Abstract
Focusing on vertical multi-layer superimposition of unconventional natural gas reservoirs in coal-bearing strata, research on the co-production of tight gas and coalbed methane from a single wellbore was conducted. This study intended to obtain maximum economic benefit of a single well from multi-layers. According to the vertical combination of tight sandstone and coal in the eastern Ordos Basin, the reservoir combinations were classified into direct contact, fracture connected, and non-contact types. Based on the economic benefit of co-production, the inter-layer interference coefficient and applicability coefficient were established. The productivity of tight gas and coalbed methane co-production from one wellbore was numerically simulated using the black oil model. The results indicated that with increase in reservoir permeability, thickness, and average pressure, as well as the decrease in reservoir differential pressure, the combined gas production increased. Gas production rate from different reservoir combination types can be ranked in the following order: direct contact type > fracture connected type > non-contact type. In addition, with increase in permeability ratio (sandstone permeability vs. coal permeability) and average pressure, as well as with decrease in differential thickness and differential pressure, the co-production applicability increased. In addition, for different reservoir combinations, non-contact type co-production can be the first choice, and the next choice is fracture connected type. The results can be beneficial for conducting co-production choice in different unconventional natural gases superimposed basins.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ahmed, F. I., & Hisham, A. (2015). A comprehensive model to history match and predict gas/water production from coal seams. International Journal of Coal Geology, 146, 79–90.
Chen, Z. X. (2000). Formulations and numerical methods of the black oil model in porous media. Siam Journal on Numerical Analysis, 38(2), 489–514.
Clarkson, C. R., & Qanbari, F. (2016). A semi-analytical method for forecasting wells completed in low permeability, undersaturated CBM reservoirs. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 30, 19–27.
Ding, J. C., Yan, C. H., He, Y. M., & Wang, C. C. (2019). Secondary formation damage of low-pressure layer during commingled production in multilayered tight gas reservoirs. Scientific Reports, 9, 17542.
Du, F. S., & Nojabaei, B. (2020). A black-oil approach to model produced gas injection in both conventional and tight oil-rich reservoirs to enhance oil recovery. Fuel, 263, 116680.
Guo, C., Qin, Y., Wu, C. F., & Lu, L. L. (2020). Hydrogeological control and productivity modes of coalbed methane commingled production in multi-seam areas: A case study of the Bide-Santang Basin, western Guizhou, South China. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 189, 107039.
Guo, J. Z., Li, Y., Guo, X. J., & Han, B. H. (2019a). Experimental analysis of factors influencing the development effect of multilayer gas well. IOP Conference Series—Earth and Environment Science, 227, 042045.
Guo, X., Wang, Z. M., Zeng, Q. S., & Liu, L. Q. (2019b). Gas crossflow between coal and sandstone with fused interface: Experiments and modeling. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 184, 106562.
Huang, S. J., Kang, B. T., Cheng, L. S., Zhou, W. S., & Chang, S. P. (2015). Quantitative characterization of interlayer interference and productivity prediction of directional wells in the multilayer commingled production of ordinary offshore heavy oil reservoirs. Petroleum Exploration & Development, 42(4), 533–540.
Li, X., Fu, X. H., Ge, Y. Y., & Chang, X. X. (2016a). Research on sequence stratigraphy, hydrogeological units and commingled drainage associated with coalbed methane production: A case study in Zhuzang syncline of Guizhou province China. Hydrogeology Journal, 24(8), 2171–2187.
Li, Y., Gao, X. D., Meng, S. Z., Wu, P., Niu, X. L., Qiao, P., & Elsworth, D. (2019a). Diagenetic sequences of continuously deposited tight sandstones in various environments: A case study from upper Paleozoic sandstones in the Linxing area, eastern Ordos basin China. AAPG Bulletin, 103(11), 2757–2783.
Li, Y., Tang, D. Z., Wu, P., Niu, X. L., Wang, K., Qiao, P., & Wang, Z. S. (2016b). Continuous unconventional natural gas accumulations of Carboniferous-Permian coal-bearing strata in the Linxing area, northeastern Ordos basin, China. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 36, 314–327.
Li, Y., Wang, Y. B., Meng, S. Z., Wu, X., Tao, C. Q., & Xu, & W.K. . (2020a). Theoretical basis and prospect of coal measure unconventional natural gas co-production. Journal of China Coal Society, 45(4), 1406–1418. ((in Chinese with English abstract)).
Li, Y., Wang, Y. B., Wang, J., & Pan, Z. J. (2020b). Variation in permeability during CO2–CH4 displacement in coal seams: Part 1—experimental insights. Fuel, 263, 116666.
Li, Y., Yang, J. H., Pan, Z. J., Meng, S. Z., Wang, K., & Niu, X. L. (2019b). Unconventional natural gas accumulations in stacked deposits: A discussion of upper paleozoic coal-bearing strata in the east margin of the ordos basin China. Acta Geologica Sinica (English Edition), 93(1), 111–129.
Li, Y., Yang, J. H., Pan, Z. J., & Tong, W. S. (2020c). Nanoscale pore structure and mechanical property analysis of coal: An insight combining AFM and SEM images. Fuel, 260, 116352.
Liu, D., Zhang, F. Y., Zhu, Q., Wang, X. R., & Fan, J. (2019). Quantitative characterization and dynamic law of interlayer interference for multilayer commingled production in heavy oil reservoirs by numerical simulation. World Journal of Engineering and Technology, 7(3), 379–395.
Liu, G. F., Meng, Z., Luo, D. Y., Wang, J. N., Gu, D. H., & Yang, D. Y. (2020a). Experimental evaluation of interlayer interference during commingled production in a tight gas reservoir with multi-pressure systems. Fuel, 262, 116557.
Liu, H., Pang, J., Wang, X. L., Yu, X. N., & Li, Q. (2012). Analysis of interlayer interference and research of development strategy of multilayer commingled production gas reservoir. Energy Procedia, 16, 1341–1347.
Liu, S. M., Tan, F. R., Huo, T., Tang, S. H., Zhao, W. X., & Chao, H. D. (2020b). Origin of the hydrate bound gases in the Juhugeng Sag, Muli Basin, Tibetan Plateau. International Journal of Coal Science & Technology, 7(1), 43–57.
Liu, Y. C., Luo, X. B., Kang, K., Li, T. L., Jiang, S. H., Zhang, J., et al. (2017). Permeability characterization and directional wells initial productivity prediction in the continental multilayer sandstone reservoirs: A case from Penglai 19–3 oil field, Bohai Bay Basin. Petroleum Exploration & Development, 44(1), 97–104.
Meng, S. Z., Li, Y., Wang, J. Z., Gu, G. T., Wang, Z. W., & Xu, X. C. (2018a). Co-production feasibility of “Three gases” in coal measures: Discussion based on field test well. Journal of China Coal Society, 43(1), 168–174. ((in Chinese with English abstract)).
Meng, S. Z., Li, Y., Wang, L., Wang, K., & Pan, Z. J. (2018b). A mathematical model for gas and water production from overlapping fractured coalbed methane and tight gas reservoirs. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 171, 959–973.
Naus, M. M. J. J., Dolle, N., & Jansen, J. D. (2006). Optimization of commingled production using infinitely variable inflow control valves. SPE Production & Operations, 21(2), 293–301.
Qin, Y., Wu, J. G., Li, G. Z., Wang, Y. B., Shen, J., Zhang, B., & Shen, Y. L. (2020). Patterns and pilot project demonstration of coal measures gas production. Journal of China Coal Society, 45(7), 2513–2522. ((in Chinese with English abstract)).
Shao, L., Wang, X. T., Wang, D. D., Li, M. P., Wang, S., Li, Y. J., et al. (2020). Sequence stratigraphy, paleogeography, and coal accumulation regularity of major coal-accumulating periods in China. International Journal of Coal Science & Technology, 7(2), 240–262.
Tang, S. L., Tang, D. Z., Tang, J. C., Tao, S., Xu, H., & Geng, Y. G. (2017). Controlling factors of coalbed methane well productivity of multiple superposed coalbed methane systems: A case study on the Songhe mine field, Guizhou China. Energy Exploration & Exploitation, 35(6), 665–684.
Tao, C. Q., Wang, Y. B., Li, Y., Ni, X. M., & Gao, X. D. (2020). Adsorption mechanism and kinetic characterization of bituminous coal under high temperatures and pressures in the Linxing-Shenfu area. Acta Geologica Sinica (English Edition), 94(2), 399–408.
Wang, C. W., Jia, C. S., Peng, X. L., Chen, Z. X., Zhu, S. Y., Sun, H. S., & Zhang, J. (2019). Effects of wellbore interference on concurrent gas production from multi-layered tight sands: A case study in eastern Ordos Basin, China. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 179, 707–715.
Widarsono, B., Atmoko, H., Yuwono, I.P., Saptono, F., & Tunggal, R. (2005). Application of fuzzy logic for determining production allocation in commingle production wells. In Paper presented at the SPE Asia Pacific Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition, Jakarta, Indonesia, April 2005. https://doi.org/10.2118/93275-MS.
Wu, C., Yuan, C. X., Wen, G. J., Han, L., & Liu, H. J. (2020). A dynamic evaluation technique for assessing gas output from coal seams during commingling production within a coalbed methane well: A case study from the Qinshui Basin. International Journal of Coal Science & Technology, 7(1), 122–132.
Yang, H. J., Sun, S. Y., Li, Y. T., & Yang, C. (2019a). A fully implicit constraint-preserving simulator for the black oil model of petroleum reservoirs. Journal of Computational Physics, 396, 347–363.
Yang, Z. B., Qin, Y., Wu, C. C., Qin, Z. H., Li, G., & Li, C. L. (2019b). Geochemical response of produced water in the CBM well group with multiple coal seams and its geological significance-A case study of the Songhe well group in Western Guizhou. International Journal of Coal Geology, 207, 39–51.
Yang, Z. B., Qin, Y., Yi, T. S., Tang, J., Zhang, Z. G., & Wu, C. C. (2019c). Analysis of multi-coalbed CBM development methods in western Guizhou China. Geosciences Journal, 23(2), 315–325.
Yang, Z. B., Zhang, Z. G., Qin, Y., Wu, C. C., Yi, T. S., Li, Y. Y., et al. (2018). Optimization methods of production layer combination for coalbed methane development in multi-coal seams. Petroleum Exploration & Development, 45(2), 312–320.
Zafar, A., Su, Y. L., Li, L., Fu, J. G., Mehmood, A., Ouyang, W. P., & Zhang, M. (2020). Tight gas production model considering TPG as a function of pore pressure, permeability and water saturation. Petroleum Science, 17(5), 1356–1369.
Zhao, J. Z., Pu, X., Li, Y. M., & He, X. J. (2016). A semi-analytical mathematical model for predicting well performance of a multistage hydraulically fractured horizontal well in naturally fractured tight gas reservoir. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 32, 273–291.
Zhao, S. H., Li, Y., Wang, Y. B., Ma, Z. T., & Huang, X. Q. (2019). Quantitative study on coal and shale pore structure and surface roughness based on atomic force microscopy and image processing. Fuel, 2019(244), 78–90.
Zhao, Y. L., Zhao, L., Wang, Z. M., & Yang, H. (2018). Numerical simulation of multi-seam coalbed methane production using a gray lattice Boltzmann method. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 175, 587–594.
Zhu, S. X., Tang, D. Z., Li, S., Xu, H., Tao, S., & Liu, H. F. (2019). Study on CBM and tight gas co-mining feasibility- take the Linfen block on the eastern edge of the Ordos Basin as an example. Energy Sources Part A: Recovery Utilization and Environmental Effects. https://doi.org/10.1080/15567036.2019.1676328.
Acknowledgments
This study was supported by the National Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 42072194 and 41702171), National Science and Technology Major Project of China (No. 2016ZX05066001–002), and the National Science and Technology Major Project of China (No. 2017ZX05064–003–001). We thank China United Coalbed Methane Co. Ltd. for providing the geological conditions and the present situation of exploration and development of tight gas and coalbed methane in the study area and our colleagues for their beneficial suggestions.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zhao, S., Wang, Y., Li, Y. et al. Co-production of Tight Gas and Coalbed Methane from Single Wellbore: a Simulation Study from Northeastern Ordos Basin, China. Nat Resour Res 30, 1597–1612 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11053-021-09814-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11053-021-09814-8