Flow parameter setting methods in numerical simulation of the unconventional reservoir and its impact on production

Abstract Tight reservoirs have poor physical properties and complex pore structures, and well production is often affected by the starting threshold gradient, stress sensitivity, and water blockage. In this paper, the numerical simulation method is used to make these three factors equal. In addition, normalized influence coefficient analysis and grey relation analysis are used to investigate the degree of influence of each factor on well production. In this study, three methods are developed to set the threshold pressure gradient according to the permeability zoning, and the effect of reservoir heterogeneity is considered to set the threshold pressure gradient for unconventional reservoirs. The equivalent accuracy of the numerical simulation of the threshold pressure gradient can be improved compared to the traditional method. Stress sensitivity and water blockage effects are equated by correcting for rock compressibility coefficient and gas relative permeability. The fit rate of the gas well production history is improved by 2–3% after considering complex factors. The inclusion of the complex factors reduces the reservoir energy mobilization. The threshold pressure gradient results in an additional pressure reduction of about 1.8 MPa around the gas well. Residual gas identification and development is helped by clarifying the effect of complex factors on formation pressure When only the effect of a single factor is considered, water blockage has the most significant effect on gas well production, followed by threshold pressure and the weakest stress sensitivity. When several factors are considered together, the effect of stress sensitivity is increased.