Real-Time Data Harvesting: A Confirmation of Fracture Geometry Development and Production Using Fiber Optic in Deep Tight Gas Wells

Abstract

The understanding of close-to-reality fracture geometry and conductivity is needed to make decisions and drive the strategy of the hydraulic fracturing. In most cases, the pressure match is utilized even though it does not provide a unique solution. The acquisition of one or more fixed parameters, such as fracture height and length, from surveillance will enable a definition of hydraulic fracture geometry and conductivity that is close to reality. Multiple height measurements such as those obtained by radioactive tracer have been implemented to provide post-fracturing height measurement surveillance. However, the tracer result does not provide real-time fracture propagation behavior. Real-time surveillance could enable making decisions for timely intervention treatment execution. Real-time intervention could avoid propagation of the fracture into unwanted zones and could minimize the risk of screenout due to height growth. Fiber-optic data collection is proposed as a real-time surveillance method. Fiber-optic surveillance methods could help the decision-making process during hydraulic fracturing treatment and production evaluation in multiple-stage fracturing. In the application, the real-time data could trigger real-time intervention to minimize the impact of the screenout. During the post-treatment evaluation, understanding the screenout development process will enable devising a fit-for-purpose strategy for each formation in the next well. The real-time harvesting of data during post-fracturing production will make possible a qualitative understanding of the zone contributions and behavior of each stage at any time of the well life and will provide insight for the field development plan. This work introduces a surveillance strategy optimization approach that will be able to provide understanding of the fracture geometry and zonal contribution through real-time measurement until the end of the well life. It also provides insight into the use of real-time data acquisition to understand the fracture and the production behavior and recommendations based on fiber-optic surveillance deployment.