Beyond Decline Curves: Life-Cycle Reserves Appraisal Using an Integrated WorkFlow Process for Tight Gas Sands

摘要

Decline curve analysis is often either the only or the primary tool used for reserve evaluations in tight gas sands. However, the flow and storage properties characteristic of low-permeability sands often preclude accurate assessments using only or primarily decline curve analysis, especially early in the productive life. The most accurate reserve estimates incorporate multiple data sources and the appropriate evaluation techniques. Therefore, this paper presents a reserves appraisal work-flow process that complements traditional decline curve analyses with comprehensive and systematic data acquisition and evaluation programs that integrate both static and dynamic data.Our approach—which has been developed specifically to incorporate the production characteristics of tight gas sands— is an adaptive process that allows continuous but reasonable reserve adjustments over the entire field development and production life cycle. Implementing this process will prevent unrealistic (either too low or high) reserve bookings.Although it is applicable during any field development phase, our work-flow process is most beneficial during early stages before true boundary-dominated flow conditions have been reached and when reserve evaluation errors are most likely.