Unconventional Natural Gas Accumulations in Stacked Deposits:A Discussion of Upper Paleozoic Coal-Bearing Strata in the East Margin of the Ordos Basin, China

The Upper Paleozoic(Carboniferous to Permian) succession in the east margin of the Ordos Basin in the North China Craton has a potential to contain significant hydrocarbon resources, though attention have been mainly attracted for its successful development of coalbed methane(CBM). To improve the previous resource estimates and evaluate the hydrocarbon play possibilities, this study incorporated new discoveries of hydrocarbon units and their stratigraphic relation with source rocks, hydrocarbon migration and trapping configurations. Continuous hydrocarbon accumulation units were identified within the Upper Paleozoic, including the Taiyuan, Shanxi and Xiashihezi formations with great tight gas potential, and the Taiyuan and Shanxi formations also containing shale gas and CBM. Different strata combinations are identified with coal deposition and favour for continuous gas accumulations, including the tidal flat, deltaic and fluvial systems distributed in most of the study areas. Methane was not only generated from the thick coal seams in the Taiyuan and Shanxi formations, but also from shale and dark mudstones. The coal, shale and tight sandstones are proved of remarkable gas content and hydrocarbon indications, and the gas saturation of tight sandstones decreases upward. The stacked deposit combinations vary isochronally in different areas, while the coal seams were developed stably showing good gas sources. Two key stages control the hydrocarbon enrichment, the continuous subsidence from coal forming to Late Triassic and the anomalous paleo-geothermal event happened in Early Cretaceous, as indicated by the fluid inclusions evidence. Extensive areas show good hydrocarbon development potential presently, and more works should be focused on the evaluation and selection of good reservoir combinations.

Geologic characteristics,exploration and production progress of shale oil and gas in the United States:An overview

We present a systematic summary of the geological characteristics,exploration and development history and current state of shale oil and gas in the United States.The hydrocarbon-rich shales in the major shale basins of the United States are mainly developed in six geological periods:Middle Ordovician,Middle-Late Devonian,Early Carboniferous(Middle-Late Mississippi),Early Permian,Late Jurassic,and Late Cretaceous(Cenomanian-Turonian).Depositional environments for these shales include intra-cratonic basins,foreland basins,and passive continental margins.Paleozoic hydrocarbon-rich shales are mainly developed in six basins,including the Appalachian Basin(Utica and Marcellus shales),Anadarko Basin(Woodford Shale),Williston Basin(Bakken Shale),Arkoma Basin(Fayetteville Shale),Fort Worth Basin(Barnett Shale),and the Wolfcamp and Leonardian Spraberry/Bone Springs shale plays of the Permian Basin.The Mesozoic hydrocarbon-rich shales are mainly developed on the margins of the Gulf of Mexico Basin(Haynesville and Eagle Ford)or in various Rocky Mountain basins(Niobrara Formation,mainly in the Denver and Powder River basins).The detailed analysis of shale plays reveals that the shales are different in facies and mineral components,and"shale reservoirs"are often not shale at all.The United States is abundant in shale oil and gas,with the in-place resources exceeding 0.246×10^(12)t and 290×10^(12)m^(3),respectively.Before the emergence of horizontal well hydraulic fracturing technology to kick off the"shale revolution",the United States had experienced two decades of exploration and production practices,as well as theory and technology development.In 2007-2023,shale oil and gas production in the United States increased from approximately 11.2×10^(4)tons of oil equivalent per day(toe/d)to over 300.0×10^(4)toe/d.In 2017,the shale oil and gas production exceeded the conventional oil and gas production in the country.In 2023,the contribution from shale plays to the total U.S.oil and gas production remained above 60%.The development of shale oil and gas has largely been driven by improvements in drilling and completion technologies,with much of the recent effort focused on“cube development”or“co-development”.Other efforts to improve productivity and efficiency include refracturing,enhanced oil recovery,and drilling of“U-shaped”wells.Given the significant resources base and continued technological improvements,shale oil and gas production will continue to contribute significant volumes to total U.S.hydrocarbon production.

Experimental and numerical simulation study on the erosion behavior of the elbow of gathering pipeline in shale gas field

During the production period of shale gas, proppant particles and rock debris are produced together,which will seriously erode the elbows of gathering pipelines. In response to this problem, this paper takes the elbow of the gathering pipeline in the Changning Shale Gas Field as an example to test the erosion rate and material removal mechanism of the test piece at different angles of the elbow through experiments and compares the four erosion models with the experimental results. Through analysis, it is found that the best prediction model for quartz sand-carbon steel erosion is the Oka model. Based on the Oka model, FLUENT software was used to simulate and analyze the law of erosion of the elbow of the gas gathering pipeline under different gas flow velocities, gas gathering pressure, particle size, length of L1,and bending directions of the elbow. And a spiral pipeline structure is proposed to reduce the erosion rate of the elbow under the same working conditions. The results show that this structure can reduce erosion by 34%.

Distribution patterns of tight sandstone gas and shale gas

Based on an elaboration of the resource potential and annual production of tight sandstone gas and shale gas in the United States and China,this paper reviews the researches on the distribution of tight sandstone gas and shale gas reservoirs,and analyzes the distribution characteristics and genetic types of tight sandstone gas reservoirs.In the United States,the proportion of tight sandstone gas in the total gas production declined from 20%-35%in 2008 to about 8%in 2023,and the shale gas production was 8310×10^(8)m^(3)in 2023,about 80%of the total gas production,in contrast to the range of 5%-17%during 2000-2008.In China,the proportion of tight sandstone gas in the total gas production increased from 16%in 2010 to 28%or higher in 2023.China began to produce shale gas in 2012,with the production reaching 250×10^(8)m^(3)in 2023,about 11%of the total gas production of the country.The distribution of shale gas reservoirs is continuous.According to the fault presence,fault displacement and gas layer thickness,the continuous shale gas reservoirs can be divided into two types:continuity and intermittency.Most previous studies believed that both tight sandstone gas reservoirs and shale gas reservoirs are continuous,but this paper holds that the distribution of tight sandstone gas reservoirs is not continuous.According to the trap types,tight sandstone gas reservoirs can be divided into lithologic,anticlinal,and synclinal reservoirs.The tight sandstone gas is coal-derived in typical basins in China and Egypt,but oil-type gas in typical basins in the United States and Oman.

Unveiling the Oldest Industrial Shale Gas Reservoir:Insights for the Enrichment Pattern and Exploration Direction of Lower Cambrian Shale Gas in the Sichuan Basin

The lower Cambrian Qiongzhusi(Є1 q)shale in the Sichuan Basin,formerly considered a source rock,recently achieved high gas production(7.388×105 m^(3)·d^(-1))from well Z201 in the Deyang-Anyue rift trough(DART),marking an exploration breakthrough of the world’s oldest industrial shale gas reser-voir.However,the shale gas enrichment mechanism within the DART is not fully understood.This study reviews the formation of the Qiongzhusi shale gas reservoirs within the DART by comparing them with cotemporaneous deposits outside the DART,and several findings are presented.The gas production interval was correlated with the main phase of the Cambrian explosion(lower Cambrian stage 3).In the early Cambrian ecosystem,dominant animals likely accelerated the settling rates of organic matter(OM)in the upper 1st member ofЄ_(1) q(Є_(1) q_(12))by feeding on small planktonic organisms and producing larger organic fragments and fecal pellets.High primary productivity and euxinic con-ditions contributed to OM enrichment in the lower 1st member ofЄ1 q(Є_(1) q_(11)).Additionally,shale reservoirs inside the DART demonstrated better properties than those outside in terms of thickness,brittle minerals,gas content,and porosity.In particular,the abundant OM pores inside the DART facil-itated shale gas enrichment,whereas the higher thermal maturity of the shales outside the DART pos-sibly led to the graphitization and collapse of some OM pores.Meanwhile,the overpressure of high-production wells inside the DART generally reflects better shale gas preservation,benefiting from the shale’s self-sealing nature,"upper capping and lower plugging"configuration,and limited faults and microfractures.Considering these insights,we introduced a"ternary enrichment"model for the Qiongzhusi shale gas.Although the current high gas production of Z201 was found at the reservoir 3,two additional reservoirs were identified with significant potential,thus suggesting a"multilayer stereoscopic development"strategy in future shale gas exploration within the DART.

An efficient data-driven global sensitivity analysis method of shale gas production through convolutional neural network

The shale gas development process is complex in terms of its flow mechanisms and the accuracy of the production forecasting is influenced by geological parameters and engineering parameters.Therefore,to quantitatively evaluate the relative importance of model parameters on the production forecasting performance,sensitivity analysis of parameters is required.The parameters are ranked according to the sensitivity coefficients for the subsequent optimization scheme design.A data-driven global sensitivity analysis(GSA)method using convolutional neural networks(CNN)is proposed to identify the influencing parameters in shale gas production.The CNN is trained on a large dataset,validated against numerical simulations,and utilized as a surrogate model for efficient sensitivity analysis.Our approach integrates CNN with the Sobol'global sensitivity analysis method,presenting three key scenarios for sensitivity analysis:analysis of the production stage as a whole,analysis by fixed time intervals,and analysis by declining rate.The findings underscore the predominant influence of reservoir thickness and well length on shale gas production.Furthermore,the temporal sensitivity analysis reveals the dynamic shifts in parameter importance across the distinct production stages.

Investigations of methane adsorption characteristics on marine-continental transitional shales and gas storage capacity models considering pore evolution

Methane adsorption is a critical assessment of the gas storage capacity(GSC)of shales with geological conditions.Although the related research of marine shales has been well-illustrated,the methane adsorption of marine-continental transitional(MCT)shales is still ambiguous.In this study,a method of combining experimental data with analytical models was used to investigate the methane adsorption characteristics and GSC of MCT shales collected from the Qinshui Basin,China.The Ono-Kondo model was used to fit the adsorption data to obtain the adsorption parameters.Subsequently,the geological model of GSC based on pore evolution was constructed using a representative shale sample with a total organic carbon(TOC)content of 1.71%,and the effects of reservoir pressure coefficient and water saturation on GSC were explored.In experimental results,compared to the composition of the MCT shale,the pore structure dominates the methane adsorption,and meanwhile,the maturity mainly governs the pore structure.Besides,maturity in the middle-eastern region of the Qinshui Basin shows a strong positive correlation with burial depth.The two parameters,micropore pore volume and non-micropore surface area,induce a good fit for the adsorption capacity data of the shale.In simulation results,the depth,pressure coefficient,and water saturation of the shale all affect the GSC.It demonstrates a promising shale gas potential of the MCT shale in a deeper block,especially with low water saturation.Specifically,the economic feasibility of shale gas could be a major consideration for the shale with a depth of<800 m and/or water saturation>60%in the Yushe-Wuxiang area.This study provides a valuable reference for the reservoir evaluation and favorable block search of MCT shale gas.

Study of inter-well interference in shale gas reservoirs by a robust production data analysis method based on deconvolution

In order to overcome the defects that the analysis of multi-well typical curves of shale gas reservoirs is rarely applied to engineering,this study proposes a robust production data analysis method based on deconvolution,which is used for multi-well inter-well interference research.In this study,a multi-well conceptual trilinear seepage model for multi-stage fractured horizontal wells was established,and its Laplace solutions under two different outer boundary conditions were obtained.Then,an improved pressure deconvolution algorithm was used to normalize the scattered production data.Furthermore,the typical curve fitting was carried out using the production data and the seepage model solution.Finally,some reservoir parameters and fracturing parameters were interpreted,and the intensity of inter-well interference was compared.The effectiveness of the method was verified by analyzing the production dynamic data of six shale gas wells in Duvernay area.The results showed that the fitting effect of typical curves was greatly improved due to the mutual restriction between deconvolution calculation parameter debugging and seepage model parameter debugging.Besides,by using the morphological characteristics of the log-log typical curves and the time corresponding to the intersection point of the log-log typical curves of two models under different outer boundary conditions,the strength of the interference between wells on the same well platform was well judged.This work can provide a reference for the optimization of well spacing and hydraulic fracturing measures for shale gas wells.

Formation,evolution,reconstruction of black shales and their influence on shale oil and gas resource

Black shales are important products of material cycling and energy exchange among the lithosphere,atmosphere,hydrosphere,and biosphere.They are widely distributed throughout geological history and provide essential energy and mineral resources for the development of human society.They also record the evolution process of the earth and improve the understanding of the earth.This review focuses on the diagenesis and formation mechanisms of black shales sedimentation,composition,evolution,and reconstruction,which have had a significant impact on the formation and enrichment of shale oil and gas.In terms of sedimentary environment,black shales can be classified into three types:Marine,terrestrial,and marine-terrestrial transitional facies.The formation processes include mechanisms such as eolian input,hypopycnal flow,gravity-driven and offshore bottom currents.From a geological perspective,the formation of black shales is often closely related to global or regional major geological events.The enrichment of organic matter is generally the result of the interaction and coupling of several factors such as primary productivity,water redox condition,and sedimentation rate.In terms of evolution,black shales have undergone diagenetic evolution of inorganic minerals,thermal evolution of organic matter and hydrocarbon generation,interactions between organic matter and inorganic minerals,and pore evolution.In terms of reconstruction,the effects of fold deformation,uplift and erosion,and fracturing have changed the stress state of black shale reservoirs,thereby having a significant impact on the pore structure.Fluid activity promotes the formation of veins,and have changed the material composition,stress structure,and reservoir properties of black shales.Regarding resource effects,the deposition of black shales is fundamental for shale oil and gas resources,the evolution of black shales promotes the shale oil and gas formation and storage,and the reconstruction of black shales would have caused the heterogeneous distribution of oil and gas in shales.Exploring the formation mechanisms and interactions of black shales at different scales is a key to in-depth research on shale formation and evolution,as well as the key to revealing the mechanism controlling shale oil and gas accumulation.The present records can reveal how these processes worked in geological history,and improve our understanding of the coupling mechanisms among regional geological events,black shales evolution,and shale oil and gas formation and enrichment.

A novel framework for predicting non-stationary production time series of shale gas based on BiLSTM-RF-MPA deep fusion model

Shale gas, as an environmentally friendly fossil energy resource, has gained significant commercial development and shows immense potential. However, accurately predicting shale gas production faces substantial challenges due to the complex law of decline, nonlinear and non-stationary features in production data, which greatly repair the robustness of current models in predicting shale gas production time series. To address these challenges and improve accuracy in production forecasting, this paper introduces a novel and innovative approach: a hybrid proxy model that combines the bidirectional long short-term memory(BiLSTM) neural network and random forest(RF) through deep learning. The BiLSTM neural network is adept at capturing long-term dependencies, making it suitable for understanding the intricate relationships between input and output variables in shale gas production.On the other hand, RF serves a dual purpose: reducing model variance and addressing the concept drift problem that arises in non-stationary time series predictions made by BiLSTM. By integrating these two models, the hybrid approach effectively captures the inherent dependencies present in long and nonstationary production time series, thereby reducing model uncertainty. Furthermore, the combination of BiLSTM and RF is optimized using the recently-proposed marine predators algorithm(MPA) to fine-tune hyperparameters and enhance the overall performance of the proxy model. The results demonstrate that the proposed BiLSTM-RF-MPA model achieves higher prediction accuracy and demonstrates stronger generalization capabilities by effectively handling the complex nonlinear and non-stationary characteristics of shale gas production time series. Compared to other models such as LSTM, BiLSTM, and RF, the proposed model exhibits superior fitting and prediction performance, with an average improvement in performance indicators exceeding 20%. This innovative framework provides valuable insights for forecasting the complex production performance of unconventional oil and gas reservoirs, which sheds light on the development of data-driven proxy models in the field of subsurface energy utilization.

Implication of Water-Rock Interaction for Enhancing Shale Gas Production

Horizontal well drilling and multi-stage hydraulic fracturing technologies are at the root of commercial shale gas development and exploitation.During these processes,typically,a large amount of working fluid enters the formation,resulting in widespread water-rock interaction.Deeply understanding such effects is required to optimize the production system.In this study,the mechanisms of water-rock interaction and the associated responses of shale fabric are systematically reviewed for working fluids such as neutral fluids,acid fluids,alkali fluids and oxidative fluids.It is shown that shale is generally rich in water-sensitive components such as clay minerals,acidsensitive components(like carbonate minerals),alkali-sensitive components(like quartz),oxidative-sensitive components(like organic matter and pyrite),which easily lead to change of rock fabric and mechanical properties owing to water-rock interaction.According to the results,oxidizing acid fluids and oxidizing fracturing fluids should be used to enhance shale gas recovery.This study also indicates that an aspect playing an important role in increasing cumulative gas production is the optimization of the maximum shut-in time based on the change point of the wellhead pressure drop rate.Another important influential factor to be considered is the control of the wellhead pressure considering the stress sensitivity and creep characteristics of the fracture network.

Optimization method of refracturing timing for old shale gas wells

Based on the elastic theory of porous media,embedded discrete fracture model and finite volume method,and considering the micro-seepage mechanism of shale gas,a fully coupled seepage-geomechanical model suitable for fractured shale gas reservoirs is established,the optimization method of refracturing timing is proposed,and the influencing factors of refracturing timing are analyzed based on the data from shale gas well in Fuling of Sichuan Basin.The results show that due to the depletion of formation pressure,the percentage of the maximum horizontal principal stress reversal area in the total area increases and then decreases with time.The closer the area is to the hydraulic fracture,the shorter the time for the peak of the stress reversal area percentage curve to appear,and the shorter the time for the final zero return(to the initial state).The optimum time of refracturing is affected by matrix permeability,initial stress difference and natural fracture approach angle.The larger the matrix permeability and initial stress difference is,the shorter the time for stress reversal area percentage curve to reach peak and return to the initial state,and the earlier the time to take refracturing measures.The larger the natural fracture approach angle is,the more difficult it is for stress reversal to occur near the fracture,and the earlier the optimum refracturing time is.The more likely the stress reversal occurs at the far end of the artificial fracture,the later the optimal time of refracturing is.Reservoirs with low matrix permeability have a rapid decrease in single well productivity.To ensure economic efficiency,measures such as shut-in or gas injection can be taken to restore the stress,and refracturing can be implemented in advance.

Integrated numerical simulation of hydraulic fracturing and production in shale gas well considering gas-water two-phase flow

Based on the displacement discontinuity method and the discrete fracture unified pipe network model,a sequential iterative numerical method was used to build a fracturing-production integrated numerical model of shale gas well considering the two-phase flow of gas and water.The model accounts for the influence of natural fractures and matrix properties on the fracturing process and directly applies post-fracturing formation pressure and water saturation distribution to subsequent well shut-in and production simulation,allowing for a more accurate fracturing-production integrated simulation.The results show that the reservoir physical properties have great impacts on fracture propagation,and the reasonable prediction of formation pressure and reservoir fluid distribution after the fracturing is critical to accurately predict the gas and fluid production of the shale gas wells.Compared with the conventional method,the proposed model can more accurately simulate the water and gas production by considering the impact of fracturing on both matrix pressure and water saturation.The established model is applied to the integrated fracturing-production simulation of practical horizontal shale gas wells.The simulation results are in good agreement with the practical production data,thus verifying the accuracy of the model.

Effects of acid-rock reaction on physical properties during CO_(2)-rich industrial waste gas(CO_(2)-rich IWG)injection in shale reservoirs

"Carbon peaking and carbon neutrality"is an essential national strategy,and the geological storage and utilization of CO_(2)is a hot issue today.However,due to the scarcity of pure CO_(2)gas sources in China and the high cost of CO_(2)capture,CO_(2)-rich industrial waste gas(CO_(2)-rich IWG)is gradually emerging into the public's gaze.CO_(2)has good adsorption properties on shale surfaces,but acidic gases can react with shale,so the mechanism of the CO_(2)-rich IWG-water-shale reaction and the change in reservoir properties will determine the stability of geological storage.Therefore,based on the mineral composition of the Longmaxi Formation shale,this study constructs a thermodynamic equilibrium model of water-rock reactions and simulates the regularity of reactions between CO_(2)-rich IWG and shale minerals.The results indicate that CO_(2)consumed 12%after reaction,and impurity gases in the CO_(2)-rich IWG can be dissolved entirely,thus demonstrating the feasibility of treating IWG through water-rock reactions.Since IWG inhibits the dissolution of CO_(2),the optimal composition of CO_(2)-rich IWG is 95%CO_(2)and 5%IWG when CO_(2)geological storage is the main goal.In contrast,when the main goal is the geological storage of total CO_(2)-rich IWG or impurity gas,the optimal CO_(2)-rich IWG composition is 50%CO_(2)and 50%IWG.In the CO_(2)-rich IWG-water-shale reaction,temperature has less influence on the water-rock reaction,while pressure is the most important parameter.SO2 has the greatest impact on water-rock reaction in gas.For minerals,clay minerals such as illite and montmorillonite had a significant effect on water-rock reaction.The overall reaction is dominated by precipitation and the volume of the rock skeleton has increased by 0.74 cm3,resulting in a decrease in shale porosity,which enhances the stability of CO_(2)geological storage to some extent.During the reaction between CO_(2)-rich IWG-water-shale at simulated temperatures and pressures,precipitation is the main reaction,and shale porosity decreases.However,as the reservoir water content increases,the reaction will first dissolve and then precipitate before dissolving again.When the water content is less than 0.0005 kg or greater than 0.4 kg,it will lead to an increase in reservoir porosity,which ultimately reduces the long-term geological storage stability of CO_(2)-rich IWG.

Optimizing the Diameter of Plugging Balls in Deep Shale Gas Wells

Deep shale gas reserves that have been fractured typically have many relatively close perforation holes. Due to theproximity of each fracture during the formation of the fracture network, there is significant stress interference,which results in uneven fracture propagation. It is common practice to use “balls” to temporarily plug fractureopenings in order to lessen liquid intake and achieve uniform propagation in each cluster. In this study, a diameteroptimization model is introduced for these plugging balls based on a multi-cluster fracture propagationmodel and a perforation dynamic abrasion model. This approach relies on proper consideration of the multiphasenature of the considered problem and the interaction force between the involved fluid and solid phases. Accordingly,it can take into account the behavior of the gradually changing hole diameter due to proppant continuousperforation erosion. Moreover, it can provide useful information about the fluid-dynamic behavior of the consideredsystem before and after plugging. It is shown that when the diameter of the temporary plugging ball is1.2 times that of the perforation hole, the perforation holes of each cluster can be effectively blocked.

Evaluation and Application of Flowback Effect in Deep Shale Gas Wells

The pivotal areas for the extensive and effective exploitation of shale gas in the Southern Sichuan Basin have recently transitioned from mid-deep layers to deep layers.Given challenges such as intricate data analysis,absence of effective assessment methodologies,real-time control strategies,and scarce knowledge of the factors influencing deep gas wells in the so-called flowback stage,a comprehensive study was undertaken on over 160 deep gas wells in Luzhou block utilizing linear flow models and advanced big data analytics techniques.The research results show that:(1)The flowback stage of a deep gas well presents the characteristics of late gas channeling,high flowback rate after gas channeling,low 30-day flowback rate,and high flowback rate corresponding to peak production;(2)The comprehensive parameter AcmKm1/2 in the flowback stage exhibits a strong correlation with the Estimated Ultimate Recovery(EUR),allowing for the establishment of a standardized chart to evaluate EUR classification in typical shale gas wells during this stage.This enables quantitative assessment of gas well EUR,providing valuable insights into production potential and performance;(3)The spacing range and the initial productivity of gas wells have a significant impact on the overall effectiveness of gas wells.Therefore,it is crucial to further explore rational well patterns and spacing,as well as optimize initial drainage and production technical strategies in order to improve their performance.

Simulation of Two-Phase Flowback Phenomena in Shale Gas Wells

The gas-water two-phaseflow occurring as a result of fracturingfluidflowback phenomena is known to impact significantly the productivity of shale gas well.In this work,this two-phaseflow has been simulated in the framework of a hybrid approach partially relying on the embedded discrete fracture model(EDFM).This model assumes the region outside the stimulated reservoir volume(SRV)as a single-medium while the SRV region itself is described using a double-medium strategy which can account for thefluid exchange between the matrix and the micro-fractures.The shale gas adsorption,desorption,diffusion,gas slippage effect,fracture stress sensitivity,and capillary imbibition have been considered.The shale gas production,pore pressure distribution and water saturation distribution in the reservoir have been simulated.The influences of hydraulic fracture geometry and nonorthogonal hydraulic fractures on gas production have been determined and discussed accordingly.The simulation results show that the daily gas production has an upward and downward trend due to the presence of a large amount of fracturingfluid in the reservoir around the hydraulic fracture.The smaller the angle between the hydraulic fracture and the wellbore,the faster the daily production of shale gas wells decreases,and the lower the cumulative production.Nonplanar fractures can increase the control volume of hydraulic fractures and improve the production of shale gas wells.

Electrical structure identification of deep shale gas reservoir in complex structural area using wide field electromagnetic method

To fully exploit the technical advantages of the large-depth and high-precision artificial source electromagnetic method in the complex structure area of southern Sichuan and compensate for the shortcomings of the conventional electromagnetic method in exploration depth,precision,and accuracy,the large-depth and high-precision wide field electromagnetic method is applied to the complex structure test area of the Luochang syncline and Yuhe nose anticline in the southern Sichuan.The advantages of the wide field electromagnetic method in detecting deep,low-resistivity thin layers are demonstrated.First,on the basis of the analysis of physical property data,a geological–geoelectric model is established in the test area,and the wide field electromagnetic method is numerically simulated to analyze and evaluate the response characteristics of deep thin shale gas layers on wide field electromagnetic curves.Second,a wide field electromagnetic test is conducted in the complex structure area of southern Sichuan.After data processing and inversion imaging,apparent resistivity logging data are used for calibration to develop an apparent resistivity interpretation model suitable for the test area.On the basis of the results,the characteristics of the electrical structure change in the shallow longitudinal formation of 6 km are implemented,and the transverse electrical distribution characteristics of the deep shale gas layer are delineated.In the prediction area near the well,the subsequent data verification shows that the apparent resistivity obtained using the inversion of the wide field electromagnetic method is consistent with the trend of apparent resistivity revealed by logging,which proves that this method can effectively identify the weak response characteristics of deep shale gas formations in complex structural areas.This experiment,it is shown shows that the wide field electromagnetic method with a large depth and high precision can effectively characterize the electrical characteristics of deep,low-resistivity thin layers in complex structural areas,and a new set of low-cost evaluation technologies for shale gas target layers based on the wide field electromagnetic method is explored.

Hydraulic Fracture Parameter Inversion Method for Shale GasWells Based on Transient Pressure-Drop Analysis during Hydraulic Fracturing Shut-in Period

Horizontal well drilling and multi-stage hydraulic fracturing are key technologies for the development of shale gas reservoirs.Instantaneous acquisition of hydraulic fracture parameters is crucial for evaluating fracturing effectiveness,optimizing processes,and predicting gas productivity.This paper establishes a transient flow model for shale gas wells based on the boundary element method,achieving the characterization of stimulated reservoir volume for a single stage.By integrating pressure monitoring data following the pumping shut-in period of hydraulic fracturing for well testing interpretation,a workflow for inverting fracture parameters of shale gas wells is established.This new method eliminates the need for prolonged production testing and can interpret parameters of individual hydraulic fracture segments,offering significant advantages over the conventional pressure transient analysismethod.The practical application of thismethodology was conducted on 10 shale gaswellswithin the Changning shale gas block of Sichuan,China.The results show a high correlation between the interpreted single-stage total length and surface area of hydraulic fractures and the outcomes of gas production profile tests.Additionally,significant correlations are observed between these parameters and cluster number,horizontal stress difference,and natural fracture density.This demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed fracture parameter inversion method and the feasibility of field application.The findings of this study aim to provide solutions and references for the inversion of fracture parameters in shale gas wells.

Prestack inversion based on anisotropic Markov random field-maximum posterior probability inversion and its application to identify shale gas sweet spots

Economic shale gas production requires hydraulic fracture stimulation to increase the formation permeability. Hydraulic fracturing strongly depends on geomechanical parameters such as Young＇s modulus and Poisson＇s ratio. Fracture-prone sweet spots can be predicted by prestack inversion, which is an ill-posed problem; thus, regularization is needed to obtain unique and stable solutions. To characterize gas-bearing shale sedimentary bodies, elastic parameter variations are regarded as an anisotropic Markov random field. Bayesian statistics are adopted for transforming prestack inversion to the maximum posterior probability. Two energy functions for the lateral and vertical directions are used to describe the distribution, and the expectation-maximization algorithm is used to estimate the hyperparameters of the prior probability of elastic parameters. Finally, the inversion yields clear geological boundaries, high vertical resolution, and reasonable lateral continuity using the conjugate gradient method to minimize the objective function. Antinoise and imaging ability of the method were tested using synthetic and real data.