The growing demand for gas in Saudi Arabia and the availability of multistage-fracturing (MSF) horizontal-well technology have spurred the development of tight gas reservoirs throughout the country. Draining the reservoir efficiently by use of MSF strongly depends on well spacing, especially for low-permeability reservoirs. This paper gives the recommended MSF horizontal-well spacing for several development scenarios in Saudi Arabian gas-reservoir environments.
Theoretical Background
There are four different flow regimes for multiple-fracture systems without wellbore storage: early linear, early radial, formation linear, and pseudoradial flow (Fig. 1). The initial flow period observed is the linear flow, where fluid flow toward the fractures in the formation is perpendicular to the fracture planes.
