Assigning value to stimulation in the Barnett Shale: a simultaneous analysis of 7000 plus production hystories and well completion records

TLDR

The Barnett Shale’s production performance and stimulation practices have long been debated, with questions about the value of re‑stimulation, recovery dependence on treatment type and size, and factors affecting fractured well performance. This study analyzes publicly available monthly production histories and well completion records to address these questions. The authors performed a month‑by‑month decline‑curve analysis of all Barnett Shale gas wells, automatically detecting production changes and estimating jumps in ultimate recoveries, then compiled over 16 GB of completion data into a database to correlate ultimate recovery with well inclination, location, and treatment parameters.

Abstract

Abstract Analysis of publicly available monthly production history and well completion records can shed light onto such long-standing questions as 1) what is the value of a stimulation (re-stimulation) treatment in the Barnett Shale, 2) how does the ultimate recovery depend on treatment type and size, 3) what factors determine the performance of a fractured well. This study starts with the month-by-moth analysis of production history for all gas wells in the Barnett Shale. Using a specialized decline-curve analysis methodology developed for shale gas wells, significant production behavior changes are automatically detected and jumps in estimated ultimate recoveries are calculated for individual wells as well, as for groups of wells. The study then continues with the textual analysis of publicly available well completion records consisting of more than 16 Gigabyte data. The obtained database is submitted to analysis relating ultimate recovery to well inclination, to location, to treatment parameters, etc.