Abstract:

The simulation of fluid flow in unconventional reservoirs remains a

challenging task up to this day as researchers are trying to find out the best
methods to predict the flow through the ultra-tight reservoirs. This paper is
aimed to discuss the methodology found in the literature that had shown
promising results. The focus is to find flow mechanisms that would describe
and predict the production in low permeability reservoirs. These methods
include looking into beyond dual porosity model and to consider triple and
quad-porosity. Non-linearity has been described as a powerful tool over linear
models due to being pressure dependent. The inclusion of gas desorption
phenomenon had been proven to be a valuable addition into an
unconventional model as it showed the increased production rates and
accurately described the nanoscale flow mechanisms. The consideration of a
Knudsen number as a function of pore size in order to get the flow regime
would help describe the simulation more accurately. Other findings include
the Lattice Boltzmann method in organic nano-pores of shales in order to
evaluate the apparent permeability in shales. The role of existing natural
fractures and hydraulic fractures on the performance prediction is discussed,
amongst other factors.

Introduction:

Feast, et al., explored theory and application of the simulation method in

unconventional shale reservoir and compared the data with a Marcellus shale
sample. The challenge with unconventionals is that the flow is non-linear due
to pressure dependency of certain parameters, such as gas absorption. The
natural and artificially-induced fractures also need to be considered in
simulation. Their semi-analytical solution methods include these parameters
plus gas slippage effect while at the same time keeping the computation
resources in check. They investigate BET Disorption Isoterm method for gas
desorption modelling; the noticed advantage was a good early time

prediction performance. A modified Dual porosity is used for fracturing and

gas slippage effect. Taking into account the gas adsorption significantly
improved the performance in unconventional reservoirs with natural
fractures.
Their method showed a very close history match and seemed the most
interesting out of all. Many equations are presented in the paper which will
be described below.
BET stands for Brunauer, Emmet, Teller. In short, this theory tries to explain
the physical adsorption of gas modelcules on solid surface. This application
could be of use to the oil industry. More on this method is available in the
literature.
The paper presented a mathematical model for the flow mechanisms that
are critical in unconventional reservoirs. In comparison to Langmuir model,
which was previously used in isotherm model for gas desorption, the BET
model predicts better.
Gas slippage is another important aspect to consider in simulation, together
with natural fractures and fractures from hydraulic fracturing. In the end the
model needs to include all these different aspects in order to accurately
predict the flow.
Analytical models cant quite accurately predict the performance when nonlinearity comes into play, some therefore numerical methods need to be
implemented. Theyre limited to gas desorption and slippage effects. These
two create non-linearity due to their pressure-dependency. The methodology
for that is described in a paper titled: Enhanced Gas Recovery by CO2
Sequestration versus Re-Fracturing Treatment in Unconventional Shale Gas
Reservoirs by Eshkalak, et al, 2014.

In that paper, the authors claimed that organic matter in shales has a strong
potential for adsorbing CO2. The equation for BET multiple-adsorbed-layer
model is given by:
P
1+(C1)P /P0
( oP)

V CP
V ( P)= m

Where V(P) gas volume of adsorption at pressure P, Vm maximum

adsorption gas volume, Po saturation pressure of gas, C- heat of adsorption
constant. The parameters for these values are presented in the paper.
Later, Feast, et al., present the gas diffusivity equation as shown below:

This equation is highly non-linear as the parameters are pressure-dependent.

Other assumptions in the model that were considered is that the hydraulic
fractures are being distributed evenly along the horizontal well.
Since the size of pores in shales is in nanoscale, the slippage flow must be
considered. To express this phenomenon mathematically the apparent
permeability is introduced. The introduction of slippage flow had been
studied by Klingerberg. The formulation in this model is followed this way:
first, the apparent gas slippage term was proposed by Ertekin, et al (1986):

Where

That leads to Kapparent, which creates a non-linearity due to being a

function of pressure:

Natural fracture modelling considers implementing dual-porosity model.

However, other researchers {{list references}} proposed even triple and
quad porosity models to model the fracture flow more accurately.
The verification of the model showed good match. The table 1 in the paper
lists the reservoir parameters for history match. Gas adsorption and fitting
parameters were taken from Eshkalak, et al, 2014.
As simulation results showed In the end, when taking into account the gas
desorption it significantly increased production, as well as considering the
natural fractures. At the end the table graphs with final results are
presented.

Hinckley, et al., explored the methods that are beyond the well-established
dual porosity model. Triple and Quad-porosity had been discussed. The
authors notice that the permeabilty of crushed samples is significantly
below than those measured in core plus, suggesting that micro-fractures
contribute greatly to the flow. This statement leads to a different research
direction of studying the nano- and micro-fractures which would increase the
understanding of overall flow in shales. Triple porosity, which is the next step
after the common dual porosity method, comes with the addition of those
micro-fractures. The comparison with the base model showed a good match.
Quad porosity comes in addition of kerogen and inorganic matrix which are
treated as distinct porosity types. The paper then discusses the physics
behind those parameters, such as the Knudsen number which will tell the
flow regime we are in. In the end comparison with all the models had been
made. Like in the paper by Feast, et al., the concluded that the inclusion of
adsorption phenomena and Knudsen diffusion show very good results. The
authors conclude the following findings based on their study: gas adsorption
significantly contributes to gas production in later times, gas diffusion
through a solid can be an important factor when modelling adsorption, the
consideration of micro-fractures increase the production; Knudsen diffusion
and slip flow phenomena greatly impacts matrix permeability. After all
considerations Triple-porosity the the abovementioned factors showed the
best results.
Zhang, et al., investigated the transport characteristics in organic nano-pores
through Lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). The effects of a Knudsen number
and slip flow are considered. LBM has been effective in finding the
permeability of the shales.
The flow ability of gas in shales depends on variety of factors, including gas
composition, organic richness, geometry of nano- and micro-fractures, and
how gas deviates from continuum fluid mechanics due to high Knudsen
numbers. As in the table provided in Hinkley, et al. (2013), high Knudsen
number results in free molecular flow regime. Knudsen diffusion occurs when

molecules interact with the walls of pores more often that with the fellow
molecules this concept is very applicable in shales that have nano-scale
level pores. As the size of pores decrease, this number increases. The paper
discusses the previous analytical and numerical methods that were
developed. Molecular Dynamic method got criticized for its high
computational cost. LBM has a solid theoretical foundation and numerical
superiority, it suits better for simulation of complex geometries, such as
different scales of pores. The LBM model that is discussed here establishes
flow characteristics of slip effect and high Knudsen numbers. The capillary
width is considered as a sensitivity factor. 2 types of boundary conditions are
used: bounce-back for solid wall and specular-reflection for top and bottom.
Permeability equation is presented with the addition of coefficient to
accommodate larger Knudsen number and the slip effect.

Where Ro is the tube radius.

The description of LB method has been described at the end of paper. The
future work suggestions include considering the adsorption in the capillary
tube and the application of LBM to 3D porous media network for absolute
permeability prediction in gas shales.
Jiang, et al. (2015), came up with 2 hybrid fracture models and outlined in
the conclusions the parameters that affect the production the most in
unconventional gas reservoirs. They again emphasize on the importance of
adsorption/desorption, Knudsen number, non-linearity, various flow regimes,
inclusion of natural fractures with complex geometry. The hybrid models
allow different applications with different requirement, such as long-term gas
recovery, transient behavior, etc. Preliminary simulation results presented to
evaluate key reservoir and fracture parameters that affect unconventional

performance. A multi-porosity MINC (multiple interaction continua) model

was proposed to subdivide matrix blocks into strings of nested-cells, where a
high-resolution is needed near fractures to capture high pressure gradients
and changes in gas compressibility and viscosity. This model also reflects
accurate water invasion near fractures due to high capillary forces in shales.
Discrete fracture model (DFM) has the advantage of simulating a realistic
fracture geometry, however it can be computationally intensive. Another
model, Embedded Discrete Fracture Model (EDFM) had been proposed that
incorporates the effect of each fracture explicitly. The combination of
models that integrate DFM with continuum type approach seem to best
describe the multi-scale multi-continuum nature of unconventionals. The 2
hybrid models in consideration are EDFM-MINC that simulates the tight gas
reservoirs. Its more computationally effective and applies well for long term
evaluation. Another one is based on unstructured gridding, which could be
used for fracture characterization by matching to transient data. The
numerical and simulation approach had been described, Finite-Volume
approach is justified as a spatial discretization technique.
Dual-continuum model has been widely used in the industry for naturally
fractured reservoirs. Coupled with the MINC concept it makes the 1st hybrid
method. The concept is presented in figure 4.

Another advantage of MINC method was that the flow between matrix and
fractures showed a realistic result by numerical simulation. Coupled MINC

model was applied for incorporating storage and transport mechanisms of

shale matrix. The schematic of organic-inorganic-fracture configuration
shown in Fig.6

The components that are assumed: advection, diffusion, instant sorption,

sub-gridding. The hybrid model thus provides the flexibility for
communication between large-scale fractures, which could be induced
hydraulically, with natural, micro, and nano-fractures because of multicontinuum concept. The key point of this model is the calculation of
transmissibility between different continua. Calculations are presented in a
paper by Moinfar, et al. (2013).
Apparent permeability had been found to be one of the deciding factors in
increasing production. Hybrid fracture model examples are presented at the
end of the paper that include models with complex fracture patters and two
well interactions.

Yan, et al. (2016), explored the models that go beyond the common dualporosity. Through microscopic studies its been revealed that shale reservoirs
contain extensive system of micro and nano pores. With this in mind the
dual-porosity models can no longer be reliable in prediction of fluid flow in
shale reservoirs as they cant accurately capture the flowing mechanisms.
For this matter a new model needs to be developed that can capture multiple

pore scales and flows. The authors present multiporosity model in 3 systems:
inorganic matter, organic matter, and natural fractures. Gas desorption and
diffusion are the dominant physics.
Flow has different regimes based on a Knudsen number. A more thorough
review of flow regimes based on Knudsen number can be found in Ziarani
(2012).

Porosity in organic-rich shales needs to be divided into 4 types: inorganic,

organic, natural fractures, hydraulic fractures. The schematics of the model
has been presented in the picture above. 4 different micro-scale continua are
presented by nano, micro, inorganic and natural fracture. The effects of
desorption, Fickian diffusion, organic distribution, TOC, apparent
permeability.
Conclusion:
This paper aimed to show the important characteristics that need to be
included in the model building and seriously considering when simulating

flow in unconventional reservoirs. The characteristics that are worth to be

looked at are: Knudsen, adsorption, BET,
The references to the papers have been attached for further explanation.
The general approach is to try to combine different types of models;
therefore, the future research should be focused on trying out different
models and mixing various aspects of the models in order to find the best
combination of parameters that will describe accurately the flow in
unconventional reservoirs and see which combination works better

References:
1. Yan, B., Wang, Y., & Killough, J. E. (2016). Beyond dual-porosity modeling for the
simulation of complex flow mechanisms in shale reservoirs. Computational
Geosciences, 20(1), 69-91.
2. Jiang, J., & Younis, R. M. (2015, February). A generic physics-based numerical platform
with hybrid fracture modelling techniques for simulating unconventional gas reservoirs.
In SPE Reservoir Simulation Symposium. Society of Petroleum Engineers.
3. Zhang, X., Xiao, L., Shan, X., & Guo, L. (2014). Lattice Boltzmann simulation of shale
gas transport in organic nano-pores. Scientific reports, 4.
4. Hinkley, R., Gu, Z., Wong, T., & Camilleri, D. (2013, November). Multi-porosity simulation
of unconventional reservoirs. In SPE Unconventional Resources Conference Canada.
Society of Petroleum Engineers.
5. Feast, G., Wu, K., Walton, J., Cheng, Z.F. and Chen, B. (2015) Modeling and Simulation
of Natural Gas Production from Unconventional Shale Reservoirs. International Journal
of Clean Coal and Energy, 4, 23-32.
6. Eshkalak, M.O., Al-Shalabi, E.W., Aybar, U. and Sepehrnoori, K. (2014) Enhanced Gas
Recovery by CO2 Sequestration versus Re-Fracturing Treatment in Unconventional
Shale Gas Reservoirs. Abu Dhabi International Petroleum and Exhibition and
Conference, in Abu Dhabi, 10-13 November 2014, Paper SPE 172083
7. Ziarani, A., Aguilera, R.: Knudsens permeability correction for tight porous media.
Transp. Porous Media 91(1), 239260 (2012).
8. Agarwal, R. K., Yun, K. Y., & Balakrishnan, R. (2001). Beyond NavierStokes: Burnett
equations for flows in the continuumtransition regime. Physics of Fluids (1994present), 13(10), 3061-3085.