Analysis of Production Data from Marcellus Shale Horizontal Wells in WV

In recent years, the interest in unconventional reservoirs has increased all over the world. The unconventional gas reservoir is a term commonly used to refer to a low permeability reservoir that produces mainly dry natural gas and is not able to produce an economic flow rate without stimulation treatments. The best way to improve the production is by a horizontal well with multiple hydraulic fractures. Hydraulic fracturing is a stimulation practice to improve the permeability in order to obtain commercial production. Horizontal wells with multiple hydraulic fracture treatments have proven to be an effective method for development of unconventional reservoirs.;The purpose of this study is to evaluate the production performance of Marcellus Shale by analyzing the available field production data. A commercial reservoir simulator (F.A.S.T Evolution) which is a single-porosity model was used for history matching. History matching was achieved for 9 horizontal wells by varying the key parameters such as reservoir drainage area, fracture half-length, fracture conductivity and matrix permeability. Once history matching has been performed, the model can be used to simulate future production with a higher degree of confidence.