Numerical investigation into effects of fracturing parameters on the productivity of multi-staged fractured horizontal wells in tight oil reservoirs

Although the development of stimulated reservoir volume (SRV) fracturing treatment promotes the exploitation of the tight oil reservoirs, the well production performance has not been modeled comprehensively with existing simulators. In this paper, a new dual-porosity and dual-permeability model considering threshold pressure gradient, stress-sensitive matrix permeability, and capillary pressure were established. Additionally, the artificial hydraulic fracture model and fracture conductivity failure model were developed. The model is solved numerically and validated by the commercial simulator Eclipse and field production data. Based on the novel model, the sensitivity analysis of parameters including cluster spacing, stage spacing, net fracture permeability, fracture conductivity, and fracture length were performed. The results indicate that even distribution of stages and clusters in the horizontal well results in higher production and there is no need to over increase the permeability of the fracture network. Further, the maintaining of the fracture conductivity is vital for the economic development of tight oil reservoir and the increase of the fracture length is beneficial for achieving higher productivity. This study provides a basis for long-term tight oil production analysis, oil/water flow simulation, and post-treatment productivity prediction of hydraulically fractured tight oil wells.