Including Hydro-Shear in a Practical Reservoir Simulation Model to Improve Well Design in a Fractured Tight Oil Carbonate Resource

Abstract

The dynamic impact of stimulation and depletion becomes an essential development parameter in resource plays, particularly in liquid-rich areas and in the presence of natural fractures. Hydro-shearing during stimulation although it is recognized as the source of induced micro-seismic events, has not found a role in describing the generation and dynamics of the fractured network which drains these tight formations. The process followed in this study employs a practical coupling of geomechanical modeling with a flow simulator to model stimulation and flow-back processes. The stimulation process was evaluated in the context of hydraulic shearing along “weakness planes” followed by tensile hydraulic fracturing once pressure exceeds opposing stresses. Geomechanical modeling employed detailed discrete fracture networks to demonstrate this concept. Scaling-up into a finite difference flow simulator has proven to be a practical solution to address short-term stimulation and flow-back and a means to project future performance and recovery. Simulating the hydro-shearing element was a key parameter in understanding performance and in leveraging formation drives and the roles of natural and artificial fractures. The field example presented is a highly integrated study with extensive geological, petrophysical and well performance description. Simulation models were used to conceive and better wells in this play without the expense and delay of successive field experimentation. The modeling method was used to offer a very accurate prognosis of an undrilled location implementing an entirely new well design. The well was closely monitored during production, which offered an opportunity to calibrate the model and also to deduct optimal operating conditions and practices. Overall, this process reflects not only ways to achieve the best understanding of the resource, but to provide the means for physics based long-term predictions. This practical methodology can be applied easily in similar types of development in resource plays countering the challenges of geological variability and low product prices with higher efficiency engineered designs.

AAPG Datapages/Search and Discovery Article #90259 ©2016 AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, June 19-22, 2016