Study on Well Spacing Optimization in a Tight Sandstone Gas Reservoir Based on Dynamic Analysis

Compared to the shale gas and coalbed methane in China, tight gas has been recently considered as a priority in the exploration and exploitation of unconventional gas resources. In the development of a tight gas field, how to enhance the gas recovery is a prevalent topic. Unlike the conventional gas reservoir, the ultimate gas recovery is not only determined by the geological characteristics but is also affected by other factors such as well drainage area and well spacing design. For tight sandstone reservoirs, the gas recovery can be improved by increasing the drainage area. Moreover, the well drainage area is closely associated with well spacing. Therefore, effective drainage area estimation and well spacing optimization are essential aspects for tight gas exploitation. In this paper, a new optimization workflow is established, which combined dynamic analysis and numerical simulation techniques. First, through interference well test results and production data dynamic analysis, the total gas production can be expressed and predicted. Then the well density can be optimized by the economic evaluation method. Meanwhile, a numerical model is built up to determine the optimal well spacing. This new optimization workflow can provide guidance to the operators of tight gas fields where the interference well test results are available and several years of production data are collected. Furthermore, in the case of the Sulige gas field, the single well drainage area is estimated and the optimal well pattern is obtained by the established approach. The results indicate that the well pattern of 500 m x 600 m is most reasonable for the pilot gas field.