Multi-operational planning of shale gas pad development

Abstract

In this paper, the economical development of a shale gas pad and the optimal production of shale gas is studied. Utilizing a fixed sequence of development operations and gas curtailment, a mixed integer linear program (MILP) formulation is developed, which when solved, yields the economical scheduling of well development operations and shale gas production. The MILP formulation is applied to two case studies to demonstrate the benefits of optimizing shale gas development for wells at a pad. Lastly, a sensitivity analysis is completed to demonstrate the impact of development resource (i.e., drilling rigs and fracturing crews) mobilization prices on pad development, providing insight into the elements that govern development resource mobilization prices.