Application of Integrated Advanced Diagnostics and Modeling to Improve Hydraulic Fracture Stimulation Analysis and Optimization

Abstract

Abstract Economic development of unconventional resources relies heavily on the effectiveness of propped hydraulic fracture stimulation treatments (HFS or "fracs"). Non-stimulated and/or under-stimulated reservoir continues to be a critical industry concern. Mitigation is expensive and may require refracturing and/or additional wells to be drilled. Techniques to monitor and diagnose the geometry of HFS are limited and analysis typically has large uncertainties. This paper summarizes multiple datasets to demonstrate how complementary diagnostics significantly reduce uncertainties in their analysis, help to calibrate frac models and improve completion design of multi-stage wells. Diagnostics utilized in the datasets include: fiber optic distributed sensing (acoustic & temperature), non-radioactive tracers and production logs. We found that integrating these complementary diagnostics with other subsurface and well information not only confirmed that actual frac heights were different than intended in about half of the monitored stages, but also provided new insights that allow us to modify the HFS treatment design to better match the desired geometries. These diagnostics were used to history match and calibrate our frac models, allowing us to extrapolate results from the few wells with diagnostics to additional wells in the field. Statistics are also provided for the datasets including: percentages of perforation clusters and net sand treated to demonstrate the potential opportunity for improved stimulations and reserves recovery.