Inter-layer interference for multi-layered tight gas reservoir in the absence and presence of movable water

Due to the dissimilarity among different producing layers,the influences of inter-layer interference on the production performance of a multi-layer gas reservoir are possible.However,systematic studies of inter-layer interference for tight gas reservoirs are really limited,especially for those reservoirs in the presence of water.In this work,five types of possible inter-layer interferences,including both absence and presence of water,are identified for commingled production of tight gas reservoirs.Subsequently,a series of reservoir-scale and pore-scale numerical simulations are conducted to quantify the degree of influence of each type of interference.Consistent field evidence from the Yan'an tight gas reservoir(Ordos Basin,China)is found to support the simulation results.Additionally,suggestions are proposed to mitigate the potential inter-layer interferences.The results indicate that,in the absence of water,commingled production is favorable in two situations:when there is a difference in physical properties and when there is a difference in the pressure system of each layer.For reservoirs with a multi-pressure system,the backflow phenomenon,which significantly influences the production performance,only occurs under extreme conditions(such as very low production rates or well shut-in periods).When water is introduced into the multi-layer system,inter-layer interference becomes nearly inevitable.Perforating both the gas-rich layer and water-rich layer for commingled production is not desirable,as it can trigger water invasion from the water-rich layer into the gas-rich layer.The gas-rich layer might also be interfered with by water from the neighboring unperforated water-rich layer,where the water might break the barrier(eg weak joint surface,cement in fractures)between the two layers and migrate into the gas-rich layer.Additionally,the gas-rich layer could possibly be interfered with by water that accumulates at the bottom of the wellbore due to gravitational differentiation during shut-in operations.

Yields,growth and water use under chemical topping in relations to row configuration and plant density in drip-irrigated cotton

Background Water deficit is an important problem in agricultural production in arid regions.With the advent of wholly mechanized technology for cotton planting in Xinjiang,it is important to determine which planting mode could achieve high yield,fiber quality and water use efficiency(WUE).This study aimed to explore if chemical topping affected cotton yield,quality and water use in relation to row configuration and plant densities.Results Experiments were carried out in Xinjiang China,in 2020 and 2021 with two topping method,manual topping and chemical topping,two plant densities,low and high,and two row configurations,i.e.,76 cm equal rows and 10+66 cm narrow-wide rows,which were commonly applied in matching harvest machine.Chemical topping increased seed cotton yield,but did not affect cotton fiber quality comparing to traditional manual topping.Under equal row spacing,the WUE in higher density was 62.4%higher than in the lower one.However,under narrow-wide row spacing,the WUE in lower density was 53.3%higher than in higher one(farmers’practice).For machine-harvest cotton in Xinjiang,the optimal row configuration and plant density for chemical topping was narrow-wide rows with 15 plants m-2 or equal rows with 18 plants m-2.Conclusion The plant density recommended in narrow-wide rows was less than farmers’practice and the density in equal rows was moderate with local practice.Our results provide new knowledge on optimizing agronomic managements of machine-harvested cotton for both high yield and water efficient.

Gas-Water Production of a Continental Tight-Sandstone Gas Reservoir under Different Fracturing Conditions

A numerical model of hydraulic fracture propagation is introduced for a representative reservoir(Yuanba continental tight sandstone gas reservoir in Northeast Sichuan).Different parameters are considered,i.e.,the interlayer stress difference,the fracturing discharge rate and the fracturing fluid viscosity.The results show that these factors affect the gas and water production by influencing the fracture size.The interlayer stress difference can effectively control the fracture height.The greater the stress difference,the smaller the dimensionless reconstruction volume of the reservoir,while the flowback rate and gas production are lower.A large displacement fracturing construction increases the fracture-forming efficiency and expands the fracture size.The larger the displacement of fracturing construction,the larger the dimensionless reconstruction volume of the reservoir,and the higher the fracture-forming efficiency of fracturing fluid,the flowback rate,and the gas production.Low viscosity fracturing fluid is suitable for long fractures,while high viscosity fracturing fluid is suitable for wide fractures.With an increase in the fracturing fluid viscosity,the dimensionless reconstruction volume and flowback rate of the reservoir display a non-monotonic behavior,however,their changes are relatively small.

Purification of Produced Water from a Sour Oilfield in South Kuwait. 1. Oil-Water Separation and Industrial Salt Production

Produced water from an oil extraction site in South Kuwait was sampled after primary oil – water separation had been carried out. The produced water was filtered through a mixture of activated charcoal and esterified cellulosic material gained from spent coffee grounds as a tertiary adsorption treatment. The earth-alkaline metal ions and heavy metals were separated from the de-oiled produced water by addition of either sodium or potassium hydroxide in the presence of carbon dioxide or by direct addition of solid sodium carbonate. The resulting filtrate gave salt of industrial purity upon selective crystallization on evaporation.

Rate transient analysis methods for water-producing gas wells in tight reservoirs with mobile water

Tight gas reservoirs with mobile water exhibit multi-phase flow and high stress sensitivity.Accurately analyzing the reservoir and well parameters using conventional single-phase rate transient analysis methods proves challenging.This study introduces novel rate transient analysis methods incorporating evaluation processes based on the conventional flowing material balance method and the Blasingame type-curve method to examine fractured gas wells producing water.By positing a gas-water two-phase equivalent homogenous phase that considers characteristics of mobile water,gas,and high stress sensitivity,the conventional single-phase rate transient analysis methods can be applied by integrating the phase's characteristics and defining the phase's normalized parameters and material balance pseudotime.The rate transient analysis methods based on the equivalent homogenous phase can be used to quantitatively assess the parameters of wells and gas reservoirs,such as original gas-in-place,fracture half-length,reservoir permeability,and well drainage radius.This facilitates the analysis of production dynamics of fractured wells and well-controlled areas,subsequently aiding in locating residual gas and guiding the configuration of well patterns.The specific evaluation processes are detailed.Additionally,a numerical simulation mechanism model was constructed to verify the reliability of the developed methods.The methods introduced have been successfully implemented in field water-producing gas wells within tight gas reservoirs containing mobile water.

Purification of Produced Water from a Sour Oilfield in South Kuwait. 2. Oil-Water Separation and Crystallization of Calcium Carbonate

Oil-water separation for produced water (PW) originating from an oil extraction site in South Kuwait was carried out using bleached, esterified cellulosic material from used coffee grounds. Thereafter, earth-alkaline metal ions, specifically calcium ions, of the de-oiled PW were removed by precipitation with sodium carbonate to give access to pure sodium chloride as industrial salt from the remaining PW. While the purity of the precipitated calcium carbonate (CaCO3) depends on the precipitation conditions, CaCO3 of up to 95.48% purity can be obtained, which makes it a salable product. The precipitation of CaCO3 decreases the amount of calcium ions in PW from 11,300 ppm to 84 ppm.

Shale gas transport in nanopores with mobile water films and water bridge

Gas flow properties in nanopores are significantly determined by the flow patterns. Slug flow pattern is a potential water–gas two phase flow pattern, in which gas molecules flow in form of gas slugs and water molecules separate gas slugs. Considering water slippage, a portion of water molecules accumulates at the wall with lower mobility, while the remaining water molecules take the shape of a water bridge. Adopting foam apparent viscosity model to represent slug rheological behavior, how water bridge disturbs on gas flow capacity is estimated. The results are compared with the water–gas two phase flow model that assumes annular flow pattern as well as the single gas flow model without the consideration of water. The comparison illustrates that gas molecular movement is significantly hindered by flow space reduction and loss of gas slippage. The impact from water phase of slug flow pattern is more significant than that of annular flow pattern on gas flow capacity. It is discovered that larger nanopores improve gas flow capacity while maintaining bulk water layer thickness and increasing water bridge thickness tend to reduce gas transport ability. A better understanding of the structure and transport of water and gas molecules is conducive to figure out the specific gas–water flow behavior and predict shale gas production.

For more and purer hydrogen-the progress and challenges in water gas shift reaction

The water gas shift(WGS) reaction is a standard reaction that is widely used in industrial hydrogen production and removal of carbon monoxide. The improved catalytic performance of WGS reaction also contributes to ammonia synthesis and other reactions. Advanced catalysts have been developed for both high and low-temperature reactions and are widely used in industry. In recent years, supported metal nanoparticle catalysts have been researched due to their high metal utilization. Low-temperature catalysts have shown promising results, including high selectivity, high shift rates, and higher activity potential. Additionally, significant progress has been made in removing trace CO through the redox reaction in electrolytic cell. This paper reviews the development of WGS reaction catalysts, including the reaction mechanism, catalyst design, and innovative research methods. The catalyst plays a crucial role in the WGS reaction, and this paper provides an instant of catalyst design under different conditions. The progress of catalysts is closely related to the development of advanced characterization techniques.Furthermore, modifying the catalyst surface to enhance activity and significantly increase reaction kinetics is a current research direction. This review goals to stimulate a better understanding of catalyst design, performance optimization, and driving mechanisms, leading to further progress in this field.

Permeability evolution and gas flow in wet coal under non-equilibrium state:Considering both water swelling and process-based gas swelling

Accurate knowledge of gas flow within the reservoir and related controlling factors will be important for enhancing the production of coal bed methane.At present,most studies focused on the permeability evolution of dry coal under gas adsorption equilibrium,gas flow and gas diffusion within wet coal under the generally non-equilibrium state are often ignored in the process of gas recovery.In this study,an improved apparent permeability model is proposed which accommodates the water and gas adsorption,stress dependence,water film thickness and gas flow regimes.In the process of modeling,the water adsorption is only affected by water content while the gas adsorption is time and water content dependent;based on poroelastic mechanics,the effective fracture aperture and effective pore radius are derived;and then the variation in water film thickness for different pore types under the effect of water content,stress and adsorption swelling are modeled;the flow regimes are considered based on Beskok’s model.Further,after validation with experimental data,the proposed model was applied to numerical simulations to investigate the evolution of permeability-related factors under the effect of different water contents.The gas flow in wet coal under the non-equilibrium state is explicitly revealed.

Self-sealing of fractures in indurated claystones measured by water and gas flow

Self-sealing of fractures in the indurated Callovo-Oxfordian(COX)and Opalinus(OPA)claystones,which are considered as host rocks for disposal of radioactive waste,was investigated on artificially fractured samples.The samples were extracted from four lithological facies relatively rich in clay mineral,carbonate and quartz,respectively.The self-sealing of fractures was measured by fracture closure,water permeability variation,gas penetration,and recovery of gas-induced pathways.Most of the fractured samples exhibited a dramatic reduction inwater permeability to low levels that is close to that of intact rock,depending on their mineralogical composition,fracture intensity,confining stress,and load duration.The self-sealing capacity of the clay-rich samples is higher than that of the carbonate-rich and sandy ones.Significant effects of sample size and fracture intensity were identified.The sealed fractures become gas-tight for certain in-jection pressures.However,the measured gas breakthrough pressures are still lower than the confining stresses.The gas-induced pathways can recover when contacting water.These important findings imply that fractures in such indurated claystones can effectively recover to hinder water transport but allow gas release under relatively low pressures without compromising the rock integrity.

Gas-hydrate formation,agglomeration and inhibition in oil-based drilling fluids for deep-water drilling

One of the main challenges in deep-water drilling is gas-hydrate plugs,which make the drilling unsafe.Some oil-based drilling fluids（OBDF） that would be used for deep-water drilling in the South China Sea were tested to investigate the characteristics of gas-hydrate formation,agglomeration and inhibition by an experimental system under the temperature of 4 ？C and pressure of 20 MPa,which would be similar to the case of 2000 m water depth.The results validate the hydrate shell formation model and show that the water cut can greatly influence hydrate formation and agglomeration behaviors in the OBDF.The oleophobic effect enhanced by hydrate shell formation which weakens or destroys the interfacial films effect and the hydrophilic effect are the dominant agglomeration mechanism of hydrate particles.The formation of gas hydrates in OBDF is easier and quicker than in water-based drilling fluids in deep-water conditions of low temperature and high pressure because the former is a W/O dispersive emulsion which means much more gas-water interfaces and nucleation sites than the later.Higher ethylene glycol concentrations can inhibit the formation of gas hydrates and to some extent also act as an anti-agglomerant to inhibit hydrates agglomeration in the OBDF.

Effect of Mg/Al atom ratio of support on catalytic performance of Co-Mo/MgO-Al_2O_3 catalyst for water gas shift reaction

Co-Mo-based catalysts supported on mixed oxide supports MgO-Al2O3 with different Mg/Al atom ratios for water gas shift reaction were studied by means of TPR, Raman, XPS and ESR. It was found that the octahedral Mo species in oxidized Co-Mo/MgO（x）-Al2O3 catalyst and the contents of Mo^5＋, Mo^4＋, S^2- and S^2-2 species in the functioning catalysts increased with increasing the Mg/Al atom ratio of the support under the studied experimental conditions. This is favorable for the formation of the active Co-Mo-S phase of the catalysts. Catalytic performance testing results showed that the catalysts Co-Mo/MgO-Al2O3 with the Mg/Al atom ratio of the support in the range of 0.475-0.525 exhibited optimal catalytic activity for the reaction.

Automatic segmentation of gas plumes from multibeam water column images using a U-shape network

Cold seeps are widely developed on the seabed of continental margins and can form gas plumes due to the upward migration of methane-rich fluids.The detection and automatic segmentation of gas plumes are of great significance in locating and studying the cold seep system that is usually accompanied by hydrate layers in the subsurface.A multibeam echo-sounder system(MBES)can record the complete backscatter intensity of the water column,and it is one of the most effective means for detecting cold seeps.However,the gas plumes recorded in multibeam water column images(WCI)are usually blurred due to the interference of the complicated water environment and the sidelobes of the MBES,making it difficult to obtain the effective segmentation.Therefore,based on the existing UNet semantic segmentation network,this paper proposes an AP-UNet network combining the convolutional block attention module and the pyramid pooling module for the automatic segmentation and extraction of gas plumes.Comparative experiments are conducted among three traditional segmentation methods and two deep learning methods.The results show that the AP-UNet segmentation model can effectively suppress complicated water column noise interference.The segmentation precision,the Dice coefficient,and the recall rate of this model are 92.09%,92.00%,and 92.49%,respectively,which are 1.17%,2.10%,and 2.07%higher than the results of the UNet.

Water Role and Its Influence on Hydrogen Isotopic Composition of Natural Gas during Gas Generation

In order to discuss the role and influence of water during the generation of natural gas,the participation mechanism of water during the evolution of organic matter and its influences were summarized.In addition,we carried out an anhydrous cracking experiment of oil extracted from the Feixianguan Formation source rock in a closed system,which led to the establishment of the kinetic models for describing carbon and hydrogen isotopic fractionation during gas generation from organic matter.The models were calibrated and then applied to the northeastern Sichuan Basin.By combining a series of gas generation experiments from octadecane pyrolysis without water or with distilled water in varying mass proportions,several results were proved:(1) the hydrogen isotopic composition of natural gas becomes lighter with the participation of formation water;(2) we can quantitatively study the hydrogen isotopic fractionation with the kinetic model for describing carbon isotopic fractionation; (3) more abundant and reliable geological information can be obtained through the combined application of carbon and hydrogen isotopic indices.

Quantitative research of the liquid film characteristics in upward vertical gas, oil and water flows

The study of liquid film characteristics in multiphase flow is a very important research topic, however,the characteristics of the liquid film around Taylor bubble structure in gas, oil and water three-phase flow are not clear. In the present study, a novel liquid film sensor is applied to measure the distributed signals of the liquid film in three-phase flow. Based on the liquid film signals, the liquid film characteristics including the structural characteristics and the nonlinear dynamics characteristics in three-phase flows are investigated for the first time. The structural characteristics including the proportion, the appearance frequency and the thickness of the liquid film are obtained and the influences of the liquid and gas superficial velocities and the oil content on them are investigated. To investigate the nonlinear dynamics characteristics of the liquid film with the changing flow conditions, the entropy analysis is introduced to successfully uncover and quantify the dynamic complexity of the liquid film behavior.

Chemical kinetics evaluation and its application of natural gas generation derived from the Yacheng Formation in the deep-water area of the Qiongdongnan Basin,China

The natural gas generation process is simulated by heating source rocks of the Yacheng Formation, including the onshore-offshore mudstone and coal with kerogens of Type II2-III in the Qiongdongnan Basin. The aim is to quantify the natural gas generation from the Yacheng Formation and to evaluate the geological prediction and kinetic parameters using an optimization procedure based on the basin modeling of the shallow-water area. For this, the hydrocarbons produced have been grouped into four classes（C1, C2, C3 and C4-6）. The results show that the onset temperature of methane generation is predicted to occur at 110℃ during the thermal history of sediments since 5.3 Ma by using data extrapolation. The hydrocarbon potential for ethane, propane and heavy gaseous hydrocarbons（C4-6） is found to be almost exhausted at geological temperature of 200℃ when the transformation ratio（TR） is over 0.8, but for which methane is determined to be about 0.5 in the shallow-water area. In contrast, the end temperature of the methane generation in the deep-water area was over 300℃ with a TR over 0.8. It plays an important role in the natural gas exploration of the deep-water basin and other basins in the broad ocean areas of China. Therefore, the natural gas exploration for the deep-water area in the Qiongdongnan Basin shall first aim at the structural traps in the Ledong, Lingshui and Beijiao sags, and in the forward direction of the structure around the sags, and then gradually develop toward the non-structural trap in the deep-water area basin of the broad ocean areas of China.

Effects of Groundwater with Various Salinities on Evaporation and Redistribution of Water and Salt in Saline-sodic Soils in Songnen Plain,Northeast China

Groundwater mineralization is one of the main factors affecting the transport of soil water and salt in saline-sodic areas.To investigate the effects of groundwater with different levels of salinity on evaporation and distributions of soil water and salt in Songnen Plain,Northeast China,five levels of groundwater sodium adsorption ration of water(SARw)and total salt content(TSC mmol/L)were conducted in an oil column lysimeters.The five treated groundwater labeled as ST0:0,ST0:10,ST5:40,ST10:70 and ST20:100,were prepared with NaCl and CaCl2 in proportion,respectively.The results showed the groundwater evaporation(GWE)and soil evaporation(SE)increased firstly and then decreased with the increase of groundwater salinity.The values of GWE and SE in ST10:70 treatment were the highest,which were 2.09 and 1.84 times the values in the ST0:0 treatment with the lowest GWE and SE.There was a positive linear correlation between GWE and the Ca^(2+)content in groundwater,with R^(2)=0.998.The soil water content(SWC)of ST0:0 treatment was significantly(P<0.05)less than those of other treatments during the test.The SWC of the ST0:0 and ST0:10 treatments increased with the increase of soil depth,while the other treatments showed the opposite trend.Statistical analysis indicated the SWC in the 0–60 cm soil layer was positively correlated with the groundwater TSC and its ion contents during the test.Salt accumulation occurred in the topsoil and the salt accumulation in the 0–20 cm soil layer was significantly(P<0.05)greater than that in the subsoil.This study revealed the effects of the salinity level of groundwater,especially the Ca^(2+)content and TSC of groundwater,on the GWE and distributions of soil water and salt,which provided important support for the prevention and reclamation of soil salinization and sodificaton in shallow groundwater regions.

A new model for predicting irreducible water saturation in tight gas reservoirs

The irreducible water saturation(Swir) is a significant parameter for relative permeability prediction and initial hydrocarbon reserves estimation.However,the complex pore structures of the tight rocks and multiple factors of the formation conditions make the parameter difficult to be accurately predicted by the conventional methods in tight gas reservoirs.In this study,a new model was derived to calculate Swir based on the capillary model and the fractal theory.The model incorporated different types of immobile water and considered the stress effect.The dead or stationary water(DSW) was considered in this model,which described the phenomena of water trapped in the dead-end pores due to detour flow and complex pore structures.The water film,stress effect and formation temperature were also considered in the proposed model.The results calculated by the proposed model are in a good agreement with the experimental data.This proves that for tight sandstone gas reservoirs the Swir calculated from the new model is more accurate.The irreducible water saturation calculated from the new model reveals that Swir is controlled by the critical capillary radius,DSW coefficient,effective stress and formation temperature.

Experimental study on total dissolved gas supersaturation in water

More and more high dams have been constructed and operated in China. The total dissolved gas （TDG） supersaturation caused by dam discharge leads to gas bubble disease or even death of fish, Through a series of experiments, the conditions and requirements of supersaturated TDG generation were examined in this study. The results show that pressure （water depth）, aeration, and bubble dissolution time are required for supersaturated TDG generation, and the air-water contact area and turbulence intensity are the main factors that affect the generation rate of supersaturated TDG. The TDG supersaturation levels can be reduced by discharging water to shallow shoals downstream of the dam or using negative pressure pipelines. Furthermore, the TDG supersaturation levels in stilling basins have no direct relationship with those in reservoirs. These results are of great importance for further research on the prediction of supersaturated TDG generation caused by dam discharge and aquatic protection.

Produced Water from Oil and Gas Exploration—Problems, Solutions and Opportunities

Large volumes of water are generated in gas- and oil-production. This includes the water that is present originally in the reservoirs, but also water that is injected into the wells. While currently much of the produced water is either reinjected or disposed of after treatment, treated produced water is increasingly seen as an interesting resource, especially in water-scarce regions. This review looks at different PW treatment methods available, with an emphasis on the management of PW in oil- and gas production on the Arabian Peninsula.