A Semi-Analytical Model for Predicting Horizontal Well Performances in Fractured Gas Reservoirs With Bottom-Water and Different Fracture Intensities

Abstract

Numerical simulation and prediction studies on horizontal well performances in gas reservoir are foundation for optimizing horizontal well completion process. To gain more understanding on this theory, a steady-state reservoir model coupling with wellbore is developed in the fractured gas reservoirs with bottom-water and different fracture intensities to predict the horizontal well performances. Based on the equivalent flow assumption, the fractured porous medium is transformed into anisotropic porous medium so that the gas reservoir flow model can be developed as a new model that incorporates formation permeability heterogeneity, reservoir anisotropy, and gas reservoir damage. The wellbore flow model which considers pressure drops in the tubing is applied. We compare this paper model solutions for inflow profile along the well to the numerical solutions obtained from a commercial simulator (ECLIPSE 2011), and the result shows a very good agreement. Moreover, sensitive analysis, in terms of various linear densities of fractures, matrix permeability, fracture width, and wellbore pressure drop, is implemented. The results show that the new model developed in this study can obtain a more practical representation to simulate the horizontal wells performance in fractured gas reservoir with different fracture intensities and bottom-water, thus can be used to optimize the parameters in horizontal well completion of fractured gas reservoirs with different fracture intensities and bottom-water.