Semester

Spring

Date of Graduation

2010

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Department

Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering

Committee Chair

Khashayar Aminian.

Abstract

This study focuses on how the stimulation treatment design parameters such as the volumes of liquid injected, size and amount of proppant influence the Estimated Ultimate Recovery (EUR), in Upper Devonian formations in the Appalachian Basin. An extensive database containing completion, stimulation, and production data from the Benson formation was compiled and utilized in this study. The selection criteria for wells which were ultimately used in the study included wells with single zone completion and long production history with adequate completion data. These criteria eliminated the major uncertainty caused by multiple zone completions or inconsistent production data. Approximately 95 percent of the wells used in this study had 10 years of production data or more and all of them had completion data including, completion date, type of stimulation job (Water, Nitrogen assist, or Foam Frac), feet of pay (based on 2.55 g/cc bulk density), perforated interval, total volume of liquid used during stimulation, total volume of Nitrogen used during stimulation, and total amount of proppant used during stimulation. Only 76% of the wells had average pump rate during stimulation available. The study found that the variable with the greatest influence on the EUR of the case wells was the total amount of proppant placed during stimulation treatment. Increasing the total proppant not only increases EUR but also decreases the number of wells required to effectively drain the reservoir. Subsequent economic analysis provided the basic guidelines to achieve economic recovery from the Upper Devonian formations in the Appalachian Basin.

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