Reducing Costs and Optimizing Drilling and Completion Efficiencies in Unconventional Plays Using Completion Diagnostics

Senters, C. W.; Warren, Mark; Squires, Christopher; Woodroof, Robert A.; Leonard, R. S.

doi:10.2118/174844-ms

Cited by 8 publications

References 2 publications

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Using Completion Diagnostics in Uinta Basin Vertical Wells to Reduce Completion Costs and Identify Horizontal Well Targets

Ramos

Dineen

Kolla

2016

SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition

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Over 13,000 active oil and gas wells and more than 740 million bbl of oil have been produced from conventional vertical wells in Utah's Uinta Basin (Fig. 1). Located within the basin, the Monument Butte area is among the top 100 oil fields in the United States. Operators with a strong presence in the Monument Butte area are also pursuing ideal target zone(s) for horizontal wells by evaluating various sections of the reservoirs and utilizing the availability of technological advances made in recent years in horizontal drilling. Determining the reservoir water source zones to curb water disposal costs and ascertaining the productivity of different segments of a well to evaluate its profitability are more important than ever considering the current economic situation. This paper will highlight the completion diagnostic results obtained from using oil-soluble and water-soluble tracers during the completion of eight conventional vertical wells in the Monument Butte area. The eight wells selected for this study are located in Sections I, II and III in Uintah County; the wells were drilled through and completed for comingled production in the Green River and Wasatch formations. Through the deployment of hydrocarbon tracers and fluid tracers, oil contribution and water production were evaluated across all zones. Between 3 and 12 hydraulic fracturing treatments were pumped into each vertical well. The fracturing treatments were designed similarly and each stage was meant to stimulate a unique target zone or formation. Moreover, for each well, each stage design had a unique set of oil-soluble and water-soluble tracers. Oil-soluble tracers were used to quantify the hydrocarbon contribution for each segment from samples taken during the course of 30 and as long as 410 days. In addition, the water-soluble tracers were used to clearly determine the water source intervals, allowing the abandonment of deeper wet zones, thus realizing a significant cost savings from not drilling and completing the bottom 800 to 1,000 ft of each future well. Finally, the unique sets of oil and water tracers were also used to evaluate the short-term and long-term productivity of each pay zone, with the intention of identifying the best formation(s) to target in horizontally drilled wells.

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Using Completion Diagnostics in Uinta Basin Vertical Wells to Reduce Completion Costs and Identify Horizontal Well Targets

Ramos

Dineen

Kolla

2016

SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition

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Diversion Optimization in New Well Completions

Senters

Johnson

Leonard

et al. 2018

Day 3 Thu, January 25, 2018

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Completion optimization continues to be a priority for many operators. The process of adding diverter to hydraulic fracturing treatments remains one of the fastest growing techniques to gain operational efficiency while maintaining the desired reservoir contact during the treatment. Case studies in this paper are utilized to illustrate the effects of diversion on the overall completion program. Evaluating diversion effectiveness and relating it back to overall completion effectiveness remains a challenge with surface pressure data alone. Diagnostics in the form of proppant tracing are applied to evaluate the near-wellbore coverage of the stage with the use of diversion. These stages are also evaluated based on the shift in treatment as a result of the diversion. Unique proppant tracers are utilized before and after diverter drops to evaluate changes in the treatment over time. The results of diversion based on the overall stage coverage and the role that the diverter played in obtaining this coverage is presented in several case studies. Examples include data from projects that utilize different types of diverting techniques. The overall completion effectiveness based on missed clusters is illustrated in the case studies presented in this paper. Diversion cleanup and fracture interference while using diversion is evaluated using chemical tracers. Diversion will be discussed in an interwell communication case history. In addition to the evaluation of diversion, baseline examples are included without diverter material. These baseline examples are sometimes referred to as "ghost stages." The diagnostic approach to this compilation of case histories compares the results of over 20 wells using completion diagnostics. All of the stages evaluated are summarized for perforation efficiency and diversion effectiveness.

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Plugless Completions Techniques and Evaluation in the Appalachian Basin

Blake

Church

Yuyi

et al. 2018

SPE/AAPG Eastern Regional Meeting

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The modern hydraulic fracturing process in unconventional shales has relied mainly on the use of mechanical isolation techniques (frac plugs) for internal isolation in between multi-cluster perforated frac stages. Significant benefits exist if mechanical frac plugs can be successfully eliminated from well completions. Recent trends of increased lateral lengths and decreased stage spacing are driving up the number of stages per well and the desire to decrease cycle time between completion and production operations, drive the effort for finding an alternative to mechanical plugs. This paper presents two case histories of CNX Resources’ wells that utilized various completion techniques to effectively stimulate the laterals without the use of mechanical frac plugs. These ‘plugless’ completions techniques were originally necessitated due to a problem well with a casing patch where standard plug-and-perf completions methods would have required the use of Mechanical Slim Frac Plugs (MSFP) and an undergauge bit for the drillout operation. These MSFPs are designed to pass through internal diameter restrictions and then set and seal properly inside larger diameters. However, after design evaluation, the use of MSFP for internal isolation was found to have some increased challenges associated with the removal of the plug and increased time spent during drillout operations due to the undergauge bit requirement. Three different plugless completions techniques were selected and then evaluated as a replacement for mechanical frac plugs. Two plugless techniques included the use of a particulate diversion material known as polylactic acid (PLA). The other plugless technique required no particulate diversion material. Proppant tracers and gas tracers were used to evaluate the proppant distribution, cluster efficiency, fracture behavior, and gas returns from each of these techniques. Well productivity was compared to offset wells to quantify the overall success of the plugless completions versus standard plug-and-perf completions. Potential for numerous benefits including reductions in completions costs, operational risks, and cycle times exist with the implementation of plugless completions methods. This case study will lay a framework for operators and service companies to practice and/or evaluate different techniques in completing wells without the use of mechanical frac plugs for internal isolation.

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Reducing Costs and Optimizing Drilling and Completion Efficiencies in Unconventional Plays Using Completion Diagnostics

Cited by 8 publications

References 2 publications

Using Completion Diagnostics in Uinta Basin Vertical Wells to Reduce Completion Costs and Identify Horizontal Well Targets

Using Completion Diagnostics in Uinta Basin Vertical Wells to Reduce Completion Costs and Identify Horizontal Well Targets

Diversion Optimization in New Well Completions

Plugless Completions Techniques and Evaluation in the Appalachian Basin

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