In the shale oil reservoirs, the horizontal wells with large-scale fracturing treatments have been the most effective tools to enhance oil productivity. After large-scale fracturing treatments, many micro-seismic data showed that the fracture networks are generated in the reservoir along the wellbore. Understanding the complex fracture properties is the primary step for fracturing evaluation and productivity estimation. Thus, an efficient approach is needed to estimate the fracture properties. To improve this situation, a well-testing approach was proposed in this work to identify the fracture properties. This work was organized as follows: (1) developing a well-testing model of multiple fracture horizontal well (MFHW) including reservoir flow equations, fracture flow equations, and mass balance equations, (2) solving and verifying the proposed model using boundary element method, superposition principle, and numerical approach, (3) applying the well-testing model to investigate the pressure transient behaviors, and (4) estimating the fracture properties of shale oil wells from the Junggar Basin.

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South Ordos sandstone reservoir is mainly featured by tiny pore, which mainstream throat radius is around 50nm, high filtration resistance, resulting in low oil productivity and more obvious non-linear seepage characteristics. As of low formation pressure, well production is poor and declines dramatically, therefore primary recovery is hard to sustain effective development for the reservoir. The core problem of tight oil development focuses on the evaluation of tight matrix flowing capability and reservoir producing condition. In the paper, in Ordos typical tight oil basin, by means of microscopic flowing simulation, numerical simulation as well as lab experiments results, single-phase and oil-water two-phrase flowing mechanisms have been analyzed, revealing tight oil single phase percolating resistance and movable oil saturation, providing key evaluation parameters for effective reservoir division. For oil-water two-phase flowing, Jamin effect is so serious that water flooding is hard to displace the oil in micro-pores, accordingly relative permeability and displacement efficiency are calculated. Tight matrix-fracture coupling model recovery mechanism have been analyzed, effective producing radius and mechanism of matrix are defined in the condition of fracturing horizontal wells developing, according to which productivity percentage of Ordos tight oil between fracture and matrix have been determined. On basis of geology evaluation and reservoir engineering analysis, correlation of geological properties-well dynamic characteristics are set up, then influencing factors have been studied to identify tight oil producing conditions on depletion development at different oil price. As different classified fracture developed in the reservoir, water flooding producing condition has been studied, laying the foundation for study of effective development method and technical strategy. Our research indicates that Ordos tight matrix is of low productivity, with movable water saturation increasing, well productivity sharp decline. During production period, production ratio from fracture is only amounted to 6~14% of accumulation oil. Fully excavating the potential of matrix reserves is predominant to achieve effective development of tight oil. Owing to high start-up pressure gradient, as high as 0.1~0.2MPa/m, for water flooding development, well spacing should be reduced to 50m□ to set up pressure response without fracture developing. While in Ordos basin natural fracture is developed, water channeling is so heavy that accumulative oil is lower than depletion method. CO2 start-up pressure gradient is far smaller than that of water flooding with composite EOR mechanisms, expected to be an effective injection medium for tight oil. It is a critical period how so many shut-in wells could be revitalized under low oil price condition. Relying on research results, Ordos tight oil new development method target has been determined, promoting application research and pilot test on CO2-gelled fracturing fluid and effective injection fluid sustaining matrix displacing pressure in tight oil development.

Understanding the relationship between petroleum recovery and characteristics of hydraulic fracture network is a key component of economic development of tight reservoirs. Owing to the limitations inherent in current reservoir simulators, optimization of fracture network has been simply focused on the parameters of fracture conductivity, fracture number, aperture, and so on. Deeper insight into the effect of decisive parameters, such as fracture density and fracture connectivity on the well production in tight reservoirs, is now required to maximize the petroleum recovery. In this work, a newly developed discrete fracture simulator is applied to comprehensively study the effect of fracture density and fracture connectivity in tight reservoirs. Conceptual models with different fracture densities and different fracture connectivity are firstly designed and simulated to explore how these two parameters affect the reservoir behavior and establish the equations for effect measurement. Then, we simulate models with different well placement strategies and a fixed set of natural fractures to determine the optimal strategy. Finally, simulations are performed on a field-scale reservoir with three long fractured horizontal wells. Results demonstrate that increases in either fracture density or fracture connectivity can significantly improve well production. However, an optimal value exists considering the economic profit. Compared to the fracture density, fracture connectivity plays a more important role in affecting the well production. In a tight reservoir with abundant natural fractures, making the horizontal well parallel to the direction of natural fractures is determined to be the optimal well placement strategy. The heterogeneous distribution of remaining oil in real tight oil reservoirs is mainly caused by the heterogeneous distribution of fracture density and fracture connectivity.