Open Access

ARTICLE

Simulation of the Production Performances of Horizontal Wells with a Fractured Shale Gas Reservoir

by Hongsha Xiao¹, Ruihan Zhang^2,*, Man Chen¹, Cui Jing¹, Shangjun Gao¹, Chao Chen¹, Huiyan Zhao¹, Xin Huang^2,*, Bo Kang³

1 Sichuan Changning Natural Gas Development Co., Ltd., Chengdu, 610041, China
2 State Key Laboratory of Oil & Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu, 610500, China
3 Chengdu North Petroleum Exploration and Development Technology Company Limited, Chengdu, 610051, China

* Corresponding Authors: Ruihan Zhang. Email: ; Xin Huang. Email:

Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing 2023, 19(7), 1803-1815. https://doi.org/10.32604/fdmp.2023.026143

Received 18 August 2022; Accepted 08 November 2022; Issue published 08 March 2023

Abstract

The production performances of a well with a shale gas reservoir displaying a complex fracture network are simulated. In particular, a micro-seismic cloud diagram is used to describe the fracture network, and accordingly, a production model is introduced based on a multi-scale flow mechanism. A finite volume method is then exploited for the integration of the model equations. The effects of apparent permeability, conductivity, Langmuir volume, and bottom hole pressure on gas well production are studied accordingly. The simulation results show that ignoring the micro-scale flow mechanism of the shale gas leads to underestimating the well gas production. It is shown that after ten years of production, the cumulative gas production difference between the two scenarios with and without considering the micro-scale flow mechanisms is 19.5%. The greater the fracture conductivity, the higher the initial gas production of the gas well and the cumulative gas production. The larger the Langmuir volume, the higher the gas production rate and the cumulative gas production. With the reduction of the bottom hole pressure, the cumulative gas production increases, but the growth rate gradually decreases.

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