Production data holds clues to potential of new wells

Penn State researchers wanted to know if the production data for existing wells within the Marcellus Shale could predict the output potential of new natural gas wells, without relying on costly core samples from the area. 

So they collected data from more than 5,600 existing wells to create a heat map for the region, using only wells with more than two years of production logs, and assigned a decline curve analysis—the amount of production loss over time—for each well. They then applied these decline curves over the entire region of the Marcellus Shale. 

The result shows potential high yield areas, noted in blue on the inset on right, can be found more easily and with lower costs. https://bit.ly/36EljOR.