Shale Gas Production: Why does it Decline so Rapidly?
Date: October 21, 2015
Time: 3:00-4:00 p.m.
Place: WEB L102
There will be light refreshments afterwards.
Please plan on attending this seminar. It could really impact your industrial and research attitudes. Dr. Walton is a Senior Research Scientist in the Energy and Geoscience Institute at the University of Utah and is also an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering.
Abstract:
Over the last decade shale gas production has become a major component of the US energy budget. Success has been achieved by the development and implementation of innovative technology such as multi-stage hydraulic fracturing of long horizontal wells. Despite this success, major concerns still remain, including the rapid decline in production rate, sometimes by as much as 70% over the first year of production.
Analysis of production data and prediction of future production has necessitated the development of unconventional techniques. In this presentation we discuss the development of a semi-analytic production analysis technique for gas shales. The analysis is based on the dual porosity/dual permeability formulation for flow in ultra-tight reservoirs that contain a complex fracture network. The analysis has provided many insights into the production drivers, leading to better characterization of the production process than can be readily achieved using numerical reservoir simulators or conventional decline curve analysis. Specifically we provide insights into the causes of rapid production decline and describe how it varies throughout the life of the well.
Biography:
Dr. Ian C. Walton is a Senior Research Scientist in the Energy and Geoscience Institute at the University of Utah and is also an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering. Ian holds a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from the University of Manchester and a B.Sc. in Mathematics from University College London. He has a total of 11 years academic experience between Imperial College London, and UCLA, where he was a Visiting Professor. Before joining EGI in 2010, Ian accumulated 25 years of oil industry experience beginning with BP Research in Sunbury and continuing at various Schlumberger locations including Schlumberger Cambridge Research, Dowell Tech Center, Tulsa, Perforating Research in Rosharon, Texas and the Regional Technology Center for Unconventional Gas in Dallas. He currently specializes in fluid flow and production analysis from shale reservoirs. He has published more than 70 technical papers and has been awarded eight patents.