Modeling and Data Analytics Workflow From Delineation to Development: A Case Study Utilizing Limited Data in the Extensional Deep Dry Utica Shale Play of Pennsylvania

Abstract

The Deep Dry Utica, also known as the Extensional Utica, is a newly recognized shale play in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The most developed part of the dry gas Utica shale, in Monroe County, OH, is an inexact analogue as it shares limited characteristics with the Deep Dry Utica to its east. Unconventional workflows based on analogue plays often rely on the statistical significance of trends, impossible to exploit when each data point in a new play is unique, and results are unrepeatable. With only the data from a handful wells in the public domain, and a few wells being drilled by operators where the data is still private, understanding the reservoir and geologic complexity of the Deep Dry Utica has eluded most operators. The play has seen early successes and failures, with wells exceeding initial production rates (IP) of 60 MMcf/day and wells so difficult to drill that they were unable to be completed due to financial limitations. Thus, structurally complex shale plays like the Deep Dry Utica with limited data require a new methodology to rapidly move from delineation to development mode. With a limited heterogeneous data set, subsurface modeling and data analytics in conjunction with analogue analysis allow operators to rapidly understand performance indicators, optimize location selection, well spacing, horizontal drilling and completion designs. This paper describes the modeling and analytics-based workflow utilized to unlock commercial viability of the Deep Dry Utica, making the play commercially competitive with Marcellus Shale development. The workflow described in this paper utilizes earth modeling, reservoir and completion modeling and contemporary data analytics techniques to accelerate development. The workflow is demonstrated in a case study from the Deep Dry Utica in Pennsylvania, moving from delineation to commercial development, with less than a dozen data points across 500,000 thousand acres.