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.

An experimental study on microscopic characteristics of gas-bearing sediments under different gas reservoir pressures

Gas-bearing sediments are widely distributed in five continents all over the world.Most of the gases exist in the soil skeleton in the form of discrete large bubbles.The existence of gas-phase may increase or decrease the strength of the soil skeleton.So far,bubbles’structural morphology and evolution characteristics in soil skeleton lack research,and the influence of different gas reservoir pressures on bubbles are still unclear.The micro characteristics of bubbles in the same sediment sample were studied using an industrial CT scanning test system to solve these problems.Using the image processing software,the micro variation characteristics of gas-bearing sediments in gas reservoir pressure change are obtained.The results show that the number and volume of bubbles in different equivalent radius ranges will change regularly under different gas reservoir pressure.With the increase of gas reservoir pressure,the number and volume of tiny bubbles decrease.In contrast,the number and volume of large bubbles increase,and the gas content in different positions increases and occupies a dominant position,driving the reduction of pore water and soil skeleton movement.

Pressure transient analysis of a finite-conductivity multiple fractured horizontal well in linear composite gas reservoirs

Faulted gas reservoirs are very common in reality,where some linear leaky faults divide the gas reservoir into several reservoir regions with distinct physical properties.This kind of gas reservoirs is also known as linear composite(LC)gas reservoirs.Although some analytical/semi-analytical models have been proposed to investigate pressure behaviors of producing wells in LC reservoirs based on the linear composite ideas,almost all of them focus on vertical wells and studies on multiple fractured horizontal wells are rare.After the pressure wave arrives at the leaky fault,pressure behaviors of multiple fractured horizontal wells will be affected by the leaky faults.Understanding the effect of leaky faults on pressure behaviors of multiple fractured horizontal wells is critical to the development design.Therefore,a semi-analytical model of finite-conductivity multiple fractured horizontal(FCMFH)wells in LC gas reservoirs is established based on Laplace-space superposition principle and fracture discrete method.The proposed model is validated against commercial numerical simulator.Type curves are obtained to study pressure characteristics and identify flow regimes.The effects of some parameters on type curves are discussed.The proposed model will have a profound effect on developing analytical/semi-analytical models for other complex well types in LC gas reservoirs.

Gas condensate reservoirs: Characterization and calculation of dew-point pressure

A large data bank of more than 700 gas-condensate samples collected from literature and experiments was established.On this basis,empirical correlations and equations of state commonly used to calculate dew-point pressure(DPP)were evaluated.A new model for estimating DPP was proposed.All the empirical correlations and the Peng-Robinson state equation were compared,and sensitivity of parameters was analyzed.The current standards used to identify gas condensate were evaluated and found to be not accurate enough.The Peng-Robinson state equation has no unique solution and is affected by multiple factors such as the characterization of C7+components and the splitting scheme.The Nemeth-Kennedy correlation has the highest accuracy when applied to the data bank established in this study,followed by Elsharkawy correlation and Godwin correlation.While Shokir correlation cannot be used for samples without C7+components,it is therefore the lowest in accuracy.The newly proposed model has an average absolute error,root mean square error and coefficient of determination of 7.5%,588,and 0.87,respectively,and is better than the above four correlations statistically.The proposed model proved to be more accurate and valid when compared to experimental results and simulation with the Peng-Robinson state equation.

Study of the Seepage Mechanism in Thick Heterogeneous Gas Reservoirs

The seepage mechanism plays a crucial role in low-permeability gas reservoirs.Compared with conventional gas reservoirs,low-permeability sandstone gas reservoirs are characterized by low porosity,low permeability,strong heterogeneity,and high water saturation.Moreover,their percolation mechanisms are more complex.The present work describes a series of experiments conducted considering low-permeability sandstone cores under pressuredepletion conditions(from the Xihu Depression in the East China Sea Basin).It is shown that the threshold pressure gradient of a low-permeability gas reservoir in thick layers is positively correlated with water saturation and negatively correlated with permeability and porosity.The reservoir stress sensitivity is related to permeability and rock composition.Stress sensitivity is generally low when permeability is high or in the early stage of gas reservoir development.It is also shown that in sand conglomerates,especially the more sparsely filled parts,the interstitial materials among the conglomerates can be rapidly dislodged from the skeleton particles under stress.This material can therefore disperse,migrate,and block the pore throat producing serious,stress-sensitive damage.

A new method to calculate the productivity index for vertical fractured well of tight gas reservoir

Generally the irreducible water saturation of low permeability gas reservoir is quite high which leads to the permeability stress sensibility and threshold pressure gradient. Under the assumption that permeability varies with experimental law of the pseudo pressure drop, according to concepts of perturbable ellipses and equivalent developing regulations, the calculation method of stable production of hydraulically fractured gas well in low permeability reservoirs is investigated with threshold pressure. And productivity curve is drawn and analyzed. The result shows that, permeability modulus and threshold pressure have effect on production of fractured gas well. The higher the permeability modulus and the threshold pressure, the lower the production is. Therefore, the impact of stress sensitive and threshold pressure must he considered when analyzing the productivity of vertical fracture well in low permeability gas reservoir.

A New Model to Predict Average Pressure Difference of Liquid Droplet and Its Application in Gas Well

The distribution of droplet surface pressure is uneven?under the action of high velocity gas streams in gas wells, and there exists a pressure difference which leads to droplet deformation before and after the droplet. Moreover, it affects the critical liquid carrying rate. The pressure difference prediction model must be determined, because of the existing one lacking theoretical basis. Based on the droplet surface pressure distribution in high velocity gas streams, a new model is established to predict the average differential pressure of droplets. Compared with the new differential pressure prediction results, the existing pressure difference prediction results were overvalued by 46.0%. This article also improves four gas-well critical liquid carrying models using the proposed pressure difference prediction model, and compares with the original one. The result indicates that the critical velocity of the original models is undervalued by 10% or so, due to the overestimate to the pressuredifference. In addition, comparisons of the improved model with original models show that it is necessary to consider the adaptability, because the models have significant differences in results, and different suitability for different well conditions.

Tight gas production model considering TPG as a function of pore pressure,permeability and water saturation

Threshold pressure gradient has great importance in efficient tight gas field development as well as for research and laboratory experiments.This experimental study is carried out to investigate the threshold pressure gradient in detail.Experiments are carried out with and without back pressure so that the effect of pore pressure on threshold pressure gradient may be observed.The trend of increasing or decreasing the threshold pressure gradient is totally opposite in the cases of considering and not considering the pore pressure.The results demonstrate that the pore pressure of tight gas reservoirs has great influence on threshold pressure gradient.The effects of other parameters like permeability and water saturation,in the presence of pore pressure,on threshold pressure gradient are also examined which show that the threshold pressure gradient increases with either a decrease in permeability or an increase in water saturation.Two new correlations of threshold pressure gradient on the basis of pore pressure and permeability,and pore pressure and water saturation,are also introduced.Based on these equations,new models for tight gas production are proposed.The gas slip correction factor is also considered during derivation of this proposed tight gas production models.Inflow performance relationship curves based on these proposed models show that production rates and absolute open flow potential are always be overestimated while ignoring the threshold pressure gradients.

Progress and development directions of stimulation techniques for ultra-deep oil and gas reservoirs

By reviewing the development history of stimulation techniques for deep/ultra-deep oil and gas reservoirs,the new progress in this field in China and abroad has been summed up,including deeper understanding on formation mechanisms of fracture network in deep/ultra-deep oil and gas reservoir,performance improvement of fracturing fluid materials,fine stratification of ultra-deep vertical wells,and mature staged multi-cluster fracturing technique for ultra-deep and highly deviated wells/horizontal wells.In light of the exploration and development trend of ultra-deep oil and gas reservoirs in China,the requirements and technical difficulties in ultra-deep oil and gas reservoir stimulation are discussed:(1)The research and application of integrated geological engineering technology is difficult.(2)The requirements on fracturing materials for stimulation are high.(3)It is difficult to further improve the production in vertical profile of the ultra-deep and hugely thick reservoirs.(4)The requirements on tools and supporting high-pressure equipment on the ground for stimulation are high.(5)It is difficult to achieve efficient stimulation of ultra-deep,high-temperature and high-pressure wells.(6)It is difficult to monitor directly the reservoir stimulation and evaluate the stimulation effect accurately after stimulation.In line with the complex geological characteristics of ultra-deep oil and gas reservoirs in China,seven technical development directions are proposed:(1)To establish systematic new techniques for basic research and evaluation experiments;(2)to strengthen geological research and improve the operational mechanism of integrating geological research and engineering operation;(3)to develop high-efficiency fracturing materials for ultra-deep reservoirs;(4)to research separated layer fracturing technology for ultra-deep and hugely thick reservoirs;(5)to explore fracture-control stimulation technology for ultra-deep horizontal well;(6)to develop direct monitoring technology for hydraulic fractures in ultra-deep oil and gas reservoirs;(7)to develop downhole fracturing tools with high temperature and high pressure tolerance and supporting wellhead equipment able to withstand high pressure.

The establishment of a new deliverability equation considering threshold pressure gradient

The flowing mechanism of a low permeability gas reservoir is different from a conventional gas reservoir,especially for that with higher irreducible water saturation the threshold pressure gradient exists. At present,in all the deliverability equation,the additional pressure drop caused by the threshold pressure gradient is viewed as constant,but this method has big error in the practical application. Based on the non-Darcy steady flow equation,the limited integral of the additional pressure drop is solved in this paper and it is realized that the additional pressure drop is not a constant but has something to do with production data,and a new deliverability equation is derived,with the relevant processing method for modified isochronal test data. The new deliverability equation turns out to be practical through onsite application.

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.

Estimating Average Reservoir Pressure： A Neural Network Approach with Limited Data

Insight into average oil pressure in gas reservoirs and changes in production （time）, play a critical role in reservoir and production performance, economic evaluation and reservoir management. In all practicality, average reservoir pressure can be conducted only when producing wells are shut in. This is regarded as a pressure build-up test. During the test, the wellbore pressure is recorded as a function of time. Currently, the only available method with which to obtain average reservoir pressure is to conduct an extended build-up test. It must then be evaluated using Homer or MDH （Miller, Dyes and Huchinson） valuation procedures. During production, average reservoir pressure declines due to fluid withdrawal from the wells and therefore, the average reservoirpressure is updated, periodically. A significant economic loss occurs during the entire pressure build-up test when producing wells are shut in. In this study, a neural network model has been established to map a nonlinear time-varying relationship which controls reservoir production history in order to predict and interpolate average reservoir pressure without closing the producing wells. This technique is suitable for constant and variable flow rates.

The Application of CO2-EOR in Ultra-Low Permeability Reservoir

CO2 flooding is a process whereby carbon dioxide is injected into an oil reservoir in order to increase output when extracting oil. Since 1952, Wharton obtained the patent concern CO2 flooding, CO2-EOR （CO2 flooding enhance oil recovery） has been one of research hot-spot around the world. According to the statistical data of 2006, there are total of 94 global CO2-EOR projects, including 65 low permeability oilfield projects （79% of the total）. Daqing Oilfield is the largest one of China, after more than 50 years of continuous development, oilfield comprehensive water cut has reached over 90%, and the difficulty of oilfield development has been gradually increasing. In recent years, low and ultra-low permeability reservoirs development have played a more and more important role accompany with low permeability reserves in proportion of the total reserves have been increasing year by year. But water-flooding recovery of low permeability reservoir is very low under the influence of reservoir poor properties and heterogeneity. As a kind of greenhouse gas, CO2 flooding can obtain good results for the low permeability reservoir in which the water flooding has proven ineffective. CO2 flooding Pilot Test was conducted under such background since Dec. 2002, over 10 years of practice has proved that CO2 flooding is an effective method to improve the development effect of low permeability reservoir, all experience during the mechanism study and field test should present important references for further larger-scale CO2 flooding projects.

New method of calculating formation parameters of low permeability gas reservoir

The data of modified isochronal testing of gas well is just used to calculate gas well deliverability. Fully utilizing well test data make it possible to obtain formation parameters, such as gas well deliverability, effective permeability and skin factor at the same time. Based on transient flow theory, the pressure drawdown equation of gas unsteady seepage can be deducted. One simulated case is used to illustrate the applicability of the proposed method. The result of analyzed case shows that the proposed method can provide accurate estimate of formation permeability and skin factor compared with the method of Homer curves.

Gas expansion caused by formation uplifting and its effects on tight gas accumulation:A case study of Sulige gas field in Ordos Basin,NW China

Gas expansion caused by significant exhumation in the Sulige gas field in the Ordos Basin since Late Cretaceous and its effects on hydrocarbon accumulation have been investigated systematically based on comprehensive analysis of geochemical,fluid inclusion and production data.The results indicate that gas volume expansion since the Late Cretaceous was the driving force for adjustment and secondary charging of tight sandstone gas reservoirs in the Sulige gas field of the Ordos Basin.The gas retained in the source rocks expanded in volume,resulting in gas re-expulsion,migration and secondary charging into reservoirs,while the gas volume expansion in the tight reservoirs caused the increase of gas saturation,gas-bearing area and gas column height,which worked together to increase the gas content of the reservoir and bring about large-scale gas accumulation events.The Sulige gas field had experienced a two-stage accumulation process,burial before the end of Early Cretaceous and uplifting since the Late Cretaceous.In the burial stage,natural gas was driven by hydrocarbon generation overpressure to migrate and accumulate,while in the uplifting stage,the gas volume expansion drove internal adjustment inside gas reservoirs and secondary charging to form new reservoirs.On the whole,the gas reservoir adjustment and secondary charging during uplifting stage is more significant in the eastern gas field than that in the west,which is favorable for forming gas-rich area.

WELL TESTING ANALYSIS FOR HORIZONTAL WELL WITH CONSIDERATION OF THRESHOLD PRESSURE GRADIENT IN TIGHT GAS RESERVOIRS

A fundamental solution for homogeneous reservoir in infinite space is derived by using the point source function with the consideration of the threshold pressure gradient. The fundamental solution of the continuous point source function is then derived based on the Green function. Various boundary conditions of the reservoirs are considered for this case and the corresponding solutions are obtained through the mirror image reflection and the principle of superimposition. The line source solution is obtained by integration. Subsequently, the horizontal-well bottom hole pressure response function for a non-linear gas flow in the homogeneous gas reservoir is obtained, and the response curve of the dimensionless bottom hole pressure and the derivative for a horizontal well in the homogeneous gas reservoir are obtained. In the end, the sensitivities of the relevant parameters are analyzed, The well test model presented in this paper can be used as the basis of the horizontal well test analysis for tight gas reservoirs.

Dual-porosity model of rate transient analysis for horizontal well in tight gas reservoirs with consideration of threshold pressure gradient

Most researches of the threshold pressure gradient in tight gas reservoirs are experimental and mainly focus on the transient pressure response, without paying much attention to the transient rate decline. This paper establishes a dual-porosity rate transient decline model for the horizontal well with consideration of the threshold pressure gradient, which represents the non-Darcy flow in a fracture system. The solution is obtained by employing the Laplace transform and the orthogonal transform. The bi-logarithmic type curves of the dimensionless production rate and derivative are plotted by the Stehfest numerical inversion method. Seven different flow regimes are identified and the effects of the influence factors such as the threshold pressure gradient, the elastic storativity ratio, and the cross flow coefficient are discussed. The presented research could interpret the production behavior more accurately and effectively for tight gas reservoirs.

Developing a K-value equation for predict dew point pressure of gas condensate reservoirs at high pressure

This paper proposed a new empirical K-value equation is developed to calculate dew pressure for gas condensate reservoirs.This equation is applicable in the wide ranges of composition,temperature,and pressure by considering the effect of composition via two equations for normal boiling point and critical temperature of the mixture.The range of dew pressure,temperature,heptane plus mole fraction,methane mole fraction,N2 mole fraction,CO2 mole fraction,and H2S mole fraction are fallen into 2666.7e9655 Psia,40e350.87
F,0.0021e0.213,0.3344e0.9668,0e0.4322,0e0.0864,and 0e0.942 respectively.As an important point,the proposed equation has any adjustable parameters,in addition,this equation indicates that in order to predict of dew pressure of gas condensate reservoirs,trial and error was not needed and therefore,computational speed increases beyond the accuracy.Moreover,the accuracy is validated by comparing against the experimental data of 81 gas condensate reservoirs samples from published literature and the results of Wilson,Whitson,and Ghafoori equations.Compared to the experimental data,the absolute average deviations of dew pressure calculations for the proposed equation,Wilson,Whitson,and Ghafoori were 7.6%,97.6%,99.4%,and 94.9%respectively.