Production-Data Analysis of Single-Phase (Gas) Coalbed-Methane Wells

Summary Coalbed-methane (CBM) reservoirs commonly exhibit two-phase-flow (gas plus water) characteristics; however, commercial CBM production is possible from single-phase (gas) coal reservoirs, as demonstrated by the recent development of the Horseshoe Canyon coals of western Canada. Commercial single-phase CBM production also occurs in some areas of the low-productivity Fruitland Coal, south-southwest of the high-productivity Fruitland Coal Fairway in the San Juan basin, and in other CBM-producing basins of the continental United States. Production data of single-phase coal reservoirs may be analyzed with techniques commonly applied to conventional reservoirs. Complicating application, however, is the unique nature of CBM reservoirs; coal gas-storage and -transport mechanisms differ substantially from conventional reservoirs. Single-phase CBM reservoirs may also display complex reservoir behavior such as multilayer characteristics, dual-porosity effects, and permeability anisotropy. The current work illustrates how single-well production-data-analysis (PDA) techniques, such as type curve, flowing material balance (FMB), and pressure-transient (PT) analysis, may be altered to analyze single-phase CBM wells. Examples of how reservoir inputs to the PDA techniques and subsequent calculations are modified to account for CBM-reservoir behavior are given. This paper demonstrates, by simulated and field examples, that reasonable reservoir and stimulation estimates can be obtained from PDA of CBM reservoirs only if appropriate reservoir inputs (i.e., desorption compressibility, fracture porosity) are used in the analysis. As the field examples demonstrate, type-curve, FMB, and PT analysis methods for PDA are not used in isolation for reservoir-property estimation, but rather as a starting point for single-well and multiwell reservoir simulation, which is then used to history match and forecast CBM-well production (e.g., for reserves assignment). CBM reservoirs have the potential for permeability anisotropy because of their naturally fractured nature, which may complicate PDA. To study the effects of permeability anisotropy upon production, a 2D, single-phase, numerical CBM-reservoir simulator was constructed to simulate single-well production assuming various permeability-anisotropy ratios. Only large permeability ratios (>16:1) appear to have a significant effect upon single-well production characteristics. Multilayer reservoir characteristics may also be observed with CBM reservoirs because of vertical heterogeneity, or in cases where the coals are commingled with conventional (sandstone) reservoirs. In these cases, the type-curve, FMB, and PT analysis techniques are difficult to apply with confidence. Methods and tools for analyzing multilayer CBM (plus sand) reservoirs are presented. Using simulated and field examples, it is demonstrated that unique reservoir properties may be assigned to individual layers from commingled (multilayer) production in the simple two-layer case. Introduction Commercial single-phase (gas) CBM production has been demonstrated recently in the Horseshoe Canyon coals of western Canada (Bastian et al. 2005) and previously in various basins in the US; there is currently a need for advanced PDA techniques to assist with evaluation of these reservoirs. Over the past several decades, significant advances have been made in PDA of conventional oil and gas reservoirs [select references include Fetkovich (1980), Fetkovich et al. (1987), Carter (1985), Fraim and Wattenbarger (1987), Blasingame et al. (1989, 1991), Palacio and Blasingame (1993), Fetkovich et al. (1996), Agarwal et al. (1999), and Mattar and Anderson (2003)]. These modern methods have greatly enhanced the engineers' ability to obtain quantitative information about reservoir properties and stimulation/damage from data that are gathered routinely during the producing life of a well, such as production data and, in some instances, flowing pressure information. The information that may be obtained from detailed PDA includes oil or gas in place (GIP), permeability-thickness product (kh), and skin (s), and this can be used to supplement information obtained from other sources such as PT analysis, material balance, and reservoir simulation.