Shale gas reservoir modeling and production evaluation considering complex gas transport mechanisms and dispersed distribution of kerogen

Stimulated shale reservoirs consist of kerogen, inorganic matter, secondary and hydraulic fractures. The dispersed distribution of kerogen within matrices and complex gas flow mechanisms make production evaluation challenging. Here we establish an analytical method that addresses kerogen-inorganic matter gas transfer, dispersed kerogen distribution, and complex gas flow mechanisms to facilitate evaluating gas production. The matrix element is defined as a kerogen core with an exterior inorganic sphere. Unlike most previous models, we merely use boundary conditions to describe kerogen-inorganic matter gas transfer without the instantaneous kerogen gas source term. It is closer to real inter-porosity flow conditions between kerogen and inorganic matter. Knudsen diffusion, surface diffusion, adsorption/desorption, and slip corrected flow are involved in matrix gas flow. Matrix-fracture coupling is realized by using a seven-region linear flow model. The model is verified against a published model and field data. Results reveal that inorganic matrices serve as a major gas source especially at early times. Kerogen provides limited contributions to production even under a pseudo-steady state. Kerogen properties’ influence starts from the late matrix-fracture inter-porosity flow regime, while inorganic matter properties control almost all flow regimes except the early-mid time fracture linear flow regime. The contribution of different linear flow regions is also documented.