Grant: Collaborative Research and Development Grants

Multi-fractured horizontal well (MFHW) technology has enabled commercial exploitation of low-permeability (tight) unconventional light oil (ULO) reservoirs in North America. In Western Canada, unconventional plays made commercial by this technology are currently the most important hydrocarbon reservoir targets for the Canadian oil industry; some examples include Montney siltstone/shale (BC/Alberta), Duvernay shale (Alberta), and the Bakken siltstone/shale (Saskatchewan), amongst others. The most important data collected from MFHWs is production and pressure data while producing. These data are used by the oil industry to 1) evaluate those reservoir and hydraulic fracture properties controlling flow to the well 2) forecast future well production, amongst other uses. This information is used in turn for capital planning and reserves estimation, two critical functions of petroleum engineering professionals employed in industry. Production data analysis may be performed using numerical, empirical and analytical methods. Numerical simulation methods, while rigorous, are time-intensive to setup and run, precluding their application to a select few wells. Empirical methods do not have a physical basis, but are easy to apply. Analytical methods, which represent a compromise between physical rigor and simplicity, are extensively used by the industry. However, in application to MFHWs producing from ULO reservoirs, commercially-available analytical methods do not account for the complexities of flow to MFHWs. This research proposal focuses on the development of simple-yet-rigorous modeling tools that account for the complexities of flow to MFHWs completed in ULO reservoirs over their life span. Lab-based techniques to constrain analytical/semi-analytical model inputs will also be researched. An important objective is to provide the models and methods to commercial RTA software providers whose software is widely used in industry. The value added to the industry is improved characterization of their wells and reservoirs, leading to more accurate production forecasting and better-informed capital planning.