--> Abstract: Modeling and Simulation of the Devonian Gas Shale Reservoirs of Eastern Kentucky for Enhanced Gas Recovery and CO<sub>2</sub> Storage, by B. C. Nuttall, K. Schepers, R. Gonzalez, and G. Koperna; #90095 (2009)

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Modeling and Simulation of the Devonian Gas Shale Reservoirs of Eastern Kentucky for Enhanced Gas Recovery and CO2 Storage

Brandon C. Nuttall1, Karine Schepers2, Reinaldo Gonzalez2, and George Koperna2
1Kentucky Geological Survey, 228 MMRB, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506-0107, [email protected]
2Advanced Resources International, 11490 Westheimer Road, Suite 520, Houston, Texas 77002, kschepers@advres- hou.com, [email protected], [email protected]

The Devonian Ohio shale of eastern Kentucky is the State’s most prolific gas producer. The gas shale underlies approximately two-thirds of the state, cropping out around the Bluegrass Region of central Kentucky and having a subcrop beneath the Mississippi Embayment in western Kentucky. The shale is thin to absent along the crest of the Cincinnati Arch in the Cumberland Saddle region of south central Kentucky and thickens and deepens westward into the Illinois Basin and eastward into the Appalachian Basin. Black, more organic-rich zones are interbedded with zones exhibiting lower organic content. The shale is a continuous, low permeability reservoir with long-term production dominated by the diffusion rate of natural gas through the shale matrix.

A geologic model of the shale was compiled from mineralogical, petrographic, core, production, and wireline data. The COMET3 multi-phase, dual porosity simulator is being used to investigate CO2 injection into the shale for enhanced gas recovery. To accomplish this, a subset of wells surrounding the potential injection site has been selected for further study. These eight wells cover approximately 5,300 acres of productive shale. The reservoir was subdivided into the Upper Ohio and Lower Huron members. To capture geological heterogeneity, gas production rates for these wells served as a proxy to characterize fracture permeability using geostatistical methods. Well production was history matched applying an automated process. Finally, several CO2 injection scenarios spanning huff-n-puff to continuous injection were reviewed to evaluate the enhanced gas recovery potential and assess the CO2 storage capacity of these shale reservoirs.

 

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90095©2009 AAPG Eastern Section Meeting, Evansville, Indiana, September 20-22, 2009