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Numerical modeling of the dynamic variation in multiphase CH4 during CO2 enhanced gas recovery from depleted shale reservoirs

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Abstract

Regarding CO2 enhanced shale gas recovery, this work focuses on changes in the multiphase (free/adsorbed) CH4 in the process of CO2 enhanced shale gas recovery, by utilizing a rigorous numerical model with real geological parameters. This work studies nine injection well (IW) and CH4 production well (PW) combinations of CO2 to determine the influence of IW and PW locations on the dynamic interaction of multiphase CH4 during 10000 d of CO2 injection. The results indicate that the content of both the adsorbed CH4 and free CH4 is strongly variable before (and during) the CO2-CH4 displacement. In addition, during the simulation process, the proportion of the adsorbed CH4 among all extracted CH4 phases dynamically increases first and then tends to stabilize at 70%–80%. Moreover, the IW-PWs combinations significantly affect the outcomes of CO2 enhanced shale gas recovery — for both the proportion of adsorbed/free CH4 and the recovery efficiency. A longer IW-PW distance enables more adsorbed CH4 to be recovered but results in a lower efficiency of shale gas recovery. Basically, a shorter IW-PWs distance helps recover CH4 via CO2 injection if the IW targets the bottom layer of the Wufeng-Longmaxi shale formation. This numerical work expands the knowledge of CO2 enhanced gas recovery from depleted shale reservoirs.

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Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by the Project funded by China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (No. 2020M683253), the Key Laboratory of Shale Gas Exploration, Ministry of Natural Resources (No. KLSGE-MLR-202003), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51704197).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Shale Gas Exploration (Ministry of Natural Resources), Chongqing Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources, Chongqing, 401120, China

    Lijun Cheng, Ye Zhang, Jun Liu, Zhaohui Lu & Chunlin Zeng

  2. Institute of New Energy and Low-Carbon Technology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610065, China

    Jun Liu

  3. College of Architecture and Environment, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610065, China

    Peng Zhao

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  1. Lijun Cheng
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  2. Ye Zhang
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  3. Jun Liu
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  4. Zhaohui Lu
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  5. Chunlin Zeng
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  6. Peng Zhao
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Correspondence to Jun Liu or Peng Zhao.

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Cheng, L., Zhang, Y., Liu, J. et al. Numerical modeling of the dynamic variation in multiphase CH4 during CO2 enhanced gas recovery from depleted shale reservoirs. Front. Earth Sci. 15, 790–802 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11707-021-0869-x

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