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Effect of Complex Natural Fractures on Economic Well Spacing Optimization in Shale Gas Reservoir with Gas-Water Two-Phase Flow

Author

Listed:
  • Cheng Chang

    (State Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation, Southwest Petroleum University, Xindu 637001, China)

  • Yongming Li

    (State Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation, Southwest Petroleum University, Xindu 637001, China)

  • Xiaoping Li

    (State Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation, Southwest Petroleum University, Xindu 637001, China)

  • Chuxi Liu

    (Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA)

  • Mauricio Fiallos-Torres

    (Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
    Sim Tech LLC., Houston, TX 77494, USA)

  • Wei Yu

    (Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
    Sim Tech LLC., Houston, TX 77494, USA)

Abstract

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Cheng Chang & Yongming Li & Xiaoping Li & Chuxi Liu & Mauricio Fiallos-Torres & Wei Yu, 2020. "Effect of Complex Natural Fractures on Economic Well Spacing Optimization in Shale Gas Reservoir with Gas-Water Two-Phase Flow," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-21, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:13:y:2020:i:11:p:2853-:d:366900
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Catalin Popescu & Sorin Alexandru Gheorghiu, 2021. "Economic Analysis and Generic Algorithm for Optimizing the Investments Decision-Making Process in Oil Field Development," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-24, September.
    2. Jianliang Xu & Yingjie Xu & Yong Wang & Yong Tang, 2022. "Multi-Well Pressure Interference and Gas Channeling Control in W Shale Gas Reservoir Based on Numerical Simulation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-13, December.

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