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Shale Reservoir Drainage Visualized for a Wolfcamp Well (Midland Basin, West Texas, USA)

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  • Ruud Weijermars

    (Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3116, USA)

  • Arnaud Van Harmelen

    (Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3116, USA)

Abstract

Closed-form solution-methods were applied to visualize the flow near hydraulic fractures at high resolution. The results reveal that most fluid moves into the tips of the fractures. Stranded oil may occur between the fractures in stagnant flow zones (dead zones), which remain outside the drainage reach of the hydraulic main fractures, over the economic life of the typical well (30–40 years). Highly conductive micro-cracks would further improve recovery factors. The visualization of flow near hypothetical micro-cracks normal to the main fractures in a Wolfcamp well shows such micro-cracks support the recovery of hydrocarbons from deeper in the matrix, but still leave matrix portions un-drained with the concurrent fracture spacing of 60 ft (~18 m). Our study also suggests that the traditional way of studying reservoir depletion by mainly looking at pressure plots should, for hydraulically fractured shale reservoirs, be complemented with high resolution plots of the drainage pattern based on time integration of the velocity field.

Suggested Citation

  • Ruud Weijermars & Arnaud Van Harmelen, 2018. "Shale Reservoir Drainage Visualized for a Wolfcamp Well (Midland Basin, West Texas, USA)," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-21, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:11:y:2018:i:7:p:1665-:d:154582
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Weijermars, R. & Sun, Z., 2018. "Regression analysis of historic oil prices: A basis for future mean reversion price scenarios," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 177-201.
    2. Weijermars, Ruud, 2014. "US shale gas production outlook based on well roll-out rate scenarios," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 283-297.
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    Cited by:

    1. Wardana Saputra & Wissem Kirati & Tadeusz Patzek, 2019. "Generalized Extreme Value Statistics, Physical Scaling and Forecasts of Oil Production in the Bakken Shale," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-24, September.
    2. Ruud Weijermars & Aadi Khanal, 2019. "Elementary Pore Network Models Based on Complex Analysis Methods (CAM): Fundamental Insights for Shale Field Development," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-39, April.
    3. Kiran Nandlal & Ruud Weijermars, 2019. "Impact on Drained Rock Volume (DRV) of Storativity and Enhanced Permeability in Naturally Fractured Reservoirs: Upscaled Field Case from Hydraulic Fracturing Test Site (HFTS), Wolfcamp Formation, Midl," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-36, October.

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