Technology Focus: Natural Gas Technology/Monetization (April 2008)

Abstract

Technology Focus The natural-gas industry continues to grow on a global scale as the world's demand for energy increases, cleaner-burning fuels are sought after, and nations seek to maximize the value of their hydrocarbon resources. For the engineer, the production of gas involves multiple challenges such as a large but geographically dispersed resource base, complex reservoirs, difficult drilling conditions, and the selection of optimal completion and stimulation methods. For the commercially minded, getting gas to end-user markets involves developing strong project economics, complex commercial negotiations, crossborder transportation agreements, geopolitics, and long-term management strategies for pipelines and liquefied-natural-gas (LNG) facilities. Gas projects continue to be a mix of existing-field revitalizations, regional developments, and international megaprojects. One of the most important aspects of all successful natural-gas projects is deliverability. The economics behind producing, transporting, and distributing natural gas to end-user markets hinges on the size of producible reserves and selecting drilling and completion methods that promote high-rate and sustained production. The need for robust gas deliverability is emphasized when viewed within the context of the major gas-development projects being proposed or in progress around the world involving long-distance intercountry gas pipelines or large-scale LNG facilities. The articles selected for this month's feature focus on drilling and completion technologies that address improving and sustaining deliverability. Well completions and alteration of near-wellbore flow characteristics resulting from formation damage most often are the limiting factors in the gas-production and -transportation systems. Ultimate recovery and achieving maximum reservoir contact have been enhanced greatly in recent years by implementing and optimizing horizontal-well and multilateral-completion technologies. The formation-damage remediation technologies, both traditional and emerging, in use today offer several solutions to address various types of reservoir damage in varying reservoir conditions. Incorporating geomechanical data to optimize reservoir contact, improve wellbore stability, and minimize formation damage affords engineers additional tools to achieve robust deliverability solutions. I encourage readers not only to read the featured articles but also to look at the papers on the additional-reading list because they present many ideas and solutions on achieving greater deliverability from both existing and new fields. Together, they illustrate the great amount of effort placed on improving one of the keys to successful natural-gas development. Natural Gas Technology/Monetization additional reading available at the SPE eLibrary: www.spe.org SPE 105509 • "Design, Construction, and Optimization of Big-Bore Gas Wells in a Giant Offshore Field" by B.M. Clancey, SPE, RasGas Company, et al. (See JPT, May 2007, page 72.) SPE 111195 • "A Simple and Reliable Method for Gas-Well Deliverability Determination" by K. Aminian, West Virginia University, et al.