Advancing rate-transient analysis for improved characterization and forecasting of Canada's unconventional light oil reservoirs

多裂缝水平井（MFHW）技术已经在北美实现了低渗透（致密）非常规轻油（ULO）油藏的商业化开发。在加拿大西部，利用该技术实现商业化的非常规区块是目前加拿大石油工业最重要的油气储层目标；其中包括Montney粉砂岩/页岩（BC/Alberta）、Duvernay页岩（Alberta）和Bakken粉砂岩/页岩（Saskatchewan）等。从MFHWs收集的最重要的数据是生产过程中的产量和压力数据。这些数据被石油行业用于：1)评估储层和控制井流量的水力裂缝特性；2)预测未来的油井产量，以及其他用途。这些信息依次用于资本规划和储量估计，这是工业中雇用的石油工程专业人员的两个关键功能。生产数据分析可以使用数值、经验和分析方法进行。数值模拟方法虽然严格，但设置和运行时间很长，无法应用于少数几口井。经验方法没有物理基础，但很容易应用。分析方法代表了物理严谨和简单之间的折衷，被工业广泛使用。然而，在应用于从ULO油藏生产的MFHWs时，商业上可用的分析方法无法解释流向MFHWs的复杂性。本研究计划的重点是开发简单而严格的建模工具，以解释在ULO油藏中完成的MFHWs在其生命周期内的流动复杂性。还将研究基于实验室的技术来约束分析/半分析模型输入。一个重要的目标是为商业RTA软件提供商提供模型和方法，这些提供商的软件在工业中被广泛使用。该技术的附加值在于改善了油井和油藏的特征，从而实现了更准确的产量预测和更明智的资本规划。

Multi-fractured horizontal well (MFHW) technology has enabled commercial exploitation of low-permeability (tight) unconventional light oil (ULO) reservoirs in North America. In Western Canada, unconventional plays made commercial by this technology are currently the most important hydrocarbon reservoir targets for the Canadian oil industry; some examples include Montney siltstone/shale (BC/Alberta), Duvernay shale (Alberta), and the Bakken siltstone/shale (Saskatchewan), amongst others. The most important data collected from MFHWs is production and pressure data while producing. These data are used by the oil industry to 1) evaluate those reservoir and hydraulic fracture properties controlling flow to the well 2) forecast future well production, amongst other uses. This information is used in turn for capital planning and reserves estimation, two critical functions of petroleum engineering professionals employed in industry. Production data analysis may be performed using numerical, empirical and analytical methods. Numerical simulation methods, while rigorous, are time-intensive to setup and run, precluding their application to a select few wells. Empirical methods do not have a physical basis, but are easy to apply. Analytical methods, which represent a compromise between physical rigor and simplicity, are extensively used by the industry. However, in application to MFHWs producing from ULO reservoirs, commercially-available analytical methods do not account for the complexities of flow to MFHWs. This research proposal focuses on the development of simple-yet-rigorous modeling tools that account for the complexities of flow to MFHWs completed in ULO reservoirs over their life span. Lab-based techniques to constrain analytical/semi-analytical model inputs will also be researched. An important objective is to provide the models and methods to commercial RTA software providers whose software is widely used in industry. The value added to the industry is improved characterization of their wells and reservoirs, leading to more accurate production forecasting and better-informed capital planning.