Although global gas demand rose by 2.8% in 2024, the International Energy Agency predicts that natural gas markets will remain tight in 2025 amid rising consumption. Price volatility continues to plague the sector, driven by extreme weather events, the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and disruptions stemming from geopolitical turmoil.
While the current supply gap does not pose an immediate risk, sustained investment in technological advancements for gas production and handling remains critical to stabilize prices and close the supply/demand imbalance.
Gas production faces several technical challenges, from extracting shale gas in complex geological settings such as tight formations and deepwater environments to processing sour gas with high hydrogen sulfide content. In saturated gas condensate reservoirs, liquid loading becomes a concern when producing below the bubblepoint. Similarly, gas fields with active aquifers often face water breakthroughs, leading to water blockages in producing wells.
Although various technologies exist to mitigate these challenges, the dynamic nature of subsurface conditions and operational environments continues to pose new obstacles. This complexity underscores the need for ongoing innovation and the adoption of advanced technologies to support efficient and sustainable gas recovery.
The selected publications in this feature highlight recent advances in natural gas production technologies aimed at improving performance and reliability.
The first paper introduces a novel, data-driven workflow that integrates empirical methods with advanced analytics to predict liquid-loading onset and accurately calculate critical gas rates in field operations.
The second presents a new condensate-emulsion-modeling tool developed to support emulsion mitigation and remediation planning.
The third showcases the effectiveness of combining two stimulation techniques, yielding substantial improvements in well performance and recovery from tight gas reservoirs.
Summarized Papers in This August 2025 Issue
IPTC 24769 Physics-Inspired Data-Driven Method Manages Liquid Loading by Prithvi Singh Chauhan, Xecta Digital Labs, et al.
SPE 221179 Modeling Tool Developed To Predict Condensate Emulsions by Mohammad Mahamad Amir, Petronas, et al.
SPE 224887 Analysis, Skin Calculation With Dual-Method Stimulation Enhances Gas Production by Ghusun Al Aamri, Petroleum Development Oman, et al.
Recommended Additional Reading
URTeC 4042576 Modeling of Proppant Flowback To Quantify and Predict Its Impact on Shale Gas Production Under Different Drawdown Strategies—A Vaca Muerta Case Studyby Agustin G. Garbino, The University of Texas at Austin, et al.
OTC 35553 Optimizing Gas-Production Networks Through Automated Surveillance, Diagnostics, and Scenario Comparison by U. Gogoi, SLB, et al.
SPE 221582 Gas Reserve Estimation and Performance Prediction of a Fracture-Dominated Unconventional Reservoir Using Weibull Model by Shaibu Mohammed, University of Energy and Natural Resources, et al.
Soujatya Mukherjee, SPE, is a technology implementation expert with Wintershall Dea. He holds an MS degree in petroleum engineering from Technical University of Clausthal and a petroleum engineering certificate from Heriot-Watt University. Mukherjee has more than 16 years of experience within the upstream exploration and production industry. In his current role as a technology implementation expert, he has led the deployment of technologies across gas and condensate assets, focusing on mitigating condensate blockage risks and improving production performance. Mukherjee has authored more than 25 publications for peer-reviewed journals and conferences. He has served as a member of several SPE committees, including the 2022 Oman Petroleum and Energy Show Technical Program Committee and the 2021 steering committee for the SPE Workshop on Enhanced Oil Recovery for More Sustainable Future. Mukherjee is a member of the JPT Editorial Review Board and has been a mentor with the SPE eMentoring Program since 2015.
