正如最近在德克萨斯州进行的现场试验所证明的那样，利用碳氢化合物从致密岩石中提取更多碳氢化合物的想法正在显示出更多的现实世界前景。

最新的一个例子是，私营页岩生产商 BlackBrush Oil & Gas 表示，它在Eagle Ford Shale西南边缘的偏远地区取得了两项显著成果。

第一阶段涉及使用未分馏天然气液体（NGL，也称为Y级）提高采收率（EOR），使成熟页岩井的产量提高50倍。BlackBrush战略的第二阶段涉及用凝析油替代水，对水平井进行水力压裂。

BlackBrush 油藏工程副总裁 Kevin DeLapp 表示，6 月份回流试验井的产量“大大超过了我们的水压裂产量”，因为该井 60 天的总产量比附近的滑溜水井高出 15,000 桶。

“那是天然石油，所以我们提取了凝析油，这是一个很好的改进，”他补充道。

除了使用凝析油外，DeLapp 还描述了 7,500 英尺的水平段，该段采用了现代完井设计，在 10 个阶段中使用约 2,500 磅/英尺的沙子。

总部位于德克萨斯州圣安东尼奥的BlackBrush公司在德克萨斯州南部的Chittim Ranch地区运营，该地区远离西北方向的Eagle Ford航道。由于地质历史复杂，该地层出产的原油API重力较低，且缺乏自然移动大量流体所需的储层能量，因此非常适合进行EOR（提高采收率）。

今年早些时候发表在SPE 224381上的结果显示，经过三次使用 Y 级的吞吐循环，一口 7 年前的井（日产量为 18 桶）在 5 天内产量达到了 1,000 桶以上。

换句话说，不到一周的时间，这口油井的采油量就达到了预计全年产量的75%左右。2017年投产时，这口油井的单日峰值也仅为760桶/天。

为了获得这些数据，BlackBrush 首先致力于用 3 年的时间对项目进行建模和规划。

The idea of using hydrocarbons to coax more hydrocarbons from tight rock is showing additional real-world promise, as demonstrated by recent field tests in Texas.

In one of the latest examples, private shale producer BlackBrush Oil & Gas said it achieved two notable outcomes in a remote section on the southwestern edge of the Eagle Ford Shale.

The first involves enhanced oil recovery (EOR) using unfractionated natural gas liquids (NGLs), also known as Y-grade, to see a 50-fold production boost from a mature shale well. The second phase of BlackBrush’s strategy involves replacing water with condensate to hydraulically fracture horizontal wells.

Kevin DeLapp, vice president of reservoir engineering for BlackBrush, said the pilot well on flowback in June was “dramatically outpacing our water fracs” after it delivered a 60-day total 15,000 bbl above that of nearby slickwater wells.

“That is native oil, so after we’ve extracted the condensate, which is a nice improvement,” he added.

Apart from using condensate, DeLapp described the 7,500-ft lateral section as receiving an otherwise contemporary completion design of about 2,500 lb/ft of sand across 10 stages.

San Antonio, Texas-based BlackBrush operates in the Chittim Ranch area of south Texas which is well out of the Eagle Ford’s fairway to the northwest. Due to a complex geologic history, the formation there produces a low-API-gravity crude and lacks the reservoir energy needed to move large volumes of fluids naturally—making it a strong candidate for EOR.

Results published earlier this year in SPE 224381 showed how after three huff-and-puff cycles using Y-grade, a struggling 7-year-old well that was producing 18 B/D was able to turn out more than 1,000 B/D over a 5-day period.

Put another way, in less than a week, the well recovered about 75% of what it was expected to produce over an entire year. The same well also had a 1-day peak of just 760 B/D when it came online in 2017.

To get these kinds of numbers, BlackBrush first committed to a 3-year effort to model and plan for the project.