frac hits

The SPE Liquids-Rich Basin Conference in Midland, Texas, merged topics that have dominated recent industry discussions: technologies centered on big data, interwell communication, and Permian Basin production.

When it came to decide where to collect a critical sample of fractured rock, a new method for turning microseismic data into a heat map designed to display the most intense fracturing activity was considered.

Well-interference issues can be hard to diagnose, but this startup may be figuring that out. The data-driven process it developed can also help operators come up with more effective ways to use diverters.

The rise of cube developments in the Permian Basin has introduced a new way of thinking for some of the region’s biggest players.

Fracturing reservoirs effectively can be like boxing. Moving in close enough to land a powerful punch often means a fighter has to take some hits. To effectively develop all the productive rock in a lease, new wells are drilled as close as possible to older ones, making frac hits inevitable.

The effect of frac hits on production economics is becoming more important as a result of the high-speed drilling in the US shale sector. Recent research reveals the financial and recovery risks involved if well spacing results in well-to-well interference.

To reduce the risk of wells getting “frac hits,” Permian Basin operators around Midland created an information exchange to give them notice of nearby fracturing.

Significant production gains are being made with hydraulicly fractured wells using diversion to stimulate a higher percentage of the perforations.

In North America’s most active shale fields, the drilling and hydraulic fracturing of new wells is directly placing older adjacent wells at risk of suffering a premature decline in oil and gas production.

One of the oldest names in geomechanical modeling has learned some new tricks, and like so many recent advances in the oil and gas industry, it has everything to do with the North American shale revolution.