Quantitative Prediction of Radon Concentration at Wellhead in Shale Gas Development

SPE Journal ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (01) ◽  
pp. 235-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Tian ◽  
Xingru Wu ◽  
Tong Shen ◽  
Zhenyu Zhang ◽  
Sumeer Kalra
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Numerical Simulations ◽  
Shale Gas ◽  
Radon Concentration ◽  
Marcellus Shale ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Influential Factors ◽  
Natural Fracture ◽  
Quantitative Prediction ◽  
Radon Gas

Summary Hydraulic fracturing has been applied as an effective method to increase gas production from shale formations; however, this method has also raised concerns about its adverse impacts on environment. For example, in the Marcellus shale formation, some measured radon-gas concentrations exceeded the safe standard. Therefore, it is important to quantitatively evaluate radon concentration from fractured wells. However, existing researches have not successfully conducted a systematic and predictive study on the relationship between shale gas production and radon concentration at the wellhead of a hydraulically fractured well. To address this issue and quantitatively determine the radon concentration, we present the mechanisms of radon-gas generation and releasing, and conducted numerical simulations on its transport process in the subsurface formation system. The concentration of radon in produced gas is related with the original sources where the natural gas is extracted. Radon, generated from the radium alpha decay process, is trapped in pore spaces before the reservoir development. With the fluid flowing through the subsurface network, released radon will move to surface with the produced streams such as natural gas and flowback water. Our study shows that the radon concentration at wellhead could be significant. Influential factors such as natural-fracture-network properties, formation petrophysical parameters, and fracture dimension are investigated with sensitivity studies through numerical simulations. Analysis results suggest that radon wellhead concentration is strongly related with production rate. Thus, careful production design and protection are necessary to reduce radon hazard regarding the public and environmental impact.

scholarly journals New Hybrid Approach for Developing Automated Machine Learning Workflows: A Real Case Application in Evaluation of Marcellus Shale Gas Production

Fuels ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 286-303
Author(s):  
Vuong Van Pham ◽  
Ebrahim Fathi ◽  
Fatemeh Belyadi
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Machine Learning ◽  
Shale Gas ◽  
Field Data ◽  
Marcellus Shale ◽  
Hybrid Approach ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Bayesian Optimization ◽  
Real Field ◽  
Engineering Problems

The success of machine learning (ML) techniques implemented in different industries heavily rely on operator expertise and domain knowledge, which is used in manually choosing an algorithm and setting up the specific algorithm parameters for a problem. Due to the manual nature of model selection and parameter tuning, it is impossible to quantify or evaluate the quality of this manual process, which in turn limits the ability to perform comparison studies between different algorithms. In this study, we propose a new hybrid approach for developing machine learning workflows to help automated algorithm selection and hyperparameter optimization. The proposed approach provides a robust, reproducible, and unbiased workflow that can be quantified and validated using different scoring metrics. We have used the most common workflows implemented in the application of artificial intelligence (AI) and ML in engineering problems including grid/random search, Bayesian search and optimization, genetic programming, and compared that with our new hybrid approach that includes the integration of Tree-based Pipeline Optimization Tool (TPOT) and Bayesian optimization. The performance of each workflow is quantified using different scoring metrics such as Pearson correlation (i.e., R2 correlation) and Mean Square Error (i.e., MSE). For this purpose, actual field data obtained from 1567 gas wells in Marcellus Shale, with 121 features from reservoir, drilling, completion, stimulation, and operation is tested using different proposed workflows. A proposed new hybrid workflow is then used to evaluate the type well used for evaluation of Marcellus shale gas production. In conclusion, our automated hybrid approach showed significant improvement in comparison to other proposed workflows using both scoring matrices. The new hybrid approach provides a practical tool that supports the automated model and hyperparameter selection, which is tested using real field data that can be implemented in solving different engineering problems using artificial intelligence and machine learning. The new hybrid model is tested in a real field and compared with conventional type wells developed by field engineers. It is found that the type well of the field is very close to P50 predictions of the field, which shows great success in the completion design of the field performed by field engineers. It also shows that the field average production could have been improved by 8% if shorter cluster spacing and higher proppant loading per cluster were used during the frac jobs.

Algeria will struggle to halt gas production slide

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Shale Gas ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
Poor Performance ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Local Opposition ◽  
Limited Scope ◽  
Petrochemical Industries

Significance This drag on the economy stems mainly from the poor performance of the natural gas sector, as investment in new projects has been inadequate to compensate for the decline in output from mature fields. Impacts Natural gas might be a driver of growth, despite limited scope to increase oil production due to depleted reserves. Development of Algeria’s abundant reserves of shale gas may face strong local opposition. Increased gas production could facilitate progress on long-stalled plans to expand fertiliser and petrochemical industries.

scholarly journals Emerging unconventional shale plays in Western Australia

2013 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 313 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Ameed R. Ghori
Keyword(s):  
Shale Gas ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Marcellus Shale ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Source Rocks ◽  
Lower Permian ◽  
Upper Ordovician ◽  
Canning Basin ◽  
The Us ◽  
Gas Potential

Production of shale gas in the US has changed its position from a gas importer to a potential gas exporter. This has stimulated exploration for shale-gas resources in WA. The search started with Woodada Deep–1 (2010) and Arrowsmith–2 (2011) in the Perth Basin to evaluate the shale-gas potential of the Permian Carynginia Formation and the Triassic Kockatea Shale, and Nicolay–1 (2011) in the Canning Basin to evaluate the shale-gas potential of the Ordovician Goldwyer Formation. Estimated total shale-gas potential for these formations is about 288 trillion cubic feet (Tcf). Other petroleum source rocks include the Devonian Gogo and Lower Carboniferous Laurel formations of the Canning Basin, the Lower Permian Wooramel and Byro groups of the onshore Carnarvon Basin, and the Neoproterozoic shales of the Officer Basin. The Canning and Perth basins are producing petroleum, whereas the onshore Carnarvon and Officer basins are not producing, but they have indications for petroleum source rocks, generation, and migration from geochemistry data. Exploration is at a very early stage, and more work is needed to estimate the shale-gas potential of all source rocks and to verify estimated resources. Exploration for shale gas in WA will benefit from new drilling and production techniques and technologies developed during the past 15 years in the US, where more than 102,000 successful gas production wells have been drilled. WA shale-gas plays are stratigraphically and geochemically comparable to producing plays in the Upper Ordovician Utica Shale, Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale and Upper Devonian Bakken Formation, Upper Mississippian Barnett Shale, Upper Jurassic Haynesville-Bossier formations, and Upper Cretaceous Eagle Ford Shale of the US. WA is vastly under-explored and emerging self-sourcing shale plays have revived onshore exploration in the Canning, Carnarvon, and Perth basins.

Trends in natural gas pricing and their effects on traditional contracting structures

2013 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 499
Author(s):  
Lisa Henneberry ◽  
Steven Harris ◽  
Anthony Way
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Shale Gas ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
End User ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Dramatic Decline ◽  
Related Risk ◽  
Major Region ◽  
Gas Market ◽  
Contracting Model

This extended abstract analyses the combined disruptive effects of the shale gas boom, the global gas glut, and the worldwide economic crisis on international gas markets. These factors are considered in three major regions of the world: In the competitive and liquid US gas market, increased domestic shale gas production prompted a dramatic decline in US gas prices and ultimately eliminated virtually all demand for new supplies of imported LNG. In Europe, continuing liberalisation in the EU's natural gas end-user and wholesale markets, the growing liquidity of trading hubs across Europe, and the introduction of cheaper spot-gas have fundamentally changed the traditional oil-indexed gas and LNG contracting models. In Asia, changes in buyer sensitivities to supply security and the development of new sources of supply have prompted discounting against traditional oil-based benchmarks and an increase in short-term or more flexible LNG purchases. This extended abstract explores the combined effects of these developing trends in each major region together with the typical responses of buyers and sellers in each market. These effects and reactions introduce associated complexities in this changing-price environment. The authors also explore potential changes in the traditional gas and LNG contracting model and the evolution of related risk allocations, which contracting parties often rely on.

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