Sweet Spots in Vaca Muerta: Integration of Subsurface and Production Data in Loma Campana Shale Development, Argentina

Licitra, Diego; Lovrincevich, Eliana; Vittore, Franco; Quiroga, Juan; Oviedo, Pablo; Montoya, Veronica; Shannon, Coleen; Monti, Luciano

doi:10.2118/178563-ms

Cited by 8 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 1 publication

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“…The importance of multiple closely spaced weak interfaces presence has been also accounted considering layered isotropic rocks, in a semi‐analytically way. It was found that the weak interfaces could collectively act as a stress barrier for fracture height propagation 48 Hydraulic fracture growth relies on several geological drivers 49–51 . The stress regime, 52 the presence of natural fractures, 53 elastic anisotropy 54 and the presence of weak interfaces or mechanical discontinuities 55 are probably the most critical.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydraulic fracture propagation barriers induced by weak interfaces in anisotropic rocks

Celleri¹,

Sánchez²

2021

Num Anal Meth Geomechanics

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In the Oil&Gas industry, hydraulic fracturing is a technique that makes unconventional reservoirs economically viable. Despite the high impact of the stimulation processes on the productivity of the wells, hydraulic fractures are modeled assuming vertical and planar propagation in most cases. In Argentina, Vaca Muerta formation is the most important unconventional reservoir. It is predominately in a strike‐slip stress regime with areas in thrust regime, and has also strong elastic anisotropy with widely spread sub‐horizontal mechanical discontinuities such as calcitic veins or ash beds, that could act as preferential propagation paths. The effect of these heterogeneities on the fracture propagation, typically underestimated, is a key issue to model the hydraulic fracture geometry, to estimate the stimulated volume, and to optimize production under these complex mechanical conditions. In this work, we use a coupled fluid ‐ rock mechanics model that accounts for elastic anisotropy and weak discontinuities to study the fracture height growth. Fracture initiation and propagation are modeled using a Discontinuous Galerkin (DG) finite elements formulation with a softening Cohesive Zone Model (CZM). We analyze Vaca Muerta formation representative mechanical properties and provide some fundamentals on typical field problems like vertical containment induced by lamination and layering or horizontal fracture propagation with their consequent loss of productivity. We find, for typical Vaca Muerta formation conditions, that not only the weak bedding strength controls the height propagation of the hydraulic fracture but also the degree of anisotropy plays an important role under harsh stress regimes and high heterogeneity of the formation.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydraulic fracture propagation barriers induced by weak interfaces in anisotropic rocks

Celleri¹,

Sánchez²

2021

Num Anal Meth Geomechanics

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An advanced prediction model of shale oil production profile based on source-reservoir assemblages and artificial neural networks

et al. 2023

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Using cuttings to extract geomechanical properties along lateral wells in unconventional reservoirs

et al. 2018

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We have developed a method using measurements on drill cuttings as well as calibrated models to estimate anisotropic mechanical properties and stresses in unconventional reservoirs, when logs are not available in lateral wells. We measured mineralogy and organic matter on cuttings using diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS). We described the methodology and illustrated it using two vertical control wells in the Vaca Muerta Formation, Argentina, and one lateral well drilled in the low-maturity oil-bearing reservoir. The method has two steps. First, using a vertical control well containing measurements from cuttings, a comprehensive logging suite, cores, and in situ stress tests, we define and calibrate four models: petrophysical, rock physics, dynamic-static elastic, and geomechanical. The petrophysical model provides petrophysical constituent volumes (mineralogy, organic matter, and fluids) from logs or DRIFTS inputs to the rock-physics model for calculating the dynamic anisotropic elastic moduli. The dynamic-static elastic and geomechanics models provide the relationships for computing static elastic properties and the minimum stress. Second, we acquire DRIFTS data on cuttings in the target lateral well and apply the four models for calculating stresses. We find that the method is successful for two reasons. First, the sonic-log-derived elastic moduli could be reconstructed accurately from the rock-physics model using input from petrophysical volumes from logs and DRIFTS data. A striking observation is that the elastic-property heterogeneity in those wells is explainable almost solely by compositional variations. Second, petrophysical volumes can be reconstructed by the petrophysical model and DRIFTS data. In the lateral well, we observed horizontal variations of mineralogy and organic matter, which controlled variations of elastic moduli and its anisotropy, and, in turn, affected partitioning of the gravitational and tectonic components in the minimum stress. This methodology promises accurate in situ stress estimates using cutting-based measurements and assessments of unconventional-reservoir heterogeneity.

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Sweet Spots in Vaca Muerta: Integration of Subsurface and Production Data in Loma Campana Shale Development, Argentina

Cited by 8 publications

References 1 publication

Hydraulic fracture propagation barriers induced by weak interfaces in anisotropic rocks

Hydraulic fracture propagation barriers induced by weak interfaces in anisotropic rocks

An advanced prediction model of shale oil production profile based on source-reservoir assemblages and artificial neural networks

Using cuttings to extract geomechanical properties along lateral wells in unconventional reservoirs

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