Key Technologies in the Efficient Development of the Weiyuan Shale Gas Reservoir, Sichuan Basin

The Weiyuan shale gas reservoir presents complex geological conditions and poses numerous engineering challenges. To address those problems, technical research was conducted through the integration of geological and engineering technologies. The study included four major aspects: geological evaluation and well locations optimization, horizontal well rapid drilling and precise geosteering, horizontal well volume fracturing, drainage production and dynamic analysis, which follows the rules of "selecting the zone, hitting the target layer, killing the well and producing gas properly". Six key technologies suitable for the exploration & development of Weiyuan shale gas reservoirs have been established: 1) shale gas high-yield zone evaluation and selection, 2) integrated well location deployment and optimization under complex surface conditions, 3) efficient drilling/completion of long horizontal section cluster horizontal wells, 4) shale "sweet point" mud logging assisted geosteering, 5) shale gas volume fracturing, 6) drainage testing and gas reservoir development dynamic analysis. Those key technologies have been applied and optimized in the development of Weiyuan shale gas reservoir, and the development effect is under continuous improvement. The main production zone in the Long 1 11 member has a reservoir encountering rate of 98%, the drilling cycle is shortened to 69.2 days, the test output reaches 19.7×10⁴ m³/d, and the final recoverable reserves per well is up to 10 482×10⁴ m³. These six key development technologies provide technical support for in the efficient development of Weiyuan shale gas reservoir, and their technical adaptability is constantly being enhanced.