A simulation-based method to determine the coefficient of hyperbolic decline curve for tight oil production

Abstract

Tight oil reservoirs are characterized by the ultra low porosity and permeability, making it a great challenge to enhance oil production. Owing to the fast development in hydraulic fracturing technology of horizontal wells, tight oil has been widely explored in North America. Individual wells have a long term of low production after a rapid production decline. This causes low cumulative production in tight oil reservoirs. A rate decline curve is the most common method to forecast their production rates. The forecast can provide useful information during decision making on future development of production wells. In this paper, a relationship is developed between the parameters of a hyperbolic decline curve and the reservoir/fracture properties when a reservoir simulation model is used based on the data from a real field. Understanding of this relationship improves the application of the hyperbolic decline curve and provides a useful reference to forecast production performance in a more convenient and efficient way. Cited as : Yu, Y., Chen, Z., Xu, J. A simulation-based method to determine the coefficient of hyperbolic decline curve for tight oil production. Advances in Geo-Energy Research, 2019, 3(4): 375-380, doi: 10.26804/ager.2019.04.04