Horizontal Well Completion and Stimulation Techniques--A Review With
Emphasis on Low-Permeability Carbonates

Rodrigues, Valdo Ferreira; Neumann, Luis Fernando; Torres, Daniel Santos; Carvalho, Cesar Guimaraes De; Torres, Ricardo da Silva

doi:10.2523/108075-ms

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 32 publications

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“…The desired outcome of certain types of hydraulic fracture treatments is the creation of a system of closely spaced fractures. Forming such a closely spaced hydraulic fracture array is a highly effective technique for increasing the permeability of a rock mass [1,2] or reducing the strength of a rock mass in mining [3]. Application areas that benefit from an increase of permeability are those that value greater fluid conductivity such as tight gas extraction, in situ leaching, carbon sequestration and storage, geothermal power generation and similar activities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Three Dimensional Forms of Closely-Spaced Hydraulic Fractures

Kear¹,

White²,

Bunger³

et al. 2013

Effective and Sustainable Hydraulic Fracturing

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When creating arrays of hydraulic fractures in close proximity, stress field changes induced by previously placed hydraulic fractures can lead to deflection in subsequent fracture paths and coalescence between fractures. Any fracture coalescence can compromise the effectiveness of the treatment array and the fracture geometry will not be appropriately accounted for in reservoir or caving models. Here we present the results of an experimental study consisting of arrays of 4 closely spaced hydraulic fractures grown sequentially in 350x350x350 mm blocks of a South Australian Gabbro under different initial stress states and for notched and un-notched wellbores. In particular we focus on insights gained from 3-dimesional serial sectioning and digital reconstruction of the hydraulic fracture patterns that were formed. The results show that the curving hydraulic fractures typically do not exhibit a high degree of radial symmetry in their paths even though the fractures grew by radiating outward from a centrally located wellbore. The results also confirm model predictions that a subsequent fracture will curve towards a previous fracture when the minimum stress is zero and that this curving is suppressed when the minimum stress is sufficiently large. Finally, fracture initiation is shown to be critical to the symmetry of the fracture pattern and preponderance of branching and therefore effective notches that lead to initiation in the eventual plane of favored propagation have a profound impact on the hydraulic fracture geometry.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Three Dimensional Forms of Closely-Spaced Hydraulic Fractures

Kear¹,

White²,

Bunger³

et al. 2013

Effective and Sustainable Hydraulic Fracturing

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Use of Hydrajet Perforating to Improve Fracturing Success Sees Global Expansion

McDaniel

East

Surjaatmadja

2008

CIPC/SPE Gas Technology Symposium 2008 Joint Conference

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As shown by technical papers as early as the 1960s, our industry has long known that hydrajetting perforations or slots through cemented casing could often "bail-out" a problem well that otherwise seemed completely resistant to hydraulic fracturing attempts. For most of the first 50 years of fracturing applications, few operators had sufficient demand for the fracturing process to make it a commodity service, especially before the advent of coiled tubing (CT) services in the 1980s. Often, this type of well service was costly because of the need for both abrasive mixing and high-pressure pumping. In many cases, it was too time consuming to be practical as an "every-well" application, and lower-cost conventional explosive shape-charge perforating seemed sufficient for most wells. As oil and gas prices have drastically increased in recent years, many operators have realized that for some well conditions, the use of hydrajet perforating (HP) can improve fracture stimulation efficiency and well economics. In a few cases HP has proven to be the only way that effective fracture stimulation could be achieved. In the past few years there has been a growing acceptance among both operators and service companies that hydrajet (abrasive jetting) perforating can improve overall well economics for fracture stimulated wells in many reservoirs. Some newer methodologies have combined hydrajet perforating and hydraulic fracturing into a single, continuous, multi-stage stimulation method. For many wells needing multiple fracture stimulations, significant reductions in nonproductive time (NPT) allows for reduced well costs even when more actual fracture stages are pumped. Use of more stages has often provided significant production gains and greater recoverable reserves. Enhanced stimulation success in many moderately hard and very hard formations have proven the value of converting from shape charge perforating to hydrajetting as a stand-alone operation to avoid severe near-wellbore problems during hydraulic fracturing stimulation treatments. Since about 2000, and especially during the most recent 5 years, service providers have progressively expanded the processes, which included hydrajet perforating, especially in conjunction with hydraulic fracturing methods. This paper will review the expanding applications of hydrajet perforating in recent years, including case histories from several global applications. Background Early technical papers tell us that hydrojetting (w/o abrasives) was used with acidizing and fracture acidizing as early as 1939, primarily in zones completed open hole. However, with the incorporation of solid abrasives (hydrajetting, using abrasives) the jetting nozzles in use then could only perform for minutes before excessive erosion became a problem. The literature also reveals that around 1958 there was a renewed interest in sand-jetting and more abrasion-resistant carbide jets were developed. In May, 1961, the Journal of Petroleum Technology included three landmark publications that presented much of what had been happening since 1958 with respect to HP applications, and described other hydrajetting wellbore functions such as jetting cement from casing, cutting casing, scale removal, and other applications. The more extensive of these publications (Brown et al. 1961, and Pittman et al. 1961) had first been presented at technical conferences in October, 1960. The shorter, introductory article (Ousterhout 1961) indicated that by early in 1961 over 5,000 hydrajetting jobs had been performed with a success rate in excess of 90%; more than half of these were perforating applications. At that time, explosive/shape charge perforating was still in its infancy, with bullet perforating still common.

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Multiple Transverse Fracturing in Horizontal Open Hole Allows Development of a Low-Permeability Reservoir in the Foukanda Field, Offshore Congo

Casero

Tealdi²,

Ceccarelli

et al. 2009

All Days

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During the past decade, multiple transverse fracturing in horizontal wells has been applied so successfully in onshore low-permeability reservoirs that it is becoming the standard completion practice in many areas. The reasons for the success of this technique vary, but the two main reasons are related to the undisputed effectiveness of hydraulic fracturing as a production enhancement technique and the relatively low cost of pumping services in onshore areas. Success and industry eagerness for process/cost optimization have contributed to many technological improvements in the multistage completion process allowing sequentially executing several fracturing treatments in a single pumping operation. Nevertheless, the high direct and indirect costs and the risks associated with offshore operations have traditionally been limiting factors in spreading this technology to offshore applications. Sometimes, the misplaced perception of hydraulic fracturing as risky and costly operation prevented, rather than encouraged, its application in marginal offshore oilfields. Recent increases in oil prices and the success in onshore applications have encouraged the use of hydraulic fracturing in offshore applications. This study documents the successful effort of taking these techniques to the offshore environment. Transverse fracturing with multistage completion concept— with properly engineered design of well trajectory—can make the difference between the economic success or failure in the field development of low-permeability reservoirs. This study used multidisciplinary and integrated approach to design and execute the treatments, involving reservoir, production optimization, and fracturing engineers from the early stages of well planning to construction. The multilayer Foukanda field, located 52km offshore from Pointe Noire, Congo, has a low permeability and virgin target that was considered noncommercial after discouraging results of two wells. Based on the production results of three cased-hole wells in an analogous field where multiple propped fracturing was applied, the operator decided to drill an open-hole horizontal well that was to be multi-fractured. The initial 90 days average production of this Foukanda well was more than 2500bbl/day. This production rate was double the simulated rate of a vertical well and opened a wide range of further developments both in Foukanda and in other analogue fields in the offshore Congo. Introduction The Foukanda Marine field is located, 20 km to the north of the Kitina platform and 52km to the west of the city of Pointe Noire. Average water depth is around 100 meters. The field was discovered in 1998 by the well FOKM-1. Production started on June 2001. In the same year one well was drilled in the reservoir D but, due to very poor reservoir characteristic this level was abandoned and the well was recompleted on the shallower reservoir B4. The low permeability reservoir D (less than 10 md) was therefore abandoned and only the reservoir B4 and B7 put on production. In the first months of 2007 Foukanda field had a production potential of about 3000–3500 bopd with 6 producer wells (5 in the reservoir B4 and 1 in the B7) and 2 injector wells (2 in B4 and 1 in B7).

show abstract

Horizontal Well Completion and Stimulation Techniques--A Review With Emphasis on Low-Permeability Carbonates

Cited by 3 publications

References 32 publications

Three Dimensional Forms of Closely-Spaced Hydraulic Fractures

Three Dimensional Forms of Closely-Spaced Hydraulic Fractures

Use of Hydrajet Perforating to Improve Fracturing Success Sees Global Expansion

Multiple Transverse Fracturing in Horizontal Open Hole Allows Development of a Low-Permeability Reservoir in the Foukanda Field, Offshore Congo

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