| This dissertation includes discussions on three fundamental topics that are relevant to gas shale reservoir characterization and engineering. First, pore structure of organic-rich gas shale samples are investigated at the micro- and nano-scales. Second, the effect of gas adsorption phenomenon in small organic pores is discussed in relation to gas storage for both single- and multi-component fluids. Finally, a macroscopic investigation of shale gas production performance is performed. New equations provide the foundation for new analytical and experimental work in relation to gas in-place and production performance predictions.;Micro- and nano-scale visualization and analysis using microscopy is a novel approach to characterize industrial and technological materials structures. The same approach has recently become a focus of much research for the petrophysics of gas shales. The ability to directly investigate the shale pore structure and mineral diversity has given new and unforeseen insights into how gas is stored and transported. The results of this research and new insights have fostered new areas of investigation that are in their infancy stage. One major outcome of the investigation using the microscopy is that in most shales there appears to be a primary system of pores for the storage and transport of gas, rather than separate area of storage for sorbed and free phases. This simple observation has yielded a new set of equations which led to a fundamental-level correction to the previously applied method of determining the free and total gas storage in shale.;Gas storage is the foundation of transport measurement and gas reserves determination. In this dissertation a new method for determining gas storage in rocks with adsorbed gas is proposed. This methodology is first presented as a single component model, and then it is extended to a multi-component case.;Additionally, the multi-component gas storage calculations are shown using two different sorption models, including one that is thermodynamically consistent. Additionally, in this dissertation, performance prediction of multi-fractured horizontal wells is discussed. Horizontal well performance is tied to production logs with additional information from an image log study. This methodology helps to explain the performance seen in shale gas wells and gives new insights into performance prediction. The approach is later extended to give a workflow for shale gas field development. Using this approach, optimization can be performed on various economic parameters. The outcome of such optimization would be the lateral length of the horizontal well and the number of fracture stages. |
