A Structured Approach to Solving Completion Challenges with Downhole Fiber Optic Monitoring

Abstract

The capabilities of permanently installed fiber optic cable to monitor the distribution of slurry between perforation clusters in a hydraulic fracturing treatment are now well understood throughout the industry. The distributed measurements from the fiber optic cable gives the ability to test different completion designs to evaluate which design can promote a more uniform flow distribution between perforation clusters. Over the past few years, the cost of utilizing a permanently installed fiber optic cable has decreased. However, the investment still adds to the total development cost of the pad, meaning that the knowledge gained from fiber optic measurements need to be maximized in order to realize the value added and to lower costs on future developments. For this reason, it is imperative to understand the challenges to be solved by implementing this technology, and to create a structured design of experiments suited to solve these challenges. This paper presents some recent work performed in the southern Delaware Basin utilizing fiber optic-based distributed acoustic sensing data. The primary objectives of this project were to improve the fluid distribution between clusters and to test the ability to keep the improved fluid distribution while extending the treatment interval length. The variables changed between experiments to achieve these goals will be discussed along with their corresponding results. It will be shown how pairing the fiber optic measurements with a structured design of experiments increased the knowledge gained from the fiber optic project.