COST EFFECTIVE STIMULATION OF SHALLOW GAS WELLS USING HIGH ENERGY GAS FRACTURING FIELDED WITHOUT A WIRELINE OR WORKOVER RIG

CURRENT MODELS AND DATA SHOW THAT HIGH ENERGY GAS FRACTURING (HEGF) HAS GREAT POTENTIAL AS A STIMULATION TOOL IN SHALLOW GAS STORAGE WELLS. IN THESE WELLS THE IN SITU STRESSES ARE SUFFICIENTLY LOW FOR THE PROCESS TO GENERATE ADEQUATE GAS VOLUMES AND TO CREATE AN EFFECTIVE MULTIPLE FRACTURE NETWORK. TO ADDRESS THIS OPPORTUNITY, HEGF FIELDING TECHNIQUES MUST BE SIMPLIFIED AND COSTS REDUCED TO PROVIDE A RELATIVELY LOW COST ALTERNATIVE TREATMENT METHOD THAT CAN RESTORE DELIVERABILITY WITHOUT RESORTING TO CHEMICAL TREATMENT, HYDRAULIC FRACTURING, OR THE DRILLING OF NEW WELLS. THE HEGF TOOL WILL BE REDESIGNED USING A PROPRIETARY CONCEPT THAT WILL ELIMINATE THE NEED FOR WIRELINE, SLICK LINE, TUBING, OR ANY OTHER SUPPORT EQUIPMENT. IT WILL ALSO ELIMINATE THE PROBLEM OF WIRELINE DAMAGE SO OFTEN EXPERIENCED IN HEGF TREATMENTS. STIMULATION NEEDS OF SHALLOW GAS WELLS WILL BE REVIEWED ON TECHNICAL AND ECONOMIC GROUNDS TO DETERMINE THE DEGREE OF FRACTURING REQUIRED IN THESE WELLS. EXISTING HEGF MODELS AND DATA WILL BE USED TO DESIGN A PROTOTYPE TREATMENT THAT MEETS THESE FRACTURING REQUIREMENTS. A SINGLE PROTOTYPE TREATMENT WILL BE CONDUCTED WITH THE NEW DEVICE IN PHASE I, AND SUFFICIENT PRE-TEST AND POST-TEST DIAGNOSTICS AND ANALYSES WILL BE CONDUCTED TO PROVIDE INPUTS TO THE WORK PLAN FOR PHASE II.