The main focus of this book is to show the challenges specific to shale hydrocarbon recovery
and the practices to overcome these challenges. This book starts with an overview to the
technological evolution that led to successful production of shale plays and the implications
of the shale being a source rock for its hydrocarbon recovery. The second chapter presents the
operations of well drilling hydraulic fracturing and monitoring activities. Chapter 3
provides an overview of the available methods for reserve estimation of shale resources
followed by comprehensive coverage of decline curve analysis (DCA). In a departure from the
mostly empirical rate-time DCA methods covered in Chapter 3 advanced rate-time-pressure
analysis - often referred to as rate transient analysis (RTA) - methods are presented in
Chapter 4. Chapter 4 ends with discussing the complications of fluid flow in shale reservoirs
and the required modeling improvements.
