How can new technology be designed, or existing technology be used in a new way, to improve performance and reduce costs? This is a question every operator asks in an increasingly competitive market. With a successful horizontal development program in the Giddings Field in 1990 and 1991, Texaco's Horizontal Drilling Team searched for answers to this question while expanding the program to the Brookeland Field in Newton Co., Texas. The "Dual Lateral" concept was being used in other areas, but this was the first time Texaco would try this wellbore design - and in a wildcat area. Planning aspects, the drilling operation and subsequent remedial operations will be reviewed. Production results and some conclusions as to the feasibility of drilling the dual laterals will also be presented. INTRODUCTION: The Austin Chalk trend is a fractured carbonate 30 to 35 miles wide and runs from northern Mexico to southern Mississippi. Texaco's East Region onshore horizontal drilling experience began in July 1990 in the Pearsall Field, Frio Co., Texas. In 1991, our efforts were concentrated primarily in the Giddings Field to the northeast in Burleson Co. In 1992, as our efforts continued in the Giddings Field, we also expanded our program further east 'in the trend into the Brookeland Field. The East Region's onshore Exploration and Production Divisions have drilled a total of forty-one (41) horizontal wells as of March 1993: 3 Austin Chalk wells in Pearsall 19 Austin Chalk wells in Giddings 8 Georgetown (fractured carbonate) wells in Giddings 2 Pittsburgh (sandstone) wells in New Hope 8 Dual Lateral Austin Chalk wells in Brookeland 1 Single Lateral Austin Chalk well in Brookeland The Brookeland Field, as stated, is located in Newton Co., Tx. P. 419^
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Optimizing a hydraulic fracture stimulation in a horizontal well requires an understanding of the petrophysical properties, and the near-wellbore and far-field stresses along the entire lateral. Such reservoir characterization is normally developed from a geomechanical and petrophysical analysis using wireline or logging-while-drilling services that include acoustic and borehole-image logs. Unfortunately, economic considerations often inhibit or preclude complete characterization, especially in the current economic climate. An affordable and convenient alternative for reservoir characterization is to use commonly recorded data, such as drilling mechanics and steering information, to provide a gross characterization. Adding a comprehensive drill cuttings analysis provides insight into rock texture, mineralogy, and rock properties along the entire length of the lateral that is not available from the nominal real-time services. When performed in real time, such studies help ensure that the well stays on-target and within in the pay zone. Such information can later augment the reduced data sets to improve the completion strategy and hydraulic fracture design. This paper describes a case study of a 4-well fracturing campaign in the lower Cleveland sand in Ellis County, Oklahoma. The objective of this project was to compare the completion and production from geometrically stimulated wells against an equal number of wells with an engineered optimization plan. The basic information included drilling data, steering information, and a basic mud and gas log. The optimization on the two engineered wells included an advanced drill cuttings analysis that provided rock texture, mineralogy, and rock properties along the entire length of the lateral. In addition, the drill cuttings were evaluated by a rock laboratory for fluid sensitivity. The results of this study show a significant improvement in the hydraulic fracturing treatment results. The engineered fractured completions were 70% faster— in particular eliminating screenouts that affected operations in one of the geometrically designed wells. The design process is described and has been extended to include the results of the drill cuttings analysis, and incremental results from fracture operations. These are correlated with the plan wells, and a comparison of the available production data is included in the final evaluation of the technique. The lower Cleveland sand was amenable to using this reduced data set for fracture optimization, and this method may be applicable to similar formations.
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