Speaker
Description
China’s continental shale oil reservoirs, characterized by low-medium maturity, poor heavy oil mobility, and unconverted organic matter, pose significant challenges for conventional development via horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. To address this, this research introduces a novel multiphase multicomponent thermal-hydraulic-mechanical-chemical (THMC) coupling numerical model, uniquely integrating multistage kinetic reactions and solid-fluid mass conversion mechanisms. This model enables precise simulation of organic matter decomposition, heavy hydrocarbon cracking, fluid phase behavior, and rock property evolution, which overcomes limitations of existing models that fail to couple chemical kinetics with reservoir physics.
The study employs Finite Volume Method (FVM) for solving flow and heat transfer equations, Finite Element Method (FEM) for geomechanics, and a fixed-stress split scheme to solve THMC coupling, revealing critical insights into in-situ conversion:
1. Temperature dictates reaction rates and fluid composition by triggering distinct kinetic pathways at varying heating levels.
2. Kerogen concentration directly enhances cumulative hydrocarbon production, emerging as a key pre-development evaluation parameter.
3. Hexagonal heater patterns optimize energy output/input ratios, while high water saturation increases energy consumption, necessitating pre-development dewatering.
This model provides an efficient tool for simulating reservoir fluid property changes, porosity/permeability evolution and production dynamics, offering actionable guidance for heater design and well management. By incorporating multiple transport mechanisms and kinetic reactions, it accurately captures shale oil production behavior and rock property evolution, validating the feasibility and economic potential of in-situ conversion in low-medium maturity reservoirs.
| Country | China |
|---|---|
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