Abstract Gas production from shale gas reservoirs can be enhanced by increasing the temperature of the reservoirs due to the increased desorption of the adsorbed gas. However, limited techniques are currently available for practically introducing heat into such low permeability reservoirs. This paper investigates the feasibility of an electrical resistance heating method to promote shale gas production by increasing the temperature of the reservoirs. To achieve our research goal, a mechanistic numerical model is developed to describe electrical field, temperature field, and pressure field. To capture gas flow in a shale gas reservoir, non-linear flow, diffusion and adsorption/desorption which are all dependent on temperature are incorporated into a dual continuum media model. In our study, the gas production enhancement by electrical heating with two parallel horizontal electrode wells is evaluated using this model. We then assess impacts of the thermal properties of the formation, electrode length, electrical power, Langmuir volume and starting time of heating on gas production. The results indicate that the electrical heating method using two parallel horizontal electrodes can be an efficient method to enhance shale gas production. The heat capacity and conductivity of the formation have significant impacts on gas production. Reservoirs with low conductivity and low heat capacity tend to produce more gas due to heating. Meanwhile, shale gas reservoirs with high Langmuir volume also tend to yield more gas due to heating for. To maximize gas production, electrical power should be optimized based on the properties of shale gas reservoir and heating equipment. Longer electrodes heat more formations of the reservoir and thus lead to higher gas production by using the electrical heating method. In order to efficiently enhance shale gas production, electrical heating should start later in gas production, instead of earlier.

中文翻译：

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电阻加热法提高页岩气采收率数值模拟

摘要 由于吸附气体的解吸增加，可以通过提高储层温度来提高页岩气储层的天然气产量。然而，目前可用于将热量实际引入这种低渗透性储层的技术有限。本文研究了电阻加热方法通过提高储层温度来促进页岩气生产的可行性。为了实现我们的研究目标，开发了一个力学数值模型来描述电场、温度场和压力场。为了捕获页岩气藏中的气体流动，非线性流动、扩散和吸附/解吸都与温度相关，这些都被纳入双连续介质模型中。在我们的研究中，使用该模型评估了通过两个平行水平电极井的电加热提高产气量。然后我们评估地层的热特性、电极长度、电功率、朗缪尔体积和加热开始时间对天然气生产的影响。结果表明，使用两个平行水平电极的电加热方法是提高页岩气产量的有效方法。地层的热容量和电导率对天然气产量有显着影响。低电导率和低热容量的储层由于加热往往会产生更多的气体。同时，朗缪尔体积大的页岩气藏也往往因加热而产生更多的天然气。为了最大限度地提高天然气产量，应根据页岩气藏和加热设备的特性优化电力。更长的电极加热更多的储层地层，从而通过使用电加热方法导致更高的天然气产量。为了有效提高页岩气产量，电加热应该在天然气生产中开始，而不是更早。