Data now show that the behavior of unconventional wells to in-fill drilling varies significantly across basins. A key influence may be changes in pore pressure and saturation (saturation history). This paper presents results from the analysis of the effect of in-fill drilling on parent-well performance, and describes a simplistic approach to understanding the effect of the quest for operational efficiencies and economic cycles on development strategies.
Methodology
This study focuses on two unconventional plays, the Eagle Ford and the Bakken. The objective was to model the well performance of the parent wells with the aim of matching and predicting in-fill-well performance. Because the two assets are at two significantly different portions of the development cycle (Eagle Ford is very early in its cycle), the Bakken data set has the luxury of modeling and matching the performance of the parent and in-fill, whereas the Eagle Ford portion of this study focuses on forward modeling and optimizing in-fill-well completions.
The methodologies used in this study (parent-well modeling, petrophysical models, geomechanics, fracture modeling, production modeling, and in-fill-well/depletion modeling) are discussed in detail in the complete paper.
Bakken System Parent-Well Modeling
Petrophysics. The Middle Bakken member was divided into three main facies.
