Course objectives: The main objective of the course is to enable students to apply new knowledge and software for determining the production possibilities of stimulated oil and gas wells in unconventional reservoirs, necessary to evaluate their overall reservoir development and economic viability. The purpose of implementing new technologies in design of fractured, horizontal and multy fractured horizontal wells in low permeability oil and gas reservoirs is to enable profitable production in a reasonable time. The application of new technology in unconventional reservoirs increases the proven reserves and the final oil and gas recovery in the discovered reservoirs, and it enables the increase of recoverable potential in yet undiscovered reservoirs. The possibility of increasing gas production from low permeability shales and sandstones is especially significant in the global trends of energy transition.

Course content:

• Introduction to the exploitation of unconventional oil and gas reservoirs;
• Geological and petrophysical characteristics of low permeability shales and sandstones;
• Flow regimes in oil and gas wells of low permeability shales and sandstones;
• Production systems of stimulated oil wells (FW-fractured, HW-horizontal and MFHW-multy fractured HW) in unconventional reservoirs (application of IPM software package);
• Production systems of stimulated gas wells (FW-fractured, HW-horizontal and MFHW-multy fractured HW) in unconventional reservoirs (application of IPM software package);
• Analysis of decline curves in low permeability shales (application of IPM software package);
• Analysis of decline curves in low-permeability sandstones (application of IPM software package);
• Pressure and rate transient analysis in wells of unconventional oil and gas reservoirs (Kappa Workstation software package);
• Application of new methods in the pressure build-up test analysis of low permeability shales (Kappa Workstation software package);
• Application of new methods in the pressure build-up test analysis of low permeability sandstones (Kappa Workstation software package);
• Characteristics of exploitation of coal bed methane;
• Exploitation of highly viscous oil reservoirs;
• Characteristics of gas hydrate exploitation;
• Economic analysis of unconventional oil and gas reservoirs (application of IPM software package);
• The role of the increased gas production from low permeability reservoirs in the transition process of world energy outlook.

Learning outcomes at the level of the course:

• Define the types of unconventional oil and gas reservoirs and their geological and petrophysical characteristics;
• Discuss categorization of reserves of conventional and unconventional oil and gas reservoirs;
• Explain the characteristics of production systems of stimulated wells (FW-fractured, HW-horizontal and MFHW-multy fractured HW) in unconventional oil and gas reservoirs;
• Analyse the decline curves in low permeability shales and sandstones;
• Apply the pressure build-up test analysis in wells of low permeability shales and sandstones;
• Apply a computer program for economic analysis of production and reservoir systems in unconventional reservoirs;
• Discuss the energy transition and global trends of increasing gas production from low permeability reservoirs.