A comprehensive overview of the key geologic, geomechanical and engineering principles that govern the development of unconventional oil and gas reservoirs. Covering hydrocarbon-bearing formations, horizontal drilling, reservoir seismology and environmental impacts, this is an invaluable resource for geologists, geophysicists and reservoir engineers.

Reservoir Characterization is a collection of papers presented at the Reservoir Characterization Technical Conference, held at the Westin Hotel-Galleria in Dallas on April 29-May 1, 1985. Conference held April 29-May 1, 1985, at the Westin Hotel—Galleria in Dallas. The conference was sponsored by the National Institute for Petroleum and Energy Research, Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Reservoir characterization is a process for quantitatively assigning reservoir properties, recognizing geologic information and uncertainties in spatial variability. This book contains 19 chapters, and begins with the geological characterization of sandstone reservoir, followed by the geological prediction of shale distribution within the Prudhoe Bay field. The subsequent chapters are devoted to determination of reservoir properties, such as porosity, mineral occurrence, and permeability variation estimation. The discussion then shifts to the utility of a Bayesian-type formalism to delineate qualitative ""soft"" information and expert interpretation of reservoir description data. This topic is followed by papers concerning reservoir simulation, parameter assignment, and method of calculation of wetting phase relative permeability. This text also deals with the role of discontinuous vertical flow barriers in reservoir engineering. The last chapters focus on the effect of reservoir heterogeneity on oil reservoir. Petroleum engineers, scientists, and researchers will find this book of great value.

The development of naturally fractured reservoirs, especially shale gas and tight oil reservoirs, exploded in recent years due to advanced drilling and fracturing techniques. However, complex fracture geometries such as irregular fracture networks and non-planar fractures are often generated, especially in the presence of natural fractures. Accurate modelling of production from reservoirs with such geometries is challenging. Therefore, Embedded Discrete Fracture Modeling and Application in Reservoir Simulation demonstrates how production from reservoirs with complex fracture geometries can be modelled efficiently and effectively. This volume presents a conventional numerical model to handle simple and complex fractures using local grid refinement (LGR) and unstructured gridding. Moreover, it introduces an Embedded Discrete Fracture Model (EDFM) to efficiently deal with complex fractures by dividing the fractures into segments using matrix cell boundaries and creating non-neighboring connections (NNCs). A basic EDFM approach using Cartesian grids and advanced EDFM approach using Corner point and unstructured grids will be covered. Embedded Discrete Fracture Modeling and Application in Reservoir Simulation is an essential reference for anyone interested in performing reservoir simulation of conventional and unconventional fractured reservoirs. - Highlights the current state-of-the-art in reservoir simulation of unconventional reservoirs - Offers understanding of the impacts of key reservoir properties and complex fractures on well performance - Provides case studies to show how to use the EDFM method for different needs

The stimulation of unconventional hydrocarbon reservoirs is proven to improve their productivity to an extent that has rendered them economically viable. Generally, the stimulation design is a complex process dependent on intertwining factors such as the history of the formation, rock and reservoir fluid type, lithology and structural layout of the formation, cost, time, etc. A holistic grasp of these can be daunting, especially for people without sufficient experience and/or expertise in the exploitation of unconventional hydrocarbon reserves. This book presents the key facets integral to producing unconventional resources, and how the different components, if pieced together, can be used to create an integrated stimulation design. Areas covered are as follows: • stimulation methods, • fracturing fluids, • mixing and behavior of reservoir fluids, • assessment of reservoir performance, • integration of surface drilling data, • estimation of geomechanical properties and hydrocarbon saturation, and • health and safety. Exploitation of Unconventional Oil and Gas Resources: Hydraulic Fracturing and Other Recovery and Assessment Techniques is an excellent introduction to the subject area of unconventional oil and gas reservoirs, but it also complements existing information in the same discipline. It is an essential text for higher education students and professionals in academia, research, and the industry.

Shale gas and/or oil play identification is subject to many screening processes for characteristics such as porosity, permeability, and brittleness. Evaluating shale gas and/or oil reservoirs and identifying potential sweet spots (portions of the reservoir rock that have high-quality kerogen content and brittle rock) requires taking into consideration multiple rock, reservoir, and geological parameters that govern production. The early determination of sweet spots for well site selection and fracturing in shale reservoirs is a challenge for many operators. With this limitation in mind, Optimization of Hydraulic Fracture Stages and Sequencing in Unconventional Formations develops an approach to improve the industry’s ability to evaluate shale gas and oil plays and is structured to lead the reader from general shale oil and gas characteristics to detailed sweet-spot classifications. The approach uses a new candidate selection and evaluation algorithm and screening criteria based on key geomechanical, petrophysical, and geochemical parameters and indices to obtain results consistent with existing shale plays and gain insights on the best development strategies going forward. The work introduces new criteria that accurately guide the development process in unconventional reservoirs in addition to reducing uncertainty and cost.

This book deals exclusively with naturally fractured reservoirs and includes many subjects usually treated in separate volumes. A highly practical edition, Naturally Fractured Reservoirs is written for students, reservoir geologists, log analysts and petroleum engineers.