Gas production in the Barnett Shale obeys a simple scaling theory.

ABSTRACT: Natural gas from tight shale formations will provide the United States with a major source of energy over the next several decades. Estimates of gas production from these formations have mainly relied on formulas designed for wells with a different geometry. We consider the simplest model of gas production consistent with the basic physics and geometry of the extraction process. In principle, solutions of the model depend upon many parameters, but in practice and within a given gas field, all but two can be fixed at typical values, leading to a nonlinear diffusion problem we solve exactly with a scaling curve. The scaling curve production rate declines as 1 over the square root of time early on, and it later declines exponentially. This simple model provides a surprisingly accurate descrip

SUBMITTER: Patzek TW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3856843 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature