WELLBORE REAL-TIME MONITORING AND ANALYSIS OF FRACTURE CONTRIBUTION
Methods and apparatus are provided for calculating production of each of a plurality of fractured intervals (or fractures) and monitoring changes in the fracture contribution with time. Such real-time monitoring and analysis may be performed by combining temperature distribution (and pressure) measurements, a real-time surface multiphase flow measurement, and an inflow model for each fractured interval (or fracture). In this manner, the industry may be able to understand the behavior of fractures and, in turn, optimize the number of stages (i.e., fractured intervals), the number of fractures, and the spacing between fractures and stages.
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The present application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/611,924, filed Mar. 16, 2012, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to hydrocarbon production and, more particularly, to determining the individual contribution of fractured intervals (or fractures) in time.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various tools may be used in order to measure the contribution of the fractures within wellbores. Different services companies may run production logging tools, and chemical tracers may also be used to determine the fracture contribution. However, these measurements may only provide a snapshot of what is happening at the moment the measurements are performed, and may change with time because conditions within the wellbore are transient.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONEmbodiments of the invention generally relate to allocating production of each of a plurality of fractured intervals (or fractures). This allocation may be performed by combining temperature distribution (and pressure) measurements, a real-time surface multiphase flow measurement, and an inflow model for each fractured interval (or fracture).
One embodiment of the invention is a method for determining production of hydrocarbons. The method generally includes determining a temperature distribution associated with a plurality of fractured intervals or fractures disposed along a well; measuring a total flow rate for the well; modeling an inflow rate for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures; and allocating production of each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures based on the temperature distribution, the total flow rate, and the inflow rates.
Another embodiment of the invention provides a system for determining production of hydrocarbons. The system generally includes a temperature sensing device configured to determine a temperature distribution associated with a plurality of fractured intervals or fractures disposed along a well, a flowmeter configured to measure a total flow rate for the well, and a processing unit. The processing unit is typically configured to model an inflow rate for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures and to allocate production of each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures based on the temperature distribution, the total flow rate, and the inflow rates.
Yet another embodiment of the invention provides a system for determining production hydrocarbons. The system generally includes means for determining a temperature distribution associated with a plurality of fractured intervals or fractures disposed along a well; means for measuring a total flow rate for the well; means for modeling an inflow rate for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures; and means for allocating production of each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures based on the temperature distribution, the total flow rate, and the inflow rates.
So that the manner in which the above recited features of the present invention can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the invention, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments.
Embodiments of the invention provide techniques and apparatus for calculating production of each of a plurality of fractured intervals (or fractures) and monitoring changes in the fracture contribution with time. Such real-time monitoring and analysis may be based on a combination of different measurements in the wellbore, on the surface, and from a mathematical model, as described below. In this manner, the industry may be able to understand the behavior of fractures and, in turn, optimize the number of stages (i.e., fractured intervals), the number of fractures, and the spacing between fractures and stages.
Referring to
Each tool 122 may be incorporated into an existing section of production pipe 102 or may be incorporated into a specific pipe section that is inserted in line with the production pipe 102. The distributed scheme of tools 122 shown in
Advances in directional drilling (e.g., horizontal drilling as shown in
The use of microseismic and production logs has helped in the fracture evaluation to determine the drainage volume and fracture inflow. Microseismic can provide useful information on the development of fracture symmetry, half-length, azimuth, width and height, and their dependence on the treatment parameters and reservoir characteristics. Additionally, these fracture geometries in conjunction with other measured or calculated parameters (e.g., rates, inflow models, etc.) can be used to better understand fracture modeling and production characteristics.
Review of production logs have indicated that only a percentage of the fractures are contributing to the production, and until now, only snapshots of the fracture contributions have been made. However, considering that this is a transient system (where fracture contributions typically change with time, typically for the first 15 to 20 months of production), a snapshot measurement is not sufficient to understand the behavior of the fractures and their contribution over time.
Accordingly, what is needed are techniques and apparatus for establishing which fractures (or at least which fractured intervals) are contributing and how much.
Due to the transient behavior, an ideal system would offer continuous, permanent, and real-time monitoring on key variables like production rates, pressure and temperature in an effort to determine the fracture contributions. Procedures that integrate different types of measurements and calculations in “real time” may help to find and understand the behavior of the fractures and to optimize the number of stages, fractures, and spacing.
Embodiments of the invention provide methods and apparatus to optimize, or at least increase, the production of horizontal fractured wells in shale reservoirs, for example. By integrating different types of real-time measurements, methods described herein enable the optimization of the number of fractures, the spacing of fractures, and the length of the horizontal section by determining the contribution of the fracture stages (or the fractures) over time.
One way to solve this problem might be the installation of downhole flowmeters in each fracture stage. However, this can be a challenge operationally and may also be very costly and risky.
Instead, considering the very low permeability of shale reservoirs (on the order of nanodarcys), it can be established that a reservoir is created only after fracturing. If the spacing between fractures is correct (such that the fractures do not interfere with one another), the production allocation of each fracture stage (or fracture) may be calculated in an analogous way to that performed in a traditional field, where the total production rates are allocated to each production well using well testing measurements, done periodically with daily measurement information like wellhead pressure. In this particular case, by combining permanent downhole measurement of temperature (and one or more pressure measurements at the heel and the toe of the wellbore, for example), permanent wellhead flow measurement of the different phases, and a mathematical transient model of the production rates of each fracture, an acceptable production allocation can be made as a function of time. Because the system is transient, such allocation may be performed on a real-time basis.
In scenarios where the number of fractures is large, the idealized system 200 shown in
The concept of Stimulated Reservoir Volume (SRV) is based on the premise that negligible flow occurs from beyond the fracture tips. The reservoir is created by the fracturing, and the reservoir size is limited by the length of the main fracture. Production performance from the fractured reservoir may be based on the SRV, the fracture spacing, and the fracture conductivity.
The near-wellbore temperature distribution yielded by distributed temperature sensing (DTS) or multi-point or array temperature sensing (ATS) may be used to determine the relative amount of fluid that each perforation interval contributes. If this information is combined with one or more pressure measurements and a real-time surface multiphase flow measurement in conjunction with an inflow model for each fractured interval, a production allocation may be calculated for each fracture. This approach is analogous to a traditional well allocation where a daily aggregated measurement at the production plant is back-allocated to each well based on wellhead measurements like pressure, temperature, and well performance. The description below provides details on the use of these technologies to analyze the fracture behavior in horizontal wells in shale reservoirs, for example.
Ideally, the addition of all these individual well flow rates is the total production of the field, but for various reasons (e.g., well performance of each well can change over time), there is a difference between these values. To eliminate this difference, an allocation factor (K) is found using the relationship between the total flow rate (Qt) measured and the sum of the individual well flow rates (ΣQi) and may be subsequently used.
Drawing an analogy to the multi-well system 300 of
The analogy between production allocation for individual wells and stages (or fractures) is possible (i.e., each stage or fracture may be considered as an individual contributor to production) because, due to the low permeability of this type of reservoir (as described above with respect to
At 504, a total flow rate of a fluid (or any combination of fluids) produced by the well (i.e., the produced hydrocarbons) is measured. The total flow rate may be a total gas flow rate or a total oil flow rate, for example. For some embodiments, the total flow rate may be measured using a flowmeter disposed at the surface. For example, the flowmeter may be disposed at or adjacent a wellhead of the well.
An inflow rate is modeled at 506 for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures. The inflow rate may be an inflow gas rate or an inflow oil rate, for example.
At 508, production of each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures is allocated based on the temperature distribution, the total flow rate, and the inflow rates. For some embodiments, allocating the production at 508 may include: (1) determining a first temperature value T0 at a first time t0 (e.g., before production starts) for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures; (2) determining a second temperature value Tn at a second time tn (e.g., subsequent to the first time t0) for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures; (3) calculating a delta temperature value (ΔTn=Tn−T0) for the second time tn for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures by determining a difference between the first and second temperature values for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures; (4) calculating a first ratio (ΔT/Tg)n of the delta temperature value ΔTn for the second time tn for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures to a geothermal temperature (Tg) at the second time tn (5) comparing the first ratio (ΔT/Tg)n for the second time tn to a maximum value of the first ratio over all previous times for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures (6) for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures, designating the first ratio for the second time tn as the maximum value of the first ratio over all previous times if the first ratio for the second time tn is greater than the previously designated maximum value (7) calculating a second ratio (ΔT/Tg)/(ΔT/Tg)max of the first ratio for the second time tn for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures to the currently designated maximum value of the first ratio over all previous times for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures; (8) multiplying the second ratio for the second time tn with the modeled inflow rate corresponding to the second time tn for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures; (9) summing results of the multiplication for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures; (10) determining an allocation factor (K) by dividing the measured total flow rate corresponding to the second time tn by the sum; (11) applying the allocation factor (K) to the modeled inflow rate for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures.
For some embodiments, the operations 500 may also include repeating the determining at 502, the measuring at 504, and the modeling at 506 within a period short enough to observe transient behavior of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures. The determining, measuring, and/or modeling described above may be performed and repeated with any desired frequency (at any desired rate or periodicity). For example, the determining, measuring, and/or modeling may be performed continuously, hourly, daily, weekly, or with other frequencies.
For some embodiments, the operations 500 may also include determining one or more pressure measurements for the well. In this case, allocation of the production at 508 may also be based on the pressure measurements. The pressure measurements may be made by one or more pressure sensors located downhole, along the horizontal or vertical portion of the wellbore. The pressure sensors may be optical-based pressure sensors having one or more fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) located therein.
In the workflow 600, the DTS (or ATS) data 602 is related to the geothermal gradient value for each stage 402. The cable 408 may be sampled with some periodicity to generate the data 602, leading to temperature measurements at certain sampling times (tn). For each sampling time (tn), the delta temperature (ΔT) between the temperature at the sampling time and at time t0 is calculated for each stage 402. At 604, the ΔT values for each stage are divided by Tg to normalize the data. For some embodiments, pressure measurements (e.g., taken by the sensors 410) may be used to ensure accuracy of the ΔT values for each stage (e.g., by correlation with the temperature measurements). At 606, a ratio ((ΔT/Tg)/(ΔT/Tg)max) for the sampling time (tn) is calculated for each stage 402. The ratio for each stage is calculated by dividing the Tg-normalized ΔT value for this particular stage by the maximum Tg-normalized ΔT value over all previous times for this stage.
The ΔT value at time t0 is initially assumed to be the maximum Tg-normalized ΔT value, so the ratio in this case will be 1. The maximum ΔT value is stored for later validation of this assumption.
At 608, inflow transient models are run to generate inflow rates for each stage 402 (indexed by “i”). The workflow 600 of
As described above, surface multiphase measurements may be made at 614, for example, by the flowmeter 406, to generate one or more total flow rates (Qg, Qo, and/or Qw) for the well. The total flow rates may either be generated at the sampling time (tn) as shown at 616, or interpolation or other techniques may be used to determine the total flow rates at sampling time based on measurements taken at other times.
The results of the multiplications at 612 for each of the stages 402 at the sampling time (tn) may be summed (ΣQ'gfi). At 618, this sum may be compared to the total gas flow rate (Qg) corresponding to the sampling time (tn).
At the first sampling time (t0), the ratio for each stage 402 calculated at 606 is multiplied by the Qgfi at t0 for each stage at 612, and the sum of all Qgfi values is compared to the Qg corresponding to t0 at 618. For this time t0, it is being assumed that all fractures are contributing at their 100% capacities, unless the ΔT value is zero, in the case of no contribution. For the next time t1, the value of ΔT1 will be compared to the value of ΔT0. If ΔT1 is bigger, then a new maximum value is obtained. This new maximum value replaces the previous value, and in this case the contribution of this particular stage will be 100% during this period of time, and the assumption on the previous time step was wrong. A new calculation for t0 will be performed to correct the first assumption and similarly at any time that a new maximum value is found.
The workflow 600, operating on a “real-time” basis, will increase well productivity, helping to determine what is the optimal choke size to flow back the well and to have all fractures contributing (or to find out which fractures do not contribute at all). After this procedure is performed on different wells with a different number of stages and/or fractures, a normalized graph of production versus a number of contributing stages and/or fractures can be obtained and, based on these results, an optimal number of stages and/or fractures may be determined. A good relationship is expected of production versus number of contributing fractures, more consistent than the plot 700 of gas production versus number of contributing fractures shown in
As described above, the near-wellbore temperature distribution yielded by distributed temperature sensing (DTS) or multi-point or array temperature sensing (ATS) may be used to determine the relative amount of fluid that each perforation interval contributes. If this information is combined with a real-time surface multiphase flow measurement in conjunction with an inflow model for each fractured interval (and one or more pressure measurements), a production allocation may be calculated for each fractured interval or fracture. This approach is analogous to a traditional well allocation where a daily aggregated measurement at the production plant is back-allocated to each well based on wellhead measurements like pressure, temperature, and well performance.
While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present invention, other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof is determined by the claims that follow.
Claims
1. A method for determining production of hydrocarbons, comprising:
- determining a temperature distribution associated with a plurality of fractured intervals or fractures disposed along a well;
- measuring a total flow rate for the well;
- modeling an inflow rate for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures; and
- allocating production of each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures based on the temperature distribution, the total flow rate, and the inflow rates.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising repeating the determining, the measuring, and the modeling within a period short enough to observe transient behavior of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining one or more pressure measurements for the well, wherein allocating the production is further based on the pressure measurements.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the temperature distribution comprises performing at least one of distributed temperature sensing (DTS) or array temperature sensing (ATS).
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the measuring comprises measuring the total flow rate using a multiphase flowmeter.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the determining, the measuring, or the modeling is performed daily.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the determining, the measuring, or the modeling is performed continuously.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein allocating the production comprises:
- determining a first temperature value at a first time for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures;
- determining a second temperature value at a second time for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures;
- calculating a delta temperature value for the second time for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures by determining a difference between the first and second temperature values for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures;
- calculating a first ratio of the delta temperature value for the second time for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures to a geothermal temperature;
- comparing the first ratio for the second time to a maximum value of the first ratio over all previous times for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures;
- for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures, designating the first ratio for the second time as the maximum value of the first ratio over all previous times if the first ratio for the second time is greater than a previously designated maximum value;
- for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures, calculating a second ratio of the first ratio for the second time to a currently designated maximum value of the first ratio over all previous times;
- multiplying the second ratio for the second time with the modeled inflow rate corresponding to the second time for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures;
- summing results of the multiplication for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures; and
- determining an allocation factor by dividing the measured total flow rate corresponding to the second time by the sum.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first time occurs before the hydrocarbons are produced.
10. The method of claim 8, further comprising applying the allocation factor to the modeled inflow rate for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the total flow rate comprises a total gas flow rate and wherein the inflow rates comprise inflow gas rates.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures is located in a shale reservoir.
13. A system for determining production of hydrocarbons, comprising:
- a temperature sensing device configured to determine a temperature distribution associated with a plurality of fractured intervals or fractures disposed along a well;
- a flowmeter configured to measure a total flow rate for the well; and
- a processing unit configured to: model an inflow rate for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures; and allocate production of each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures based on the temperature distribution, the total flow rate, and the inflow rates.
14. The system of claim 13, wherein the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures is located in a shale reservoir.
15. The system of claim 13, further comprising a pressure sensor configured to determine one or more pressure measurements for the well, wherein the processing unit is configured to allocate the production further based on the pressure measurements.
16. The system of claim 13, wherein the processing unit is configured to allocate the production by:
- determining a first temperature value at a first time for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures;
- determining a second temperature value at a second time for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures;
- calculating a delta temperature value for the second time for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures by determining a difference between the first and second temperature values for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures;
- calculating a first ratio of the delta temperature value for the second time for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures to a geothermal temperature;
- comparing the first ratio for the second time to a maximum value of the first ratio over all previous times for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures;
- for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures, designating the first ratio for the second time as the maximum value of the first ratio over all previous times if the first ratio for the second time is greater than a previously designated maximum value;
- for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures, calculating a second ratio of the first ratio for the second time to a currently designated maximum value of the first ratio over all previous times;
- multiplying the second ratio for the second time with the modeled inflow rate corresponding to the second time for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures;
- summing results of the multiplication for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures; and
- determining an allocation factor by dividing the measured total flow rate corresponding to the second time by the sum.
17. The system of claim 16, wherein the processing unit is further configured to apply the allocation factor to the modeled inflow rate for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures.
18. The system of claim 13, wherein the temperature sensing device comprises a distributed temperature sensing (DTS) device or an array temperature sensing (ATS) device.
19. The system of claim 13, wherein the total flow rate comprises a total gas flow rate and wherein the inflow rates comprise inflow gas rates.
20. A system for determining production of hydrocarbons, comprising:
- means for determining a temperature distribution associated with a plurality of fractured intervals or fractures disposed along a well;
- means for measuring a total flow rate for the well;
- means for modeling an inflow rate for each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures; and
- means for allocating production of each of the plurality of fractured intervals or fractures based on the temperature distribution, the total flow rate, and the inflow rates.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 14, 2013
Publication Date: Sep 19, 2013
Applicant: WEATHERFORD/LAMB, INC. (Houston, TX)
Inventors: Luis E. Gonzales (Houston, TX), Rajan N. Chokshi (Houston, TX)
Application Number: 13/828,055
International Classification: E21B 49/00 (20060101);