Semester

Summer

Date of Graduation

2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Department

Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering

Committee Chair

Mohamed El sgher

Committee Co-Chair

Samuel Ameri

Committee Member

Samuel Ameri

Committee Member

Kashy Aminian

Abstract

The increase in effective stress during depletion adversely impacts the productivity of the multi-stage fractured Marcellus shale horizontal well. The geomechanical properties and proppant size influence the degree of shale compaction, the fracture conductivity, and the well productivity. This study seeks to assess the impact of net stress increase during depletion on the productivity of multi-stage fractured Marcellus shale horizontal wells. To investigate the impact of the net stress increase, a model for Bogges-5H well was developed based on the petrophysical and geomechanical properties of the shale obtained from the core plugs and well logs measurements from the pilot (Bogges 17) well. Laboratory measurements and published data were analyzed to determine the gas adsorption characteristics and the compaction of the shale. The impact of the shale compaction was incorporated into the model by developing multipliers for different compaction components including fissures, matrix, and hydraulic fractures. Fracture properties for Bogges-5H well were estimated based on treatment design and well logs from the pilot well by employing a commercial fracturing software. The hydraulic fracture properties were incorporated in the reservoir model. The relation between fissures permeability as well as the fractures conductivity with the closure stress for different values of Young’s modulus were integrated into the reservoir model after normalization against pore pressure. The impact of compaction on the fissure permeability and the fractures conductivity for different values of Young’s modulus was then investigated. Furthermore, fracture conductivity for different proppant mesh sizes as function of the closure stress were also incorporated in the reservoir model, after it was normalized for the pore pressure, to investigate the impact compaction for different mesh sizes.

Including compaction improved the model prediction of gas recovery from the Marcellus Shale. The reduction in fracture conductivity and natural fracture permeability, due to increase in effective stress, have huge impact on the gas recovery from the Marcellus Shale. This study sheds important light on the interactions that affect the productivity of Marcellus shale horizontal wells, including effective stress, geomechanical properties, proppant type, proppant size, proppant concentration, and formation stiffness. The results highlight how critical it is to optimize these parameters to reduce the negative impacts of increased stress on fracture conductivity and fissure permeability. Operators may improve the overall efficiency of shale gas extraction and increase the accuracy of production projections by adding these variables into reservoir models.

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