Novel methodology to couple decline curve analysis with CFD reservoir simulations for complex shale gas reservoirs

Shale reservoirs are highly complex and are difficult to study using conventional reservoir simulation tools. This study introduces a novel methodology for estimating production from complex shale gas reservoirs by coupling decline curve analysis (DCA) with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. The proposed method uses exponential DCA to analyze production data from a dual porosity–permeability shale gas transport model. These complexities include fracture characteristics, geomechanical properties, nanopore confinement effects, and multiple flow mechanisms contributing to the total production performance. The shale gas transport model is validated through historical production data from Marcellus shale. The new methodology also tests fracture characteristics. It shows that increased porosity and permeability will increase the recoverable reserves but will have varying effects on the decline rate. The paper demonstrates the advantages of the proposed methodology over conventional reservoir simulation tools. It provides insights into the factors affecting shale gas production performance through the inclusion of the complexities of an unconventional shale gas reservoir. The paper provides a proof of concept on the particular reservoir of which the field data is provided—Barnett and Marcellus Shale.