Assessment of Production Interference Level Due to Fracture Hits Using Diagnostic Charts

Abstract

Summary The objective of this study is to develop a new method that leads to diagnostic charts that quantify the pressure response between two interfering wells. Analytical linear flow models for single hydraulic fracture are used to develop a fracture hit model, which is next verified with a numerical model for validity. An analytical two-fracture model is then developed to simulate flowing bottomhole pressure (BHP) of a shut-in well, which interferes with the other well through a fracture hit, during well-testing for a short-term period. From the insight of two-fracture analytical model, a dimensionless pressure scalar, which is proportional to square root of time, is proposed to summarize the interference level between two wells. Utilizing such proportionality between the defined dimensionless pressure scalar and square root of time, a diagnostic chart for quick assessment of the production interference level between wells is developed. Such diagnostic chart is also applied to interference caused by multifracture hits that a multistage fractured horizontal well with history match performed from the Eagle Ford formation is considered as a parent well for production interference quantification. A new identical horizontal well, which is just fractured but is not in production, is assumed parallel to the pre-existing well. The result shows that when the percentage of fracture connection increases, the slope of dimensionless pressure scalar vs. square root of time increases proportionally to the percentage of fracture connection. Because the slope of dimensionless pressure scalar vs. square root of time is between 0 and 1, it can be used to quantify the well production interference level under different situations.

Flow in Fractured Porous Media Modeled in Closed-Form: Augmentation of Prior Solution and Side-Stepping Inconvenient Branch Cut Locations

“…The interaction of hydraulic and natural fractures makes forecasting the performance of wells in such reservoirs a major challenge [12,13]. Alternatively, conductive natural fractures may promote pressure communication between the adjoining hydraulic fractures and wells, which increase the well/fracture interference [14]. The nonconductive natural fractures may affect the sweep pattern due to waterflood between the injector and the producer wells [15].…”

Optimization of Fracture Spacing and Well Spacing in Utica Shale Play Using Fast Analytical Flow-Cell Model (FCM) Calibrated with Numerical Reservoir Simulator

“…In addition to the pressure-decline effect, hydraulic fractures of adjacent wells may connect during the fracture-treatment operation [19]. If permanent pressure communication is established, the two wells effectively represent an integrated production system [20], which predicts the well behavior more challenging [2,4].…”

Stress evolution and fracture propagation of infill well after production and injection of parent well in a tight oil reservoir

“…Fiallos et al investigate the well interference in the Eagle Ford shale reservoir using numerical models in the combination of an embedded discrete fracture model (Fiallos et al 2019). Yang et al developed a two-fracture model to simulate the bottom-hole pressure (BHP) response of the two-well system with frac hits among simple fractures during shut-in period (Yang et al 2020). He et al researched the mechanism and dominated factors behind interwell fracturing interference in multi-well pads and found that a minor pressure difference between the infill well and parent wells is preferred to prevent fracturing interference (He et al 2020).…”