Rapid Site Selection of Shale Gas Multi-Well Pad Drilling Based on Digital Elevation Model

Drilling and completion platform construction is a fundamental part of oil and gas reservoir development, and the location of construction directly affects the whole process of shale gas drilling and development. Due to the complex surface conditions and fragile ecological environment in mountainous areas, having an appropriate platform location can significantly reduce shale gas development and environmental costs. The DEM (digital elevation model) includes geographic elevation, surface complexity, land use type, and other data, so it can be used for rapid site selection for shale gas multi-well pad drilling. In this study, first, research results related to drilling platform site selection were analyzed and summarized, and then a platform site selection method aiming to minimize the total well construction cost was developed. Second, the well construction costs were decomposed into the surface construction costs and the underground construction costs, and the site selection model with the lowest total multi-well pad construction costs was established. Third, ground feature data obtained from DEM (digital elevation model) processing were substituted into the site selection model and solved using the genetic clustering algorithm. Finally, two practical cases were used to verify the research method developed in this study. The results show that the platform site selection results can be used to not only guide the formulation of development plans, but also to reduce the scope of the field investigation in the process of site selection, reduce the intensity of field work, and improve the work efficiency.

Automated summary

This study developed a platform site selection method based on DEM processing and genetic clustering algorithm, which can reduce the cost of shale gas drilling and development and improve work efficiency.