Estimation of permeability in the Stimulated Reservoir Volume (SRV) is a vital input in any completion optimization workflow. One method to estimate the stimulated permeability in the SRV is to couple geomechanical modeling of the interaction between hydraulic and natural fractures with hydraulic fracture mechanics commonly used to design frac jobs. The proposed approach starts by deriving strain resulting from the integration of geological, geophysical and geomechanical modeling of interacting hydraulic and natural fractures. A unique feature of this approach is its ability to predict microseismicity, thus confirming the validity of the input natural fracture model and the geomechanical approach used to evaluate its interaction with the hydraulic fractures. The optimum validated geomechanical asymmetric half-lengths are then estimated from the derived strain map. These estimated geomechanical half lengths are used as a constraint in a frac design model which is able to incorporate this information and optimize stage treatments according to the variable SRV. The frac design parameters then need to be adjusted in order to approximately match the geomechanical half-lengths provided by the strain map.A new analytical asymmetric frac design model is developed, validated with existing commercial frac design software, and used in this study. The new asymmetric analytical frac design model is a pseudo 3D model that accounts for the variation in height in an iterative approach along with considering the asymmetric half lengths due to the lateral stress gradients in a heterogeneous reservoir. The new asymmetric analytical frac design model was compared to existing commercial frac design software and was found to provide similar estimations of frac heights but in a fraction of the time needed to run the commercial frac design software. The ability to combine these models and simultaneously solve for the optimum fracture height is provided by the constraints of the geomechanical half lengths derived from the strain map. In order to guide the engineer designing a frac job an optimum selection of the design parameters to get the target fracture geometry, this paper also presents a parametric analysis using experimental design of various fracing parameters used in our asymmetric hydraulic fracture model.In this study, the workflow was successfully applied to a complex Eagle Ford well. The frac design tool optimizes important parameters such as the injection rate, fluid viscosity, proppant type, proppant size, proppant specific gravity and leak-off coefficient in order to honor the interaction of natural and hydraulic fractures accounted for in geomechanics. The frac design model also provides vital information such as the proppant schedule to be pumped and the variation of propped length, width, and net pressure as a function of time. The results of this workflow are the fracture conductivity and proppant concentration along the fracture length and their interpolation between the stages so they can be exported to any reservoir...

The objective of optimizing a fracture design is to spend the least amount of money and get the most productivity out of the reservoir by stimulating and contacting as much reservoir rock as possible. This paper presents a unique workflow that addresses in real-time the challenges of perforation and fracture treatment design while accounting for the lithologic and stress variability along the wellbore and its surroundings. The workflow captures the variability of the stresses and elastic properties along the wellbore by leveraging commonly available surface drilling data and correcting for the frictional losses to estimate the energy spent at the bit in breaking the rock. Immediately after the drilling is completed, the estimated variability of the rock properties along the wellbore is used to design the cluster spacing in a way that ensures perforations are placed in rock with similar treating pressures, improving cluster efficiency. These variable geomechanical logs and minimum stresses derived from surface drilling data are used to model the optimal asymmetric frac design and its resulting geometry. Fracture pressure analysis is done where the modeled surface-treating pressures are calibrated with the observed surface-treating pressures to accurately model the fracture geometry and capture the proppant distribution. Based on the results of the job pumped, the goal is to provide, in real time, actionable recommendations by performing sensitivity analysis of various fracing parameters that will affect the stimulated reservoir volume and the ultimate recoveries. An analytical tri-linear production forecasting model provides realistic EURs for different fracture design treatments while capturing the physics and honoring the field measured data. Lastly, a detailed economic analysis of the proposed solutions gives the final insight of the dollar value per barrel of equivalent oil produced. The workflow was successfully applied to many wells ultimately improving the IP while minimizing the costs associated with the overall job. The workflow uses commonly available drilling data to characterize the rock properties which are then used to engineer a completion design on the fly without any increase in associated costs. It also utilizes the treatment pressure data to accurately model the fracture geometry along with providing the sensitive parameters that help overcome the fracing barriers. The implementation of this workflow in realtime serves as a reference tool and guides the field engineers to efficiently stimulate and develop an unconventional reservoir in the most economical way.