The Department of Energy has initiated a Multi-well Experiment with the objectives: (1) characterization of low permeability, lenticular gas sands and (2) evaluation of state-of-the-art and developing technology for their production. The location is in the Rulison Field in the Piceance Basin, Garfield County, Colorado where the lenticular Mesaverde sequence and the underlying blanket Corcoran-Cozzette are the formations of interest and lie at depths between 4,000 and 8,600 ft. Features of this research-oriented field experiment include: (1) three close-spaced wells (100 to 500 ft) for reservoir characterization, conventional well tests, interference testing, well-to-well geophysical profiling, and placement of diagnostic instrumentation adjacent to fracture treatments; (2) complete core taken through the formations of interest; (3) a comprehensive core analysis program; (4) an extensive logging program featuring conventional and experimental logs; (5) determination of in situ stress in sand lenses and bounding shales; (6) application of geophysical techniques to determine sand lens orientation; (7) use of seismic, electrical potential and tilt diagnostic methods for hydraulic fracture characterization; and (8) a series of stimulation experiments. Analysis of data from these activities will yield the following kinds of information: (1) geologic characterization emphasizing the morphology, properites and variability of lenticular sands; (2) a reservoir model for lenticular sand production; (3) a fracture model including correlations between stress, geometry and lens orientation; (4) core-log-well test correlations for improved formation evaluation, and (5) economic assessments. This paper is a survey of the findings to date. It includes a discussion of a study of the most relative outcrops; the drilling program; core analysis; and well-to-well correlation of the geology. Two wells have been drilled, the first was continously cored through the Mesaverde section from 4,310 to 6,820 ft. In the second well, 950 ft of core was taken, which include all the zones of interest for stimulation experiments. Significant overpressuring was encountered and a large number of fractures were observed in the core, some open up to 3/4-inch width with partial mineralization. Preliminary indications are that natural fractures may play a much larger role in gas production from the low permeability lenticular sand than had previously been thought.
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