An Improved Rate-Transient Analysis Model of Multi-Fractured Horizontal Wells with Non-Uniform Hydraulic Fracture Properties

Youwei He, Shiqing Cheng, Zhenhua Rui, Jiazheng Qin, Liang Fu, Jianguo Shi, Yang Wang, Dingyi Li, Shirish Patil, Haiyang Yu and Jun Lu
Additional contact information
Youwei He: State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum, Beijing 102249, China
Shiqing Cheng: State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum, Beijing 102249, China
Zhenhua Rui: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Jiazheng Qin: State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum, Beijing 102249, China
Liang Fu: No. 4 Oil Production Plant, Changqing Oil Field, PetroChina, Yinchuan 750001, China
Jianguo Shi: No. 4 Oil Production Plant, Changqing Oil Field, PetroChina, Yinchuan 750001, China
Yang Wang: State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum, Beijing 102249, China
Dingyi Li: State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum, Beijing 102249, China
Shirish Patil: Department of Petroleum Engineering, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
Haiyang Yu: State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum, Beijing 102249, China
Jun Lu: College of Petroleum Engineering, Xi’an Shiyou University, Xi’an 710065, China

Energies, 2018, vol. 11, issue 2, 1-17

Abstract: Although technical advances in hydraulically fracturing and drilling enable commercial production from tight reservoirs, oil/gas recovery remains at a low level. Due to the technical and economic limitations of well-testing operations in tight reservoirs, rate-transient analysis (RTA) has become a more attractive option. However, current RTA models hardly consider the effect of the non-uniform production on rate decline behaviors. In fact, PLT results demonstrate that production profile is non-uniform. To fill this gap, this paper presents an improved RTA model of multi-fractured horizontal wells (MFHWs) to investigate the effects of non-uniform properties of hydraulic fractures (production of fractures, fracture half-length, number of fractures, fracture conductivity, and vertical permeability) on rate transient behaviors through the diagnostic type curves. Results indicate obvious differences on the rate decline curves among the type curves of uniform properties of fractures (UPF) and non-uniform properties of fractures (NPF). The use of dimensionless production integral derivative curve magnifies the differences so that we can diagnose the phenomenon of non-uniform production. Therefore, it’s significant to incorporate the effects of NPF into the RDA models of MFHWs, and the model proposed in this paper enables us to better evaluate well performance based on long-term production data.

Keywords: rate-transient analysis; multi-fractured horizontal wells; type curve; production performance evaluation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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