Poststimulation operations on multistage hydraulically stimulated horizontal wells producing from conventional and unconventional reservoirs have a major impact on long-term well performance. Most common types of poststimulation services on such wells include plug drillout (PDO) operations and well flowback (WFB) operations. During these operations, the hydraulic fracture system experiences major changes in pressure and flowrate, which may affect the well's long-term productivity. Among the many mechanisms responsible for decrease in well productivity, we highlight 1) the risk of losing the connection between the wellbore and hydraulic fracture system because of the development of an unpropped area; 2) rock destabilization, and 3) the risk of scaling and precipitation. In this paper, we describe an integrated engineering and operations workflow for optimizing poststimulation operations on horizontal wells by controlling the productive fracture system evolution during the poststimulation period. The approach is based on applying the secure operating envelope (SOE) concept, which provides a set of operating parameters that ensure preservation of the connection between the hydraulic fractures and wellbore. The SOE is defined for each individual well, using a combination of geomechanical and multiphase transport modeling. It accounts for reservoir properties, well completion, and fracture treatment parameters. High-resolution, real-time monitoring of well performance and active control of bottomhole conditions through choke management ensure the well is operated within the SOE. The production objectives combined with the evolution of the SOE enable an overall strategy for poststimulation operations. The paper outlines how the SOE is constructed. Applications of the proposed approach on horizontal oil and gas wells in unconventional reservoirs in North America are reported, both during well flowback and plug drillout operations. Using the SOE during well flowback helps to predict and avoid a decrease in well production performance caused by excessive proppant flowback which results in creation of near-wellbore pinch points inside hydraulic fractures. Additionally, plug drillout was identified as a critical operation, during which the proppant pack can be destabilized. The associated risk was strongly reduced by applying the SOE concept in combination with high-resolution monitoring. Based on data obtained from more than 50 operated wells, we conclude that the proposed methodology, including application of geomechanical modeling to poststimulation operations, brings significant opportunities for optimization of well performance and securing long-term well productivity.
Highly efficient multi-stage hydraulic fractured horizontal wellbores are the dominant completion method for many basins worldwide. One potential weakness of multi-stage hydraulic fracturing is that the later stages of the completion workflow – frac-plug drill out (FPDO) and flowback – cause large pressure fluctuations and transient flows through the perforation clusters that coincide with a period of low closure stress in the fractures. The proppant packs in the fractures during this period are fragile and prone to failure. Previously reported results show that flowback and initial production practices have a major impact on proppant production, maintenance and disposal costs and the subsequent well performance. In this paper the results from over 200 FPDO and flowback operations from the United States and Argentina are reviewed. These results show that maintaining a balanced flowrate during FPDO operations is critical for minimizing inadvertent damage to the hydraulic fracture network. The FPDO flowrate balance is the difference between the coiled tubing injection and annular return flowrates. The magnitude and sign of the balance corresponds to the instantaneous flowrate through the open perforation clusters into or out of the hydraulic fracture network. A positive balance rate, or overbalance, injects fluid into the fracture system. A negative balance rate, or underbalance, produces stimulation or formation fluids from the fracture network. Sudden changes between these two regimes creates local flows that can be severe enough to flush large quantities of proppant out of the fractures. Our results show that high-frequency multiphase flowmeters simplify the process of maintaining balance (no inflow, no outflow). Furthermore, close monitoring of any imbalance that develops, and rapid control of the surface choke and injection rate, can provide for an efficient operation while protecting the integrity of the fracture system. Early monitoring of flowback and production with a high frequency flowmeter was shown to be extremely useful technique for optimizing well productivity during well clean-up. This paper also shows how a dual energy gamma ray multiphase flowmeter successfully quantified proppant produced during FPDO and flowback. Examples of the dynamics of sand production are shown, as well as correlations to events of excessive underbalance conditions. At the end of the paper we show that most of the highlighted problems can be solved through making changes to the well construction workflow and accounting for relationships between various well operations. Incorporation of this workflow enables early prediction of well performance issues and their efficient resolution.
This paper describes the first application of a novel reservoir-stimulation methodology that combines oriented extended perforation tunnels of lengths up to 300 feet with specially designed hydraulic fracturing operations in the Niobrara Formation in the Florence Field in Colorado. The technology was extensively tested in two vertical wells completed with two and five pairs of the extended perforation tunnels respectively. Extended perforation tunnels were jetted using radial drilling technique with the tools deployed using micro coil tubing. The jetting operation on each well was followed by a fracture stimulation treatment. The use of radial drilling technology to create extended perforation tunnels for the vertical wells offered a cost-effective way to significantly increase the reservoir contact area of the wellbore, making it similar to that of horizontal wells in the area. The engineered fracture treatments were performed at low treating pressures, and low proppant and fluid volumes. The stabilized production rates of both project vertical wells included in this technology test exceeded expectations and are comparable to the stabilized production rate of the offset horizontal well that was completed in the same zone with significantly higher volumes of proppant and fluid. The initial evaluation of the completion efficiency of this novel reservoir stimulation technology showed that its deployment delivered an improved stabilized production rate to cost ratio for the second vertical well, compared to the reference horizontal well. Based on the test results from the two wells, we conclude that the proposed reservoir stimulation methodology leads to substantial improvements in well production performance compared to traditional reservoir stimulation methods. Both the applied cost-effective approach for increasing the reservoir contact and the significantly lower resource intensity required for the hydraulic fracturing treatment further improve the economic benefits of this methodology. This novel reservoir stimulation methodology opens the way for reconsidering well completion practices in the Niobrara Formation and holds significant potential for improving the hydrocarbon production economics in the Florence Field.
Highly efficient multi-stage hydraulic fractured horizontal wellbores are the dominant completion method for many basins worldwide. This completion workflow is followed with the well start up operations, usually consisting of the frac-plug drill out (FPDO) and the well flowback, designed for preparing the well to the production period. Poor management of FDPO and flowback operations on wells with freshly constructed hydraulic fractures, may jeopardize the investments made in completing the well, and may seriously reduce the well’s profitability. Previously reported results show that flowback and initial production practices have a major impact on proppant production, maintenance and disposal costs, and the subsequent well performance. In this paper we present the summary of the results obtained from the analysis of over 200 FPDO and flowback operations in the United States and Argentina. These results show that operating a well within the safe stability limits of the hydraulic fracture network minimizes risk of fracture damage and maximizes well performance. Earlier it was shown that typical plug drillout operations consists of a series of underbalance, overbalance and balance periods. Multiple rapid transitions between these conditions and performing plug drillout operations outside of the fracture stability limit, was shown to destabilize the proppant pack and mobilize proppant from the fractures. In this paper we evaluate the impact of the various plug drillout strategies on the proppant distribution in the fracture, and draw conclusions about the strategies that help to preserve fracture conductivity. We also demonstrate that using high-frequency monitoring of the surface rates is key for managing plug drillout operations to minimize mobilization of the proppant from hydraulic fractures. Use of the recently introduced Secure Operating Envelope (SOE) concept was found to be very beneficial for managing well flowback and the production operations. In this paper we demonstrate how the use of the SOE methodology was used for identification of the root cause of the proppant flowback and deriving the appropriate choke management strategy for solving this problem. At the end we conclude that majority of the highlighted problems can be solved through optimizing the well start up operations as a part of the entire well construction process with making changes to the well construction workflow. Implementing certain changes to fracture treatment design should enable maximization of the well production performance and optimize the well economics.
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