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Selling the Nation's Helium Reserve (2010) / Chapter Skim
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Appendix F: Extraction Path Alternatives
Pages 132-135

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From page 132...
... The ability to produce gas from a single well depends on physical, completion, and production factors, including the following: • Physical characteristics of the reservoir rock in the field, • Initial reservoir pressure, • Composition of the gas and fluids in the reservoir rock, • Number of wells and spacing of the wells within the field, • Characteristics of the individual wells within the field once they are completed, • Production paths chosen for the individual wells, and • Enhancements to production, such as compression to change the pressure impact in a field. The gas in place in a reservoir before production depends on the porosity (the percent of void space in the reservoir rock)
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From page 133...
... When there is no more air escaping there will still be some air inside the deflated balloon. This well could also be produced more conservatively by letting the gas flow against a percentage of the available pressure, reducing initial production and also changing the pressure regime within the reservoir over time.
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From page 134...
... Given that reservoir pressure declines with production, this objective would result in declining production over the time horizon. The initial production rates would be chosen to maximize the production potential of the pressure gradients in the reservoir over the time horizon, while considering the potential for reservoir degradation.
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From page 135...
... To maximize the benefits of the field, the production plan would look to maximize the net benefits over the optimal life of the field. However, such a plan would need to take into account that today's production choices impact the production choices available tomorrow (through changing pressure, reservoir degradation, etc.)
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Key Terms

  • reservoir pressure
  • net benefits
  • time horizon
  • reservoir characteristics
  • production plan

  • bush dome
  • dome reservoir
  • various production
  • production path
  • production strategies

  • else equal
  • initial production
  • initial reservoir
  • conservative production
  • gas flow

  • production choices
  • total recovery
  • path chosen
  • maximize withdrawals
  • reservoir factors

  • maximize total
  • impact future
  • physical characteristics
  • optimal life
  • rates initially

  • water saturation
  • guarantee maximizing
  • able tomorrow
  • drawdown path
  • production objective


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