Determination of Reasonable Bottom-Hole Pressure in Unconventional Tight Oil Reservoirs: A Field Case Investigation

Abstract

Abstract The bottom-hole flow pressure is an important factor affecting the production of the unconventional tight oil well. The reasonable bottom-hole flow pressure has a positive effect on enhancing the production capacity of oilfields and improving the production efficiency of oilfield enterprises. Therefore, a robust method is proposed to determine the reasonable bottom-hole flow pressure in unconventional tight oil reservoirs, sharing the advantages of coupling geological feature and fluid flow behavior. In this method, the geological model and numerical reservoir simulation based on ECLIPSE software are developed firstly. The effects of the stress sensitivity, the PVT properties, permeability damage, fracturing fluid leak-off, and skin coefficient on the single-well productivity are then discussed. The reasonable variation range of the bottom-hole flow pressure in different production stages is then determined. Results show that crude oil viscosity, formation damage, and stress sensitivity are the most sensitive factors to the recovery degree. And, desirable tight oil production performance can be achieved with the application of the optimized bottom-hole pressure.