Controlling Parameters During Continuum Flow in Shale-Gas Production: A Fracture/Matrix-Modeling Approach

SPE Journal ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (03) ◽  
pp. 1378-1394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dhruvit S. Berawala ◽  
Pål Ø. Andersen ◽  
Jann R. Ursin (ret.)
Keyword(s):  
Residence Time ◽  
Shale Gas ◽  
Pore Space ◽  
Current Model ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Nonlinear Flow ◽  
Free Gas ◽  
Continuum Flow ◽  
The Matrix

Summary The purpose of this paper is to investigate the main controlling factors during a continuum-flow regime in shale-gas production in the context where well-induced fractures, extending from the well perforations, improve reservoir conductivity and performance. A mathematical 1D+1D model is presented that involves a high-permeability fracture extending from a well perforation through symmetrically surrounding shale matrix with low permeability. Gas in the matrix occurs in the form of adsorbed material attached to kerogen (modeled by a Langmuir isotherm) and as free gas in the nanopores. The pressure gradient toward the fracture and well perforation causes the free gas to flow. With pressure depletion, gas desorbs out of the kerogen into the pore space and then flows to the fracture. When the pressure has stabilized, desorption and production stop. The production of shale gas and mass distributions indicate the efficiency of species transfer between fracture and matrix. We show that the behavior can be scaled and described according to the magnitude of two characteristic dimensionless numbers: the ratio of diffusion time scales in shale and fracture, α, and the pore-volume (PV) ratio between the shale and fracture domains, β. Fracture/matrix properties are varied systematically to understand the role of fracture/matrix interaction during production. Further, the role of fracture geometry (varying width) is investigated. Input parameters from experimental and field data in the literature are applied. The product αβ expresses how much time it takes to diffuse the gas in place through the fracture to the well compared with the time it takes to diffuse that gas from the matrix to the fracture. For αβ≪1, the residence time in the fracture is of negligible importance, and fracture properties such as shape, width, and permeability can be ignored. However, if αβ≈1, the residence time in the fracture becomes important, and variations in all those properties have significant effects on the solution. The model allows for intuitive interpretation of the complex shale-gas-production system. Furthermore, the current model creates a base that can easily incorporate nonlinear-flow mechanisms and geomechanical effects that are not readily found in standard commercial software, and further be extended to field-scale application.

Shale Gas-in-Place Calculations Part I: New Pore-Scale Considerations

SPE Journal ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 17 (01) ◽  
pp. 219-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ray J. Ambrose ◽  
Robert C. Hartman ◽  
Mery Diaz-Campos ◽  
I. Yucel Akkutlu ◽  
Carl H. Sondergeld
Keyword(s):  
Shale Gas ◽  
Organic Material ◽  
Storage Capacity ◽  
Pore Space ◽  
Ion Beam ◽  
Gas Storage ◽  
Organic Content ◽  
Free Gas ◽  
Adsorbed Phase ◽  
Small Pore

Summary Using focused-ion-beam (FIB)/scanning-electron-microscope (SEM) imaging technology, a series of 2D and 3D submicroscale investigations revealed a finely dispersed porous organic (kerogen) material embedded within an inorganic matrix. The organic material has pores and capillaries having characteristic lengths typically less than 100 nm. A significant portion of total gas in place appears to be associated with interconnected large nanopores within the organic material. Thermodynamics (phase behavior) of fluids in these pores is quite different; gas residing in a small pore or capillary is rarefied under the influence of organic pore walls and shows a different density profile. This raises serious questions related to gas-in-place calculations: Under reservoir conditions, what fraction of the pore volume of the organic material can be considered available as free gas, and what fraction is taken up by the adsorbed phase? How accurately is the shale-gas storage capacity estimated using the conventional volumetric methods? And finally, do average densities exist for the free and the adsorbed phases? We combine the Langmuir adsorption isotherm with the volumetrics for free gas and formulate a new gas-in-place equation accounting for the pore space taken up by the sorbed phase. The method yields a total-gas-in-place prediction. Molecular dynamics simulations involving methane in small carbon slit-pores of varying size and temperature predict density profiles across the pores and show that (a) the adsorbed methane forms a 0.38-nm monolayer phase and (b) the adsorbed-phase density is 1.8–2.5 times larger than that of bulk methane. These findings could be a more important consideration with larger hydrocarbons and suggest that a significant adjustment is necessary in volume calculations, especially for gas shales high in total organic content. Finally, using typical values for the parameters, calculations show a 10–25% decrease in total gas-storage capacity compared with that using the conventional approach. The role of sorbed gas is more important than previously thought. The new methodology is recommended for estimating shale gas in place.

scholarly journals Numerical Simulation of Gas-Water Two-Phase Flow in Deep Shale Gas Reservoir Development Based on Mixed Fracture Modeling

Lithosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (Special 4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sidong Fang ◽  
Cheng Dai ◽  
Junsheng Zeng ◽  
Heng Li
Keyword(s):  
Shale Gas ◽  
Horizontal Well ◽  
Stress Sensitivity ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Gas Reservoir ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Discrete Fracture Model ◽  
Shale Gas Reservoir ◽  
Discrete Fracture ◽  
The Matrix

Abstract In this paper, the development of a three-dimensional, two-phase fluid flow model (Modified Embedded Discrete Fracture Model) to study flow performances of a fractured horizontal well in deep-marine shale gas is presented. Deep-marine shale gas resources account for nearly 80% in China, which is the decisive resource basis for large-scale shale gas production. The dynamic characteristics of deep shale gas reservoirs are quite different and more complex. This paper uses the embedded discrete fracture model to simulate artificial fractures (main fractures and secondary fractures) and the dual-media model to simulate the mixed fractured media of natural fractures and considers the flow characteristics of partitions (artificial fractures, natural fractures, and matrix). Gas desorption is considered in the matrix. Different degrees of stress sensitivity are considered for natural and artificial fractures. Aiming at accurately simulating the whole production history of horizontal well fracturing, especially the dynamic changes of postfracturing flowback, a postfracturing fluid initialization method based on fracturing construction parameters (fracturing fluid volume and pump stop pressure) is established. The flow of gas and water in the early stage after fracturing is simulated, and the regional phase permeability and capillary force curves are introduced to simulate the process of flowback and production of horizontal wells after fracturing. The influence of early fracture closure on the gas-water flow is characterized by stress sensitivity. A deep shale gas reservoir of Sinopec was selected for the case study. The simulation results show it necessary to consider the effects of fractures and stress sensitivity in the matrix when considering the dynamic change of production during the flowback and production stages. The findings of this study can help for better understanding of the fracture distribution characteristics of shale gas, shale gas production principle, and well EUR prediction, which provide a theoretical basis for the effective development of shale gas horizontal well groups.

scholarly journals A Novel Analytical Method to Calculate the Amounts of Free and Adsorbed Gas in Shale Gas Production

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qingyu Li ◽  
Peichao Li ◽  
Wei Pang ◽  
Quanfu Bi ◽  
Zonghe Du ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Distribution ◽  
Shale Gas ◽  
Analytical Method ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Petroleum Engineering ◽  
Formation Pressure ◽  
Adsorption Model ◽  
Gas Reservoirs ◽  
Free Gas ◽  
Adsorbed Gas

Shale gas has now become an important part of unconventional hydrocarbon resources all around the world. The typical properties of shale gas are that both adsorbed gas and free gas play important roles in gas production. Thus the contributions of free and adsorbed gas to the shale gas production have become a hot, significant, and challenging problem in petroleum engineering. This paper presents a new analytical method to calculate the amounts of free and adsorbed gas in the process of shale gas extraction. First, the expressions of the amounts of adsorbed gas, matrix free gas, and fracture free gas in shale versus the producing time are presented on the basis of Langmuir adsorption model and formation pressure distribution. Next, the mathematical model of multifractured horizontal wells in shale gas reservoirs is established and solved by use of Laplace transform and inversion to obtain the normalized formation pressure distribution. Finally, field case studies of two multifractured horizontal shale gas wells in China are carried out with the presented quantitative method. The amounts of adsorbed and free gas in production are calculated, and the adsorbed-to-total ratio is provided. The results show that the proposed method is reliable and efficient.

scholarly journals Using global isotopic data to constrain the role of shale gas production in recent increases in atmospheric methane

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexei V. Milkov ◽  
Stefan Schwietzke ◽  
Grant Allen ◽  
Owen A. Sherwood ◽  
Giuseppe Etiope
Keyword(s):  
Shale Gas ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Atmospheric Methane ◽  
Isotopic Data

scholarly journals Experimental Study on the Characteristics of Adsorbed Gas and Gas Production in Shale Formations

Geofluids ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Zhiming Hu ◽  
Xianggang Duan ◽  
Nan Shao ◽  
Yingying Xu ◽  
Jin Chang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Shale Gas ◽  
Physical Simulation ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Production Optimization ◽  
Gas Reservoirs ◽  
Tight Sandstone ◽  
Free Gas ◽  
Adsorbed Gas ◽  
Shale Gas Reservoirs ◽  
Shale Reservoirs

Adsorbed gas and free gas both exist in shale reservoirs simultaneously due to the unique nanoscale pore structure, resulting in the complex flow mechanism of gas in the reservoir during the development process. The dynamic performance analysis of shale reservoirs has mostly been conducted by the numerical simulation and theoretical model, while the physical simulation method for relevant research is seen rarely in the literature. Thus, in this paper, an experiment system was designed to simulate the degraded development experiments of shale, coal, and tight sandstone to reveal the output law of gas in different occurrence states of shale reservoirs and clarify the pressure propagation rules of different reservoirs, and then, adsorption gas and free gas production laws were studied by theoretical models. Research indicated the following: (1) The gas occurrence state is the main factor that causes the difference of the pressure drop rate and gas production law of shale, coal, and tight sandstone. During the early stage of the development of shale gas, the free gas is mainly produced; the final contribution of free gas production can reach more than 90%. (2) The static desorption and dynamic experiments confirm that the critical desorption pressure of adsorbed gas is generally between 12 and 15 MPa. When the gas reservoir pressure is lower than the critical desorption pressure in shale and coal formation, desorption occurs. Due to the slow propagation of shale matrix pressure, desorption of adsorbed gas occurs mainly in the low-pressure region close to the fracture surface. (3) The material balance theory of closed gas reservoirs and the one-dimensional flow model of shale gas have subsequently validated the production performance law of adsorbed gas and free gas by the physical simulation. Therefore, in the practical development of shale gas reservoirs, it is recommended to shorten the matrix supply distance, reduce the pressure in the fracture, increase the effective pressure gradient, and enhance the potential utilization of adsorbed gas as soon as possible to increase the ultimate recovery. The findings of this study can help for a better understanding of the shale reservoir utilization law so as to provide a reference for production optimization and development plan formulation of the shale gas reservoirs.

scholarly journals Analysis of the Influencing Factors on the Well Performance in Shale Gas Reservoir

Geofluids ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheng Dai ◽  
Liang Xue ◽  
Weihong Wang ◽  
Xiang Li
Keyword(s):  
Shale Gas ◽  
Gas Flow ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Recovery Factor ◽  
Natural Fracture ◽  
Total Production ◽  
Gas Reservoir ◽  
Free Gas ◽  
Shale Gas Reservoir ◽  
Adsorbed Gas

Due to the ultralow permeability of shale gas reservoirs, stimulating the reservoir formation by using hydraulic fracturing technique and horizontal well is required to create the pathway of gas flow so that the shale gas can be recovered in an economically viable manner. The hydraulic fractured formations can be divided into two regions, stimulated reservoir volume (SRV) region and non-SRV region, and the produced shale gas may exist as free gas or adsorbed gas under the initial formation condition. Investigating the recovery factor of different types of shale gas in different region may assist us to make more reasonable development strategies. In this paper, we build a numerical simulation model, which has the ability to take the unique shale gas flow mechanisms into account, to quantitatively describe the gas production characteristics in each region based on the field data collected from a shale gas reservoir in Sichuan Basin in China. The contribution of the free gas and adsorbed gas to the total production is analyzed dynamically through the entire life of the shale gas production by adopting a component subdivision method. The effects of the key reservoir properties, such as shale matrix, secondary natural fracture network, and primary hydraulic fractures, on the recovery factor are also investigated.

Extracellular matrix: the gatekeeper of tumor angiogenesis

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 1543-1555 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maurizio Mongiat ◽  
Simone Buraschi ◽  
Eva Andreuzzi ◽  
Thomas Neill ◽  
Renato V. Iozzo
Keyword(s):  
Extracellular Matrix ◽  
Tumor Angiogenesis ◽  
Signaling Cascades ◽  
Cancer Growth ◽  
Cell Behavior ◽  
Metastatic Progression ◽  
Surface Receptors ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Multiple Signaling

Abstract The extracellular matrix is a network of secreted macromolecules that provides a harmonious meshwork for the growth and homeostatic development of organisms. It conveys multiple signaling cascades affecting specific surface receptors that impact cell behavior. During cancer growth, this bioactive meshwork is remodeled and enriched in newly formed blood vessels, which provide nutrients and oxygen to the growing tumor cells. Remodeling of the tumor microenvironment leads to the formation of bioactive fragments that may have a distinct function from their parent molecules, and the balance among these factors directly influence cell viability and metastatic progression. Indeed, the matrix acts as a gatekeeper by regulating the access of cancer cells to nutrients. Here, we will critically evaluate the role of selected matrix constituents in regulating tumor angiogenesis and provide up-to-date information concerning their primary mechanisms of action.

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