A complex fracture network is generally generated during the hydraulic fracturing treatment in shale gas reservoirs. Numerous efforts have been made to model the flow behavior of such fracture networks. However, it is still challenging to predict the impacts of various gas transport mechanisms on well performance with arbitrary fracture geometry in a computationally efficient manner. We develop...

This study outlines a new method for disposing of hazardous (e.g., nuclear) waste. The technique is called Abyssal Sequestration, and it involves placing the waste at extreme depths in Earth’s crust where it could achieve the geologically long period of isolation. Abyssal Sequestration involves storing the waste in hydraulic fractures driven by gravity, a process we term as gravity fracturing. ...

Development of unconventional shale gas reservoirs (SGRs) has been boosted by the advancements in two key technologies: horizontal drilling and multi-stage hydraulic fracturing. A large number of multi-stage fractured horizontal wells (MsFHW) have been drilled to enhance reservoir production performance. Gas flow in SGRs is a multi-mechanism process, including: desorption, diffusion, and non-Da...

Tracer testing has been used to obtain hydraulic properties in a reservoir system and may help characterize the fracture networks inside the reservoir. Numerous studies at various scales have shown that the distribution of many fracture properties (i.e., length, displacement) follows a power law scaling with some cutoffs. Fractal dimension is useful to evaluate the geometric characteristics of ...

We consider the influences of correlation length and aperture variability on the REV, the equivalent permeability of a fracture network, and the uncertainty in the equivalent permeability using a two-dimensional orthogonal bond percolation model. The percolation threshold, correlation length, effective conductivity, and coefficient of variation of the effective conductivity are investigated ove...

We study the sensitivity of seismic waves to changes in the fracture normal and tangential compliances by analyzing the fracture sensitivity wave equation, which is derived by differentiating the elastic wave equation with respect to the fracture compliance. The sources for the sensitivity wavefield are the sensitivity moments, which are functions of fracture compliance, background elastic prop...

There has been little interest in the application of hydraulic fracture treatment in Iranian oil fields, thanks to the primarily suitable production rates of the vast oil fields. In this paper, hydraulic fracturing treatment was simulated by different models for a carbonate reservoir in the southwest of Iran. Suitable pay zones were nominated based on the lithology, water-oil saturation, geomec...

Under the auspices of the DECOVALEX II international project, the coupled hydromechanical responses, in the fractured volcanic rocks at Sellafield site, to a pump test and shaft sinking were studied. The aim of this paper is to describe the methodology for analysing the hydromechanical responses of a long-term pump test in borehole RCF3 drilled on the centreline of one of the proposed shafts. T...

Since a large amount of nanopores exist in tight oil reservoirs, fluid transport in nanopores is complex due to large capillary pressure. Recent studies only focus on the effect of nanopore confinement on single-well performance with simple planar fractures in tight oil reservoirs. Its impacts on multi-well performance with complex fracture geometries have not been reported. In this study, a nu...

We investigate the initiation and early-stage propagation of an axi-symmetric hydraulic fracture from a wellbore drilled in the direction of the minimum principal stress in an elastic and impermeable formation. Such a configuration is akin to the case of a horizontal well and a hydraulic fracture transverse to the well axis in an open hole completion. In addition to the effect of the wellbore o...