Modeling microwave heating for enhanced shale gas recovery: Fully coupled two-phase flows with heat transfer and electromagnetism in deformable reservoirs

To investigate the mechanisms of fluid migration during shale gas extraction under microwave irradiation, we developed a coupled Electromagnetic-Thermal-Hydraulic-Mechanical (ETHM) model. This model accounts for changes in fracture permeability due to variations in temperature, gas pressure, and methane desorption. The impact of microwave power on both gas production and the alteration of reservoir geological properties under microwave stimulation was investigated. Simulation results revealed that with a microwave injection power of 4,000 W, cumulative gas production increased by 45 %, reaching 64.9 million cubic meters. Additionally, the influence of initial water saturation and the diffusion damping coefficient on both gas and water production was examined. The findings show that cumulative water production was 33 % higher when microwave heating was applied compared to scenarios without microwave stimulation. An increase in initial water saturation led to a decrease in daily gas production during the early stages of extraction. Under microwave irradiation, the methane adsorption capacity at data acquisition point MP2 decreased to 0.0075 m³/kg, representing a 69 % reduction compared to conditions without microwave stimulation. Our analysis also found that daily gas production is highly sensitive to the diffusion damping coefficient. The diffusion attenuation effect had a notably negative impact on improving the recovery rate of shale gas reservoirs. In a word, this research holds significant implications for understanding the trends in gas and water production as well as the sensitivity of geological parameters during microwave-assisted thermal recovery of shale gas.