Impact of Shale-Gas Apparent Permeability on Production: Combined Effects of Non-Darcy Flow/Gas Slippage, Desorption, and Geomechanics

2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (04) ◽  
pp. 495-507 ◽  
Author(s):  
HanYi Wang ◽  
Matteo Marongiu-Porcu
Keyword(s):  
Pore Structure ◽  
Shale Gas ◽  
Fracture Network ◽  
Darcy Flow ◽  
Permeability Evolution ◽  
Apparent Permeability ◽  
Gas Slippage ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Gas Layer ◽  
The Impact

Summary Permeability is one of the most fundamental reservoir-rock properties required for modeling hydrocarbon production. Many shale-gas and ultralow-permeability tight gas reservoirs can have matrix-permeability values in the range of tens to hundreds of nanodarcies. The ultrafine pore structure of these rocks can cause violation of the basic assumptions behind Darcy's law. Depending on a combination of pressure-temperature conditions, pore structure and gas properties, non-Darcy flow mechanisms such as Knudsen diffusion, and/or gas-slippage effects will affect the matrix apparent permeability. Even though numerous theoretical and empirical models were proposed to describe the increasing apparent permeability caused by non-Darcy flow/gas-slippage behavior in nanopore space, few literature sources have investigated the impact of formation compaction and the release of the adsorption gas layer upon shale-matrix apparent permeability during reservoir depletion. In this article, we first present a thorough review on gas flow in shale nanopore space and discuss the factors that can affect shale-matrix apparent permeability, besides the well-studied non-Darcy flow/gas-slippage behavior. Then, a unified shale-matrix apparent-permeability model is proposed to bridge the effects of non-Darcy flow/gas-slippage, geomechanics (formation compaction), and the release of the adsorption gas layer into a single, coherent equation. In addition, a mathematical framework for an unconventional reservoir simulator that was developed for this study is also presented. Different matrix apparent-permeability models are implemented in our numerical simulator to examine how the various factors affect matrix apparent permeability within the simulated reservoir volume. Finally, the impact of a natural-fracture network on matrix apparent-permeability evolution is investigated. The results indicate that, even though the conductive fracture network plays a vital role in shale-gas production, the matrix apparent-permeability evolution during pressure depletion cannot be neglected for accurate production modeling.

scholarly journals Prediction of Production Performance of Refractured Shale Gas Well considering Coupled Multiscale Gas Flow and Geomechanics

Geofluids ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiqiang Li ◽  
Zhilin Qi ◽  
Wende Yan ◽  
Zuping Xiang ◽  
Xiang Ao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Shale Gas ◽  
Gas Flow ◽  
Knudsen Diffusion ◽  
Stress Sensitivity ◽  
Production Performance ◽  
Design Parameters ◽  
Production Loss ◽  
Apparent Permeability ◽  
Gas Well ◽  
The Matrix

Production simulation is an important method to evaluate the stimulation effect of refracturing. Therefore, a production simulation model based on coupled fluid flow and geomechanics in triple continuum including kerogen, an inorganic matrix, and a fracture network is proposed considering the multiscale flow characteristics of shale gas, the induced stress of fracture opening, and the pore elastic effect. The complex transport mechanisms due to multiple physics, including gas adsorption/desorption, slip flow, Knudsen diffusion, surface diffusion, stress sensitivity, and adsorption layer are fully considered in this model. The apparent permeability is used to describe the multiple physics occurring in the matrix. The model is validated using actual production data of a horizontal shale gas well and applied to predict the production and production increase percentage (PIP) after refracturing. A sensitivity analysis is performed to study the effects of the refracturing pattern, fracture conductivity, width of stimulated reservoir volume (SRV), SRV length of new and initial fractures, and refracturing time on production and the PIP. In addition, the effects of multiple physics on the matrix permeability and production, and the geomechanical effects of matrix and fracture on production are also studied. The research shows that the refracturing design parameters have an important influence on the PIP. The geomechanical effect is an important cause of production loss, while slippage and diffusion effects in matrix can offset the production loss.

Wormhole Formation During Acidizing of Calcite-Cemented Fractures in Gas-Bearing Shales

SPE Journal ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (02) ◽  
pp. 795-810 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piotr Szymczak ◽  
Kamil Kwiatkowski ◽  
Marek Jarosinskí ◽  
Tomasz Kwiatkowski ◽  
Florian Osselin
Keyword(s):  
Shale Gas ◽  
Fracture Network ◽  
Thin Layers ◽  
Fracture Permeability ◽  
Flow Paths ◽  
Shale Formations ◽  
Gas Recovery ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Reactive Fluids ◽  
Gas Bearing

Summary A relatively large number of calcite-cemented fractures are present in gas-bearing shale formations. During hydraulic fracturing, some of these fractures will be reactivated and may become important flow paths in the resulting stimulated fracture network. On the other hand, the presence of carbonate lamina on fracture surfaces will have a hindering effect on the transport of shale gas from the matrix toward the wellbore. We investigate numerically the effect of low-pH reactive fluids on such fractures, and show that dissolution of the cement proceeds in a highly nonuniform manner. The morphology of the emerging flow paths (“wormholes”) strongly depends on the thickness of the calcite layer. For thick carbonate layers, a hierarchical, fractal pattern appears, with highly branched wormhole-like channels competing for an available flow. For thin layers, the pattern is much more diffuse, with less-pronounced wormholes that merge easily with each other. Finally, for intermediate thicknesses, we observe a strong attraction between shorter and longer wormholes, which leads to the formation of islands of carbonate lamina surrounded by the dissolved regions. We argue that the wormhole-formation processes are not only important for the increase of shale-gas recovery, but also can be used for retaining the fracture permeability, even in the absence of proppant.

Evaluating the Performance of Surfactants in Enhancing Flowback and Permeability after Hydraulic Fracturing through a Microfluidic Model

SPE Journal ◽  
1900 ◽  
Vol 25 (01) ◽  
pp. 268-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tianbo Liang ◽  
Ke Xu ◽  
Jun Lu ◽  
Quoc Nguyen ◽  
David DiCarlo
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Fractured Reservoirs ◽  
Fracture Network ◽  
Phase Changes ◽  
Screening Criteria ◽  
Hydrocarbon Production ◽  
Glass Micromodel ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Production Stages ◽  
The Impact

Summary Hydraulic fracturing can create a large fracture network that makes hydrocarbon production from low-permeability reservoirs economical. However, water can invade the rock matrix adjacent to the created fractures and generate water blockage that impairs production. Using surfactants as fracturing-fluid additives is a promising method to enhance the fluid flowback, and thus mitigate the water blockage caused by invasion. It is imperative to understand how surfactants work during the fracturing and production stages, so as to maximize their effectiveness in production enhancement. In this study, an experimental investigation is conducted using a “chipflood” sequence that simulates fluid invasion, flowback, and hydrocarbon production from hydraulically fractured reservoirs. All experiments are conducted in a 2.5D glass micromodel that provides direct observation of in-situ phase changes when different Winsor types of microemulsions formed in the porous medium. The results provide direct evidence of the impact of the matrix–fracture interaction as well as water removal when surfactants are used. They further elucidate why surfactants under different Winsor-type conditions perform differently in mitigating the water blockage. This helps to clarify the screening criteria for optimizing flowback surfactant in hydraulic fracturing.

scholarly journals Temporal Scale Analysis of Gas Flow in Tight Gas Reservoirs considering the Nonequilibrium Effect

Geofluids ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Binglin Li ◽  
Yuliang Su ◽  
Maen Husein ◽  
Roberto Aguilera ◽  
Mingjing Lu
Keyword(s):  
Fractal Geometry ◽  
Gas Flow ◽  
Temporal Scale ◽  
Production Performance ◽  
Darcy Flow ◽  
Scale Analysis ◽  
Nonequilibrium Effect ◽  
Wellbore Pressure ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
The Impact

The fractal geometry, anisotropy, discontinuity, and non-Darcy flow of tight reservoirs exert a significant effect on well production performance. In this study, the reservoir fractal geometry is represented by exponential functions on the basis of microseismic data, while the discontinuity of the fractures is presented as a nonequilibrium effect. The impact of the nonequilibrium effect and the low velocity non-Darcy flow on the temporal scale of the wellbore pressure is predicted herein. Results showed that the time scale analysis accurately simulates gas flow in a tight reservoir. The wellbore pressure gradually increases, whereas the pressure in the matrix lags when the nonequilibrium effect is considered. The wellbore pressure is affected in the early period by the nonequilibrium effect. However, at the later stage, the pressure in the matrix is mainly affected by the non-Darcy flow. When the non-Darcy flow is dominant, the pores without gas flowing through are better presented.

EDFM-based Multi-Continuum Shale Gas Simulation with Low Velocity Non-Darcy Water Flow Effect

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Jiang ◽  
John Killough ◽  
Linkai Li ◽  
Xiaona Cui ◽  
Jin Tang
Keyword(s):  
Water Flow ◽  
Shale Gas ◽  
Gas Flow ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Knudsen Diffusion ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Darcy Flow ◽  
Low Velocity ◽  
Water Imbibition ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The exploitation of shale gas has attracted extensive attention in industry and academia. Multi-scale gas transportation mechanisms in matrix and fractures have been well studied. However, due to the presence of water originating from both fracking fluids and connate water, shale gas production is also greatly affected by water imbibition and flowback, of which the processes have not been thoroughly analyzed. This paper aims at presenting a comprehensive multi-continuum multi-component model to characterize the complicated shale gas flow behaviors as well as the impact of non-Darcy water flow on shale gas production. A two-phase numerical simulator is built up with multi-continuum settings. Shale matrix is split into organic and inorganic matters while natural and hydraulic fractures are modeled using an embedded discrete fracture model (EDFM). Fracture closure and elongation are modeled using a dynamic gridding approach. Different transportation mechanisms are considered to describe gas flow in shale, including Knudsen diffusion, ab/desorption, and convection. The low-velocity non-Darcy flow of water is used in inorganic pores to analyze the effect of water flow. A pre-stage model based on pumping history is simulated firstly before production starts. This serves as an initialization step to model fracking fluid imbibition and early-stage water flowback. This pre-stage simulation gives out more precise pressure and saturation profiles than the conventional non-equilibrium initialization method, especially in enhanced pore volumes and fractures. Based upon simulation results from the production period, Langmuir isotherm absorption has shown a massive impact on gas flow in shale, and Knudsen diffusion weights highest among transport mechanisms. Water non-Darcy flow better benefits in simulating both early-stage water flowback and production process compared with Darcy flow, which gives us a new explanation on the low flowback efficiency in real shale gas operations. Studies on early-stage water flowback also show that the flowback affects saturation distribution, which has a strong relationship with gas production and shall not be ignored. This work establishes a novel method to simulate and analyze shale gas production. It considers multiple and complex flow mechanisms and gives out better estimates of water flux. It is also used to initialize a model for pumping water imbibition and early-stage flowback, which can be used as technical resources for analyzing and simulating unconventional plays.

Impact Strength, Flexural Modulus and Wear Rate of PMMA Composites Reinforced by Eggshell Powders

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (7A) ◽  
pp. 960-966
Author(s):  
Aseel M. Abdullah ◽  
Hussein Jaber ◽  
Hanaa A. Al-Kaisy
Keyword(s):  
Impact Strength ◽  
Wear Rate ◽  
Flexural Modulus ◽  
Matrix Material ◽  
Weight Fraction ◽  
Pure Pmma ◽  
Calcination Process ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Interface Bond

In the present study, the impact strength, flexural modulus, and wear rate of poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA) with eggshell powder (ESP) composites have been investigated. The PMMA used as a matrix material reinforced with ESP at two different states (including untreated eggshell powder (UTESP) and treated eggshell powder (TESP)). Both UTESP and TESP were mixed with PMMA at different weight fractions ranged from (1-5) wt.%. The results revealed that the mechanical properties of the PMMA/ESP composites were enhanced steadily with increasing eggshell contents. The samples with 5 wt.% of UTESP and TESP additions give the maximum values of impact strength, about twice the value of the pure PMMA sample. The calcination process of eggshells powders gives better properties of the PMMA samples compared with the UTESP at the same weight fraction due to improvements in the interface bond between the matrix and particles. The wear characteristics of the PMMA composites decrease by about 57% with increases the weight fraction of TESP up to 5 wt.%. The flexural modulus values are slightly enhanced by increasing of the ESP contents in the PMMA composites.

scholarly journals The Interactions between Polyphenols and Microorganisms, Especially Gut Microbiota

Antioxidants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 188
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Makarewicz ◽  
Iwona Drożdż ◽  
Tomasz Tarko ◽  
Aleksandra Duda-Chodak
Keyword(s):  
Intestinal Bacteria ◽  
Research Data ◽  
Bioactive Metabolites ◽  
Human Organism ◽  
Comprehensive Knowledge ◽  
Bidirectional Relationship ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Intestinal Pathogens ◽  
The Impact

This review presents the comprehensive knowledge about the bidirectional relationship between polyphenols and the gut microbiome. The first part is related to polyphenols’ impacts on various microorganisms, especially bacteria, and their influence on intestinal pathogens. The research data on the mechanisms of polyphenol action were collected together and organized. The impact of various polyphenols groups on intestinal bacteria both on the whole “microbiota” and on particular species, including probiotics, are presented. Moreover, the impact of polyphenols present in food (bound to the matrix) was compared with the purified polyphenols (such as in dietary supplements) as well as polyphenols in the form of derivatives (such as glycosides) with those in the form of aglycones. The second part of the paper discusses in detail the mechanisms (pathways) and the role of bacterial biotransformation of the most important groups of polyphenols, including the production of bioactive metabolites with a significant impact on the human organism (both positive and negative).

scholarly journals Nanometer Pore Structure Characterization of Taiyuan Formation Shale in the Lin-Xing Area Based on Nitrogen Adsorption Experiments

Minerals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 298
Author(s):  
Chenlong Ding ◽  
Jinxian He ◽  
Hongchen Wu ◽  
Xiaoli Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Specific Surface ◽  
Pore Structure ◽  
Surface Area ◽  
Specific Surface Area ◽  
Shale Gas ◽  
Pore Volume ◽  
Ordos Basin ◽  
Total Pore Volume ◽  
Nitrogen Adsorption ◽  
Taiyuan Formation

Ordos Basin is an important continental shale gas exploration site in China. The micropore structure of the shale reservoir is of great importance for shale gas evaluation. The Taiyuan Formation of the lower Permian is the main exploration interval for this area. To examine the nanometer pore structures in the Taiyuan Formation shale reservoirs in the Lin-Xing area, Northern Shaanxi, the microscopic pore structure characteristics were analyzed via nitrogen adsorption experiments. The pore structure parameters, such as specific surface area, pore volume, and aperture distribution, of shale were calculated; the significance of the pore structure for shale gas storage was analyzed; and the main controlling factors of pore development were assessed. The results indicated the surface area and hole volume of the shale sample to be 0.141–2.188 m2/g and 0.001398–0.008718 cm3/g, respectively. According to the IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry) classification, mesopores and macropores were dominant in the pore structure, with the presence of a certain number of micropores. The adsorption curves were similar to the standard IV (a)-type isotherm line, and the hysteresis loop type was mainly similar to H3 and H4 types, indicating that most pores are dominated by open type pores, such as parallel plate-shaped pores and wedge-shaped slit pores. The micropores and mesopores provide the vast majority of the specific surface area, functioning as the main area for the adsorption of gas in the shale. The mesopores and macropores provide the vast majority of the pore volume, functioning as the main storage areas for the gas in the shale. Total organic carbon had no notable linear correlation with the total pore volume and the specific surface area. Vitrinite reflectance (Ro) had no notable correlation with the specific surface area, but did have a low “U” curve correlation with the total pore volume. There was no relationship between the quartz content and specific surface area and total pore volume. In addition, there was no notable correlation between the clay mineral content and total specific surface area and total pore volume.

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