Analysis of Completion Design, Log Parameters, and Production Results to Gain a Better Understanding of Effective Production Enhancement Methods in the Piceance Basin

Wendell Salas, Paul Porto, Jeff Mullen, and James Melrose
Halliburton, Denver, CO

To economically develop many fields in the Rocky Mountain region of North America operators use a “Factory Mode” approach. This mode emphasizes fast and continuous fracturing operations, with little to no pre- and post-job engineering design and analysis. The Piceance Basin of North Western Colorado is such a place. The operators in this basin have tried many different completions methods and designs to improve production, but many times do not have time to perform a rigorous analysis of the data to fully evaluate the benefits of completion changes. Adding to the complexity of a rigorous analysis is the lenticular, non-continuous, nature of the sands that make up the mesaverde reservoir. The sands in one well do not correlate well, even among direct offset wells. This, along with other issues, prevents using simple production comparisons for evaluating the effectiveness of changes to designs. This has caused many misconceptions about what works and what doesn’t work in Piceance Basin completions.

This paper will present a more rigorous engineering evaluation to help answer questions about what is working in the Piceance Basin. The focus of the paper will be an analysis of completions used in the Mamm Creek Field of the Piceance Basin. This analysis makes use of log model parameters, completion designs, and production results to help answer the question “How can I make a better well?”

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90092©2009 AAPG Rocky Mountain Section, July 9-11, 2008, Denver, Colorado