Gravity-Assisted Reservoir Drainage Through Vertical Well Communication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mature hydrocarbon reservoirs, such as the Eagle Ford Shale Play, face low recovery efficiency due to ultra-low permeability, complex fracture interference, and inefficient artificial lift systems, leading to significant hydrocarbon trapping and reduced production rates.
Innovation Solution
Implement a gravity assisted reservoir drainage system by drilling a new, substantially vertical well within the existing hydraulic fracture network, creating persistent hydraulic communication with preexisting horizontal wells through bi-wing fractures and casing-to-casing junctions, enhancing hydrocarbon drainage via gravity assistance and improved lift methods.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional artificial lift systems are used in mature reservoirs, then production can be maintained, but recovery efficiency remains low due to liquid loading and excessive backpressure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional approach by drilling a vertical well upward from below the horizontal well instead of drilling down from the surface. This allows the vertical well to intercept the horizontal well's fracture network from underneath, creating a new drainage architecture that eliminates liquid loading issues while maintaining production continuity through the pump-equipped vertical wellbore
2Productivity
If closely spaced horizontal wells are drilled to increase productivity, then more hydrocarbons can be accessed, but interwell communication and fracture interference reduce recovery efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a horizontal drainage architecture to a vertical drainage architecture by drilling the new well vertically upward. This dimensional change allows the well to intercept fracture networks from a different spatial perspective, accessing hydrocarbons that lateral wells cannot reach while simplifying the drainage geometry and reducing interwell communication complexities
3Force
If horizontal wells are drilled in downdip direction to follow formation dip, then gravity assists production, but liquid loading occurs in the horizontal section
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the production function from the horizontal well section by introducing a separate vertical well that intercepts the fracture network. The vertical wellbore serves as the dedicated production conduit equipped with pumps to handle liquid removal, while the horizontal well can focus on hydrocarbon flow without the burden of liquid loading, effectively separating the gravity assistance function from the production lifting function
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Significantly increases hydrocarbon recovery by overcoming interwell communication issues, maintaining higher drawdown pressures, and optimizing fluid flow to surface, thereby enhancing production efficiency in late-life wells.
Implementation Method 1
enhancing hydrocarbon drainage via gravity assistance
Data Source
AI summary
Gravity assisted reservoir drainage systems and methods, which improve preexisting reservoir drainage systems and artificial lift methods using the interwell hydraulic communication that exists between closely spaced horizontal wells in certain fully developed leases completed with large multi-stage hydraulic fracture treatments in batch fashion.