The main problems of developing deposits of unconventional hydrocarbons in ultra-low-permeable and shale sediments

Abstract

The shale revolution and the great progress in the US in the development of deposits in tight, ultra-low-permeable, shale strata put the issues of studying and developing unconventional deposits on the agenda. The special geological structure of the deposits of unconventional oils makes it necessary to use new (different from traditional) methods of prospecting, exploration and development of such deposits. And this, in turn, requires a new approach to studying the features of the geological structure and the creation of geological and hydrodynamic models, taking into account the fracturing fields and heterogeneity in the distribution of the reservoir’s oil content and the productivity of producing wells. The article deals with the problems of studying the fracturing of rocks and the need to take it into account in the geological and hydrodynamic modeling of oil and gas deposits. The obligatory use of innovative seismic technologies in studying the geological structure of fields and new technologies for studying sludge during drilling is the key to a successful study of unconventional reservoirs and shale strata at various stages of geological exploration and development of oil fields.