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Investigation and Optimization of Infill Well Spacing Using Geomechanical and Simulation Studies on Shale Gas Reservoir to Maximize Performance and Financial Return

Received: 4 September 2022     Accepted: 19 September 2022     Published: 27 September 2022
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Abstract

The process of developing shale reservoirs has proceeded to the point where new wells are drilled in close proximity to the "parent" well. These new wells pose a problem for operators because they can lead to complicated interactions between wells, reducing the performance of either one or both of the parent and child wells. A successful field development near producing wells requires careful consideration of the distance between wells to minimize the volume of unproduced gas and loss of revenue. In the oil and gas industry, appropriate horizontal well spacing is often determined by a combination of geological modeling with reservoir simulation. The goal of this research is to identify the best field development approach that maximizes both gas production and financial return. In the course of our study, a shale gas reservoir is modeled using flow simulation-based reservoir simulation, to carry out a sensitivity analysis that will help optimize shale gas production in the future, and we took into account the adsorption/desorption phenomenon, the geomechanics effect coupled with the heterogeneity property, which are very characteristic of real shale gas reservoirs. For 20 years of gas production, we sought first to find optimal well numbers and geometries scenarios. Then we decided to intelligently down space the horizontal wells with multiple hydraulic fracturing stages by adjusting the distance at different completion times between parent well(s) and child well(s). We investigated both lateral and vertical well spacing in order to achieve the highest possible volume of gas production and amount of net present value (NPV). According to the findings of our simulations, ten wells with aligned well geometry provide the most economic benefit for the optimization strategy. In order to maximize the gas recovery, the lateral well spacing needs to be greatly increased, and the vertical well spacing needs to be decreased to a point where more gas can be produced from each well. In addition, the findings of the economic analysis indicated that increasing the distance between wells may result in more great financial value for the lateral wells spacing. However, all wells must be drilled in the same pay zone for vertical well spacing to provide a better economic return. In spite of the fact that the outcomes of our work depend on the selected asset, they provide a significant illustration for determining the optimal spacing between hydraulically fractured horizontal wells for shale gas reservoirs.

Published in International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Engineering (Volume 10, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.ogce.20221004.13
Page(s) 101-114
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Shale Gas, Multistage Hydraulic Fracturing, Numerical Simulation, Multiple Horizontal Well, Well Spacing Optimization, Sensitivity Analysis, NPV

References
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    Haijun Fan, Mamoudou Kouma, Najmudeen Sibaweihi. (2022). Investigation and Optimization of Infill Well Spacing Using Geomechanical and Simulation Studies on Shale Gas Reservoir to Maximize Performance and Financial Return. International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Engineering, 10(4), 101-114. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ogce.20221004.13

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    ACS Style

    Haijun Fan; Mamoudou Kouma; Najmudeen Sibaweihi. Investigation and Optimization of Infill Well Spacing Using Geomechanical and Simulation Studies on Shale Gas Reservoir to Maximize Performance and Financial Return. Int. J. Oil Gas Coal Eng. 2022, 10(4), 101-114. doi: 10.11648/j.ogce.20221004.13

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    AMA Style

    Haijun Fan, Mamoudou Kouma, Najmudeen Sibaweihi. Investigation and Optimization of Infill Well Spacing Using Geomechanical and Simulation Studies on Shale Gas Reservoir to Maximize Performance and Financial Return. Int J Oil Gas Coal Eng. 2022;10(4):101-114. doi: 10.11648/j.ogce.20221004.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ogce.20221004.13,
      author = {Haijun Fan and Mamoudou Kouma and Najmudeen Sibaweihi},
      title = {Investigation and Optimization of Infill Well Spacing Using Geomechanical and Simulation Studies on Shale Gas Reservoir to Maximize Performance and Financial Return},
      journal = {International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Engineering},
      volume = {10},
      number = {4},
      pages = {101-114},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ogce.20221004.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ogce.20221004.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ogce.20221004.13},
      abstract = {The process of developing shale reservoirs has proceeded to the point where new wells are drilled in close proximity to the "parent" well. These new wells pose a problem for operators because they can lead to complicated interactions between wells, reducing the performance of either one or both of the parent and child wells. A successful field development near producing wells requires careful consideration of the distance between wells to minimize the volume of unproduced gas and loss of revenue. In the oil and gas industry, appropriate horizontal well spacing is often determined by a combination of geological modeling with reservoir simulation. The goal of this research is to identify the best field development approach that maximizes both gas production and financial return. In the course of our study, a shale gas reservoir is modeled using flow simulation-based reservoir simulation, to carry out a sensitivity analysis that will help optimize shale gas production in the future, and we took into account the adsorption/desorption phenomenon, the geomechanics effect coupled with the heterogeneity property, which are very characteristic of real shale gas reservoirs. For 20 years of gas production, we sought first to find optimal well numbers and geometries scenarios. Then we decided to intelligently down space the horizontal wells with multiple hydraulic fracturing stages by adjusting the distance at different completion times between parent well(s) and child well(s). We investigated both lateral and vertical well spacing in order to achieve the highest possible volume of gas production and amount of net present value (NPV). According to the findings of our simulations, ten wells with aligned well geometry provide the most economic benefit for the optimization strategy. In order to maximize the gas recovery, the lateral well spacing needs to be greatly increased, and the vertical well spacing needs to be decreased to a point where more gas can be produced from each well. In addition, the findings of the economic analysis indicated that increasing the distance between wells may result in more great financial value for the lateral wells spacing. However, all wells must be drilled in the same pay zone for vertical well spacing to provide a better economic return. In spite of the fact that the outcomes of our work depend on the selected asset, they provide a significant illustration for determining the optimal spacing between hydraulically fractured horizontal wells for shale gas reservoirs.},
     year = {2022}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Investigation and Optimization of Infill Well Spacing Using Geomechanical and Simulation Studies on Shale Gas Reservoir to Maximize Performance and Financial Return
    AU  - Haijun Fan
    AU  - Mamoudou Kouma
    AU  - Najmudeen Sibaweihi
    Y1  - 2022/09/27
    PY  - 2022
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ogce.20221004.13
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ogce.20221004.13
    T2  - International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Engineering
    JF  - International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Engineering
    JO  - International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Engineering
    SP  - 101
    EP  - 114
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2376-7677
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ogce.20221004.13
    AB  - The process of developing shale reservoirs has proceeded to the point where new wells are drilled in close proximity to the "parent" well. These new wells pose a problem for operators because they can lead to complicated interactions between wells, reducing the performance of either one or both of the parent and child wells. A successful field development near producing wells requires careful consideration of the distance between wells to minimize the volume of unproduced gas and loss of revenue. In the oil and gas industry, appropriate horizontal well spacing is often determined by a combination of geological modeling with reservoir simulation. The goal of this research is to identify the best field development approach that maximizes both gas production and financial return. In the course of our study, a shale gas reservoir is modeled using flow simulation-based reservoir simulation, to carry out a sensitivity analysis that will help optimize shale gas production in the future, and we took into account the adsorption/desorption phenomenon, the geomechanics effect coupled with the heterogeneity property, which are very characteristic of real shale gas reservoirs. For 20 years of gas production, we sought first to find optimal well numbers and geometries scenarios. Then we decided to intelligently down space the horizontal wells with multiple hydraulic fracturing stages by adjusting the distance at different completion times between parent well(s) and child well(s). We investigated both lateral and vertical well spacing in order to achieve the highest possible volume of gas production and amount of net present value (NPV). According to the findings of our simulations, ten wells with aligned well geometry provide the most economic benefit for the optimization strategy. In order to maximize the gas recovery, the lateral well spacing needs to be greatly increased, and the vertical well spacing needs to be decreased to a point where more gas can be produced from each well. In addition, the findings of the economic analysis indicated that increasing the distance between wells may result in more great financial value for the lateral wells spacing. However, all wells must be drilled in the same pay zone for vertical well spacing to provide a better economic return. In spite of the fact that the outcomes of our work depend on the selected asset, they provide a significant illustration for determining the optimal spacing between hydraulically fractured horizontal wells for shale gas reservoirs.
    VL  - 10
    IS  - 4
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Oil and Gas Field Development, School of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum, Qingdao, China

  • Department of Oil and Gas Field Development, School of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum, Qingdao, China

  • Petroleum Engineering Program, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada

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