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Advanced Coal, Petroleum and Nature Gas Exploration Technology, 2nd Edition

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A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "H1: Petroleum Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2024 | Viewed by 2393

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Gan Feng

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Guest Editor

Key Laboratory of Deep Underground Science and Engineering, Ministry of Education, College of Water Resource & Hydropower, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
Interests: rock mechanics; geothermal exploitation; shale gas exploitation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Chun Zhu

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Guest Editor

School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
Interests: rock mechanics; geological hazard monitoring; surrounding rock support; slope stability
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Dr. Gan Li

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Guest Editor

Department of Civil Engineering, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China
Interests: soft rock support; numerical simulation; tunnel support
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Greetings from the Guest Editors of the Energies Special Issue on Advanced Coal, Petroleum and Nature Gas Exploration Technology, which is a continuation of the first edition (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/energies/special_issues/exploration_technology)".

We cordially invite you to submit high-quality manuscripts to this Special Issue. We will cover a broad range of topics concerning coal, petroleum, nature gas, coalbed methane, shale oil, combustible ice and other fossil energies, including exploration, reservoir characterization, machine learning applications, well logging, and geological aspects. We aim to approach these topics from both an exploration and a production standpoint. We invite innovative technical development papers, reviews, case studies, as well as relevant analytical and assessment research from different disciplines.

Dr. Gan Feng
Prof. Dr. Chun Zhu
Dr. Gan Li
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

unconventional resources
reservoir characterization
enhanced oil recovery
multiphase flow
numerical simulation
energy efficiency
petroleum geology
hydraulic fracturing

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 3344 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Experimental Investigation into the Role of an In Situ Microemulsion for Enhancing Oil Recovery in Tight Formations

by Meiting Zeng, Chuanzhen Zang, Jie Li, Xiangyu Mou, Rui Wang, Haifu Li and Junjian Li

Energies 2024, 17(8), 1879; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17081879 - 15 Apr 2024

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Abstract

Surfactant huff-n-puff (HnP) has been shown to be an effective protocol to improve oil recovery in tight and ultratight reservoirs. The success of surfactant HnP for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) process depends on the efficiency of the designed chemical formula, as the formation of an in situ microemulsion by surfactant injection is considered to be the most desirable condition for achieving an ultra-low interfacial tension during the HnP process. In this work, we conducted experimental studies on the mechanism of in situ microemulsion EOR in the Mahu tight oil reservoir. Salinity scan experiments were carried out to compare different surfactants with crude oil from the Mahu reservoir, starting with the assessment of surfactant micellar solutions for their ability to form microemulsions with Mahu crude oil and examining the interfacial characteristics. Subsequently, detailed micromodels representing millimeter-scale fractures, micron-scale pores, and nano-scale channels were utilized to study the imbibition and flowback of various surfactant micellar solutions. Observations of the in situ microemulsion system revealed the mechanisms behind the enhanced oil recovery, which was the emulsification’s near-miscibility effect leading to microemulsion formation and its performance under low-interfacial-tension conditions. During the injection process, notable improvements in the micro-scale pore throat heterogeneity were observed, which improved the pore fluid mobility. The flowback phase improved the channeling between the different media, promoting a uniform movement of the oil–water interface and aiding in the recovery of a significant amount of the oil phase permeability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Coal, Petroleum and Nature Gas Exploration Technology, 2nd Edition)

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20 pages, 2559 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on Lateral Load Bearing Characteristics of Deepwater Drilling Conductor Suction Pile

by Shuzhan Li, Jin Yang, Guojing Zhu, Jiakang Wang, Yi Huang and Kun Jiang

Energies 2024, 17(5), 1163; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17051163 - 29 Feb 2024

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Abstract

The vast reserves of natural gas hydrates in offshore areas present significant challenges to development. Surface well construction technology is crucial for the extraction of deepwater natural gas hydrates. To ensure the safety of the subsea wellhead during the drilling process for deepwater natural gas hydrates, a novel conductor suction pile device has been designed, comprising a combination of suction piles and surface conductors. And research has been conducted to investigate the lateral stability characteristics of the conductor suction pile. Drawing upon the pile foundation load-bearing theory and the equilibrium of the differential element, a theoretical analysis model and corresponding governing equations of the conductor suction pile system are established. A solution for a multi-point boundary value problem by simplifying the conductor suction pile system into a two-end free beam is proposed. The governing equations are then converted into a first-order differential equation system, and the four-stage Lobatto IIIa collocation method program for the multi-point boundary value problem is developed and resolved using MATLAB 2023a. Furthermore, a case study of a well in the South China Sea elucidates the effects of wellhead load and seabed soil properties on the lateral load-bearing capacity of the conductor suction pile system, verifying the collocation method’s validity against the results from the finite difference method. After conducting a comparative analysis of the lateral load-bearing performance between conductor suction piles and traditional surface conductors, it is observed that conductor suction piles exhibit lower horizontal displacement and bending moments compared to surface conductors. Therefore, conductor suction piles demonstrate a substantial safety margin. The research findings provide a theoretical basis for the lateral stability of conductor suction piles during deepwater natural gas hydrate drilling. This offers a safe and efficient method for surface well construction in the extraction of natural gas hydrates. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Coal, Petroleum and Nature Gas Exploration Technology, 2nd Edition)

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19 pages, 9566 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Numerical Simulation of Vertical Well Depressurization with Different Deployments of Radial Laterals in Class 1-Type Hydrate Reservoir

by Tinghui Wan, Miao Yu, Hongfeng Lu, Zongheng Chen, Zhanzhao Li, Lieyu Tian, Keliang Li, Ning Huang and Jingli Wang

Energies 2024, 17(5), 1139; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17051139 - 28 Feb 2024

Viewed by 442

Abstract

Gas production efficiency is a key indicator in the commercial development of natural gas hydrates (NGHs). Based on the data from the first natural gas hydrate field test production in the Shenhu Sea area of China, the gas production capability of Class 1-type hydrate reservoirs was numerically evaluated by vertical well depressurization with different deployment schemes for radial laterals. The results showed that the radial laterals can effectively improve production efficiency and that the radial laterals deployed at the three-phase layer (TPL) have the best production performance. Compared with the single vertical well production, the completion length of the radial laterals is 150 m with a radius of 0.05 m, and the production pressure difference is set to 6 MPa. The cumulative gas production V_g reaches up to 594.10 × 10⁴ ST m³, increased by about 208.53% after 360 days of production, which provides a reference for the development of natural gas hydrates with radial jet drilling (RJD) technology. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Coal, Petroleum and Nature Gas Exploration Technology, 2nd Edition)

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13 pages, 3200 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Hydration under High Temperature and Pressure on the Stress Thresholds of Shale

by Jianfa Wu, Yintong Guo, Haoyong Huang, Guokai Zhao, Qiyong Gou, Junchuan Gui and Ersi Xu

Energies 2023, 16(23), 7778; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16237778 - 26 Nov 2023

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Abstract

The stress threshold of deep reservoir shale subjected to fracturing fluid immersion is an important factor affecting fracture initiation and propagation during fracturing. However, little information has been reported on the effect on shale of soaking at high temperature and high pressure (HTHP). In this study, immersion tests and triaxial compression tests were carried out at reservoir temperature and in-situ stress on the downhole cores with different mineral compositions. The characteristics of stress thresholds, i.e., crack initiation stress (

σ_{c i}

), crack damage stress (

σ_{cd}

), and peak deviator stress (

σ_{p}

), of shale affected by the different times of soaking with low-viscosity fracturing fluid (a) and the different viscosity fracturing fluids (a, b, and c) were investigated. The results show that hydration at HTHP has a significant softening effect on the stress thresholds (

σ_{c i}

σ_{cd}

σ_{p}

) of reservoir shale, but the softening rate varies for samples with different mineral compositions. The crack initiation stresses of quartz-rich and clay-rich shales treated with different soaking times and different soaking media remain almost unchanged in the range of 47 to 54% of the corresponding peak strength, while the crack initiation stresses of carbonate-rich shales are significantly affected. The ratio

σ_{cd}

σ_{p}

of quartz-rich shale is significantly affected by the different viscosity fracturing fluids (a, b) and the different times of soaking with low-viscosity fracturing fluid (a), while clay- and carbonate-rich shales are less affected. The results of this study can provide a reference for the fracturing design of deep shale gas development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Coal, Petroleum and Nature Gas Exploration Technology, 2nd Edition)

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Review

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24 pages, 3258 KiB

Open AccessReview

Current Progress and Development Trend of Gas Injection to Enhance Gas Recovery in Gas Reservoirs

by Baicen Lin, Yunsheng Wei, Shusheng Gao, Liyou Ye, Huaxun Liu, Wenqing Zhu, Jianzhong Zhang and Donghuan Han

Energies 2024, 17(7), 1595; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17071595 - 26 Mar 2024

Viewed by 371

Abstract

Conventional recovery enhancement techniques are aimed at reducing the abandonment pressure, but there is an upper limit for recovery enhancement due to the energy limitation of reservoirs. Gas injection for energy supplementation has become an effective way to enhance gas recovery by reducing hydrocarbon saturation in gas reservoirs. This review systematically investigates progress in gas injection for enhanced gas recovery in three aspects: experiments, numerical simulations and field examples. It summarizes and analyzes the current research results on gas injection for EGR and explores further prospects for future research. The research results show the following: (1) Based on the differences in the physical properties of CO₂, N₂ and natural gas, effective cushion gas can be formed in bottom reservoirs after gas injection to achieve the effects of pressurization, energy replenishment and gravity differentiation water resistance. However, further experimental evaluation is needed for the degree of increase in penetration ability. (2) It is more beneficial to inject N₂ before CO₂ or the mixture of N₂ and CO₂ in terms of EGR effect and cost. (3) According to numerical simulation studies, water drive and condensate gas reservoirs exhibit significant recovery effects, while CO₂-EGR in depleted gas reservoirs is more advantageous for burial and storage; current numerical simulations only focus on mobility mass and saturation changes and lack a mixed-phase percolation model, which leads to insufficient analysis of injection strategies and a lack of distinction among different gas extraction effects. Therefore, a mixed-phase-driven percolation model that can characterize the fluid flow path is worth studying in depth. (4) The De Wijk and Budafa Szinfelleti projects have shown that gas injection into water drive and depleted reservoirs has a large advantage for EGR, as it can enhance recovery by more than 10%. More experiments, simulation studies and demonstration projects are needed to promote the development of gas injection technology for enhanced recovery in the future. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Coal, Petroleum and Nature Gas Exploration Technology, 2nd Edition)

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