Production Performance of Multiply Fractured Horizontal Wells

Abstract

Abstract The objective of this study was to conduct a modeling study to determine the production performance of multiply fractured horizontal well completed in Shale formations and to investigate the impact of hydraulic fractures on the production performance of horizontal wells in ultra-low permeability formations. A commercial reservoir simulator was utilized to model both single and a dual porosity reservoir since both hydraulic fractures and natural fractures play significant roles in well performance of the low permeability reservoirs. The adsorbed gas component was also included in the models. The single and a dual porosity models were utilized to investigate the flow regimes for horizontal wells with multi-stages of hydraulic fracturing stimulation. History matching with actual production from Marcellus Shale wells was utilized to determine the basic model parameters. The results indicated the presence of number of different flow regimes. The hydraulic fractures appear to dominate the early production performance. The impact of reservoir and hydraulic fracture parameters on the flow regimes as well as the production performance and gas desorption were also investigated. The results can be utilized to investigate the feasibility horizontal wells with multiple hydraulic fractures and optimize the production from the shale formations.