Effect of Complex Natural Fractures on Economic Well Spacing Optimization in Shale Gas Reservoir with Gas-Water Two-Phase Flow
At present, investigation of the effects of natural fractures on optimal well spacing of shale gas reservoirs from an economic perspective has been lacking. Traditional frameworks of fracture characterization, such as local grid refinement, make it unfeasible and inaccurate to study these effects of...
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MDPI AG
2020-06-01
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| Series: | Energies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/11/2853 |
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| author | Cheng Chang Yongming Li Xiaoping Li Chuxi Liu Mauricio Fiallos-Torres Wei Yu |
| author_facet | Cheng Chang Yongming Li Xiaoping Li Chuxi Liu Mauricio Fiallos-Torres Wei Yu |
| author_sort | Cheng Chang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | At present, investigation of the effects of natural fractures on optimal well spacing of shale gas reservoirs from an economic perspective has been lacking. Traditional frameworks of fracture characterization, such as local grid refinement, make it unfeasible and inaccurate to study these effects of high-density natural fractures with complex geometries on well spacing. In this study, the non-intrusive EDFM (embedded discrete fracture model) method was presented to characterize fractures fast and accurately. The non-intrusiveness of EDFM removed the necessity of accessing the codes behind reservoir simulators, which meant it could simply create associated keywords that would correspondingly modify these fracture properties in separate files without information regarding the source codes. By implementing this powerful technology, a field-scale shale gas reservoir model was set up, including two-phase flow. The effective properties of hydraulic fractures were determined from the history matching process, and the results were entered into the well spacing optimization workflow. Different scenarios of natural fracture (NF) distributions and well spacing were designed, and the final economic analysis for each case was explored based on simulated productions. As a result, one of the findings of this study was that optimal well spacing tended to increase if more natural fractures were presented in the reservoir. |
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f9374f62dfdb4ed28f83b5d7fad97e8c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:24:21Z |
| publishDate | 2020-06-01 |
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| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj.art-f9374f62dfdb4ed28f83b5d7fad97e8c2023-11-20T02:45:09ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732020-06-011311285310.3390/en13112853Effect of Complex Natural Fractures on Economic Well Spacing Optimization in Shale Gas Reservoir with Gas-Water Two-Phase FlowCheng Chang0Yongming Li1Xiaoping Li2Chuxi Liu3Mauricio Fiallos-Torres4Wei Yu5State Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation, Southwest Petroleum University, Xindu 637001, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation, Southwest Petroleum University, Xindu 637001, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation, Southwest Petroleum University, Xindu 637001, ChinaHildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USAHildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USAHildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USAAt present, investigation of the effects of natural fractures on optimal well spacing of shale gas reservoirs from an economic perspective has been lacking. Traditional frameworks of fracture characterization, such as local grid refinement, make it unfeasible and inaccurate to study these effects of high-density natural fractures with complex geometries on well spacing. In this study, the non-intrusive EDFM (embedded discrete fracture model) method was presented to characterize fractures fast and accurately. The non-intrusiveness of EDFM removed the necessity of accessing the codes behind reservoir simulators, which meant it could simply create associated keywords that would correspondingly modify these fracture properties in separate files without information regarding the source codes. By implementing this powerful technology, a field-scale shale gas reservoir model was set up, including two-phase flow. The effective properties of hydraulic fractures were determined from the history matching process, and the results were entered into the well spacing optimization workflow. Different scenarios of natural fracture (NF) distributions and well spacing were designed, and the final economic analysis for each case was explored based on simulated productions. As a result, one of the findings of this study was that optimal well spacing tended to increase if more natural fractures were presented in the reservoir.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/11/2853well spacing optimizationshale gasnatural fracturesembedded discrete fracture modelwell interference |
| spellingShingle | Cheng Chang Yongming Li Xiaoping Li Chuxi Liu Mauricio Fiallos-Torres Wei Yu Effect of Complex Natural Fractures on Economic Well Spacing Optimization in Shale Gas Reservoir with Gas-Water Two-Phase Flow Energies well spacing optimization shale gas natural fractures embedded discrete fracture model well interference |
| title | Effect of Complex Natural Fractures on Economic Well Spacing Optimization in Shale Gas Reservoir with Gas-Water Two-Phase Flow |
| title_full | Effect of Complex Natural Fractures on Economic Well Spacing Optimization in Shale Gas Reservoir with Gas-Water Two-Phase Flow |
| title_fullStr | Effect of Complex Natural Fractures on Economic Well Spacing Optimization in Shale Gas Reservoir with Gas-Water Two-Phase Flow |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effect of Complex Natural Fractures on Economic Well Spacing Optimization in Shale Gas Reservoir with Gas-Water Two-Phase Flow |
| title_short | Effect of Complex Natural Fractures on Economic Well Spacing Optimization in Shale Gas Reservoir with Gas-Water Two-Phase Flow |
| title_sort | effect of complex natural fractures on economic well spacing optimization in shale gas reservoir with gas water two phase flow |
| topic | well spacing optimization shale gas natural fractures embedded discrete fracture model well interference |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/11/2853 |
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