Reserves estimation in tight gas reservoirs -

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Reserves estimation in tight gas reservoirs

The resource triangle, Fig. 1, describes the distribution of original gas in place (OGIP) in a typical basin.[1] At the top
of the triangle are the high permeability reservoirs. These reservoirs are small, and, once discovered, as much as 80 to
90% of the OGIP can be produced using conventional drilling and completion methods. As we go deeper into the
resource triangle, the permeability decreases, but the size of the resource increases. Higher gas prices and better
technology are required to produce significant volumes of gas from these tight gas reservoirs.

(/File%3AVol6_Page_299_Image_0001.png)

Fig. 1Resource triangle for gas.

The recovery efficiency is computed by dividing the cumulative gas produced by the OGIP volume. In a tight gas
reservoir, the recovery efficiency varies from less than 10% to more than 50% of the OGIP. The recovery efficiency is
a function of:
Permeability (/Permeability_estimation_in_tight_gas_reservoirs)
Net gas pay thickness
Drainage area
Effective fracture half-length (/Hydraulic_fracturing_in_tight_gas_reservoirs)
Economic limit
Well life

Contents

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1 Reserve evaluation methods

1.1 Volumetric method
1.2 Material balance method
1.3 Decline curve method
1.4 Reservoir modeling method
2 Nomenclature
3 References
4 Noteworthy papers in OnePetro
5 External links
6 See also
7 Category

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Reserve evaluation methods

The most common methods used by reservoir engineers to determine reserves are :
Volumetric
Materials balance
Decline curves
Reservoir models
Table 1 presents information concerning how these methods are used to evaluate high and low permeability gas
reservoirs

(/File%3AVol6_Page_345_Image_0001.png)

Table 1Reserve Estimation Methods

Volumetric method
Volumetric methods can be used to estimate reserves from high permeability, blanket, and depletion drive gas
reservoirs. In such reservoirs, the drainage area and gas recovery efficiency are usually known with reasonable
certainty; thus, the volumetric method can provide relatively accurate estimates of OGIP and reserves.
In tight gas reservoirs, the volumetric method might provide reasonable estimates of OGIP; however, estimates of gas
reserves are not as reliable because it is very difficult to estimate both the drainage area of a given well and the
recovery efficiency. Because the drainage area and recovery efficiency are so difficult to estimate in tight gas
reservoirs, the volumetric method of estimating reserves should only be used prior to drilling any wells and only as a
last resort. Once drilling and production data are available, production data analyses should be used to estimate
reserves.

Material balance method

The material balance method should be used only in high permeability gas reservoirs when accurate gas production
and reservoir pressure data are available. In high permeability gas reservoirs, the wells can be shut in for hours or
days, and accurate estimates of the average reservoir pressure can be measured or computed using Horner graphs. If
the high permeability reservoir is connected to a strong aquifer, or the reservoir rock is very compressible, material
balance methods can still be used but are less accurate because of the complexity of the problem and the difficulty in
developing an accurate data set.
In tight gas reservoirs, material balance methods should never be used because it is impossible to obtain accurate data
to describe how the reservoir pressure declines as gas is produced. In a tight gas reservoir, a well (or the entire
reservoir) must be shut in for months or years before enough pressure data are collected to accurately estimate the
average reservoir pressure. As such, virtually all shut-in pressure measurements in tight gas reservoirs underestimate
the value of average reservoir pressure. If the data are used, the estimate of OGIP and ultimate gas recovery will be
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too low.

Decline curve method

In most gas reservoirs, the decline curve analysis method can be used to estimate reserves. For high permeability
reservoirs, the decline curve method works even with limited production data using the exponential equation, which
is written as
(/File%3AVol6_page_0346_eq_001.png)....................(1)
where is the (constant) instantaneous decline factor; is the flow rate at time, ; and is the initial flow rate. When
Eq. 1 applies, a graph of gas flow rate vs. the logarithm of time is a straight line. The straight line can be extrapolated
to an economic limit or a fixed well life to determine the ultimate gas recovery. Fig. 2 illustrates typical data that can
be described using an exponential decline.

(/File%3AVol6_Page_346_Image_0001.png)

Fig. 2Exponential decline.

For tight gas reservoirs, especially layered reservoirs that have been stimulated with a large hydraulic fracture,
decline curve analyses methods can be used, but a hyperbolic equation must be used to curve fit the data and to
extrapolate the data to an economic limit. The hyperbolic decline equation is

(/File%3AVol6_page_0347_eq_001.png)....................(2)

where

is the initial instantaneous decline factor. The decline factor, a, decreases with time, as given by

(/File%3AVol6_page_0348_eq_001.png)....................(3)

Near the end of the life of the well, the decline becomes exponential again. Usually, if the decline rate decreases
below 6 to 8%, the user sets the decline rate constant (at 6 to 8%) for the remaining life of the well. Fig. 3 illustrates a
typical exponential decline for a tight gas well. This well is a Cotton Valley well in east Texas that was originally
completed and fracture treated in the early 1980s in the lower Cotton Valley zone called the Taylor sand. In the early
1990s, the well was completed and fracture treated in the upper Cotton Valley. The gap in gas production data in the
early 1980s was because of the gas market and curtailment of production.

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(/File%3AVol6_Page_347_Image_0001.png)

Fig. 3Typical decline curve for a tight gas well.

Even when using the hyperbolic equation to analyze production from tight gas reservoirs, one must carefully analyze
all the data. For example, many wells begin producing at high gas flow rates along with high flowing tubing pressure.
During the first few weeks and months, both the gas flow rate and the flowing tubing pressure decline. If the analyst
only analyzes the gas flow-rate data, the extrapolation into the future is optimistic. Whenever the flowing tubing
pressure reaches the pipeline pressure, and the flowing tubing pressure quits declining, the gas flow-rate decline rate
increases. Thus, when both the gas flow rate and the flowing tubing pressure are declining, the analyst needs to
compute values of / or flow rate divided by pressure drop and use the decline curve model to match both the
decline in flow rate and the decline in flowing tubing pressure.

Reservoir modeling method

The most accurate method of estimating gas reserves in tight gas reservoirs is to use a reservoir model, such as a
semianalytical model or a numerical-reservoir model, to history match production data from the well. The model
should be capable of simulating layered reservoirs, a finite conductivity hydraulic fracture, and a changing flowing
tubing pressure. In some cases, the analyst might also need to simulate non-Darcy flow, fracture closure, and/or
fracture fluid cleanup effects.
Normally, a reasonable approach to estimating reserves is to use decline curves to review and quality-check the data;
semianalytical models to history match existing data and estimate reserves; and finite difference models to analyze
the data, especially if factors such as non-Darcy flow, fracture closure, and fracture fluid cleanup need to be included
in the analysis. Fig. 4 illustrates how the saturation profile around a hydraulic fracture can be simulated to better
understand fracture fluid cleanup and its effect on gas production vs. time.

(/File%3AVol6_Page_348_Image_0001.png)

Fig. 4Gas saturation profile.

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Nomenclature
= decline factor
= initial instantaneous decline factor
= exponent
= flow rate, Mcf/D
= initial flow rate
= time, hours or days

References
1. Masters, J.A. 1979. Deep Basin Gas Trap, Western Canada. AAPG Bulletin 63 (2): 152.

Noteworthy papers in OnePetro

Use this section to list papers in OnePetro that a reader who wants to learn more should definitely read

External links
Use this section to provide links to relevant material on websites other than PetroWiki and OnePetro

See also
Tight gas reservoirs (/Tight_gas_reservoirs)
Modeling tight gas reservoirs (/Modeling_tight_gas_reservoirs)
Permeability estimation in tight gas reservoirs (/Permeability_estimation_in_tight_gas_reservoirs)
Statistical data correlations in tight gas reservoirs (/Statistical_data_correlations_in_tight_gas_reservoirs)
Hydraulic fracturing in tight gas reservoirs (/Hydraulic_fracturing_in_tight_gas_reservoirs)
Log analyses in tight gas reservoirs (/Log_analyses_in_tight_gas_reservoirs)
Core analyses in tight gas reservoirs (/Core_analyses_in_tight_gas_reservoirs)
Tight gas drilling and completion (/Tight_gas_drilling_and_completion)
PEH:Tight_Gas_Reservoirs (/PEH%3ATight_Gas_Reservoirs)

Category
Categories (/Special%3ACategories):
5.7.1 Estimates of resource in place (/Category%3A5.7.1_Estimates_of_resource_in_place)
YR (/Category%3AYR)

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