Recovery Efficiency Test Project: Phase 1, Activity report

Technical Report · Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 EST 1987

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5784497· OSTI ID:5784497

Overbey, Jr., W. K.; Carden, R. S.; Kirr, J. N.

The recovery Efficiency Test well project addressed a number of technical issues. The primary objective was to determine the increased efficiency gas recovery of a long horizontal wellbore over that of a vertical wellbore and, more specifically, what improvements can be expected from inducing multiple hydraulic fractures from such a wellbore. BDM corporation located, planned, and drilled a long radius turn horizontal well in the Devonian shale Lower Huron section in Wayne County, West Virginia, demonstrating that state-of-the-art technology is capable of drilling such wells. BDM successfully tested drilling, coring, and logging in a horizontal well using air as the circulating medium; conducted reservoir modeling studies to protect flow rates and reserves in advance of drilling operations; observed two phase flow conditions in the wellbore not observed previously; cored a fracture zone which produced gas; observed that fractures in the core and the wellbore were not systematically spaced (varied from 5 to 68 feet in different parts of the wellbore); observed that highest gas show rates reported by the mud logger corresponded to zone with lowest fracture spacing (five feet) or high fracture frequency. Four and one-half inch casting was successfully installed in the borehole and was equipped to isolate the horizontal section into eight (8) zones for future testing and stimulation operations. 6 refs., 48 figs., 10 tabs.

• Research Organization: BDM Corp., Morgantown, WV (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC21-85MC22002
• OSTI ID: 5784497
• Report Number(s): DOE/MC/22002-3041-Vol.1; ON: DE92001115
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

03 NATURAL GAS
NATURAL GAS WELLS
HYDRAULIC FRACTURING
WELL DRILLING
DIRECTIONAL DRILLING
PLANNING
BOREHOLES
DEVONIAN PERIOD
DRILL CORES
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
SHALES
SITE SELECTION
WELL LOGGING
WEST VIRGINIA
CAVITIES
DATA
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
DRILLING
FEDERAL REGION III
FRACTURING
GEOLOGIC AGES
INFORMATION
NORTH AMERICA
NUMERICAL DATA
PALEOZOIC ERA
ROCKS
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
USA
WELLS
030300* - Natural Gas- Drilling
Production
& Processing