Innovative approach to understanding fracture interactions

Parent-child well interactions can lead to compromised frac completions and significantly impact production. While there are several techniques for evaluating pressure communication between active completions and existing wells during or after fracturing treatments (frac hits), greater value comes from the ability to predict and prevent or mitigate these fracture interactions.

D2F is leading the way in predicting frac hits from parent-child interactions  The Depleted Fracture Identification (DFI) process identifies where infill wells have crossed existing fractures and, predicts potential frac hits from new completions, and provides actionable recommendations using the same drilling data that creates our OmniLog® lateral profile.  The process precisely locates conductive channels between wells through identification of areas of localized depletion.  These areas are most often associated with fractures connected to a parent well. The DFI process can therefore be used for frac-hit mitigation, to reduce completion costs, and to understand the fracture growth that occurred in a parent well.

Case Study

The DFI Methodology, was applied in the Point Pleasant (Utica) formation in Ohio. Two child wells were drilled next to a parent well that has been producing for greater than two-years.

Anomalies Identified

While no anomalies were identified in the parent well, multiple were identified in the child wells.  Many of these anomalies were consistent across both child wells which is a strong indication that these are indeed fractures from the parent well.

Qualify Fractures

Fractures are qualified using a number of different approaches. For example, the azimuth of the fracture pairs not only is located across from the parent well, but also matches up with the local maximum stress direction.