Top-down, intelligent reservoir modelling of oil and gas producing shale reservoirs: case studies

Producing hydrocarbon from shale plays has attracted much attention in recent years. Advances in horizontal drilling and multi-stage hydraulic fracturing have made shale reservoirs a focal point for many operators. Our understanding of the complexities associated with the flow mechanism in shale has not kept up with our interest in shale formations. We present the application of a new reservoir modelling approach to history matching, forecasting and predicting hydrocarbon production from shale reservoirs, where instead of imposing our understanding on the reservoir model, we allow the production history, well log, and hydraulic fracturing data to force their will on our model. By carefully listening to the data, we developed a data-driven model and history match the production process and validate our model (using blind production history). Examples of three case studies in Lower Huron and New Albany shale formations (gas producing) and Bakken shale (oil producing) are presented in this article.