Numerical Simulation Study on Temporary Well Shut-In Methods in the Development of Shale Oil Reservoirs

Qitao Zhang, Wenchao Liu (), Jiaxin Wei, Arash Dahi Taleghani, Hai Sun and Daobing Wang
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Qitao Zhang: School of Civil and Resource Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
Wenchao Liu: School of Civil and Resource Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
Jiaxin Wei: Geology Institute, No. 2 Oil Production Plant, Changqing Oilfield Company, Qingcheng, Qingyang 745100, China
Arash Dahi Taleghani: John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA 16801, USA
Hai Sun: School of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China
Daobing Wang: School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, Beijing 102617, China

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 23, 1-24

Abstract: Field tests indicate that temporary well shut-ins may enhance oil recovery from a shale reservoir; however, there is currently no systematic research to specifically guide such detailed operations in the field, especially for the design of the shut-in scheme and multiple rounds of shut-ins. In this study, the applicability of well shut-in operations for shale oil reservoirs is studied, and a numerical model is built using the finite element method. In order to simulate the production in a shale oil reservoir, two separate modules (i.e., Darcy’s law and phase transport) were two-way coupled together. The established model was validated by comparing its results with the analytical Buckley–Leverett equation. In this paper, the geological background and parameters of a shale oil reservoir in Chang-7 Member (Chenghao, China) were used for the analyses. The simulation results show that temporary well shut-in during production can significantly affect well performance. Implementing well shut-in could decrease the initial oil rate while decreasing the oil decline rate, which is conducive to long-term production. After continuous production for 1000 days, the oil rate with 120 days shut-in was 9.85% larger than the case with no shut-in. Besides, an optimal shut-in time has been identified as 60 days under our modeling conditions. In addition, the potential of several rounds of well shut-in operations was also tested in this study; it is recommended that one or two rounds of shut-ins be performed during development. When two rounds of shut-ins are implemented, it is recommended that the second round shut-in be performed after 300 days of production. In summary, this study reveals the feasibility of temporary well shut-in operations in the development of a shale oil reservoir and provides quantitative guidance to optimize these development scenarios.

Keywords: temporary shut-in; well performance; shale oil reservoir; oil–water displacement; optimized shut-in scheme (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: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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