--> The Influence of Structural Geological Attributes on Hydraulic Fracture Geometry – A Case Study From the Marcellus Formation in Tioga County, Pennsylvania, USA

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The Influence of Structural Geological Attributes on Hydraulic Fracture Geometry – A Case Study From the Marcellus Formation in Tioga County, Pennsylvania, USA

Abstract

To fully comprehend the impact of a complexly folded, faulted and naturally fractured reservoir on well productivity, comprehensive reservoir monitoring pilots were deployed in various parts of the field. We present some results from a pilot well pad that represents an area of high structural complexity and high reservoir quality. The pilot comprises two producing wells spaced at 1000 ft. and a non-producing monitor placed between them at 500 ft. The monitor well has pressure gauges and Distributed Temperature Sensors (DTS) on the outside of its casing. In addition, as the producers were fracc'ed in a zipper fashion, a vertical and horizontal array of geophones was placed in the monitor well to record the microseismicity associated with the completions. Chemical tracers, injected into various stages of the producing wells, were monitored during the flowback of the wells. Geologically, all three wells approach a large structural deformation zone. Only one of the producers, however, completely penetrates the deformation zone and the others stop short. We will demonstrate how the reservoir monitoring data outlined above discretely indicate the influence of structural geology on hydraulic fracture geometry and, ultimately, well productivity and profitability.