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11/11/11
Resource Pyramid
Small Volumes
High 1000 md Quality
Tight Gas
Large Volumes Gas Shales
Low Quality
0.0001 md
Increased Demand
Better Technology
Shale gas
In Devonia shales (formed in shallow seas more than 350 million years ago). Permeability in the nanoDarcy range (10-9D or 10-21 m2 ) Difficult to produce due to the properties of shale and therefore the expected recovery of the gas is low. Shale gas is found all over the world.
Shale gas
Statoil
1,8million acres=7300km2
From Statoil.com
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Most of the recoverable gas is contained in the pore space. Natural fracture system is important for well productivity.
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Coalbed methane
Many coal formations (seams) contain natural gas, either within the seams itself or the surrounding rock. What was once a by-product of the coal industry is becoming an increasingly important source of methane and natural gas.
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Presentation Summary
Some additional information about tight gas reservoirs Conditions generally required for economic tight gas reservoir production Common formation damage types occurring in tight gas reservoirs
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From John Lee (Texas A&M University) Advances in Unconventional Resources Technology: Assessment Methodology
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FWC
Water Saturation
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FWC
Water Saturation
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Generally if a tight gas matrix is in equilibrium with a free water contact, equilibrium water saturation reduces reserves and effective permeability to gas below the economic limit for production
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Water Saturation
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For significant reserves and mobile gas production in very low perm gas reservoirs, a CAPILLARY SUBNORMAL water saturation condition usually must exist
Water Gauge
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Conventional reservoir
Unconventional reservoir
Conventional reservoir: wide range of water saturation where both water and gas can flow. Unconventional reservoir: broad range of water saturation in which neither gas nor water can flow.
Shanley et al. AAPG Bulletin 2004
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Numerical study
Note crossover, where krg=krw is approximately 67% for all permeabilities but krg value at crossover decreases with decreasing permeability. Dark black horizontal line marks the krg = 2% (0.02). The Sw region where both gas and water have kr < 0.02 broadens as kik decreases.
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Relationship between capillary pressure, relative permeability and position within a trap.
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Frac technique: horizontal well with multiple fractures Test rate: 14,000 m3/h vs 4,000 m3/h without technology
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x-ray
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Conclusions
Tight gas reservoirs have a huge future potential for production. Generally to be economic tight gas reservoirs are normally in a subnormal water saturation condition. Fluid trapping (water blocks) tends to be a dominant damage mechanism for tight gas reservoirs. Productivity prediction is almost impossible without detailed petrophysics data measured in representative conditions (stress, hysteresis, capillary pressure...)