Optimization of Gas-Flooding Fracturing Development in Ultra-Low Permeability Reservoirs

Ultra-low permeability reservoirs are characterized by small pore throats and poor physical properties, which areat the root of well-known problems related to injection and production. In this study, a gas injection floodingapproach is analyzed in the framework of numerical simulations. In particular, the sequence and timing of fracturechanneling and the related impact on production are considered for horizontal wells with different fracturemorphologies. Useful data and information are provided about the regulation of gas channeling and possible strategiesto delay gas channeling and optimize the gas injection volume and fracture parameters. It is shown that inorder to mitigate gas channeling and ensure high production, fracture length on the sides can be controlled andlonger fractures can be created in the middle by which full gas flooding is obtained at the fracture location in themiddle of the horizontal well. A Differential Evolution (DE) algorithm is provided by which the gas injectionvolume and the fracture parameters of gas injection flooding can be optimized. It is shown that an improvedoil recovery factor as high as 6% can be obtained.

A transient production prediction method for tight condensate gas wells with multiphase flow

Considering the phase behaviors in condensate gas reservoirs and the oil-gas two-phase linear flow and boundary-dominated flow in the reservoir,a method for predicting the relationship between oil saturation and pressure in the full-path of tight condensate gas well is proposed,and a model for predicting the transient production from tight condensate gas wells with multiphase flow is established.The research indicates that the relationship curve between condensate oil saturation and pressure is crucial for calculating the pseudo-pressure.In the early stage of production or in areas far from the wellbore with high reservoir pressure,the condensate oil saturation can be calculated using early-stage production dynamic data through material balance models.In the late stage of production or in areas close to the wellbore with low reservoir pressure,the condensate oil saturation can be calculated using the data of constant composition expansion test.In the middle stages of production or when reservoir pressure is at an intermediate level,the data obtained from the previous two stages can be interpolated to form a complete full-path relationship curve between oil saturation and pressure.Through simulation and field application,the new method is verified to be reliable and practical.It can be applied for prediction of middle-stage and late-stage production of tight condensate gas wells and assessment of single-well recoverable reserves.

Numerical study on gas production via a horizontal well from hydrate reservoirs with different slope angles in the South China Sea

It is important to study the effect of hydrate production on the physical and mechanical properties of low-permeability clayey–silty reservoirs for the largescale exploitation of hydrate reservoirs in the South China Sea.In this study,a multiphysical-field coupling model,combined with actual exploration drilling data and the mechanical experimental data of hydrate cores in the laboratory,was established to investigate the physical and mechanical properties of low-permeability reservoirs with different slope angles during 5-year hydrate production by the depressurization method via a horizontal well.The result shows that the permeability of reservoirs severely affects gas production rate,and the maximum gas production amount of a 20-m-long horizontal well can reach186.8 m3/day during the 5-year hydrate production.Reservoirs with smaller slope angles show higher gas production rates.The depressurization propagation and hydrate dissociation mainly develop along the direction parallel to the slope.Besides,the mean effective stress of reservoirs is concentrated in the near-wellbore area with the on-going hydrate production,and gradually decreases with the increase of the slope angle.Different from the effective stress distribution law,the total reservoir settlement amount first decreases and then increases with the increase of the slope angle.The maximum settlement of reservoirs with a 0°slope angle is up to 3.4 m,and the displacement in the near-wellbore area is as high as2.2 m after 5 years of hydrate production.It is concluded that the pore pressure drop region of low-permeability reservoirs in the South China Sea is limited,and various slope angles further lead to differences in effective stress and strain of reservoirs during hydrate production,resulting in severe uneven settlement of reservoirs.

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.

Phase Transitions and Seepage Characteristics during the Depletion Development of Deep Condensate Gas Reservoirs

Deep condensate gas reservoirs exhibit highly complex and variable phase behaviors,making it crucial to understand the relationship between fluid phase states and flow patterns.This study conducts a comprehensive analysis of the actual production process of the deep condensate gas well A1 in a certain oilfield in China.Combining phase behavior analysis and CMG software simulations,the study systematically investigates phase transitions,viscosity,and density changes in the gas and liquid phases under different pressure conditions,with a reservoir temperature of 165°C.The research covers three crucial depletion stages of the reservoir:single-phase flow,two-phase transition,and two-phase flow.The findings indicate that retrograde condensation occurs when the pressure falls below the dew point pressure,reachingmaximum condensate liquid production at around 25MPa.As pressure decreases,gas phase density and viscosity gradually decrease,while liquid phase density and viscosity show an increasing trend.In the initial single-phase flow stage,maintaining a consistent gas-oil ratio is observed when both bottom-hole and reservoir pressures are higher than the dew point pressure.However,a sudden drop in bottom-hole pressure below the dew point triggers the production of condensate oil,significantly reducing subsequent gas and oil production.In the transitional two-phase flow stage,as the bottom-hole pressure further decreases,the reservoir exhibits a complex flow regime with coexisting areas of gas and liquid.In the subsequent two-phase flow stage,when both bottom-hole and reservoir pressures are below the dew point pressure,a significant increase in the gas-oil ratio is observed.The reservoir manifests a two-phase flow regime,devoid of single-phase gas flow areas.For lowpressure conditions in deep condensate gas reservoirs,considerations include gas injection,gas lift,and cyclic gas injection and production in surrounding wells.Additionally,techniques such as hot nitrogen or CO_(2) injection can be employed to mitigate retrograde condensation damage.The implications of this study are crucial for developing targeted development strategies and enhancing the overall development of deep condensate gas reservoirs.

Numerical Simulation of Oil and Gas Two-Phase Flow in Deep Condensate Gas Reservoirs in Bohai Buried Hills

The BZ19-6 gas field is characterized by high temperature and high pressure (HTHP), high condensate content, little difference between the formation pressure and dew point pressure, and large amount of reverse condensate liquid. During the early stage of depletion development, the production gas-oil ratio (GOR) and production capacity remain relatively stable, which is inconsistent with the conventional reverse condensate seepage law. In view of the static and dynamic conflict in development and production, indoor high-temperature and high-pressure PVT experiment was carried out to reveal the mist-like condensation phenomenon of fluids in the BZ19-6 formation. And the seepage characteristics of condensate gas reservoirs with various degrees of depletion under the condition of HTHP were analyzed based on production performance. The change rule of fluid phase state was analyzed in response to the characterization difficulties of the seepage mechanism. The fluid state was described using the miscible mechanism. And the interphase permeability interpolation coefficient was introduced based on interfacial tension. By doing so, the accurate characterization of the “single-phase flow of condensate gas-near-miscible mist-like quasi single-phase flow-oil-gas two-phase flow” during the development process was achieved. Then the accurate fitting of key indicators for oilfield development was completed, and the distribution law of formation pressure and the law of condensate oil precipitation under different reservoir conditions are obtained. Based on research results, the regulation strategy of variable flow rate production was developed. Currently, the work system has been optimized for 11 wells, achieving a “zero increase” in the GOS of the gas field and an annual oil increase of 22,000 cubic meters.

Adaptability of Development Methods for Offshore Gas Cap Edge Water Reservoirs under Different Permeability Levels

The BZ 34-1 oilfield is a typical gas cap edge water reservoir in the Bohai oilfield. The main characteristics of the oilfield were multi-phase sand body stacking and the sand body was composed of three parts: gas cap, oil reservoir, and edge water. The actual production site results show that the permeability difference of multi-layer sand bodies has a serious impact on the development effect. This article establishes a typical reservoir model numerical model based on the total recovery degree of the reservoir and the recovery degree of each layer, and analyzes the impact of permeability gradient. As the permeability gradient increases, the total recovery degree of all four well patterns decreases, and the total recovery degree gradually decreases. The recovery degree of low permeability layers gradually decreases, and the recovery degree of high permeability layers gradually increases. As the permeability gradient increases, the degree of recovery gradually decreases under different water contents. As the permeability gradient increases, the reduction rate of remaining oil saturation in low permeability layers is slower, while the reduction rate of remaining oil saturation in high permeability layers was faster. By analyzing the impact of permeability gradient on the development effect of oil fields, we could further deepen our understanding of gas cap edge water reservoirs and guide the development of this type of oil field.

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

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

Intelligent production optimization method for a low pressure and low productivity shale gas well

Shale gas wells frequently suffer from liquid loading and insufficient formation pressure in the late stage of production.To address this issue,an intelligent production optimization method for low pressure and low productivity shale gas well is proposed.Based on the artificial intelligence algorithms,this method realizes automatic production and monitoring of gas well.The method can forecast the production performance of a single well by using the long short-term memory neural network and then guide gas well production accordingly,to fulfill liquid loading warning and automatic intermittent production.Combined with adjustable nozzle,the method can keep production and pressure of gas wells stable automatically,extend normal production time of shale gas wells,enhance automatic level of well sites,and reach the goal of refined production management by making production regime for each well.Field tests show that wells with production regime optimized by this method increased 15%in estimated ultimate reserve(EUR).Compared with the development mode of drainage after depletion recovery,this method is more economical and can increase and stabilize production effectively,so it has a bright application prospect.

Extensive application of rate transient method in performance analysis for low permeability gas reservoirs

Rate transient method is a recently-developed performance analysis tool specially designed for low-permeability or tight gas reservoirs. This method, theoretically based on pressure transient analysis, integrates material balance principle and the concept of material balance pseudo-time proposed by Blansingame. With daily production data of gas well, it could be used to calculate OGIP, current formation pressure, permeability, skin factor, to identify complex geologic boundaries, to determine whether drainage boundary has been reached, to calculate drainage area and drainage radius for single well and to predict performance. It has been extensively employed in more than ten low-permeability gas fields. It proves that most problems in performance analysis for low permeability gas reservoirs could be solved by this method. Field practices show great economical benefits could be achieved by employing this method in gas field development.

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.

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.

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.

Blasingame production decline type curves for analysing a multi-fractured horizontal well in tight gas reservoirs

Production decline analysis has been considered as an important method to obtain the flow parameters, reservoir properties and original gas in place. Although advanced Blasingame production decline analysis methods for vertical wells, fractured wells and horizontal wells are widely used, limited study has conducted on Blasingame production decline type curves for multi-fractured horizontal well(MFHW). Based on the perpendicular bisection(PEBI) grids, a numerical model was developed and the solution was obtained using control volume finite element method and the fully implicit method. Blasingame production decline-type curves of the infinitely conductive MFHW were plotted through computer programming. A field case was presented to analyse and verify the model developed. Five flow regimes, including early formation linear flow, early radial flow, compound linear flow, transient flow and pseudo-radial flow, are recognized. Fracture spacing is the main factor that affects early radial flow, compound linear flow and transient flow, the distance from the well to the circular boundary affects the pseudo-radial flow, and the type curves are also significantly affected by the formation permeability, fracture number and fracture half-length. The validation of field case suggests that the Blasingame production decline type curves proposed in this work can be applied to the production decline analysis for MFHW in tight gas reservoirs.

Technique of coal mining and gas extraction without coal pillar in multi-seam with low permeability

Aimed at the low mining efficiency in deep multi-seams because of high crustalstress,high gas content,low permeability,the compound 'three soft' roof and the trouble-somesafety situation encountered in deep level coal exploitation,proposed a new idea ofgob-side retaining without a coal-pillar and Y-style ventilation in the first-mined key pressure-relieved coal seam and a new method of coal mining and gas extraction.The followingwere discovered:the dynamic evolution law of the crannies in the roof is influenced bymining,the formative rule of 'the vertical cranny-abundant area' along the gob-side,thedistribution of air pressure field in the gob,and the flowing rule of pressure-relieved gas ina Y-style ventilation system.The study also established a theoretic basis for a new miningmethod of coal mining and gas extraction which is used to extract the pressure-relievedgas by roadway retaining boreholes instead of roadway boreholes.Studied and resolvedmany difficult key problems,such as,fast roadway retaining at the gob-side without a coalpillar,Y-style ventilation and extraction of pressure-relieved gas by roadway retainingboreholes,and so on.The study innovated and integrated a whole set of technical systemsfor coal and pressure relief gas extraction.The method of the pressure-relieved gasextraction by roadway retaining had been successfully applied in 6 typical working faces inthe Huainan and Huaibei mining areas.The research can provide a scientific and reliabletechnical support and a demonstration for coal mining and gas extraction in gaseous deepmulti-seams with low permeability.

A case study of gas drainage to low permeability coal seam

Gas drainage at low gas permeability coal seam is a main barrier affecting safety and efficient production in coal mines. Therefore, the research and application of drainage technology at low permeability coal seam is a key factor for gas control of coal mine. In order to improve the drainage effect, this paper establishes a three-dimensional solid-gas-liquid coupling numerical model, and the gas drainage amounts of different schemes are examined inside the overburden material around the goaf. The Yangquan mine area is selected for the case study, and the gas movement regularity and emission characteristics are analyzed in detail, as well as the stress and fissure variation regularity. Also examinations are the released gas movement, enrichment range and movement regularity during coal extraction. Moreover, the gas drainage technology and drainage parameters for the current coal seam are studied. After measuring the gas drainage flow in-situ, it is concluded that the technology can achieve notable drainage results, with gas drainage rate increase by 30%–40% in a low permeability coal seam.

Research into comprehensive gas extraction technology of single coal seams with low permeability in the Jiaozuo coal mining area

For a low permeability single coal seam prone to gas outbursts, pre-drainage of gas is difficult and inefficient, seriously restricting the safety and efficiency of production. Radical measures of increasing gas extraction efficiency are pressure relief and infrared antireflection. We have analyzed the effect of mining conditions and the regularity of mine pressure distribution in front of the working face of a major coal mine of the Jiaozuo Industrial （Group） Co. as our test area, studied the width of the depressurization zone in slice mining and analyzed gas efficiency and fast drainage in the advanced stress relaxation zone. On that basis, we further investigated and practiced the exploitation technology of shallow drilling, fan dril- ling and grid shape drilling at the working face. Practice and our results show that the stress relaxation zone is the ideal region for quick and efficient extraction of gas. By means of an integrated extraction technology, the amount of gas emitted into the zone was greatly reduced, while the risk of dangerous outbursts of coal and gas was lowered markedly. This exploration provides a new way to control for gas in working faces of coal mines with low permeability and risk of gas outbursts of single coal seams in the Jiaozuo mining area.

Dominating factors on well productivity and development strategies optimization in Weiyuan shale gas play, Sichuan Basin, SW China

Weiyuan shale gas play is characterized by thin high-quality reservoir thickness,big horizontal stress difference,and big productivity differences between wells.Based on integrated evaluation of shale gas reservoir geology and well logging interpretation of more than 20 appraisal wells,a correlation was built between the single well test production rate and the high-quality reservoir length drilled in the horizontal wells,high-quality reservoir thickness and the stimulation treatment parameters in over 100 horizontal wells,the dominating factors on horizontal well productivity were found out,and optimized development strategies were proposed.The results show that the deployed reserves of high-quality reservoir are the dominating factors on horizontal well productivity.In other words,the shale gas well productivity is controlled by the thickness of the high-quality reservoir,the high-quality reservoir drilling length and the effectiveness of stimulation.Based on the above understanding,the development strategies in Weiyuan shale gas play are optimized as follows:(1)The target of horizontal wells is located in the middle and lower parts of Longyi 11(Wei202 area)and Longyi 11(Wei204 area).(2)Producing wells are drilled in priority in the surrounding areas of Weiyuan county with thick high-quality reservoir.(3)A medium to high intensity stimulation is adopted.After the implementation of these strategies,both the production rate and the estimated ultimate recovery(EUR)of individual shale gas wells have increased substantially.

Assessment of natural gas hydrate reservoirs at Site GMGS3-W19 in the Shenhu area,South China Sea based on various well logs

To obtain the characteristics of the gas hydrate reservoirs at GMGS3-W19,extensive geophysical logging data and cores were analyzed to assess the reservoir properties.Sediment porosities were estimated from density,neutron,and nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR)logs.Both the resistivity and NMR logs were used to calculate gas hydrate saturations,the Simandoux model was employed to eliminate the effects of high clay content determined based on the ECS and core data.The density porosity was closely in agreement with the core-derived porosity,and the neutron porosity was higher while the NMR porosity was lower than the density porosity of sediments without hydrates.The resistivity log has higher vertical resolution than the NMR log and thus is more favorable for assessing gas hydrate saturation with strong heterogeneity.For the gas hydrate reservoirs at GMGS3-W19,the porosity,gas hydrate saturation and free gas saturation was 52.7%,42.7%and 10%,on average,respectively.The various logs provide different methods for the comprehensive evaluation of hydrate reservoir,which supports the selection of candidate site for gas hydrate production testing.

A smart productivity evaluation method for shale gas wells based on 3D fractal fracture network model

The generation method of three-dimensional fractal discrete fracture network(FDFN)based on multiplicative cascade process was developed.The complex multi-scale fracture system in shale after fracturing was characterized by coupling the artificial fracture model and the natural fracture model.Based on an assisted history matching(AHM)using multiple-proxy-based Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm(MCMC),an embedded discrete fracture modeling(EDFM)incorporated with reservoir simulator was used to predict productivity of shale gas well.When using the natural fracture generation method,the distribution of natural fracture network can be controlled by fractal parameters,and the natural fracture network generated coupling with artificial fractures can characterize the complex system of different-scale fractures in shale after fracturing.The EDFM,with fewer grids and less computation time consumption,can characterize the attributes of natural fractures and artificial fractures flexibly,and simulate the details of mass transfer between matrix cells and fractures while reducing computation significantly.The combination of AMH and EDFM can lower the uncertainty of reservoir and fracture parameters,and realize effective inversion of key reservoir and fracture parameters and the productivity forecast of shale gas wells.Application demonstrates the results from the proposed productivity prediction model integrating FDFN,EDFM and AHM have high credibility.