Denver Section

Society of Petroleum Engineers

SOLD OUT

Continuing Education Short Course Offering

Forecasting Production and Estimating Reserves in Unconventional Gas Reservoirs

Instructor:                W. John Lee, Ph.D., Texas A&M University

Dates:                        Tuesday - Wednesday, April 26-27, 2011, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM

 Location:          New Location:         Brown Palace Hotel and Spa, Central City Conference Room (2nd Floor), 321 Seventeenth Street, Denver, Colorado  80202, phone: (303) 297-3111

1.6 CEUs (Continuing Education Units) will be awarded by SPE-Americas Office for this 2-day course.

Course Description

This course provides participants with the skills and understanding required to forecast production and estimate reserves in unconventional (ultra-low permeability) reservoirs, mostly gas but with some applications to oil. The course will emphasize gas shale and tight gas formations.  On completion of this course, participants will have developed competence in their ability to forecast production and estimate reserves for individual gas and oil wells and reservoirs using state-of-the art methodology.

 Participants completing this course will be able to:

·         Recognize the strengths and limitations of volumetric methods for estimating reserves in unconventional reservoirs.

·         Recognize the strengths and limitations of analog methods for forecasting production and estimating reserves in unconventional reservoirs.

·         Recognize the strengths and limitations of empirical production decline models for forecasting production and estimating reserves in unconventional reservoirs.

·         Recognize the strengths and limitations of analytical reservoir models for forecasting production and estimating reserves in unconventional reservoirs.

·         Recognize the strengths and limitations of numerical reservoir simulators for forecasting production and estimating reserves in unconventional reservoirs.

·         Recognize the strengths and limitations of statistical resource analysis to entire reservoirs.

·         Apply appropriate methodology to typical situations requiring reserves estimates in unconventional reservoirs.

Course Contents

·         Basic fluid flow theory

o        Transient flow

o        Radial and linear flow

o        Constant rate and constant BHP production

o        Radius of investigation

o        Boundary-dominated flow

·         Basic drilling and completion techniques in unconventional reservoirs

·         The volumetric method of estimating reserves in unconventional reservoirs

·         The analog method of forecasting production and estimating reserves in unconventional reservoirs

·         Empirical production decline methods of forecasting production and estimating reserves in unconventional reservoirs

o        Arps decline model

o        Minimum terminal decline methodology

o        A priori determination of Arps decline parameter “b”

o        Advanced decline curve analysis and its limitations

o        Stretched exponential model

o        Blasingame modified power-law model

o        Long-duration linear flow model

·         Use of analytical reservoir models in forecasting production and estimating reserves in unconventional reservoirs

·         Use of numerical reservoir simulators in forecasting production and estimating reserves in unconventional reservoirs

·         Use of statistical resource analysis in estimating reserves in unconventional reservoirs

·         Applications of appropriate methodology to example situations

Who Should Attend

The course is designed for engineers with interests in unconventional reservoir evaluation.

About the Instructor

Dr. W. John Lee is a Regents Professor of Petroleum Engineering at Texas A&M University and former Executive Vice President of S.A. Holditch & Associates, Inc, where he specialized in reservoir engineering aspects of unconventional gas reservoirs. Prior to joining the A&M faculty, he was manager of ExxonMobil’s Major Fields Study Group. He has written many papers and three SPE textbooks: Well Testing; Gas Reservoir Engineering; and Pressure Transient Testing. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering.

Registration

The registration deadline is April 8, 2011.  The registration fee is $850 for members and $1,050 for nonmembers and is fully refundable until that time.  For more details, contact Darien O’Brien, P.E. at dgobrien@mines.edu  or (303) 934-5979.  Make your check payable to SPE Denver Section and mail to: Darien O’Brien, 1632 South Lamar Street, Lakewood, Colorado 80232-7038.  Please include the course name, your FULL name (as you would like it to appear on the course completion certificate), SPE member number (if applicable), Title, Company, e-mail address, postal address, phone and fax number.  You may also register and pay on-line at http://denver.spe.org/.