Remaining Oil Distribution Law and Potential Tapping Strategy of Horizontal Well Pattern in Narrow Oil Rim Reservoir with Gas Cap and Edge Water

For thin oil rim reservoir with gas cap and edge water, it is helpful to improve the development effect to find out the distribution law of remaining oil in this kind of reservoirs. For this reason, taking the narrow oil rim reservoir with gas cap and edge water of Oilfield A in Bohai Sea as a case, the main controlling factors, including reservoir structure, fault, gas cap energy, edge water energy and well pattern, affecting the distribution of residual oil in this kind of reservoir were analyzed by using the data of core, logging, paleogeomorphology and production. Then, the distribution law of remaining oil was summarized. Generally, the remaining oil distribution is mainly potato-shaped or strip-shaped in plane. Vertically, it depends on the energy of gas cap and edge water. For the reservoir with big gas gap and weak edge water, the remaining oil mainly lies in the bottom of oil column. And for the reservoir with small gas gap and strong edge water, the remaining oil mainly locates at the top of oil column. Aiming at different distribution modes of remaining oil, the corresponding potential tapping strategies of horizontal wells are put forward: in the late stage of development, for the reservoir with big gas gap and weak edge water, the remaining oil concentrates at the bottom of the oil column, and the position of horizontal well should be placed at the lower 1/3 to the lower 1/5 of the oil column;for the reservoir with small gas cap and strong edge water, the remaining oil locates at the top of the oil column, and the position of horizontal well should be put at the upper 1/5 to the upper 1/3 of the oil column height, vertically. Based on the study on remaining oil of Oilfield A, a potential tapping strategy of well pattern thickening and vertical position optimization of horizontal well was proposed. This strategy guided the efficient implementation of the comprehensive adjustment plan of the oilfield. Moreover, 18 infill development wells were implemented in Oilfield A, and the average production of the infill wells is 2.1 times that of the surrounding old wells. It is estimated that the ultimate recovery factor of the oilfield will reach 33.9%, which is 2.3% higher than that before infilling wells. This study can be used for reference in the development of similar reservoirs.

Effect of perforation density distribution on production of perforated horizontal wellbore

To address the issue of horizontal well production affected by the distribution of perforation density in the wellbore,a numerical model for simulating two-phase flow in a horizontal well is established under two perforation density distribution conditions(i.e.increasing the perforation density at inlet and outlet sections respectively).The simulation results are compared with experimental results to verify the reliability of the numerical simulation method.The behaviors of the total pressure drop,superficial velocity of air-water two-phase flow,void fraction,liquid film thickness,air production and liquid production that occur with various flow patterns are investigated under two perforation density distribution conditions based on the numerical model.The total pressure drop,superficial velocity of the mixture and void fraction increase with the air flow rate when the water flow rate is constant.The liquid film thickness decreases when the air flow rate increases.The liquid and air productions increase when the perforation density increases at the inlet section compared with increasing the perforation density at the outlet section of the perforated horizontal wellbore.It is noted that the air production increases with the air flow rate.Liquid production increases with the bubble flow and begins to decrease at the transition point of the slug-stratified flow,then increases through the stratified wave flow.The normalized liquid flux is higher when the perforation density increases at the inlet section,and increases with the radial air flow rate.

Wellbore Cleaning Degree and Hydraulic Extension in Shale Oil Horizontal Wells

The efficient development and exploitation of shale oil depends on long-distance horizontal wells. As the degreeof cleaning of the wellbore plays a key role in these processes, in this study, this problem is investigated experimentallyby focusing on the dimensionless cuttings bed height. A method is proposed to calculate the horizontalwellhydraulic extension taking into account the influence of the wellbore cleaning degree on the wellborepressure distribution and assess the effect of a variety of factors such as the bottom hole pressure, the circulatingpressure drop, the drilling pump performance and the formation properties. The analysis shows that the hydraulicextension of horizontal wells decreases with an increase in the cuttings bed height, and the higher the displacementof drilling fluid, the faster the hydraulic extension declines. The annular pressure drop of the horizontalsection increases with the increase of the cuttings bed height, resulting in a higher bottom-hole pressure. Severalarguments are provided to guide the safe drilling of shale oil horizontal wells and overcome the limits of currenttechnological approaches.

Evaluation of Well Spacing for Primary Development of Fractured Horizontal Wells in Tight Sandstone Gas Reservoirs

Methods for horizontal well spacing calculation in tight gas reservoirs are still adversely affected by the complexity of related control factors,such as strong reservoir heterogeneity and seepage mechanisms.In this study,the stress sensitivity and threshold pressure gradient of various types of reservoirs are quantitatively evaluated through reservoir seepage experiments.On the basis of these experiments,a numerical simulation model(based on the special seepage mechanism)and an inverse dynamic reserve algorithm(with different equivalent drainage areas)were developed.The well spacing ranges of Classes I,II,and III wells in the Q gas field are determined to be 802–1,000,600–662,and 285–400 m,respectively,with their average ranges as 901,631,and 342.5 m,respectively.By considering both the pairs of parallel well groups and series well groups as examples,the reliability of the calculation results is verified.It is shown that the combination of the two models can reduce errors and provide accurate results.

Propagation law of hydraulic fractures during multi-staged horizontal well fracturing in a tight reservoir

A novel laboratory simulation method for modeling multi-staged fracturing in a horizontal well was established based on a true tri-axial hydraulic fracturing simulation system. Using this method, the influences of net pressure in hydraulic fracture, stage spacing, perforation parameter, horizontal stress bias and well cementation quality on the propagation geometry of multiple fractures in a tight sandstone formation were studied in detail. The specimen splitting and analogy analysis of fracturing curve patterns reveals: Multiple fractures tend to merge under the condition of high horizontal stress bias and short stage spacing with pre-existing hydraulic fractures under critical closure situation, and the propagation of subsequent fractures is possibly suppressed because of high net pressure in pre-created fractures and asymmetric distribution of fracture width. And the subsequently created fractures are situated in the induced stress decreasing zone due to long stage spacing, leading to weak stress interference, and perforation with intense density and deep penetration facilitates the decrease of initiation fracture pressure. The deflection angle of subsequent fracture and horizontal stress variation tend to be amplified under low horizontal bias with constant net pressure in fractures. The longitudinal fracture is likely to be initiated at the interface of wellbore and concrete sample with poor cementation quality. The initiation fracture pressure of the different stages increases in turn, with the largest increase of 30%. Pressure quickly declines after initiation with low propagation pressure when the transverse hydraulic fracture is formed. The pressure reduces with fluctuation after the initiation of fracture when the fracture deflects, the extension pressure is high, and the fracture formed is tortuous and narrow. There is a violently fluctuant rise of pressure with multiple peak values when longitudinal fracture created, and it is hard to distinguish the features between the initiation stage and propagation stage.

Productivity Prediction Model of Perforated Horizontal Well Based on Permeability Calculation in Near-Well High Permeability Reservoir Area

To improve the productivity of oil wells,perforation technology is usually used to improve the productivity of horizontal wells in oilfield exploitation.After the perforation operation,the perforation channel around the wellbore will form a near-well high-permeability reservoir area with the penetration depth as the radius,that is,the formation has different permeability characteristics with the perforation depth as the dividing line.Generally,the permeability is measured by the permeability tester,but this approach has a high workload and limited application.In this paper,according to the reservoir characteristics of perforated horizontal wells,the reservoir is divided into two areas:the original reservoir area and the near-well high permeability reservoir area.Based on the theory of seepage mechanics and the formula of open hole productivity,the permeability calculation formula of near-well high permeability reservoir area with perforation parameters is deduced.According to the principle of seepage continuity,the seepage is regarded as the synthesis of two directions:the horizontal plane elliptic seepage field and the vertical plane radial seepage field,and the oil well productivity prediction model of the perforated horizontal well is established by partition.The model comparison demonstrates that the model is reasonable and feasible.To calculate and analyze the effect of oil well production and the law of influencing factors,actual production data of the oilfield are substituted into the oil well productivity formula.It can effectively guide the technical process design and effect prediction of perforated horizontal wells.

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.

Study and Application of Horizontal Well Productivity Formula with Continuous Time-Varying Considered

The horizontal well technology has been widely applied to enhanced oil recovery for low permeability and heavy oil reservoir. It is the important basis for designing and optimizing horizontal well to determine the productivity. The productivity determination of horizontal wells in offshore oil fields is mainly based on the actual productivity data of producing directional wells in the similar reservoirs nearby. Considering pressure drop and oil layer thickness to calculate the productivity, this method lacks certain theoretical basis and requires rich working experience for reservoir engineers. The other method is Joshi Formula which needs the known horizontal well control radius to be known. But the control radius is man-made at certain degree. In order to address the shortcomings of existing methods, a new reservoir engineering method was proposed to determine the horizontal well productivity formula, horizontal flow pattern and control radius based on the principle of equivalent flow resistance and conformal transformation. This method has overcome the disadvantage of determining on person. It provided some theoretical basis for getting the horizontal well productivity and is of some guiding meaning for evaluating the productivity of adjustment wells and development wells.

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.

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.

Stable Production Technology for Horizontal Well Development in Shallow Water Delta Oilfield of Bohai Bay, China

BZ Oilfield is a medium-sized oilfield with shallow delta facies deposits in Bohai Bay of China,compared with fluvial and delta facies oilfields,there is no mature experience for reference of reservoir configuration,well pattern arrangement and development model in offshore oilfields in China.In view of the difficulty in describing the reservoir configuration of shallow water delta,the single distributary sand dam in shallow water delta is characterized by well-seismic combination and multi-attribute constraints.The mathematical mechanism model of pinch-out position of sand body is established,fine characterization of BZ shallow water delta reservoir is put forward.The horizontal well pattern arrangement type for shallow water delta reservoir is proposed and the method of well pattern optimization based on vertical displacement theory is put forward.A method of inversion of reservoir connectivity using production dynamic data by numerical well testing is proposed and a new method for optimizing water injection rate in water injection wells is proposed aiming at the difficulty of recognizing injection-production connectivity of shallow water delta reservoirs.The fine configuration of BZ shallow water delta reservoir based on distributary sand dam is proposed,which guides the recognition of remaining oil distribution law.By deploying adjustment wells,the water flooding coincidence degree of actual drilling is 86% compared with that of pre-drilling prediction,which indicates that the research results of reservoir configuration can effectively guide the understanding of oilfield geology.Through the theoretical well arrangement type of vertical displacement of single sand body in horizontal wells of shallow water delta reservoir,a high water flooding recovery rate of 35% is achieved in primary well pattern.The connectivity coefficients of injection-production boundary of shallow water delta reservoir configuration are calculated,and the water injection distribution coefficients are obtained by normalizing the directional coefficients.This paper presents a configuration method based on multi-attribute fusion under the constraints of sedimentary process.In this paper,a shallow water delta reservoir configuration method based on multi-attribute fusion constrained by sedimentary process is proposed,and the injection-production connectivity coefficient and injection well distribution coefficient of the configuration boundary are calculated.

The Productivity Model of Horizontal Well Considering Acidification Effect in Anisotropic Reservoirs

When the horizontal well was acidized, in order to predict the productivity, through coordinate transformation method, based on the formation seepage model of horizontal well after acidification,?wededuced the formula of horizontal well local skin factor,?established the coupling model of reservoir and horizontal wellbore flow,?and?deduced the semi-analytical productivity model of horizontal well considering the change of local skin factor. Based on the example, the effect of horizontal well length, reservoir anisotropy coefficient, mud damage depth and damage degree on the production-increasing ratio after acidification were studied. The results showed reservoir with greater anisotropy, serious wellbore pollution and deeper mud invasion near wellbore,?and?that the stimulation effect of horizontal well after acidification was better.

Comparative assessment of mechanical and chemical fluid diversion techniques during hydraulic fracturing in horizontal wells

The application of fluid diversion during hydraulic fracturing is an evolving technology and has become popular amongst E&P operators over the past few years.The primary objective of the fluid diversion is to improve hydraulic fracturing treatment by increasing stimulated reservoir volume and improving hydrocarbon recovery.This is possible by achieving any of the following objectives:creating uniform distribution of treatment slurry within the target zone;treating unstimulated and under-stimulated zones;or by increasing fracture density by creating a complex fracture network.The fluid diversion application is also helpful in decreasing the number of stages(by increasing stage length)for multi-stage plug-n-perf(PnP)fracturing treatment.It is also applied to prevent fracture-driven interactions between adjacent wells,which is currently a major issue,especially in shale.In addition,for successful refracturing treatment,the diverter application is essential for isolating the existing fractures and redirecting the treatment slurry to the desired unstimulated zones.The diversion methods can be broadly categorized into the mechanical and chemical diversion.Several established mechanical diversion techniques are frac plugs,expandable casing patches,expandable liners,swellable packers,straddle packer assembly,sand plugs,frac sleeves,perforation ball sealers,and limited entry technique.The different chemical diversion techniques are particulates,fibers,gels,surfactants,perforation pods,and composite diverting.This paper describes the current status of established mechanical and chemical diverter technologies and examines their comparative advantages and challenges.Various techniques are suitable for diverter application,but the technique is selected based on the desired objective and conditions of the wellbore and reservoir.The general guidelines for selecting diversion techniques and operational considerations are also provided in the paper.The diagnosis of diversion treatment plays an essential role in diversion technique selection and optimization of selection parameters for the subsequent treatments.Therefore,the application of conventional surface pressure monitoring techniques and advanced diagnostic tools to evaluate diversion effectiveness are briefly described.Presently no standard laboratory testing method is established for the performance evaluation of diverting agents.Therefore,researchers have implemented various laboratory methods,which are briefly summarized in the paper.Significant insight into the diversion technology and guidelines for its selection and successful implementation is provided to help engineers to increase the effectiveness of hydraulic fracturing treatments.The limitations of individual diversion techniques are clarified,which provide the future scope of research for improvement in various diversion technologies.

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.

A Cementing Technology for Shale Oil Horizontal Wells

Organic rich dark shale of Q Formation can be found in many areas(e.g.,in the North of S Basin).The shale target stratum is easy to hydrate and often undergoes spallation.Therefore,centering the casing in the horizontal section of the irregular borehole is relatively difficult.Similarly,achieving a good cementflushing efficiency under complex borehole conditions is a complex task.Through technologies such as centralizer,efficient preflushing,multi-stageflushing and ductile cement slurry,better performances can be achieved.In this study,it is shown that the cementing rate in the DY2H horizontal section is 97.8%,which is more than 34%higher than that of adjacent wells.This cementing matching technology for sidetracking horizontal wells can be used to improve the cementing quality of continental shale and provides a reference for future applications in thisfield.

Workover String Mechanical Model and Calculation of Slanted and Horizontal Well

Force analysis and calculation of workover string in the slanted and horizontal well are the basis of designing and checking string strength, selecting tools and determining operation parameters, which determine the operation safety and success of engineering accidence treatment. In this paper, by comprehensive consideration of wellbore structure, string assembly, string load and workover operation conditions, the workover string mechanical model has been built under three kinds of working states of lifting, lowering and rotating. The downhole string mechanics has been analyzed and calculated. By field verification, the string assembly, tool selection and operation parameter optimization can be achieved, which can improve the safety and success rates of workover engineering accident treatment.

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.

Analysis of Wellbore Flow in Shale Gas Horizontal Wells

Theflow behavior of shale gas horizontal wells is relatively complex,and this should be regarded as the main reason for which conventional pipeflow models are not suitable to describe the related dynamics.In this study,numerical simulations have been conducted to determine the gas-liquid distribution in these wells.In particular,using the measuredflow pressure data related to 97 groups of shale gas wells as a basis,9 distinct pipeflow models have been assessed,and the models displaying a high calculation accuracy for different water-gas ratio(WGR)ranges have been identified.The results show that:(1)The variation law of WGR in gas well satisfies a power function relation.(2)The well structure is the main factor affecting the gas-liquid distribution in the wellbore.(3)The Beggs&Brill,Hagedorn&Brown and Gray models exhibit a high calculation accuracy.

Intelligent identification and real-time warning method of diverse complex events in horizontal well fracturing

The existing approaches for identifying events in horizontal well fracturing are difficult, time-consuming, inaccurate, and incapable of real-time warning. Through improvement of data analysis and deep learning algorithm, together with the analysis on data and information of horizontal well fracturing in shale gas reservoirs, this paper presents a method for intelligent identification and real-time warning of diverse complex events in horizontal well fracturing. An identification model for "point" events in fracturing is established based on the Att-BiLSTM neural network, along with the broad learning system (BLS) and the BP neural network, and it realizes the intelligent identification of the start/end of fracturing, formation breakdown, instantaneous shut-in, and other events, with an accuracy of over 97%. An identification model for "phase" events in fracturing is established based on enhanced Unet++ network, and it realizes the intelligent identification of pump ball, pre-acid treatment, temporary plugging fracturing, sand plugging, and other events, with an error of less than 0.002. Moreover, a real-time prediction model for fracturing pressure is built based on the Att-BiLSTM neural network, and it realizes the real-time warning of diverse events in fracturing. The proposed method can provide an intelligent, efficient and accurate identification of events in fracturing to support the decision-making.

Simulation of the Production Performances of Horizontal Wells with a Fractured Shale Gas Reservoir

The production performances of a well with a shale gas reservoir displaying a complex fracture network are simulated.In particular,a micro-seismic cloud diagram is used to describe the fracture network,and accordingly,a production model is introduced based on a multi-scale flow mechanism.A finite volume method is then exploited for the integration of the model equations.The effects of apparent permeability,conductivity,Langmuir volume,and bottom hole pressure on gas well production are studied accordingly.The simulation results show that ignoring the micro-scale flow mechanism of the shale gas leads to underestimating the well gas production.It is shown that after ten years of production,the cumulative gas production difference between the two scenarios with and without considering the micro-scale flow mechanisms is 19.5%.The greater the fracture conductivity,the higher the initial gas production of the gas well and the cumulative gas production.The larger the Langmuir volume,the higher the gas production rate and the cumulative gas production.With the reduction of the bottom hole pressure,the cumulative gas production increases,but the growth rate gradually decreases.