Abstract
This paper presents the analysis results of 60 single stage fracturing treatments performed in a horizontal well using cemented casing sleeves and a coiled tubing deployed frac isolation system as the completion method. In this carefully set-up and executed treatment, separation between the toe stages was 97 feet, and near the heel it was 55 feet. Pressure data was collected above and below the retrievable plug used for stage isolation. This data was used for analysis of fracturing treatment data which included mode of propagation, completion efficiency, and a rough estimate of fracture orientation. The analysis showed that; There was no interaction between adjacent fractures during five of the sixty fracturing stages. None of these was in the well interval with shorter fracture spacingFracture shadowing occurred during six fracture stages, again none in the shorter spacing intervalMinor cement defects (micro-annuli) caused some fluid migration into the passive segment of the well. This happened in 27 stages. Of these; In eleven cases the cement defects were plugged after a while, causing the migration of fracturing fluid into the passive interval to stop.In sixteen other cases the fluid migration through cement micro-annuli continued during fracturing.During ten stages, defective zone isolation and fluid migration caused a pressure increase of several hundred psi in the passive segment of the well. But this did not result in extension of passive fractures.The volume of migrated slurry due to inadequate zone isolation was mostly a very small fraction of the injected volume.During five stages poor cement quality hampered stage isolation and caused immediate link between adjacent active and passive intervals and extension of passive fractures.The data indicate possible connection between the active and one passive fracture in four stages.Shorter spacing between stages increased the incidents of fluid migration due to poor cement qualityThe fracturing pressure variations during the treatments did not indicate presence of large stress shadowingA rough estimation of fracture orientation indicates that they were likely to be vertical and nearly perpendicular to the wellbore.The fracture growth pattern can best be described as off-balance.
To our knowledge, this is the first time existence of direct communication between adjacent fractures has been observed through actual pressure interference data.
Unravelling the petroleum system by enhancing fluid migration paths in seismic data using a neural network based pattern recognition technique