A Numerical Study of Thermal-Hydraulic-Mechanical Simulation With Application of Thermal Recovery in Fractured Shale-Gas Reservoirs

Author:

Wang HanYi1

Affiliation:

1. The University of Texas at Austin

Abstract

Summary Shale gas is playing an important role in transforming global energy markets with increasing demands for cleaner energy in the future. One major difference in shale-gas reservoirs is that a considerable amount of gas is adsorbed. Up to 85% of the total gas within shale may be found adsorbed on clay and kerogen. How much of the adsorbed gas can be produced has a significant effect on ultimate recovery. Even with improving fracturing and horizontal-well technologies, the average gas-recovery factors in US shale plays are only approximately 30% with primary depletion. Adsorbed gas can be desorbed by lowering pressure and raising temperature and reservoir-flow capacity can be also influenced by temperature, so there is a big prize to be claimed by use of thermal-stimulation techniques to enhance recovery. To date, not much work has been done on thermal stimulation of shale-gas reservoirs. In this study, we present general formulations to simulate gas production in fractured shale-gas reservoirs for the first time, with fully coupled thermal-hydraulic-mechanical (THM) properties. The unified-shale-gas-reservoir model developed in this study enables us to investigate multiphysics phenomena in shale-gas formations. Thermal stimulation of fractured gas reservoirs by heating propped fractures is proposed and investigated. This study provides some fundamental insight into real-gas flow in nanopore space and gas-adsorption/desorption behavior in fractured gas shales under various in-situ conditions, and sets a foundation for future research efforts in the area of enhanced recovery of shale-gas reservoirs. We find that thermal stimulation of shale-gas reservoirs has the potential to enhance recovery significantly by enhancing the overall flow capacity and releasing adsorbed gas that cannot be recovered by primary depletion. However, the process may be hampered by the low heat transfer rate if only the surfaces of hydraulic fractures are heated.

Publisher

Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE)

Subject

Geology,Energy Engineering and Power Technology,Fuel Technology

Cited by 18 articles. 订阅此论文施引文献 订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3