Productivity Prediction of Multistage Fractured Horizontal Wells in Tight Oil Reservoirs with Fully Coupled Flow and Geomechanics
Publication: Journal of Energy Engineering
Volume 148, Issue 5
Abstract
Tight reservoirs are subsurface formations with extremely low permeability, in which a high resistance to flow can be expected while developing hydrocarbons. Typically, to obtain economic production rates from such reservoirs, multistage fractured horizontal wells (MFHWs) are necessary. During reservoir development, the mutual coupling effect between fluid flow and stress fields cannot be ignored. In this study, a discrete fracture model (DFM) was proposed to simultaneously simulate reservoir deformation and fluid flow behaviors. The finite-element method (FEM) was utilized to obtain the numerical solution for both pore pressure and strain. The numerical simulator was verified using a commercial software, and perfect agreement was obtained. The results indicate that the coupling of flow and geomechanics has important effects on the evolution of the physical parameters of the formation. Some petrophysical properties of tight reservoirs noticeably deteriorate in the early stage of production; for example, the conductivity of hydraulic fracturing can be reduced by up to 90%. The effect of secondary fractures (SFs) on productivity is significant in the early stage. Natural fractures (NFs) mainly increase productivity when the pressure front reaches them at a later stage. Moreover, the tight oil flow capacity can be enhanced by increasing the hydraulic fracture (HF) density, initial conductivity, and the angle between the HFs and SFs. This study shows that fractures impact productivity, considering the full coupling of the flow and geomechanics of MFHWs in tight oil reservoirs. This provides valuable information for the design of hydraulic fracturing and production development programs.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
All data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51774053).
References
Ahmadpour, M., M. Siavashi, and M. H. Doranehgard. 2016. “Numerical simulation of two-phase flow in fractured porous media using streamline simulation and IMPES methods and comparing results with a commercial software.” J. Cent. South Univ. 23 (10): 2630–2637. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11771-016-3324-5.
Baig, M. T., S. Alnuaim, and M. H. Rammay. 2015. “Productivity increase estimation for multi-stage fracturing in horizontal wells for tight oil reservoirs.” In Proc., SPE Saudi Arabia Section Annual Technical Symp. and Exhibition. Woodlands, TX: Society of Petroleum Engineers. https://doi.org/10.2118/178030-MS.
Berre, I., F. Doster, and E. Keilegavlen. 2019. “Flow in fractured porous media: A review of conceptual models and discretization approaches.” Transp. Porous Med. 130 (1): 215–236. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-018-1171-6.
Biot, M. A. 1941. “General theory of three-dimensional consolidation.” J. Appl. Phys. 12 (2): 155–164. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1712886.
Cho, Y., E. Ozkan, and O. G. Apaydin. 2013. “Pressure-dependent natural-fracture permeability in shale and its effect on shale-gas well production.” SPE Res. Eval. Eng. 16 (2): 216–228. https://doi.org/10.2118/159801-PA.
Coussy, O. 2004. Poromechanics. New York: Wiley.
Fan, X., G. Li, S. N. Shah, S. Tian, M. Sheng, and L. Geng. 2015. “Analysis of a fully coupled gas flow and deformation process in fractured shale gas reservoirs.” J. Nat. Gas Sci. Eng. 27 (Nov): 901–913. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jngse.2015.09.040.
Garipov, T. T., M. Karimi-Fard, and H. A. Tchelepi. 2016. “Discrete fracture model for coupled flow and geomechanics.” Comput. Geosci. 20 (1): 149–160. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10596-015-9554-z.
Guo, Q., S. Wang, and X. Chen. 2019a. “Assessment on tight oil resources in major basins in China.” J. Asian Earth Sci. 178 (Jul): 52–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2018.04.039.
Guo, X., K. Wu, C. An, J. Tang, and K. John. 2019b. “numerical investigation of effects of subsequent parent-well injection on interwell fracturing interference using reservoir-geomechanics-fracturing modeling.” SPE J. 24 (4): 1884–1902. https://doi.org/10.2118/195580-PA.
Guo, X., K. Wu, J. Killough, and J. Tang. 2019c. “Understanding the mechanism of interwell fracturing interference with reservoir/geomechanics/fracturing modeling in Eagle Ford shale.” SPE Res. Eval. Eng. 22 (3): 842–860. https://doi.org/10.2118/194493-PA.
Hassan, A. A., A. A. M. Abdel Meguid, S. A. Waheed, M. Salah, and E. Abdel Karim. 2015. “Multistage horizontal well hydraulic fracturing stimulation using coiled tubing to produce marginal reserves from brownfield: Case histories and lessons learned.” In Proc., SPE Middle East Unconventional Resources Conf. and Exhibition. Woodlands, TX: Society of Petroleum Engineers. https://doi.org/10.2118/172933-MS.
He, J., X. Liu, X. Zhu, T. Jiang, H. He, L. Zhou, and L. Liu. 2021. “Experimental study on the two-phase seepage law of tight sandstone reservoirs in Ordos basin.” J. Energy Eng. 147 (6): 04021056. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EY.1943-7897.0000797.
Hu, J., C. Zhang, Z. Rui, Y. Yu, and Z. Chen. 2017. “Fractured horizontal well productivity prediction in tight oil reservoirs.” J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 151 (Mar): 159–168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2016.12.037.
Jiang, J., and R. M. Younis. 2016. “Hybrid coupled discrete-fracture/matrix and multicontinuum models for unconventional-reservoir simulation.” SPE J. 21 (3): 1009–1027. https://doi.org/10.2118/178430-PA.
Li, H., H. Guo, Z. Yang, H. Ren, L. Meng, H. Lu, H. Xu, Y. Sun, T. Gao, and H. Zhang. 2019. “Evaluation of oil production potential in fractured porous media.” Phys. Fluids 31 (5): 056104. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5090370.
Li, S., X. Li, and D. Zhang. 2016. “A fully coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical, three-dimensional model for hydraulic stimulation treatments.” J. Nat. Gas Sci. Eng. 34 (Aug): 64–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jngse.2016.06.046.
Liu, L., Y. Liu, J. Yao, and Z. Huang. 2020. “Efficient coupled multiphase-flow and geomechanics modeling of well performance and stress evolution in shale-gas reservoirs considering dynamic fracture properties.” SPE J. 25 (3): 1523–1542. https://doi.org/10.2118/200496-PA.
Moinfar, A., A. Varavei, K. Sepehrnoori, and R. T. Johns. 2013. “Development of a coupled dual continuum and discrete fracture model for the simulation of unconventional reservoirs.” In Proc., SPE Reservoir Simulation Symp. Woodlands, TX: Society of Petroleum Engineers. https://doi.org/10.2118/163647-ms.
Nassir, M. 2012. “Geomechanical coupled modeling of shear fracturing in non-conventional reservoirs.” Ph.D. thesis, Dept. of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Univ. of Calgary.
Nassir, M., A. Settari, and R. Wan. 2010. “Modeling shear dominated hydraulic fracturing as a coupled fluid-solid interaction.” In Proc., Int. Oil and Gas Conf. and Exhibition. Beijing: Society of Petroleum Engineers. https://doi.org/10.2118/131736-MS.
Nassir, M., A. Settari, and R. Wan. 2014. “Prediction of SRV and optimization of fracturing in tight gas and shale using a fully elasto-plastic coupled geomechanical model.” In Proc., SPE Hydraulic Fracturing Technology Conf. Woodlands, TX: Society of Petroleum Engineers. https://doi.org/10.2118/163814-MS.
National Energy Board. 2016. Canada’s energy future 2016: Energy supply and demand projections to 2040. Canada energy regulator. Calgary, AB, Canada: National Energy Board.
Pang, M., J. Ba, and J. M. Carcione. 2021. “Characterization of gas saturation in tight-sandstone reservoirs with rock-physics templates based on seismic Q.” J. Energy Eng. 147 (3): 04021011. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EY.1943-7897.0000761.
Ren, L., Y. Su, S. Zhan, and F. Meng. 2019a. “Progress of the research on productivity prediction methods for stimulated reservoir volume (SRV)-fractured horizontal wells in unconventional hydrocarbon reservoirs.” Arab. J. Geosci. 12 (6): 184. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-019-4376-2.
Ren, L., Y. Su, S. Zhan, F. Meng, and G. Zhao. 2019b. “Fully coupled fluid-solid numerical simulation of stimulated reservoir volume (SRV)-fractured horizontal well with multi-porosity media in tight oil reservoirs.” J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 174 (Mar): 757–775. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2018.11.080.
Sadeghvishkaei, M. 2017. “Modelling of geomechanics for informed hydraulic fracturing operations.” Unpublished doctoral thesis, Dept. of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Univ. of Calgary.
Sangnimnuan, A., J. Li, and K. Wu. 2021. “Development of coupled two phase flow and geomechanics model to predict stress evolution in unconventional reservoirs with complex fracture geometry.” J. Petrol. Sci. Eng. 196 (2): 108072. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2020.108072.
Shunde, Y. 2008. Geomechanics-reservoir modeling by displacement discontinuity-finite element method. Waterloo, ON, Canada: Univ. of Waterloo.
Soeder, D. J., and S. J. Borglum. 2019. The fossil fuel revolution: Shale gas and tight oil. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier.
Sorensen, J., S. Smith, B. Kurz, S. Hawthorne, L. Jin, N. Bosshart, J. Torres, C. Nyberg, L. Heebink, and J. Hurley. 2015. Improved characterization and modeling of tight oil formations for CO2 enhanced oil recovery potential and storage capacity estimation. Pittsburgh: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE); National Energy Technology Lab. https://doi.org/10.2172/1425210.
Suarez-Rivera, R., and J. Burghardt. 2013. “Geomechanics considerations for hydraulic fracture productivity.” In Proc., 47th US Rock Mechanics/Geomechanics Symp. San Francisco: ARMS.
Taleghani, A. D., M. Gonzalez-Chavez, H. Yu, and H. Asala. 2018. “Numerical simulation of hydraulic fracture propagation in naturally fractured formations using the cohesive zone model.” J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 165 (Jun): 42–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2018.01.063.
Terzaghi, K. 1943. Theoretical soil mechanics. New York: Wiley.
Weijers, L., C. Wright, M. Mayerhofer, M. Pearson, L. Griffin, and P. Weddle. 2019. “Trends in the North American frac industry: Invention through the shale revolution.” In Proc., SPE Hydraulic Fracturing Technology Conf. and Exhibition. Woodlands, TX: Society of Petroleum Engineers. https://doi.org/10.2118/194345-MS.
Willis-Richards, J., K. Watanabe, and H. Takahashi. 1996. “Progress toward a stochastic rock mechanics model of engineered geothermal systems.” J. Geophys. Res. Solid Earth 101 (B8): 17481–17496. https://doi.org/10.1029/96JB00882.
Xiong, Y. 2015. “Development of a compositional model fully coupled with geomechanics and its application to tight oil reservoir simulation.” Doctoral dissertation, Dept. of Petroleum Engineering, Colorado School of Mines.
Zhang, D., L. Zhang, H. Tang, S. Yuan, H. Wang, N. Chen, and Y. Zhao. 2021. “A novel fluid–solid coupling model for the oil–water flow in the natural fractured reservoirs.” Phys. Fluids 33 (3): 036601. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0041267.
Zhang, J., Q. Huang, F. Xu, Z. Zhao, X. Meng, and X. Zhang. 2022. “Experimental and numerical simulation study on the influence of fracture distribution on gas channeling in ultralow-permeability reservoirs.” J. Energy Eng. 148 (1): 05021002. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EY.1943-7897.0000811.
Zhang, L., Z. Kou, H. Wang, Y. Zhao, M. Dejam, J. Guo, and J. Du. 2018a. “Performance analysis for a model of a multi-wing hydraulically fractured vertical well in a coalbed methane gas reservoir.” J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 166 (Jul): 104–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2018.03.038.
Zhang, Q. 2020. “Hydromechanical modeling of solid deformation and fluid flow in the transversely isotropic fissured rocks.” Comput. Geotech. 128 (Dec): 103812. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2020.103812.
Zhang, R. H., L. H. Zhang, R. H. Wang, Y. L. Zhao, and R. Huang. 2018b. “Simulation of a multistage fractured horizontal well in a water-bearing tight fractured gas reservoir under non-Darcy flow.” J. Geophys. Eng. 15 (3): 877–894. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-2140/aaa5ce.
Zhao, J., W. Qiang, Y. Hu, C. Zhao, and J. Zhao. 2019a. “Prediction of pore pressure-induced stress changes during hydraulic fracturing of heterogeneous reservoirs through coupled fluid flow/geomechanics.” J. Eng. Mech. 145 (12): 05019001. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EM.1943-7889.0001672.
Zhao, Y. L., L. F. Liu, L. H. Zhang, X. Y. Zhang, and B. Li. 2019b. “Simulation of a multistage fractured horizontal well in a tight oil reservoir using an embedded discrete fracture model.” Energy Sci. Eng. 7 (5): 1485–1503. https://doi.org/10.1002/ese3.379.
Zheng, Y., R. Burridge, and D. R. Burns. 2003. Reservoir simulation with the finite element method using Biot poroelastic approach. Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 2, 2021
Accepted: Mar 23, 2022
Published online: Jun 24, 2022
Published in print: Oct 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Nov 24, 2022
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.
Cited by
- Longdan Wu, Yu Zhang, Shengjie Di, Zizhuo Tao, Zaobao Liu, Study of Fracture Propagation Mechanism of Horizontal Well Fracturing in Roof of Coal Seams, Journal of Energy Engineering, 10.1061/JLEED9.EYENG-5483, 150, 6, (2024).
- Rui Sun, Jianguo Wang, Effects of In Situ Stress and Multiborehole Cluster on Hydraulic Fracturing of Shale Gas Reservoir from Multiscale Perspective, Journal of Energy Engineering, 10.1061/JLEED9.EYENG-5226, 150, 2, (2024).
- Melckzedeck M. Mgimba, Shu Jiang, Wilson Ngole, Optimization of Hydraulic Fracture Treatment Parameters for Normally Pressured Longmaxi and Wufeng Shales in the Southeastern Sichuan Basin in China, Journal of Energy Engineering, 10.1061/JLEED9.EYENG-4494, 149, 2, (2023).