Unconventional Reservoir Geomechanics

Unconventional Reservoir Geomechanics

The production of hydrocarbons from extremely low permeability unconventional reservoirs through horizontal drilling and multi-stage hydraulic fracturing has transformed the global energy landscape. Although hundreds of thousands of wells have been drilled and completed, recovery factors remain low in both tight oil (2-10%) and shale gas (15-25%) reservoirs. This course, designed for both geoscientists and engineers, covers topics ranging from the physical properties of reservoir rocks at the nanometer- to centimeter-scale to the state of stress on fractures and faults at the basin-scale. The course follows the textbook Unconventional Reservoir Geomechanics by Mark Zoback and Arjun Kohli, available in print or electronic versions.

The first part of the course covers topics that become progressively broader in scale, starting with laboratory studies of the microstructural, mechanical, and flow properties of reservoir rocks and concluding with field observations of fractures, faults, and the state of stress in unconventional basins. The second part of the course focuses on the process of stimulating production using horizontal drilling and multi-stage hydraulic fracturing. Important engineering concepts will be reviewed, including microseismic monitoring, production and depletion, well-to-well interactions, and hydraulic fracture propagation. The final part of the course addresses the environmental impacts of unconventional oil and gas development, in particular the occurrence and management of induced seismicity.