Unconventional Shale Gas Development
Lessons Learned
- 1st Edition - February 24, 2022
- Latest edition
- Editor: Rouzbeh G. Moghanloo
- Language: English
Unconventional Shale Gas Development: Lessons Learned gives engineers the latest research developments and practical applications in today’s operations. Comprised of both academ… Read more
Unconventional Shale Gas Development: Lessons Learned gives engineers the latest research developments and practical applications in today’s operations. Comprised of both academic and corporate contributors, a balanced critical review on technologies utilized are covered. Environmental topics are presented, including produced water management and sustainable operations in gas systems. Machine learning applications, well integrity and economic challenges are also covered to get the engineer up-to-speed. With its critical elements, case studies, history plot visuals and flow charts, the book delivers a critical reference to get today’s petroleum engineers updated on the latest research and applications surrounding shale gas systems.
- Bridges the gap between the latest research developments and practical applications through case studies and workflow charts
- Helps readers understand the latest developments from the balanced viewpoint of academic and corporate contributors
- Considers environmental and sustainable operations in shale gas systems, including produced water management
Petroleum engineer; reservoir engineer; graduate-level petroleum engineering student; researcher interested in shale gas research
1. Field development and asset management
Raki Sahai
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Background
1.2.1 How we got to where we are today?
1.3 Conventional versus unconventional reservoirs
1.4 Asset management
1.4.1 Field development plan for shale plays
1.4.2 Role of technologies in unconventional development
1.4.3 Shale development challenges
1.5 Reserves reporting for shale reservoirs
1.5.1 Proved (1P) and 3P reserves
1.5.2 Estimated ultimate recovery forecasting techniques
1.5.3 Stochastic reserve booking
1.5.4 Reserves-based lending
1.6 Future prospects of shale development
References
2. Geological characterization of unconventional shale-gas reservoirs
Fnu Suriamin and Lucy Tingwei Ko
2.1 The history of shale gas
2.2 Geological evaluations of shale gas prospects
2.3 Proximate control on accumulation of organic-matter-rich shale
2.4 Definition of shale/mudstone/mudrock
2.5 Depositional environments of organic-matter-rich shale
2.5.1 Nonmarine depositional settings
2.5.2 Marine depositional settings
2.5.3 Transitional depositional settings
2.6 Organic geochemistry of gas shale
2.7 Other geological characterizations of successful shale gas plays
2.8 Heterogeneity of shale-gas reservoirs
2.9 Diagenetic impact on shale-gas reservoirs
2.10 Distribution of shale-gas reservoirs worldwide
2.11 Case studies: The Middle Devonian Marcellus Formation and the Appalachian Basin
2.11.1 Organic matter, total organic matter, and thermal maturity
2.11.2 Key aspects of the Marcellus Formation
2.12 Geoenvironmental challenges in the development of shale-gas reservoirs
2.13 Conclusions
References
3. Construction and completion of multifractured horizontal wells
Catalin Teodoriu
3.1 Definitions
3.2 Well construction
3.3 The wellbore tubulars
3.4 To rotate or not to rotate: the unconventional well dilemma!
3.5 Casing fatigue in unconventional wells
3.5.1 Fatigue induced while running the casing
3.5.2 Drilling-induced fatigue
3.5.3 Casing drilling-induced fatigue
3.5.4 Casing fatigue in unconventional wells
3.5.5 Internal pressure
3.5.6 Temperature variation induced fatigue
3.5.7 Casing3.5.8 Wellbore tubulars testing and qualification
3.5.9 Specimen geometry
3.5.10 Load envelope
3.5.11 Make and break tests
3.5.12 Baking (aging) test
3.5.13 Leak detection
3.6 An OCTG selection approach for unconventional wells
3.7 Wellbore completion of horizontal unconventional wells
3.8 Environmental aspects of well construction and completion
References
4. Well control challenges in unconventional shale plays
Tawfik Elshehabi
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Well control in unconventional shale plays
4.3 Well control philosophy
4.4 Well control complications in horizontal wells
4.5 Well control challenges in nonaqueous drilling fluids
4.6 Inclined upward laterals challenges
4.7 Kicks while running casing or liners challenges
4.8 Factors affecting well control practices in horizontal wells
4.9 Lessons learned
References
5. Wellbore/borehole stability in shale formation
Yuxing Wu and Saeed Salehi
5.1 Overview
5.2 Introduction
5.3 Geomechanical evaluation of well stability in shale formation
5.3.1 Mechanical stress around wellbore
5.3.2 Mud window estimation
5.3.3 In-situ stress estimation
5.4 Mud5.4.1 Strength degradation in shale formation
5.4.2 Swelling and dispersion in shale formation
5.5 Well integrity in shale formation
5.5.1 Hydraulic degradation
5.5.2 Mechanical degradation
5.6 A case study in Tuscaloosa Marine Shale
5.6.1 Tuscaloosa Marine Shale wellbore stability
5.6.2 Tuscaloosa Marine Shale wellbore integrity
5.7 Summary
Reference
6. Advances in formation evaluation of shale systems
Zoya Heidari
6.1 Overview of challenges in formation evaluation of organic-rich mudrocks
6.1.1 Composition
6.1.2 Rock fabric
6.1.3 Geochemistry
6.1.4 Solid6.1.5 Ground truth measurements
6.1.6 Upscaling
6.2 Advanced formation evaluation in organic-rich mudrocks
6.2.1 Reserves evaluation
6.2.2 Wettability
6.2.3 Cation exchange capacity
6.2.4 Mechanical properties
6.3 Recap and the way forward
References
7. Advances in interpretation of diagnostic fracture injection tests
Mark McClureWilliam
7.1 Introduction
7.1.1 What is a diagnostic fracture injection tests?
7.1.2 The basis for classical techniques, and why they become inaccurate in shale
7.2 The URTeC-2019<123 interpretation procedure
7.2.1 Overview
7.2.2 Prepare the data and make relevant plots
7.2.3 Estimate stress and effective initial shut-in pressure
7.2.4 Diagnose late-time impulse transients
7.2.5 Estimating pore pressure
7.2.6 Estimating permeability to the mobile reservoir fluid
Acknowledgments
References
8. Fracture diagnostic testing
Ali Rezaei, Mohamed Y. Soliman and Birol Dindoruk
8.1 Overview
8.2 Testing types
8.3 Step-rate test
8.3.1 Step-up test
8.3.2 Step-down test
8.4 Pump in/shut-in test
8.4.1 Before closure analysis
8.4.2 After closure analysis
8.5 Pump-in/flow-back test (micro-frac)
8.6 New analysis technique
8.6.1 Wavelet analysis
8.6.2 Effect of natural fracture and temperature
8.6.3 Utah FORGE example (effect of heat exchange)
8.6.4 DFIT 1
8.6.5 DFIT 2
8.7 Summary
References
9. Proppant placement
Raki Sahai and Rouzbeh G. Moghanloo
9.1 Introduction
9.1.1 Hydraulic fracturing process
9.1.2 Hydraulic fracturing in unconventional shale reservoirs
9.2 Sediment transport theory and transport mechanisms in noncrosslinked fluids
9.2.1 Single-particle settling and Stokes’ law
9.2.2 Deviations from Stokes’ law
9.3 Proppant transport in vertical fractures
9.3.1 Experimental work
9.3.2 Correlations to predict proppant settling
9.4 Proppant transport in complex fracture networks
9.4.1 Experimental work
9.4.2 Numerical simulations using computation fluid dynamics and discrete element method models
References
Further reading
10. Advances in geomechanical modeling
Hao Yu and Arash Dahi-Taleghani
10.1 Introduction to rock mechanics at granular mesoscale
10.2 Fracture propagation model
10.2.1 Cohesive zone method
10.2.2 Fracture network simulation using cohesive zone method
10.3 Mechanical earth modeling
10.4 Casing deformation problems
References
11. Advances in flowback analysis: fracturing water production obeys a simple decline model
Yingkun Fu and Hassan Dehghanpour
11.1 Introduction
11.2 Methodology
11.3 Water-rate decline during flowback and postflowback
11.3.1 Reservoir and well-completion data
11.3.2 Field observations
11.3.3 The physics of water flowback
11.4 Harmonic water-rate decline model
11.5 Application and discussions
11.5.1 Validating harmonic-decline model
11.5.2 Fitting harmonic-decline model to field data
11.5.3 Water recovery factor
11.5.4 Ultimate water recovery volume
11.6 Limitations and recommendations
11.7 Conclusion
Acknowledgments
References
12. Application of molecular dynamics simulations for shale gas systems
Deepak Devegowda and Felipe Perez
12.1 Introduction
12.2 Basic theory
12.2.1 Potential fields
12.3 Description of kerogen and fluid models
12.3.1 Kerogen
12.3.2 Asphaltenes and resins
12.4 Water and carbon dioxide
12.5 Hydrocarbons
12.6 Simulation details
12.7 Organic matter models
12.8 Spatial distribution of fluids
12.9 Primary recovery from organic nanopores
12.10 Conclusions
References
13. Wettability modifiers for enhanced oil recovery from tight and shale reservoirs
Francisco J. Argüelles-Vivas, Gayan A. Abeykoon and Ryosuke Okuno
13.1 Introduction
13.1.1 Distinctions between conventional and unconventional reservoirs
13.1.2 Wettability in shale reservoirs
13.2 Wettability-alteration agents for shales
13.2.1 Surfactant solutions
13.2.2 Low salinity water solutions
13.3 Ketone solvent as a new wettability modifier
13.3.1 Mechanism of wettability alteration by ketone solvent
13.3.2 3-Pentanone properties
13.3.3 Reservoir fluid properties
13.3.4 Aqueous stability test
13.3.5 Contact-angle and interfacial tension experiments
13.3.6 Spontaneous and forced imbibition experiments
13.3.7 Dynamic imbibition experiments
13.3.8 Huff-n-puff experiments with shales
13.3.9 Dynamic retention of 3-pentanone and 2-EH-4PO-15EO in shale minerals
13.4 Summary and conclusions
References
14. Scale considerations during petrophysical characterization of shales
Ali Ousseini Tinni
14.1 Introduction and background
14.2 Scale dependent SEM properties of shales
14.2.1 Observations of scale dependent SEM porosity and TOC
14.2.2 Recommendations for SEM image area size
14.3 Sample size consideration for MICP of shales
14.3.1 Observations of sample size dependent MICP porosity and pore throat size distribution
14.3.2 Interpretation of sample size dependent MICP porosity and pore size distribution
14.4 Scale dependent shale pressure decay permeability
14.4.1 Observations of sample size dependent pressure decay permeability
14.4.2 Interpretation of the scale dependency of pressure decay permeability
References
15. Challenges associated with lifting and loading in shale gas wellbore systems
Hamidreza Karami
15.1 Introduction
15.2 Multiphase flow fundamentals
15.3 Horizontal well flow assurance studies
15.4 Artificial lift practices in unconventional wells
15.5 Summary
References
16. Production data analysis for shale gas wells
Sebastian Zavaleta Villarreal and Rouzbeh G. Moghanloo
16.1 Introduction
16.2 Straight line analysis
16.3 Distance of investigation and linear flow parameter
16.4 Material balance equation for shale gas reservoir
16.5 Dynamic drainage volume in the unstimulated shale matrix (tri-linear flow)
Reference
17. Machine learning applications in unconventional shale gas systems
Amirmasoud Kalantari-Dahaghi
17.1 Introduction
17.2 Artificial intelligence/machine learning applications on production performance- lessons learned
17.2.1 Artificial lift selection and predictive maintenance for production enhancement using machine learning
17.2.2 Petrophysical and geomechanical evaluation on production using machine learning
17.3 Conclusions
References
18. Experimental evaluation of enhanced oil recovery in unconventional resource plays: a new screening protocol
Carl H. Sondergeld
18.1 Introduction
18.2 Experimental Huff-n-Puff studies
18.3 New enhanced oil recovery screening experiments
18.4 Screening test example: Eagle Ford experiments
18.5 Microstructural changes
18.6 Discussion
Acknowledgments
References
Further reading
19. Spatial data analytics for optimum data declustering in shale systems
Ademide O. Mabadeje and Michael J. Pyrcz
19.1 Introduction
19.2 Methodology
19.3 Results and discussions
19.4 Conclusions
Raki Sahai
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Background
1.2.1 How we got to where we are today?
1.3 Conventional versus unconventional reservoirs
1.4 Asset management
1.4.1 Field development plan for shale plays
1.4.2 Role of technologies in unconventional development
1.4.3 Shale development challenges
1.5 Reserves reporting for shale reservoirs
1.5.1 Proved (1P) and 3P reserves
1.5.2 Estimated ultimate recovery forecasting techniques
1.5.3 Stochastic reserve booking
1.5.4 Reserves-based lending
1.6 Future prospects of shale development
References
2. Geological characterization of unconventional shale-gas reservoirs
Fnu Suriamin and Lucy Tingwei Ko
2.1 The history of shale gas
2.2 Geological evaluations of shale gas prospects
2.3 Proximate control on accumulation of organic-matter-rich shale
2.4 Definition of shale/mudstone/mudrock
2.5 Depositional environments of organic-matter-rich shale
2.5.1 Nonmarine depositional settings
2.5.2 Marine depositional settings
2.5.3 Transitional depositional settings
2.6 Organic geochemistry of gas shale
2.7 Other geological characterizations of successful shale gas plays
2.8 Heterogeneity of shale-gas reservoirs
2.9 Diagenetic impact on shale-gas reservoirs
2.10 Distribution of shale-gas reservoirs worldwide
2.11 Case studies: The Middle Devonian Marcellus Formation and the Appalachian Basin
2.11.1 Organic matter, total organic matter, and thermal maturity
2.11.2 Key aspects of the Marcellus Formation
2.12 Geoenvironmental challenges in the development of shale-gas reservoirs
2.13 Conclusions
References
3. Construction and completion of multifractured horizontal wells
Catalin Teodoriu
3.1 Definitions
3.2 Well construction
3.3 The wellbore tubulars
3.4 To rotate or not to rotate: the unconventional well dilemma!
3.5 Casing fatigue in unconventional wells
3.5.1 Fatigue induced while running the casing
3.5.2 Drilling-induced fatigue
3.5.3 Casing drilling-induced fatigue
3.5.4 Casing fatigue in unconventional wells
3.5.5 Internal pressure
3.5.6 Temperature variation induced fatigue
3.5.7 Casing3.5.8 Wellbore tubulars testing and qualification
3.5.9 Specimen geometry
3.5.10 Load envelope
3.5.11 Make and break tests
3.5.12 Baking (aging) test
3.5.13 Leak detection
3.6 An OCTG selection approach for unconventional wells
3.7 Wellbore completion of horizontal unconventional wells
3.8 Environmental aspects of well construction and completion
References
4. Well control challenges in unconventional shale plays
Tawfik Elshehabi
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Well control in unconventional shale plays
4.3 Well control philosophy
4.4 Well control complications in horizontal wells
4.5 Well control challenges in nonaqueous drilling fluids
4.6 Inclined upward laterals challenges
4.7 Kicks while running casing or liners challenges
4.8 Factors affecting well control practices in horizontal wells
4.9 Lessons learned
References
5. Wellbore/borehole stability in shale formation
Yuxing Wu and Saeed Salehi
5.1 Overview
5.2 Introduction
5.3 Geomechanical evaluation of well stability in shale formation
5.3.1 Mechanical stress around wellbore
5.3.2 Mud window estimation
5.3.3 In-situ stress estimation
5.4 Mud5.4.1 Strength degradation in shale formation
5.4.2 Swelling and dispersion in shale formation
5.5 Well integrity in shale formation
5.5.1 Hydraulic degradation
5.5.2 Mechanical degradation
5.6 A case study in Tuscaloosa Marine Shale
5.6.1 Tuscaloosa Marine Shale wellbore stability
5.6.2 Tuscaloosa Marine Shale wellbore integrity
5.7 Summary
Reference
6. Advances in formation evaluation of shale systems
Zoya Heidari
6.1 Overview of challenges in formation evaluation of organic-rich mudrocks
6.1.1 Composition
6.1.2 Rock fabric
6.1.3 Geochemistry
6.1.4 Solid6.1.5 Ground truth measurements
6.1.6 Upscaling
6.2 Advanced formation evaluation in organic-rich mudrocks
6.2.1 Reserves evaluation
6.2.2 Wettability
6.2.3 Cation exchange capacity
6.2.4 Mechanical properties
6.3 Recap and the way forward
References
7. Advances in interpretation of diagnostic fracture injection tests
Mark McClureWilliam
7.1 Introduction
7.1.1 What is a diagnostic fracture injection tests?
7.1.2 The basis for classical techniques, and why they become inaccurate in shale
7.2 The URTeC-2019<123 interpretation procedure
7.2.1 Overview
7.2.2 Prepare the data and make relevant plots
7.2.3 Estimate stress and effective initial shut-in pressure
7.2.4 Diagnose late-time impulse transients
7.2.5 Estimating pore pressure
7.2.6 Estimating permeability to the mobile reservoir fluid
Acknowledgments
References
8. Fracture diagnostic testing
Ali Rezaei, Mohamed Y. Soliman and Birol Dindoruk
8.1 Overview
8.2 Testing types
8.3 Step-rate test
8.3.1 Step-up test
8.3.2 Step-down test
8.4 Pump in/shut-in test
8.4.1 Before closure analysis
8.4.2 After closure analysis
8.5 Pump-in/flow-back test (micro-frac)
8.6 New analysis technique
8.6.1 Wavelet analysis
8.6.2 Effect of natural fracture and temperature
8.6.3 Utah FORGE example (effect of heat exchange)
8.6.4 DFIT 1
8.6.5 DFIT 2
8.7 Summary
References
9. Proppant placement
Raki Sahai and Rouzbeh G. Moghanloo
9.1 Introduction
9.1.1 Hydraulic fracturing process
9.1.2 Hydraulic fracturing in unconventional shale reservoirs
9.2 Sediment transport theory and transport mechanisms in noncrosslinked fluids
9.2.1 Single-particle settling and Stokes’ law
9.2.2 Deviations from Stokes’ law
9.3 Proppant transport in vertical fractures
9.3.1 Experimental work
9.3.2 Correlations to predict proppant settling
9.4 Proppant transport in complex fracture networks
9.4.1 Experimental work
9.4.2 Numerical simulations using computation fluid dynamics and discrete element method models
References
Further reading
10. Advances in geomechanical modeling
Hao Yu and Arash Dahi-Taleghani
10.1 Introduction to rock mechanics at granular mesoscale
10.2 Fracture propagation model
10.2.1 Cohesive zone method
10.2.2 Fracture network simulation using cohesive zone method
10.3 Mechanical earth modeling
10.4 Casing deformation problems
References
11. Advances in flowback analysis: fracturing water production obeys a simple decline model
Yingkun Fu and Hassan Dehghanpour
11.1 Introduction
11.2 Methodology
11.3 Water-rate decline during flowback and postflowback
11.3.1 Reservoir and well-completion data
11.3.2 Field observations
11.3.3 The physics of water flowback
11.4 Harmonic water-rate decline model
11.5 Application and discussions
11.5.1 Validating harmonic-decline model
11.5.2 Fitting harmonic-decline model to field data
11.5.3 Water recovery factor
11.5.4 Ultimate water recovery volume
11.6 Limitations and recommendations
11.7 Conclusion
Acknowledgments
References
12. Application of molecular dynamics simulations for shale gas systems
Deepak Devegowda and Felipe Perez
12.1 Introduction
12.2 Basic theory
12.2.1 Potential fields
12.3 Description of kerogen and fluid models
12.3.1 Kerogen
12.3.2 Asphaltenes and resins
12.4 Water and carbon dioxide
12.5 Hydrocarbons
12.6 Simulation details
12.7 Organic matter models
12.8 Spatial distribution of fluids
12.9 Primary recovery from organic nanopores
12.10 Conclusions
References
13. Wettability modifiers for enhanced oil recovery from tight and shale reservoirs
Francisco J. Argüelles-Vivas, Gayan A. Abeykoon and Ryosuke Okuno
13.1 Introduction
13.1.1 Distinctions between conventional and unconventional reservoirs
13.1.2 Wettability in shale reservoirs
13.2 Wettability-alteration agents for shales
13.2.1 Surfactant solutions
13.2.2 Low salinity water solutions
13.3 Ketone solvent as a new wettability modifier
13.3.1 Mechanism of wettability alteration by ketone solvent
13.3.2 3-Pentanone properties
13.3.3 Reservoir fluid properties
13.3.4 Aqueous stability test
13.3.5 Contact-angle and interfacial tension experiments
13.3.6 Spontaneous and forced imbibition experiments
13.3.7 Dynamic imbibition experiments
13.3.8 Huff-n-puff experiments with shales
13.3.9 Dynamic retention of 3-pentanone and 2-EH-4PO-15EO in shale minerals
13.4 Summary and conclusions
References
14. Scale considerations during petrophysical characterization of shales
Ali Ousseini Tinni
14.1 Introduction and background
14.2 Scale dependent SEM properties of shales
14.2.1 Observations of scale dependent SEM porosity and TOC
14.2.2 Recommendations for SEM image area size
14.3 Sample size consideration for MICP of shales
14.3.1 Observations of sample size dependent MICP porosity and pore throat size distribution
14.3.2 Interpretation of sample size dependent MICP porosity and pore size distribution
14.4 Scale dependent shale pressure decay permeability
14.4.1 Observations of sample size dependent pressure decay permeability
14.4.2 Interpretation of the scale dependency of pressure decay permeability
References
15. Challenges associated with lifting and loading in shale gas wellbore systems
Hamidreza Karami
15.1 Introduction
15.2 Multiphase flow fundamentals
15.3 Horizontal well flow assurance studies
15.4 Artificial lift practices in unconventional wells
15.5 Summary
References
16. Production data analysis for shale gas wells
Sebastian Zavaleta Villarreal and Rouzbeh G. Moghanloo
16.1 Introduction
16.2 Straight line analysis
16.3 Distance of investigation and linear flow parameter
16.4 Material balance equation for shale gas reservoir
16.5 Dynamic drainage volume in the unstimulated shale matrix (tri-linear flow)
Reference
17. Machine learning applications in unconventional shale gas systems
Amirmasoud Kalantari-Dahaghi
17.1 Introduction
17.2 Artificial intelligence/machine learning applications on production performance- lessons learned
17.2.1 Artificial lift selection and predictive maintenance for production enhancement using machine learning
17.2.2 Petrophysical and geomechanical evaluation on production using machine learning
17.3 Conclusions
References
18. Experimental evaluation of enhanced oil recovery in unconventional resource plays: a new screening protocol
Carl H. Sondergeld
18.1 Introduction
18.2 Experimental Huff-n-Puff studies
18.3 New enhanced oil recovery screening experiments
18.4 Screening test example: Eagle Ford experiments
18.5 Microstructural changes
18.6 Discussion
Acknowledgments
References
Further reading
19. Spatial data analytics for optimum data declustering in shale systems
Ademide O. Mabadeje and Michael J. Pyrcz
19.1 Introduction
19.2 Methodology
19.3 Results and discussions
19.4 Conclusions
- Edition: 1
- Latest edition
- Published: February 24, 2022
- Language: English
RM
Rouzbeh G. Moghanloo
Rouzbeh G. Moghanloo is an associate professor and the graduate liaison for natural gas engineering and management program at the Mewbourne School of Petroleum and Geological Engineering at the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Moghanloo has authored or coauthored 120 refereed journal and conference papers covering applied topics such as enhanced oil recovery, geological storage of CO2, and asphaltene deposition and basic research articles on modeling of multiphase flow and particulate flow systems. Previously, he was a technical advisor for several companies. Rouzbeh is a member of several associations, including SPE and ACS. Dr. Moghanloo received his PhD in petroleum engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and his Bachelor and Master of Science degrees both in chemical engineering from Amirkabir University of Technology. Dr. Moghanloo holds three patents and serves as an associate editor for Elsevier’s Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering
Affiliations and expertise
Associate Professor, Mewbourne School of Petroleum and Geological Engineering, University of Oklahoma, USARead Unconventional Shale Gas Development on ScienceDirect