Unified Fracture Design for very low permeability reservoirs

Bhattacharya, Srimoyee; Nikolaou, Michael; Economides, Michael J.

doi:10.1016/j.jngse.2012.06.005

Cited by 31 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…They conducted a sensitivity study to find the general trend of the effects of horizontal-well length, well spacing, number of transverse fractures, and fracture orientation on well performance. Britt and Smith (2009) showed the importance of lateral length, number of fractures, interfracture distance, fracture halflength, and fracture conductivity on the optimization of well performance and economic objectives, and risk mitigation. These authors demonstrated the significance of geomechanics and the state of stress on horizontal-well completions and fracture-stimulation success.…”

Section: Background and Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comprehensive Optimization Methodology for Stimulation Design of Low-Permeability Unconventional Gas Reservoirs

Bhattacharya

Nikolaou

2016

SPE Journal

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Over the past decade, multiple-fracture horizontal wells (MFHWs) have proved successful in recovering oil and particularly gas from very-low-permeability reservoirs. For MFHW planning and design, it is important to be able to make decisions on several variables, such as number of wells, number of fractures per well, amount and type of proppant per fracture, fracture dimensions (length, width, and height), and possibly others. Standard practice for making such decisions is mostly empirical. However, empiricism may not be as successful for new cases that are significantly different from old ones. In such cases, what-if analysis is used by combining intuition with numerical simulators to assess the outcomes of possible decisions. Even though this approach may produce feasible results, it is unlikely that it leads to optimal decisions because of the complexity of the problem. Therefore, a systematic methodology is needed for MFHW planning and design that produces optimal solutions efficiently and effectively.In this work, we develop such a methodology that optimizes net present value (NPV). The methodology poses the design problem as nested optimization in which the outer-optimization shell involves decisions on the number of wells, number of fractures per well, and amount of proppant, whereas the inner optimization maximizes the productivity index (PI) by selecting optimal fracture dimensions. The proposed methodology integrates in a systematic way a fracture-design module, a production-estimation module, and an economics module. Because the methodology is automated and numerically efficient, one can use it effectively for field development.A case study is used to illustrate the applicability of the proposed methodology, and suggestions are made for further improvements.

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Section: Background and Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comprehensive Optimization Methodology for Stimulation Design of Low-Permeability Unconventional Gas Reservoirs

Bhattacharya

Nikolaou

2016

SPE Journal

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“…Medeiros et al [14] established a semi-analytical model to discuss the productivity of fractured horizontal wells in heterogeneous and tight gas formations, and suggested that this system's productivity increased significantly if natural fractures were created around the well during fracturing process. Bhattacharya et al [15] extended the UFD method to fractured horizontal wells in low permeability reservoirs and obtained the general correlation between the maximum dimensionless productivity index and optimal fracture conductivity. Based on the instantaneous source solutions, Al Rbeawi and Tiab [16] introduced the pseudo-steadystate productivity index into fractured horizontal wells.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The previous models were established on the assumption of the ideal planar fractures [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]. In fact, many complex fractures can be formed in tight reservoirs, such as multi-wing fractures, non-planar fractures and reorientation fractures [25][26][27][28].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Productivity analysis for a horizontal well with multiple reorientation fractures in an anisotropic reservoir

Wang

Fan

Zhao

et al. 2020

Oil Gas Sci. Technol. – Rev. IFP Energies nouvelles

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Reorientation fractures may be formed in soft and shallow formations during fracturing stimulation and then affect well productivity. The principal focus of this study is on the productivity analysis for a horizontal well with multiple reorientation fractures in an anisotropic reservoir. Combining the nodal analysis technique and fracture-wing method, a semi-analytical model for a horizontal well with multiple finite-conductivity reorientation fractures was established to calculate its dimensionless productivity index and derivative for production evaluation. A classic case in the literature was selected to verify the accuracy of our semi-analytical solution and the verification indicates this new solution is reliable. Results show that for a fixed fracture configuration the dimensionless productivity index of the proposed model first goes up and then remains constant with the increase of fracture conductivity, and optimal fracture conductivity can be determined on derivative curves. Strong permeability anisotropy is a negative factor for well production and the productivity index gradually decreases with the increase of anisotropic factor. As principal fracture angle goes up, horizontal well’s productivity index increases correspondingly. However, the effect of reoriented fracture angle on the productivity index is not as strong as that of principal fracture angle. When reoriented fracture angle is smaller than principal fracture angle, reoriented factor should be as low as possible to achieve optimal productivity index. Meanwhile, well productivity index rises up with the increase of fracture number and fracture spacing, but the horizontal well has optimal reorientation fracture number and fracture spacing to get the economical productivity. Furthermore, the influence of the rotation of one central reorientation fracture on productivity index is weaker than that caused by the rotation of one external reorientation fracture. In addition, the asymmetrical distribution of one or more reorientation fractures slightly affects the productivity index when fracture conductivity is high enough.

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“…Analytical method and numerical simulation method are the commonly used optimization methods aimed at maximizing the production or NPV. Analytical method has the advantage of simple and high efficient, and it is suitable for fast decision (Bhattacharya et al, 2012;Bhattacharya and Nikolaou, 2011). Numerical method is accurate and can simulate complex reservoir condition, but model building is time consuming and cost is large (Sanaei and Jamili, 2014;Taylor et al, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perforating cluster space optimization method of horizontal well multi-stage fracturing in extremely thick unconventional gas reservoir

Guo

Zhu

et al. 2015

Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering

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Unified Fracture Design for very low permeability reservoirs

Cited by 31 publications

References 11 publications

Comprehensive Optimization Methodology for Stimulation Design of Low-Permeability Unconventional Gas Reservoirs

Comprehensive Optimization Methodology for Stimulation Design of Low-Permeability Unconventional Gas Reservoirs

Productivity analysis for a horizontal well with multiple reorientation fractures in an anisotropic reservoir

Perforating cluster space optimization method of horizontal well multi-stage fracturing in extremely thick unconventional gas reservoir

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