Analytical model of the linear inflow to a horizontal well with hydraulic fractures in low-permeability reservoirs

Abstract

At present, increasing attention has been concentrated on low-permeability deposits whose development is tightly related with technologies of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing of the reservoir. However, the simultaneous presence of a horizontal section of the well and hydraulic fractures in the reservoir impedes the process of flow of reservoir liquids and gases through the porous medium and complicates simulation of such flows. In the present study a new analytical model of the linear inflow to a horizontal well with hydraulic fractures in low-permeability reservoirs is proposed. This is a generalizing model which takes into account both situations when there exists a linear flow in the direction perpendicular to the borehole of a horizontal well in the distant sections of the reservoir and when there is a linear flow in the direction parallel to the borehole of a horizontal well. The use of the model is not restricted by the shape of the flow domain. The new model proposed has a wide application field and does not require complex computations.