Field Pilots of Unconventional Shale EOR in the Permian Basin-URTeC Denver

The integrated event for unconventional resource teams
Field&Pilots&of&Unconventional&
EOR&in&the&Permian&Basin
Unlock Reservoir Value with Advanced Subsurface Bio9Chemical Technology
Paper&#:&URTeC&506
Jacob@Jin1,@Michael@Pavia*1,@Michael@Samuel1,@Subhash@Shah2,@Bill@Zhang1,@
James@Thompson1
1ULTRecovery@Corporation,@Houston,@Texas
2University@of@Oklahoma,@Norman,@Oklahoma
Email: Jacob.Jin@Ultrecovery.com Cell: +1(405)706>2565

OUTLINE
! Background
" Low3EUR3of3Unconventional3Oil
" Potential3Factors3for3Low3EUR
! Advanced3Bio?Chemical3Solution3for3Advancing3Unconventional3EOR
" Theoretical3Foundation,3Lab3Test,3and3Field3Implementation
! Results3of3Field3Pilots3in3the3Permian3Basin
" Delaware3Basin
" Midland3Basin
! Conclusions & Future Work
Slide&2 ULTRecovery Corporation www.ULTRecovery.com

Recovery(Factor(Lower(than(10%(Across(the(US
Bakken Eagle)Ford
Panja%and%Deo,%2016
Slide)3 ULTRecovery Corporation www.ULTRecovery.com

Potential)Factors)for)Low)EUR)in)
Unconventional
• Internal)Factors
– High'content'of'clay
– Nano2pores'and'
microfractures'
• External)Factors
– Water
– And'the'long'chain'
polymers'in'the'“MAGIC”'
Slick'Water'System
Sign%of%high%content%of%
Clays%in%the%pay%zones
Interactions
SEM Image of Shale Sample
Bennet, Berla, et al.,*2016
Molecular Structure of PAM Water Molecule
Slide.4 ULTRecovery Corporation www.ULTRecovery.com

Fracture Network Contaminations by FRs
and Gels
• The9otherwise9flowed9back9
fracturing9fluid9additives9and
water left9in9the9shale9formation
– Impair)the)fracture)network)conductivity
– Block)the)flow)paths)for)reservoir)fluids)
– Low)viscosity)of)slick)water)leads)to)
relatively)poor)proppant)placement

Rock%Chemical%Water Interactions in
Fracture Network (Lab Observations)
• Real%time=monitoring=of=the=damage=on=
fracture=surfaces=caused=by=chemical=
infiltration=with=SEM=and=NMR:
– Pores(on(shale(matrix(is(at(the(scale(of(
Nanometer,(while(the(friction(reducer(and(
guar(are(at(the(scale(of(micron.
– Permanent(permeability(loss(caused(by(the(
chemical(blockage(on(fracture(surfaces.
– Microfractures might be blocked by water and
chemicals
Red color: Pores Blue Color: HPAM (Friction Reducer)
Guo, et al.,*2016

OUTLINE
! Background
" Delaware3Basin
" Midland3Basin

Advanced Bio+Chemical Solution
Advancing Unconventional EOR
! The$naturally$occurring$beneficial$microbes$
are$stimulated$by$the$nutrients
! The$metabolic$process$degrades$the$
fracturing$fluid$chemicals$that$block$the$
fracture$networks$and$shale$pores$
! The$Bio9surfactant$or$biofilm$produced$by$
the$microbes$reduces$the$interfacial$tension,$
capillary$pressure,$alters$rock$wettability,$
and$ultimately$mobilize$the$residual$oil
Microbes
• Present$but$dormant
• Exist$only$in$water$phase
• When$all$3$present$=$Growth
• Remove$any$of$the$3$=$No?
Growth
NutrientsCarbon
• Oil$&$Fracturing$Chemicals
• Food source
• Mostly gone from the reservoir
• Proprietary Additives
Slide&8

Biodegradations of FRs and Gels
! Laboratory(experiments(to(verify(the(degradation(of(HPAM((friction(reducer),(Xanthan,(and(Guar
! It(proved(that(our(microbial(nutrients(are(able(to(stimulate(the(indigenous(microbes(to(degrade(the(residual(
chemicals
UV Transmittance Measurement (HPAM)
Nutrients + Indigenous Microbes
Nutrients Only
No Nutrients and No Indigenous Microbes
Nutrients Only
UV Transmittance Measurement (Xanthan) UV Transmittance Measurement (Guar)
Nutrients Only

ULTRSHALETM Process:
From Reservoir ! Laboratory ! Field
" The gap between the lab and the field was narrowed by integrating subsurface analysis, lab test, and field
implementation.

OUTLINE
! Background
" Delaware3Basin
" Midland3Basin

Field&Pilots:&Permian&Unconventional&
Reservoir
! Unconventional EOR pilots were2conducted2on2one22fractured2vertical2well2in2Midland2Basin,2and2one2fractured2
horizontal2wells2in2Delaware2Basin.2Delaware2and2Midland2are2two2sub>basins2of2Permian2Basin
2
1
1

Pilot #1:)Fractured Vertical Well in the
Midland Basin
Well Basics:
! Unconventional Fractured
Vertical well (4 stages)
! TVD: 9000 ft.
! Porosity: ~9%
! Permeability: ~0.05 md
! Well completed in 2014
! Initial prod 108 BOPD
! Cum Prod 13,300 bbls
! Injected nutrient: 500 bbls
! Shut in: 7 days Vertical)Well
180)Days)
Before
90)Days)
Before
60)Days)
Before
30)Days)
Before
July)2018
30)Days)
After
60)Days)
After
90)Days)
After
180)Days)
After
Ave)Liquid)
Prod)(BLPM)
347 383 373 274 512 623 634 643 627
Ave)Liquid)
Prod)Uplift)%
127% 70% 68% 81%
EUR
Increase
12%
2.1UMBO
Slide,13 ULTRecovery Corporation www.ULTRecovery.com

Pilot #2:)Fractured Horizontal Well in the
Delaware Basin
**Note:'The'500'bbl'water'with'nutrient'may'only'enter'into'
limited'fractures'and'near'the'wellbore,'diverter'technology'is'
required'to'distribute'more'nutrients'to'more'fractures,'and'
ultimately'uplifts'the'decline'curve'much'higher.
Well Basics:
! Unconventional Horizontal
Fractured well
! TVD: 9800 ft.
! Lateral: 4580 ft.
! Fractured'Stages:'20
! Proppant'intensity:'
1,100lb/ft
! Porosity: ~7%
! Permeability: ~800 nd
! Well completed in 2014
! Initial prod 625 BOPD
! Cum Prod 174 Mbbls'04/19
! Injected nutrient: 500 bbl
! Shut in: 7 days
Horizontal*
Well
180*Days*
Before
90*Days*
Before
60*Days*
Before
30*Days*
Before
July*2018
30*Days*
After
60*Days*
After
90*Days*
After
180*Days*
After
Ave*Liquid*
Prod*(BLPD)
145.0 133.0 137.0 138.5 166 194 249 259 233
Ave*Liquid*
Prod*Uplift*%
40% 82% 95% 61%
EUR
Increase
9%
25'MBO
Slide,14 ULTRecovery Corporation www.ULTRecovery.com

Expanding: Incremental EUR with Big
Inventory
! Option I: implement Unconventional EOR on the Parent
Well while Fracturing the Child Well. Normally the
injection volume to the parent well will be about 15,000
bbls, which is 30 times of the amount used in the
current pilots.
! Potential benefits:
! ZERO intentional shutHin days of producers;
! ZERO extra pump fee and labor fee
! ZERO extra water fee
! Accelerate production rate after resuming
production
! Option II: Single Well HuffHNHPuff. It is suggested to
inject about 5,000 bbls nutrient solution to the subject
wells.
! Option III: add the bioHchemical nutrients during
hydraulic fracturing. If you can treat it earlier, why
waiting for later? The earlier the better, the nutrients
will be diverted to wherever the fluid goes.
Slide-15 ULTRecovery Corporation www.ULTRecovery.com

Market Projection: Potential
Unconventional EOR Market
! Permian(selected(candidate(wells((assuming(
single(section(wells)
! Horizontal(wells(6039,(RevitaWellTM adds(
18000*6039(=(109MM(bbls
! Vertical(wells(30378,(RevitaWellTM(adds(
2200*30378(=(67(MM(bbls
! ULTRSHALETM adds(176MM(bbls(
recoverable(from(Permian
! Permian(only(market(potential(of(adding($9(Billion(
at($55(flat(WTI(price
! Permian(basin(adds(2000+(new(horizontal(wells,(
which(will(build(big(inventory(of(ULTRSHALETM
EOR
Play(Name
Vertical(
Wells
Horizontal(
Wells
EOR(
Potential
(MM(bbls)
Permian 30,378 6,039 176(
Eagle(Ford 0 14,973 159
DJ(Basin 8,046 7,815 103
Bakken 0 11,358 91
SCOOP/STA
CK
0 2,535 20
Total 38,424 42,720 549
$30:Billion:Market

ULTRSHALETM Vs. Gas Huff1N1Puff EOR
Parameter Gas)Huff-n-Puff ULTRSHALETM
Production*
Downtime
3*month 122*weeks*
Operating*Pressure above*MMP*(>*5000psi)
Normal*pressure*(*<*
200psi*)
Target*Basin Eagle*Ford No*limitation
EUR*Uplift 30% 10%
Candidate*Well >*80*bopd No*limitation
Field*Limitation
Close*to*wet*gas*
producer
No*Limitation
Cost*per*Well $1MM $30K2$100K
Payout*Period 9212*month 224*month
Slide)17 ULTRecovery Corporation www.ULTRecovery.com

SWOT Analysis for ULTRSHALETM
Strengths
! Increase(EUR(by(9/12%
! Payouts:(2/4(months
! Incremental(cost:(<($10/bbl
! Easy(to(deploy
! Clean(&(environmentally(
friendly
Weaknesses
! Limited(to(temperature(lower(
than(90(℃ (195℉),(Salinity(lower(
than(130,000(PPM((13%)
Opportunities
! Field pilots at cost basis
! Domestic/international business
collaborations
Threats
! Commodity Volatility

OUTLINE
! Background
" Delaware3Basin
" Midland3Basin

Conclusions and Future Work
! An ULTRSHALETM process1was1developed1to1enhance1oil1recovery1of1unconventional1reservoirs1and1was1
proved1to1be1effective1based1on1the1laboratory1and1field1results.1
! The1field1results1further1confirmed1that1the1assumption1that1the1fracture network was1contaminated1by1
gellants1and1HPAM1was1correct.
! it1is1more1important1to1create1a1more1permeable1stimulated reservoir volume (SRV) than1generating1a1larger1
SRV1filled1with1heavy1longFchain1organic1molecules1that1are1difficult1to1degrade1naturally
! Field Pilots indicated that:
! Liquid1production1was1uplifted1by140%F127%1within11801days,1which1means1the1otherwise1polluted1SRV1was1
unblocked1by1the1stimulated1beneficial1microbes.1
! Furthermore,1the1eightFmonths1incremental1oil1of1the1vertical1well1was1about11,5001bbls,1the1sixFmonths1incremental1oil1
of1the1fractured1horizontal1well1was1about112,0001bbls.1
! The1incremental1EUR1of1the1fractured1vertical1and1horizontal1wells1were12,1001bbls1and125,0001bbls,1respectively.1And1
the1EUR1after1the1treatment1is1increased1by19F12%.
! The1payouts1for1both1treatments1were1from12F41months.1The1ROR1of1both1pilots1are1higher1than1100%.
! The1subsurface1indigenous1beneficial1microbes1residing1in1the1harsh1downhole1environment1can1be1stimulated1within1
one1week1to1degrade1the1residual1fracturing1fluid1chemicals1and1will1continue1to1grow1for12F31months1after1resuming1
production.

Conclusions and Future Work
! Based&on&the&learnings&from&the&unconventional&EOR&experience&in&the&Permian&
Basin,&in&the&future,&the&field&pilots&will&be&optimized&by&
! increasing&the&injection&volume&of&the&microbial&formula@
! upgrading&the&compositions&and&concentrations&based&on&the&observations@
! optimizing&the&shutAin&time@
! conducting&more&advanced&tests&and&surveillance&in&both&the&field&and&
laboratory@
! implementing&flow&diversion&technology&to&inject&formula&to&more&fractures@
! continuing&more&cycles&of&microbial&HuffANAPuff&experiments&on&the&same&well&
and&comparing&the&differences.&

Acknowledgements/Thankyou/Questions
! The$authors$would$like$to$acknowledge$the$support$from$the$U.S.$Department$of$
Energy$SBIR$program$(Award$Number$DECSC0018545),$the$independent$and$
major$oil$companies$for$providing$vertical$and$horizontal$wells$for$the$first$two$field$
pilots$of$unconventional$EOR$with$advanced$biotechnology$in$the$Permian$Basin
! thank$the$invaluable$advice$from$Prof.$Sidney$Green$(Chairman$of$Enhanced$
Production$Inc.,$Member$of$National$Academy$of$Engineering,$and$Founder$of$
TerraTek),$Prof.$John$McLennan$at$the$University$of$Utah$(past$President$of$
American$Rock$Mechanics$Association),$and$Prof.$David$Weitz$at$Harvard$
University$(Member$of$National$Academy$of$Engineering,$Member$of$National$
Academy$of$Sciences)

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