Title: Sensitivity studies on fracture network variables for modelling carbon dioxide storage and enhanced recovery in the Chattanooga Shale Formation

Authors: Cigdem Keles; Nino Samuel Ripepi

Addresses: Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 460 Turner Street NW, Suite 304, Blacksburg, VA 24061-0411, USA ' Department of Mining and Minerals Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 100 Holden Hall, Blacksburg, VA 24061-0239, USA

Abstract: Horizontal drilling and multi-stage stimulation technologies make enhance methane production and carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration feasible for shale reservoirs. In March 2014, approximately 462 tonnes of CO2 was injected into horizontal well in Morgan County, Tennessee over a 13-day period in order to examine the injectivity and the adsorption of CO2. The horizontal well was hydraulically fractured and stimulated in four stages. Due to the lack of microseismic data available for the well, the volume of the stimulated reservoir was unknown. Sensitivity analysis by using numerical modelling can help to determine the size of the stimulated reservoir volume (SRV). In this paper, grid refinement in fracture network, fracture spacing and fracture porosity, fracture network permeability, and fracture network volume were changed to identify the most important parameters for matching the gas and the bottom-hole pressure of the wellbore. [Received: January 7, 2015; Accepted: February 13, 2015]

Keywords: sensitivity analysis; carbon dioxide; CO2 injectivity; CO2 adsorption; carbon storage; shale gas; methane recovery; stimulated reservoir volume; SRV; numerical modelling; fracture spacing; fracture porosity; fracture network permeability; enhanced recovery; carbon sequestration; horizontal well; hydraulically fracturing; fracking; bottom-hole pressure; BHP; wellbores.

DOI: 10.1504/IJOGCT.2016.076806

International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Technology, 2016 Vol.12 No.3, pp.265 - 284

Received: 17 Jan 2015
Accepted: 13 Feb 2015

Published online: 01 Jun 2016 *

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