Semester

Summer

Date of Graduation

2011

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Department

Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering

Committee Chair

Kashy Aminian.

Abstract

As production technologies continue to increase, more and more unconventional natural gas plays are becoming economical and attractive to produce. CBM, or coalbed methane, currently accounts for approximately ten percent of all natural gas production in the U.S., and that number is increasing. Therefore, it is critical to understand what makes a reservoir a viable option for production development.;Many current tools used to predict the performance of a reservoir rely heavily on unknowns about the formation, and are therefore risky and complex. Numerical methods and computer simulations can greatly aid in the evaluation, but still remain an incomplete description of the entire picture. Type curves need less information about the reservoir in question and often provide a great level of accuracy in predicting the performance of the reservoir over the span of its production. Type curves exist for many different types of reservoirs, but more investigation is required for creating type curves of hydraulically fractured, horizontal coalbed methane reservoirs.;This research has helped to demonstrate that type curves for this category of reservoirs can be useful and in time, fully understood. Fracturing characteristics had more impact on the production of these reservoirs than reservoir characteristics themselves. Fracture conductivity and fracture half-length have moderate impact on type curves, as well as reservoir desorption time and coal gas concentration. An equation for dimensionless peak flow rate was also investigated.

Download

Share

COinS