Gas Recovery From Tight FormationsA Function of Technology and Economics

Abstract

Three major findings emerge from the study of the technology and economics of recovering natural gas from tight gas formations.1. A minimum threshold price, near $3.00/Mcf (in mid-I977 dollars) and equivalent to approximately $4. 50/Mcf (in mid-1981 dollars), is required to make the tight gas resource attractive for investment.2. Beyond the threshold price, improvements in technology have a greater impact in terms of gas recovery than further increases in gas prices.3. The combination of increased gas prices and improved recovery technology provides the most effective means for accelerating production from this vast domestic natural gas resource -calculated at more than 400 Tcf in place.The technology improvements that have the largest impact on ultimate recovery are (1) improved ability to identify the net pay and characterize the reservoir, (2) capacity to stimulate multiple reservoirs from a common well bore, (3) increased effective fracture length, (4) ability for fractures to intersect sand lens beyond the wellbore, and (5) optimization of field development.

Optimization of Carbon Dioxide Foam Fracturing Technology for Shale Gas Reservoir

“…Indoor pipe friction tests are limited to friction tests in laminar flow conditions due to the limitations of the experimental pipe and pump flow. In actual fracking construction, the flow of fracked fluid in the pipe is mostly turbulent [41]. For the frictional drag of CO 2 foam fracturing fluid in a tube under turbulent flow conditions, this study predicts the frictional coefficient under turbulent flow conditions based on the results of rheological tests in laminar flow conditions combined with the Kemblowsk-Kolodziejsk equation:…”