical rate and delays water breakthrough. Further study of the barrier size and location shows that increases in the barrier size and the distance between the barrier and oil-water contact lead to higher critical rates. The critical rate gradually approaches a constant as the barrier size increases. The case study shows the method presented here can be used to predict the critical rate in a bottom-water reservoir and applied to investigate the water cresting behavior of horizontal wells.

Parameters Optimization of Multi-Branch Horizontal Well Basing on Streamline Simulation

As a highly efficient production method, the technique of multi-branch horizontal well is widely used in low permeability reservoirs, heavy oil reservoirs, shallow layer reservoirs and multi-layer reservoirs, because it can significantly improve the productivity of a single well, inhibit coning and enhance oil recovery. Study on sweep efficiency and parameters optimization of multi-branch horizontal well is at the leading edge of research. Therefore, the study is important for enhancing oil recovery and integral exploitation benefit of oil fields. In many applications, streamline simulation shows particular advantages over finite-difference simulation. With the advantages of streamline simulation such as its ability to display paths of fluid flow and acceleration factor in simulation, the flooding process is more visual. The communication between wells and flooding area has been represented appropriately. This method has been applied to the XS9 reservoir in Daqing Oilfield. The production history of this reservoir is about 10 years. The reservoir is maintained above bubble point so that the simulation meets the slight compressibility assumption. New horizontal wells are drilled following this rule.

Stress redistribution in multi-stage hydraulic fracturing of horizontal wells in shales

Multi-stage hydraulic fracturing of horizontal wells is the main stimulation method in recovering gas from tight shale gas reservoirs, and stage spacing deter- mination is one of the key issues in fracturing design. The initiation and propagation of hydraulic fractures will cause stress redistribution and may activate natural fractures in the reservoir. Due to the limitation of the analytical method in calculation of induced stresses, we propose a numerical method, which incorporates the interaction of hydraulic fractures and the wellbore, and analyzes the stress distri- bution in the reservoir under different stage spacing. Simulation results indicate the following： （1） The induced stress was overestimated from the analytical method because it did not take into account the interaction between hydraulic fractures and the horizontal wellbore. （2） The hydraulic fracture had a considerable effect on the redis- tribution of stresses in the direction of the horizontal wellbore in the reservoir. The stress in the direction per- pendicular to the horizontal wellbore after hydraulic frac- turing had a minor change compared with the original in situ stress. （3） Stress interferences among fractures were greatly connected with the stage spacing and the distance from the wellbore. When the fracture length was 200 m, and the stage spacing was 50 m, the stress redistribution due to stage fracturing may divert the original stress pat- tern, which might activate natural fractures so as to generate a complex fracture network.

The productivity evaluation model and its application for finite conductivity horizontal wells in fault block reservoirs

It is very difficult to evaluate the productivity of horizontal wells in fault block reservoirs due to the influence of fault sealing.On the basis of the method of images and source-sink theory,a semianalytical model coupling reservoir and finite conductivity horizontal wellbore flow dynamics was built,in which the influence of fault sealing was taken into account.The distribution of wellbore flow and radial inflow profiles along the horizontal interval were also obtained.The impact of the distance between the horizontal well and the fault on the well productivity was quantitatively analyzed.Based on this analysis,the optimal distance between the horizontal well and the fault in banded fault block reservoirs could be determined.According to the field application,the relative error calculated by the model proposed in this paper is within ±15%.It is an effective evaluation method for the productivity of horizontal wells in fault block reservoirs.The productivity of the horizontal well increases logarithmically as the distance between the horizontal well and the fault increases.The optimal distance between the horizontal well and the fault is 0.25-0.3 times the horizontal well length.

A novel steady-state productivity equation for horizontal wells in bottom water drive gas reservoirs

It is known that there is a discrepancy between field data and the results predicted from the previous equations derived by simplifying three-dimensional（3-D） flow into two-dimensions（2-D）.This paper presents a new steady-state productivity equation for horizontal wells in bottom water drive gas reservoirs.Firstly,the fundamental solution to the 3-D steady-state Laplace equation is derived with the philosophy of source and the Green function for a horizontal well located at the center of the laterally infinite gas reservoir.Then,using the fundamental solution and the Simpson integral formula,the average pseudo-pressure equation and the steady-state productivity equation are achieved for the horizontal section.Two case-studies are given in the paper,the results calculated from the newly-derived formula are very close to the numerical simulation performed with the Canadian software CMG and the real production data,indicating that the new formula can be used to predict the steady-state productivity of such horizontal gas wells.

Steam Flooding after Steam Soak in Heavy Oil Reservoirs through Extended-reach Horizontal Wells

This paper presents a new development scheme of simultaneous injection and production in a single horizontal well drilled for developing small block reservoirs or offshore reservoirs. It is possible to set special packers within the long completion horizontal interval to establish an injection zone and a production zone. This method can also be used in steam flooding after steam soak through a horizontal well. Simulation results showed that it was desirable to start steam flooding after six steam soaking cycles and at this time the oil/steam ratio was 0.25 and oil recovery efficiency was 23.48%. Steam flooding performance was affected by separation interval and steam injection rate. Reservoir numerical simulation indicated that maximum oil recovery would be achieved at a separation section of 40-50 m at steam injection rate of 100-180 t/d; and the larger the steam injection rate, the greater the water cut and pressure difference between injection zone and production zone. A steam injection rate of 120 t/d was suitable for steam flooding under practical injection-production conditions. All the results could be useful for the guidance of steam flooding projects.

A numerical method for simulating planar 3D multi-fracture propagation in multi-stage fracturing of horizontal wells

To resolve the issue of design for multi-stage and multi-cluster fracturing in multi-zone reservoirs, a new efficient algorithm for the planar 3 D multi-fracture propagation model was proposed. The model considers fluid flow in the wellbore-perforation-fracture system and fluid leak-off into the rock matrix, and uses a 3 D boundary integral equation to describe the solid deformation. The solid-fluid coupling equation is solved by an explicit integration algorithm, and the fracture front is determined by the uniform tip asymptotic solutions and shortest path algorithm. The accuracy of the algorithm is verified by the analytical solution of radial fracture, results of the implicit level set algorithm, and results of organic glass fracturing experiment. Compared with the implicit level set algorithm(ILSA), the new algorithm is much higher in computation speed. The numerical case study is conducted based on a horizontal well in shale gas formation of Zhejiang oilfield. The impact of stress heterogeneity among multiple clusters and perforation number distribution on multi-fracture growth and fluid distribution among multiple fractures are analyzed by numerical simulation. The results show that reducing perforation number in each cluster can counteract the effect of stress contrast among perforation clusters. Adjusting perforation number in each cluster can promote uniform flux among clusters, and the perforation number difference should better be 1-2 among clusters. Increasing perforation number in the cluster with high in situ stress is conducive to uniform fluid partitioning. However, uniform fluid partitioning is not equivalent to uniform fracture geometry. The fracture geometry is controlled by the stress interference and horizontal principal stress profile jointly.

Water-out performance and pattern of horizontal wells for marine sandstone reservoirs in Tarim Basin, NW China

Based on geological analysis,reservoir numerical simulation and production performance analysis,water-out performance and pattern of horizontal wells in Tarim marine sandstone reservoir were studied.Compared with continental sandstone reservoirs,the marine sandstone reservoirs in Tarim Basin were characterized by low oil viscosity,good reservoir continuity,and development of interbeds,which together with the large amount of horizontal wells,resulted in fast production rate and high recovery degree of the reservoirs.The main controlling factors of uneven water-out in horizontal wells were reservoir seepage barrier,injection-production well pattern,and dominant seepage channel.Thus 9 types in 4 categories of typical water-out pattern of horizontal wells in Tarim marine sandstone reservoirs were identified,and water-out management measures were proposed for them respectively according to their water-out mechanism and remaining oil distribution characteristics.Finally,the water-out pattern can be identified based on the inflection characteristics of derivative curve of water-oil ratio.This study of the water-out pattern can provide guidance for the adjustment policy of water injection in horizontal wells in marine sandstone reservoirs of Tarim Oilfield.

Practice and understanding of sidetracking horizontal drilling in old wells in Sulige Gas Field, NW China

To seek effective ways of lowering development cost and tapping inter-well remaining reserves, sidetracking horizontal wells from old wells in Su10 and Su53 Block were conducted. The engineering and geological problems such as leakage, collapse and sticking in slim-hole sidetracking, and difficult evaluation of remaining gas were gradually overcome, and a set of drilling and completion technology, well deployment optimization technology and geo-steering technology suitable for sidetracking horizontal wells in tight sandstone gas reservoirs have been worked out. By making full use of the old well, sidetracking horizontal wells can greatly reduce development costs, enhance the producing degree of inter-well remaining reserves, and get production 3-5 times of that of adjacent vertical wells.Its production effect is influenced by encountered sandstone length, the position of the horizontal segment in the reservoir, produced effective reservoir thickness, gas saturation, controlled reserves and fracturing effect, etc. Up to now, in Block Su10 and Su53, 12 sidetracking horizontal wells have been drilled, which have an average drilling cycle of 49 days, average horizontal section length of 689 m,average effective drilling ratio of 61.5%, average well-head pressure of 16.2 MPa, and daily output of 4.7×10~4 m^3 at the initial stage after production. By the end of 2017, the average yield increment was more than 1 000×10~4 m^3 with good effect. With the increase of low yield old wells, wells in the enrichment regions tend to be saturated and the rest gas-bearing areas are lower in grade, therefore, sidetracking horizontal well can be used for optimization of well pattern, well deployment mode and exploitation of remaining oil areas.

Annual Output of Five Horizontal Wells Reaches One Million Tons

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