With crude-oil prices continuing to languish, margins in tight-reservoir-asset developments have continued to tighten and new drilling and completion activity, of course, is substantially reduced. Looking back 2 years, the focus in onshore-asset development has essentially shifted entirely from fast-paced growth of tight hydrocarbon reservoirs to production enhancement from existing (but still profitable) wells, as well as to maximizing productivity from the smaller number of new well completions.
However, enhancing production from multizone, propped-fracture completions in tight reservoirs, for example, is not straightforward. There are questions to address, especially with respect to the understanding of the contribution of natural fractures and induced unpropped (IU) fractures. How can natural and IU fractures be accessed or enhanced in new wells or in existing wells that are candidates for refracturing? Is there an opportunity with the use of smaller proppants? What are the implications of fracture and well spacing? Can the pumping and rate steps of fracture stages be redesigned for improved containment and fracture conductivity, even formation permeability enhancement? Are there learnings from long-term injection operations in tight reservoirs that can be applied to well-stimulation operations?
Also, for existing well completions, can reactive fluid (e.g., acid or other chemicals) be used effectively, and, if so, how? Can well production be enhanced by injection of fresh water to remove salt potentially residing in existing natural-fracture systems?
The papers featured this month provide assessments and discussions concerning these and other related questions. Each paper is unique, but they all share the intent of advancing efforts in enhancing production from existing and new well completions in tight reservoirs.
This Month's Technical Papers
The Role of Induced Unpropped Fractures in Unconventional Oil and ...
Injection in Shale: Experience on the Norwegian Continental Shelf
Model for a Shale-Gas Formation With Salt-Sealed Natural Fractures
Recommended Additional Reading
SPE 180274 Study of the Rock/Fluid Interactions of Sodium and Calcium Brines With Ultratight Rock Surfaces and Their Effect on Improving Oil Recovery by Spontaneous Imbibition by M.K. Valluri, Texas A&M University, et al.
SPE 169843 Estimating Long-Term Well Performance in the Montney Shale Gas Reservoir by Vu P. Dinh, Murphy Oil, et al.
IPTC 17739 A Comparison of North American and International Risks in Unconventional Resource Plays by D. Nathan Meehan, Baker Hughes
