SPE 155779

Hydraulic Fracture Design and Well Production Results in the Eagle Ford Shale: One Operator's Perspective
Lucas W. Bazan, Bazan Consulting, Inc., Michael G. Lattibeau ie!e, "osetta "esou!ces Inc., an #e!!$ #. Palisch! G%"B& Ce!a'ics

Co($!ight )*1), Societ$ o+ Pet!oleu' Enginee!s

#his (a(e! ,as (!e(a!e +o! (!esentation at the %'e!icas -ncon.entional "esou!ces Con+e!ence hel in Pittsbu!gh, Penns$l.ania, -S%, 5G7 /une )*1).

#his (a(e! ,as setecte +o! (!esentation b$ an SPE (!og!a' co''ittee +ollo,ing !e.ie, o+ in+o!'ation containe in an abst!act sub'itte b$ the autho!0s1. Contents o+ the (a(e! ha.e not been !e.ie,e b$ the Societ$ o+ Pet!oleu' Enginee!s an a!e sub2ect to co!!ection b$ the autho!0s1. #he 'ate!ial oes not necessa!il$ !e+lect an$ (osition o+ the Societ$ o+ Pet!oleu' Enginee!s, its o++ice!s, o! 'e'be!s. Elect!onic !e(!o uction, is+!+bution3 o! sto!age o+ an$ (a!t o+ tn+a (a(e! Without 'e ,!itten consent o+ the Societ$ o+ Pet!o+eu' Enginee!s IS (!ohibite . Pe!'ission to

!e(!o uce in (!int is !est!icte to an abst!act o+ not 'o!e than 47,o! s5 i+ ust!at+o+ s 'a$ not be co(ie , #he abst!act 'ust contain cons(icuous ac6no,+a g'en++ o+ SPE co($!ight

Abstract
Multiple stage hydraulic fracturing is a key technology driving the development of unconventional resources in North America. This technique began in the Barnett shale and its application has opened the door for the successful development of nearly every shale play in the world, including the agle !ord shale. "iven the relatively new application of this technique, and the number of fracture treatments completed, initial fracture treatment designs in a given play are often transferred from other North American shale plays to serve as baseline treatments. "iven the rapid pace of development in a new play, as well as the desire to get to a standardi#ed completion program, many operators continue to use these baseline designs and fail to evaluate current designs to develop more optimal treatments. This paper will discuss the successful evolution of hydraulic fracture designs in the agle !ord shale from one operators perspective. $t will detail the development from the traditional low conductivity slick water fracture treatments used initially in the play, to the use of higher conductivity hybrid fracture designs. $n addition to detailing the theory and workflow of these design changes, this paper will also evaluate production data from multiple wells and evaluate production results for the hydraulic fracture designs. %iscussion of enhanced conductivity will be presented along with the economic benefit of these changes. Those working the agle !ord shale can directly apply the principles presented in this paper to enhance the productivity and economics of their completions. $n addition, engineers working other resource developments can use the principles from this paper to compare their current fracture design methodology and develop best practice approaches for hydraulic fracture design optimi#ation in their respective plays.

Introduction
&nconventional resources require fracture stimulation to achieve hydrocarbon production at economic rates, and advancements in hydraulic fracturing techniques and hori#ontal drilling in the past fifteen years have greatly aided in the e'ploitation of these formations. Multiple stages and multiple clusters per stage along the hori#ontal wellbore are routinely used to create multiple transverse fractures which influence both initial production ($)* rate and decline, and create large contacted reservoir volumes (+,-*. The use of these hydraulic fracturing and completion technologies, along with favorable market conditions of natural gas liquids, has made field development economic for agle !ord shale. .perators typically desire to identify a standardi#ed completion design as soon as possible. "iven the relatively new application of these hydraulic fracture techniques, treatment designs in the agle !ord shale often originate from designs in other North American shale plays. "iven the rapid pace of development in the agle !ord shale, many operators continue to use these baseline

designs and fail to develop and evaluate more rigorous engineering based treatments and evaluations. The agle !ord shale play has had significant growth since /001, with strong well perfomlance in the condensate window. The gas, condensate and oil production from 2anuary 3 November /044 was //4 Bcf, 45.6 MMbbl and /4.5 MMbbl respectively (Figure 1) 7T' ,,+8. 9ori#ontal drilling activity continues to grow throughout the field. with total rig count

e'ceeding /00 rigs as of !ebruary /04/ (Figure 2).

SPE 155779

7ig. 1 8 Gas, con ensate an oil (!o uction in the Eagle 7o! 9 7ig. ) 8 :o!izontal !illing !ig acti.it$ in the Eagle 7o! shale shale +!o' )**;8<o.e'be! )*11 ++= ""C>. 9 at the en o+ 7eb!ua!$ )*1) ?Ba6e! :ughes>.

9ydraulic fracture modeling in these resource plays, specifically in the agle !ord shale, is challenging and often reduced to mies of thumb and design concepts taken from other shale plays. These designs are often traditional low conductivity slick water fracture treatments. Although there is a place for e'trapolating best practices from other reservoirs, the calcareous makeup of the rock and the comple' geology of the agle !ord shale resulting in the condensate rich enviromnent of this play, presents unique fracture design challenges. Traditional bi3wing fracture simulators may not be the best available tool for designing these more complicated hydraulic fracture systems and it is critical to recogni#e this limitation, work within it, and develop an engineering methodology that utili#es fracture models. :olving for global, first order parameters (continuity, mass and momentum conservation width3opening*, multiple fractures, comple' systems and discrete fracture networks 7Meyer /044, +ipolla /005, !isher /00/; can be modeled using a fracture simulator. %iscrete !racture Network (%!N* modeling is a useful engineering tool and one component of a methodology that can be used to improve a completion and stimulation program for enhanced hydrocarbon production in the agle !ord shale and validate the decision to move to the use of higher conductivity fracture designs 7Ba#an /04 08. Additionally, stage si#e and cluster spacing is an important design variable to create contributing transverse fractures along the hori#ontal wellbore but often fluid loss and mechanical interaction of the created fractures is overlooked. There are two factors to consider when deciding on stage si#e and cluster spacing< $* the physics of creating multiple transverse fractures and /* the longer term production interference (interaction* of those fractures. The concept of fracture conductivity is often discounted as an unimportant stimulation design variable in shale plays. !or some, the presence of micro and nano3%arcy rock does not intuitively lead to the need for higher fracture conductivity. 9owever, many tend to overlook the impact of downhole conditions on fracture conductivity, which can reduce the effective conductivity by over 10= 7)alisch /0068. $n addition, and perhaps the greater concern driving the need for higher conductivity, is the inadequate contact between the transverse fracture and the hori#ontal wellbore 7Mukher>ee and conomides 4114, -incent /04 48. ?hile the fracture conductivity required to economically produce a hori#ontal well in an

unconventional reservoir and to improve hydrocarbon recovery will vary between shale plays, the primary issue regarding conductivity is that many do not fully appreciate the impact of placing a proppant in realistic, downhole conditions. ?hile lab testing and modeling can provide indications of the impact of various completion and@or fracture designs, ultimately production results must be used to evaluate design decisions. This is particularly important in unconventional reservoirs, since in many cases there is no formation evaluation conducted in the hori#ontal section, and there is not a quantitative analysis for reservoir potential, such as is the case in conventional reservoirs (e.g, kh, reservoir pressure, etc*. :ince it can be challenging to Anormali#eA results, it becomes necessary to look at macro trends in the public production databases and@or within internal datasets. $n the end, completion design optimi#ation can be thought of as a court case 3 engineers must combine lab testing, modeling, sound engineering practices and production evaluation to make a case for any given completion@fracture design. +ombining data and diagnostic integration with %!N fracture modeling allows a AcalibratedA engineering baseline to be developed for hydraulic fractllre design. Traditional fracttlre optimi#ation methods focusing on stage si#e, cluster spacing, fluid volumes, proppant mass and fracture conductivity enhancement allow well perfomlance improvements to be predicted. conomics can then be run to determine optimal Net )resent -alue (N)-* and %iscounted ,eturn on $nvestment (%,.$* scenarios for various fracture designs and flow streams.

SPE 155779
4

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central Te'as. Dong known as a source rock for other plays Te'as, recently and gas unconventional play.

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seen in outcrops in a line roughly following the .uachita

&plift that mus through Austin, ?aco, and !ort ?orth. $n ah $ncasGagleefe oB o dtenbtBaBBhn .th and 4H,000 ft below the surface (Figure ). Although typically referred to as shale, the agle !ord formation is actually composed of organic3rich calcareous mudstones and marls that were deposited during two transgressive sequences (the &pper and Dower agle !ord*. The calcareous makeup of this rock makes this play significantly different than other well3known unconventional plays such as the Barnett shale, 9aynesville shale, nd arcellus shale, all of hicll re found .in ft

E$. @ @ , F

)rimarily siliceous envlf onmentsC Gl he thickness of the Fig.

! "agle Ford #hale $lay, %estern Guff &asin #outh

+ the thickest portions occurring in several areas which had increased accornfflodation space. The agle !ord formation unconformably overlies the Buda limestone and is deposited as low angle onlapping strata primarily on a gently sloping ramp. The lack of benthic fossils or burrows suggests that the sediments were deposited in an o'ygen3deficient basin. This lack of o'ygen is a necessary condition for the preservation of organic matter and formation of hydrocarbons. The organic richness in the agle !ord typically decreases higher in the section, most likely because of a more o'ygenated environment. The Dower agle !ord, therefore, tends to be more organically rich and produce more hydrocarbons. Total organic carbon (T.+* in the agle !ord !ormation ranges from $36=. The agle !ord is overlain by the Austin chalk, which was deposited in shallower water depths and, therefore, does not have the same organic3rich qualities as the agle !ord. )articularly where it has been fractured the Austin chalk has e'cellent reservoir characteristics and the hydrocarbons found within it were sourced by the agle !ord formation. Because it is so widespread on a regional scale, the agle !ord formation consists of several different sub3 plays within itself. The focus of this paper is the influences from the Maverick basin, described as the wet gas or condensate window, on the development of the productive agle !ord, located near the &.:.3Me'ican border in parts of ?ebb and %ilnrflit counties north of the dwards ,eef. The operator has been actively drilling on the /H,I00 acre lease inside the "ates ,anch and within several miles of either side of the ?ebb@%inlmit county line. A look at the geology of this area reveals that the agle !ord formation is found consistently in the 600035000 ft depth range. The richer Dower agle !ord varies from 40034I0 ft thick while the productive &pper agle !ord ranges from 4I03/00 ft thick (Figure ,). At this depth and thickness, the resistivity of the agle !ord !ormation is relatively consistent and thermal maturity in this depositional setting should not vary significantly. ba>em-ac)nt-en*ce$$.a*:Ifei//ssI less $n

agle !ord formation ranges from I0 ft to over JI0 ft with 'eas ("neQrgy infor)ation A*n*strat*onf

0o)$letion Design 0luster #$acing and 1ydraulic !racture %esign. .ften, in the absence of evaluations conducted in the hori#ontal
wellbore, stage si#e and cluster spacing becomes formulaic and conceptual rather than engineering and physics based. Multi3

stage and multi3cluster perforating is an integral completion method in the agle !ord shale. The physics of creating multiple transverse fractures and the longer term production interference of those fractures should be the primary design criteria when determining stage si#e and perforation cluster spacing. The relationship between the total height of the created fracture and the distance between hydraulically induced fractures has been well documented and must be considered to effectively create and propagate multiple transverse fractures. Although multiple and closely spaced in3situ natural fractures or cluster induced

SPE 155779

fractures may be present, there is a natural state that detemlines what fractures will be hydraulically opened and propagated during a fracture treatment 7.lsen /00K3/0 $ .8B This tends to be driven by a relationship between bedding plane thickness, fluid loss from the propagating fractures during the hydraulic treatment and the resulting mechanical interaction.

Mechanical Interaction Nolie 741568 presented an analysis of the treating pressure (net pressure* for fully interacting multiple parallel fractures by assuming that the total flow ( q * for N fractures would be the same as the flow for a single fracture, with the flow rate distributed equally among the N fractures. As such, the total width ( w * of N multiple fractures would be appro'imately equal to the width of a single fracture with the same net pressure. Dater, it was suggested that the distance between fractures spaced the same distance as the created fracture height (d@h3l* allows Aflow resistanceA to propagate multiple fractures with widths similar to a single fracture (i.e., widths capable of accepting proppant* 7Britt and :mith /0018. ?hen d@hL$, created fractures widths are d,stically reduced fromMM that MM Mof M siM pgle3 fracture and b dkefyarye amoCedelheo ga$ e.1Cstress/. $atesstwedee B Fiff.(2 3 2 / Influence Factoras22 a function of clusters -acing
fracture for various relationships of ) :heA co eluded and fra- cture helg ht gr o4th I5eyer 2//67 8lsen 2//, M8 that there is a reduction in the widths of multiple fractures compared to the width of a single fracture and that the outer fractures (or perhaps clusters* will propagate and the inner fractures will close off. This is supported by a physical e'periment 7"ermanovich and Astakov /0014 that applied a constant pressure to simulated multiple parallel fractures which resulted in non3uniform physical alteration of the inner fracture compared to the outer fractures. Meyer introduces this interferences concept, i.e., stress shadowing, as a AJ% $nfluence !actorA (!igure 3) and illustrates that for d@h / results indicate negligible fracture propagation interference 7Meyer /044, .lsen /00K4. ?hen d@hG34, the influence between fractures is appro'imately J0= more compared to a single fracture only. As d@hL4, the influence effects between fractures become very pronounced and it becomes very difficult, perhaps impossible, to open the fractures (clusters*. This effect will manifest itself as increased treating pressure, difficulty e'ecuting the fracture treatment and possibly unopened or unpropagated clusters.

7ig. @ 8 Sti++ness 'ulti(lie! as a +unction o+ +!actu!es. +!actu!es. 9

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Figure H and Figure 9 illustrate the results from fracture interference with representations of the stiffness multiplier ( N * (stress shadowing effect* and the resulting fracture widths ( w * respectively as a function of the number of equally

spaced parallel fractures for the e'terior, interior, and average width characteristics. As the approaches #ero ( d@h . *, the interior fracture stiffness goes to infinity ( Ni oo * and the interior fracture width ratio

dimensionless

spacing

goes to #ero ( w . *. +onversely, as the e'terior stiffness multiplier approaches a factor of two ( Ne / *, the width ratio approaches one3half ( w $@/ *. Therefore when d@h L 4 , the created fracture widths are drastically reduced relative to that of a single fracture, which makes these fractures unlikely to propagate. $n addition, for dimensionless spacing greater than

SPE 155779 5

three ( d@h O J * mechanical interaction is negligible 7Meyer /044 8.

Multiple flow meter logging studies have indicated that appro'imately only I03H0= of the clusters in a hori#ontal wellbore contribute at appreciable amounts 7Ba#an /040, Miller, /044 8 to overall production. 9owever, it has been documented from radioactive tracer logs 7Deonard /04 $8 that it is not uncommon to see radioactive material in all the perforation clusters. Both of these observations can be e'plained in that if the clusters open, they will take tracer material but the width may not be enough to accept proppant and result in contributing transverse fractures.

0onducti:ity.
are evaluated parameters American fluid

?ell orientation and fracture conductivity fundamental design parameters that must be rigorously when designing hori#ontal wells. !ive primary driving proppant selection in most North unconventional reservoirs include ($* fracture selection, (/* proppant cost, (J* availability, (K*

resulting fracture conductivity and (I* economics (cost3 beneflt*. !luid selection can have a large impact on proppant selection, as lower viscosity fluid systems do not create adequate fracture width, nor do they have the same carrying capacity as higher viscosity systems. As a result, engineers design fracture treatments using a selection of smaller mesh proppants with a primary goal of placing all the proppant. !rom a recovery standpoint, the most critical parameter driving the selection of proppant is conductivity. :ince the agle !ord shale (like other unconventional reservoirs* is e'tremely low permeability, often the need for fracttlre conductivity is regarded as unimportant, and instead fracture designs focus on increasing reservoir contact. This is ill advised as large +,are negated if the fracture conductivity to transmit the fluids to the wellbore is inadequate. A design approach which ignores fracture conductivity fails to account for realistic impacts to the proppant pack performance at downhole conditions. &nder producing conditions, proppants have demonstrated losses in e'cess of 10= of their effective conductivity when compared to reference, or laboratory, conditions. Figure ; illustrates the cumulative conductivity reduction of proppant sub>ected to various downhole conditions. !actors acting to decrease the conductivity include non3%arcy and multiphase flow, reduced proppant concentration, gel damage, fines migration, cyclic stress, embedment@spalling, temperature effects, and many more 7)alisch /0068. $n the case of the agle !ord shale, the prominent reductions include mu/tbase jlow because of the

concurrent temperature impacted

at !ord is O/6I o!* and reduced proppant concentration since in most hybrid designs the in3situ concentration is typically less than 4 $b@ft/. ?hen accounting for these impacts and the other actual conditions in an agle !ord well, the realistic conductivity drops by over 10= for all proppants (Figure 6). ?hen these reductions are accounted for, most modeling suggests (and field data confirms* that the hydraulic fractures are conductivity limited 7Ba#an /0404. $n addition, the goal of all completion designs in unconventional reservoirs is to contact as much reservoir rock as possible through the use of multiple stages of transverse fractures. ?hile this technique has been the key to making unconventional reservoirs economically viable (and the agle !ord shale is no e'ception*, this practice has
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SPE 155779

also led to limited connectivity between the transverse fracture and the wellbore (!igure 40*. ?hen transverse fractures are created along a hori#ontal wellbore, the resulting radial flow converges at the wellbore and results in tremendously high hydrocarbon velocities in the near wellbore fracture and perforation tunnels. $n this orientation and at these velocities, the near wellbore conductivity is typically inadequate and becomes a restriction to flow 7:hah /0408. As fluids converge through the fracture geometry, to the wellbore, the pressure drop created by this convergence has been predicted to be several orders of magnitude higher than in a hilly coupled fracture in a vertical wellbore 7-incent /04 48. This effect has been quantified 7Mukher>ee and conomides 41148 by defining a 9ori#ontal +hoked :kin (9+:*. $t has been further suggested that a high conductivity proppant Atail3inA would help reduce the additional pressure drop resulting from flow convergence and the resulting 9+: effects 7:oliman 41558.

Fracture Modeling
"iven the rapid development of the agle !ord shale, initial fracture treatment designs are often transferred from other North American shale plays. 9ydraulic fracture modeling in these resource plays, specifically in the agle !ord shale, is challenging and often reduced to spreadsheet mies of thumb and design concepts taken from other shale plays focusing on creating the largest stimulated reservoir volume (:,-* practicable. This is often seen with operators pumping very large, low conductivity Asurface area designsA 7,amurthy /044; that serve as baseline treatment designs. The authors of this paper began their fracture designs in this maimer attempting to create large :,- using design methodology from the 9aynesville. The fracture design consisted of 4I,000 3 /0,000 bbl slickwater (friction reducer* with pre.3designed AsweepsA (Figure I I). The premise was to displace proppant duning near wellbore and create additional :,-. 9owever, it soon became apparent that this design was operationally problematic risking treatment pressures approaching ma'imum safe allowable pressures. Additionally, enhanced production was not seen using these high fluid voltmles suggesting that contacted reservoir volume (+,-* does not necessarily equate to stimulated or productive reservoir vohune. "iven the rapid pace of development in a new play, as well as the desire to get to a standardi#ed completion plan with consistent number of fracture treatments, many operators continue to use these baseline designs and fail to develop and evaluate more optimal treatments. Although there is a place for e'trapolating best practices to the agle !ord shale from other reservoirs, and C Fig. 11 2 Initial lo4 conducti:ity surface area design $u)$ed < the use of large volumes of water, the calcareous makeup of 4ith $re$rogra))ed s4ee$s. <

the rock and the comple' geology resulting in condensate 22 rich envirolmlents of this play presents unique, yet fundamental, completion design challenges. These challenges require a hydraulic fracture model and treatment design tailored specifically to the agle !ord shale. The authors used an engineering based approach to fracture design focusing on fracture modeling geometry, optimal fluid volume and pump rate and the use of higher conductivity proppant. +urrently, designs utili#e 6,I003 1,000 bbl of a hybrid fracturing fluid (slickwater and linear gel* with K0@50 lightweight ceramic proppant. The goal of the designs is to place more effective conductivity in the fracture and at the intersection between the fracture and the wellbore (Figure 12). ?ater volumes in these Aconductivity designsA are more efficiently used to create productive geometry and sweeps are no longer a design variable. This has resulted in appro'imately KI= reduction B Fig. 12 2 1igher conducti:ity engineering based design
in water usage per stage from the original surface area o$ti)i=ing fracture geo)etry and conducti:ity.

design. Additionally, laboratory testing has allowed optimi#ation of Na+l loading to help reduce cost.

SPE 155779
7

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7ig. 14 8 St!ess, ,i th contou!s an length +o! +!actu!e hal+8length o+ 9@* +t. > 0'ino! a=is1 +o! a single stage in Well %.

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These numerical simulations also account for mid3field fracture comple'ity (M!!+* and pressure loss caused by fractllre initiation from a hori#ontal wellbore 7Meyer /044 8. M!!+ is seen when the fracture initiates as a hori#ontal fracttlre and e'tends through the near wellbore region, twists and 33 33 turns, and finally re3orients itself vertically in the principal $v planes (Figure 13) 7?eng 411J8. This mid3field pressure 4 #llf)l

phenomenon can create substantial AapparentA net pressures and stress gradients greater than 4.0 psi@ft. This pressure is BsBpen ro ncoonunlheeredhBa ur ieati ttB nflm @ $

33

$nappropriately, at times, some unconventional reservoirs (shale, +9M* are labeled with Afracture gradientsA over 4.0 psi@ft and then assumed to e'hibit created hydraulic fractures in the hori#ontal plane. $n reality, these Apropagating gradientsA greater than 4.0 psi@ft are often a result of shale storage and mid3field fracture comple'ity, and not a physical characteristic of the fracture e'tension pressure. This is not to say that the fractures in the network do not have a hori#ontal component, but it is not likely to be the dominant characteristic. There may be hori#ontal components in the near wellbore region, but abundant
indicate that the far field fractures are vertical.

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microseismic data and positive production responses B Fig. 13 2 Fractures lin> u$ by rotating the leading edges until

<

they are-alleltothe4ellbore (%ang 166

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Transverse Fracture Interference

The sub>ect of well interference is not a new concept 7Meyer /0 $.8 and can negatively affect production rate. A simple solution to understand this concept of fracture interference (or interaction* has been presented. Dee 7411H, /00J8 discusses pressure drawn down and how far the pressure transient has moved in the reservoir as a function of reservoir diffusivity. !ormation diffusivity (h* defined as h 3 k @ fmct, and applied to transverse fractures %y distance apart, can be used to

represent the time required (t 3 237 !2/ h" for transverse fractures to interfere. The interference spacing distance is a function of diffusivity for various times (Figure 1?), and as diffusivity
increases, the time required for transverse fractures to interfere decreases. Figure 19 presents the same parameters as !igure 4H but shows interference spacing as a function of time for varying diffusivities. As the formation diffitsivity increases, the given time to transverse fracture interference increases with the spacing.

SPE 155779

Figures 1; and 16 show the rate and cumulative production for ?ell A with $ to 400 contributing transverse
fractures. As a reminder, it has been demonstrated that it may be difficult for all clusters to propagate and result in contributing transverse fractures. The gas flow rate and cumulative production are calculated for 400 years using the history matched parameters 7Ba#an /040; with a constant B9!) of I00 psi. This simulation assumes that all fractures are contributing and that the fractures near the toe of the lateral cleanup as well as those near the heel. The reservoir drainage area is 50 acres with an aspect ratio ($* of 0./I. The multiple transverse fractures are assumed to be equally spaced throughout the reservoir with a propped fracture length ('r* of JJ0 ft, fracture conductivity (' of 4.K6 m%3ft, and formation pemleabilfty (k* of 4KH.6 n%. The purpose of showing these figures is to illustrate that there is an optimal number of transverse fractures that will ma'imi#e production depending on the time criteria.
7ig. 1; 8 Gas !ate .e!sus ti'e +o! 1 to 1** 'ulti(le 44* +t 3 7ig. 19 8 Cu'ulati.eD (!o uction !ate .e!sus ti'e +o! 1 to 1** t!ans.e!se +!actu!es +o! Well %. 9 'ulti(le t!ans.e!se +!actu!es +o! Well %. 9

The formation diffusivity for ?ell A is low, (H60 m%3flsi@cp*, so it is possible to increase the number of contributing transverse fractuf es within the lateral without substantial interference in the near term, while ma'imi#ing the flow rate and cumulative production. The producing transverse fracture spacing for an interference time of one year with a difftlsivity of H60 m%3psi@cp is about 4/I ft (or J/ multiple transverse fractures in a K,000 ft lateral*. !igure 45 suggests that J0 contributing transverse fractuf es are optimal to delay production interference for one year.

ata Integration
Multiple technologies are available to operators and engineers to help enhance production and ma'imi#e economics in agle !ord shale wells. ngineering based hydraulic fracture designs can be optimi#ed through integration of technologies such as minifrac analysis, fracture treatment pressure matching, microseismic, production logging technologies, radioactive and chemical tracing material and production history matching (Figure /0*. 'amples of technology integration for multiple

transverse fractures in hori#ontal wellbores include 72acot /04 08<

SPE 155779

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)etrophysical analysis and log evaluation is used as a baseline to detemline rock and reservoir characteristics to estimate pay, permeability and rock properties. )ay is necessary for After +losure Analysis (A+A* and production simulation. ,ock and fluid properties are used in the fracture model to define in3situ stress, leakoff profile and fracture e'tent. Minifrac analysis helps define stress, net pressure and fluid efficiency. These variables are necessary to calibrate the %!N fracture model. $f pseudo3radial flow has been achieved, the reservoir pressure and reservoir flow capacity (kh* can be determined using A+A. ,esulting estimates of permeability should be compared to log analysis. Microseismic mapping is used to help define areal e'tent and fracture geometry of the +,-. This estimate of areal e'tent is used as a fiiBst order input to calibrate the %!N model. %!N modeling is used to define created area. Dog analysis, minifrac data and microseismic evaluation are tools that increase confidence in the geometry solution and resulting +-,. )roduction history matching is used to define fracture length, conductivity, skin and permeability. !racture characteristics resulting from the history match are used as a calibration tool to define cutoff values in the %!N simulator. )ermeability results should be compared to petrophysics and A+A analyses. ?ith a calibrated model, parametric studies focusing on fluid types and volumes, proppant type and mass, and fracture geometry can be performed and used in the production simulator to forecast production responses to changes in stimulation design. conomics can be run on the fracture design and flow streams to determine optimal Net )resent -alue (N)-* and %iscounted ,eturn on $nvestment (%,.$*.
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)roduction 9istory B production prediction Match $fflfFfff f,fff G Bw!BwBwA C CwBCwCwA

7ig. )* 8 #echnolog$ integ!ation ,o!6<o,.

This data integration strategy was used to evaluate ?ell A 7Ba#an /0 l08. A petrophysical analysis was conducted to evaluate reservoir characteristics and potential to detemline the effective porosity, permeability, mineralogy and organic content and estimates of net pay. Mechanical rock properties were deternlined from an acoustic log run in the vertical section. ,esults were also obtained from the chemical tracers present in the flowback samples collected during the three weeks of initial flow back operationsB A post fracture production log was run after drilling out all the plugs to determine flow contribution from each stage (and clusters* Analysis of the production log showed that /4 clusters were contributing appreciable amounts of gas suggesting that, on average, half of clusters per stage appeared to have been effectively stimulated. !urther, the radioactive tracer log indicated that appro'imately /1 of the K5 cluster took radioactive material. The fracture network simulated for ?ell A is based on constant discrete fracture spacing along the ma>or and minor a'is. The %!N aspect ratio (network width to length* was calibrated from microseismic mapping. +ontacted fracture half3 length is 1H0 ft with a total fracture height of JJ4 ft and ma'imum fracture width at the perforations of 0.4I in. Total created %!N length is 41/0 ft (1H0 ft created half3length* along the ma>or a'is and 600 ft along the minor a'is. The mid3field

40 SPE 155779

fracture comple'ity effect indicated /I0 psi pressure loss which dissipated within J minutes after shut3inB Microseismic mapping technology was used to f3.3 detect and locate microseismic events with downhole E

MB
2

monitoring in a nearby offset well. This technology was utili#ed to provide estimates of fracture height, length and a#imuth during the different stimulation stages. The ma>ority
of the microseismic activity was observed during the first

E E E B
,, , ...A ,CAB 3 B B3 A

t B., .,..G Qi , ,r7, , @,,A

C AG3GA,3A C

3G?&n G A A

E
CRC A 3RF3 AA ! m G . , ,

,,

part of each fracture stage. :pecific to the %!N stage E B discussed above, the fracture network width was observed to E B be H00 ft, the fracture network half3length was observed to be E B 500 ft and the fracture height was observed to be J40 ft. The E B C overlay of the %!N design and microseismic results are E illustrated (Figure 21). E B

G ,B B G AAG B3. 3 C w3

A production data history match was conducted on ?ell A assuming /K of the K5 clusters (oneChalf* were E B contributing transverse hacu<$res to pAroduction. ThM e analyis 7M

E o
$la.ior ,P Pii.. MMMMMM

was based on engineering design, fracture interference, the Fig- 21 ! 5icroseis)lc area (Inset) co)$ared to DFB )odeled production log suggesting /4 transverse fractures were area2 and calibrated to deter)ined effecti:e or $roducing area. contributing to production, and the radioactive tracer log 33 illustrating that /1 fractures were stimulated. Matching results indicated a propped fracture length ('2* of JJ0 ft, fracture conductivity ('* of 4.K6 m%3ft, and formation permeability (k* of 4KH.6 n%B To match production, the %!N producing length was reduced from 500 ft half3length to JJ0 ft half length, indicating that contacted reservoir volume does not equate to effective producing network length. The minimum width of appro'imately 0.4K in. corresponds to the 46I ft half width contributing in the minor a'is direction (Figure 21).

Croduction Analysis
?hile it is colnnlonly understood, and often overlooked, that ma'imi#ing conductivity will generally lead to ma'imi#ing production, it is not always a straightforward analysis to demonstrate the value of the associated completion cost increases. Although the agle !ord production has been relativity short term, a preliminary review of all wells in the agle !ord was performed to e'amine the benefits of the operators completion methods and use of higher conductivity proppants. )ublic production data was used for wells inside the Awet gasA or AcondensateA window and compares multiple operators in portions of ?ebb and %immit counties (!igure 22). As stated in the geology section and shown in !igure K, the reservoir quality and
thickness trends should be similar within this data set. ?hile it is possible, and perhaps likely, that there are differences in completion techniques and reservoir quality between these operators, the authors consider this a reasonably comparable analysis set and representative of the region. $n addition, multiple offset operators were used from all areas around the sub>ect wells to increase the confidence in the data. ?orking with public data has challenges when normali#ing, +ompletion details for various operators are macro snapshots, and often much of the desired granularity concerning normali#ation in the analysis is absent. As such, all

production data used to compare multiple operators is monthly cumulative production acquired from the public database and converted to gas equivalents. The operators agle !ord shale wells in ?ebb county consistently perform in the upper limits of the data (Figure 2 ), and these results are considered to be the results of the engineering design methods, including stage

si#e and perforation cluster design, hydraulic fracture optimi#ation and use of higher conductivity proppants.

7ig. )) 8 &(e!ato!s inclu e in stu $ ,ith ,ells insi e the 7ig. )4 8 EFui.alent gas !ate .s. no!'alize con ensate ,in o, (o!tions o+ Webb an Il''it count$. autho!Js ,ells 0!e 1 as u((e! (e!+o!'e!s co'(a!e to o++sets.

ti'e sho,ing the

S PE 155779

7igu!e )C (lots the !ate8ti'e ata +!o' 7igu!e )4 as a cu'ulati.e +!eFuenc$, o! occu!!ence (lot, ,hich is si= 'onth cu'ulati.e eFui.alent gas (!o uction +o! ,ells insi e the con ensate ,in o, in Webb an Ii''it counties. #his ata in essence is a stac6e histog!a' o+ (!o uction ata !an6e +!o' the least to the g!eatest econo'ic .alue. #his 'etho (!esents a goo .isual t!en bet,een 'ulti(le ata sets o! ,ithin a single ata set. #he u((e! thi! o+ the Eagle 7o! ,ells in this stu $ cont!ibute to 55E o+ the total (!o uction ,hile the lo,e! thi! !e(!esents onl$ 15E o+ the o.e!all (!o uction. In othe! ,o! s, ,ell (!o uction +alling in the u((e! (o!tion o+ this t$(e o+ (lot c!eates 'o!e .alue than ,ell (!o uction in the lo,e! (o!tions. #o o(ti'ize econo'ics, the o(e!ato! cu!!entl$ esigns a((!o=i'atel$ 75E o+ the h$ !aulic +!actu!e t!eat'ents ,ith #ie! I (!o((ants 0ce!a'ic1 an the !e'aining )5E ,ith #ie! 4 (!o((ants 0natu!al san 1 When (lotte acco! ing to o(e!ato! 07igu!e )51, the ata sho,s a C*8@*E inc!ease in si= 'onth cu'ulati.e eFui.alent gas (!o uction !esults bet,een the o(e!ato! an si= o++set (!o ucing co'(anies insi e the con ensate ,in o, in Webb an Ii'nlit counties. %((!o=i'atel$ hal+ o+ the ,ells in the stu $ ha.e al!ea $ (!o uce I Bc+e o! g!eate! a+te! si= 'onths, co'(a!e onl$ *.C Bc+e o! g!eate! +o! the othe! o(e!ato!s. Wells ,ith ce!a'ic (!o((ant an highe! con ucti.it$ o not necessa!il$ !esult in inc!eases in initial (!o uction !ate 0IP1. I'(!o.e ,ell (e!+o!'ance +!o' enhance con ucti.it$ in uncon.entional ,ells, inclu ing the Eagle 7o! shale is 'agni+ie in longe! te!' !esults. 7igu!es )@ an )7 illust!ate the i++e!ences in (!o uction, no!'alize +o! the nu'be! o+ stages, +o! the stu $ ,ells at @ 'onths an 1) 'onths cu'ulati.e eFui.alent (!o uction +o! ,ells containing #ie! I 0ce!a'ic1 (!o((an+ co'(a!e to ,ells containing #ie! 4 0san 1 (!o((ant. %lthough the!e is a se(a!ation o+ cu!.es in the u((e! thi! o+ the @ 'onth (lot, an this has .alue, signi+icant i++e!ences in san an ce!a'ic ,ells a!e easll3 $ seen at 1) 'onths o+ (!o uction. #his t!en is e=(ecte to continue as the ,ells (!o uce, st!ess on (!o((ant inc!eases, an (!o((ant u!abilit$

i++e!ences a!e 'agni+ie .

11
-((e! E ,elts

7ig. )C con ensate all ooe!ato!s. 9

8 ,in o,

P!o uction (o!tions

(!o+ile o+

+o! Webb

stu $ an

,ells Ii''it

insi e count$

the +o!

9 9

9 9

Cu'ulati.e 7!eFuenc$ +o! Multi(le &(e!ato! Co'(a!ison Insi e Con ensate Win o, in Webb an I4''i+ Count$, #H 3K6 @ Month Cu'ulati.e 3s P3 u3tion33i.alents 7DDD 3 3

3 a

7ig. )5 8 Cu'ulati.e +!eFuenc$ +o! ,ells insi e the con ensate ,in o, (o!tions o+ Webb an Ii''it count$ b$ DDD3o(e!ato!.

9 > 3

7ig. )@ 8 &.e!all t!en si'ila! e=ce(t in u((e! 4B (o!tion +o! 7ig. )7 8 Iistinct (e!+o!'ance i++e!ences bet,een all Wol++ ,ells using san an ce!a'ic no!'alize +o! (!o uction (e! using san an ce!a'ic no!'alize +o! (!o uction (e! StaL stage ,ith @ 'onth ata. ,ith 1) 'onth ata.

1)

SPE 155779

"cono)ics
As shown above, increasing the fracture conductivity has increased production in the study wells. 9owever, increasing fracture conductivity also typically increases the completion cost. Therefore, the value of the incremental production must be economically >ustified in order to determine whether this design technique can be considered a best practice. The flow stream of the operators wells inside the condensate window comprise on average J/= oil and H5= gas. &sing the 4I study wells having at least 4/ months of production (from !igure /6*, a comparison can be made between the wells that were identified as either using Tier $ (ceramic* or Tier J (sand* proppants. After 4/ months, the Tier $ wells had produced an average incremental of 4I MMcfe per stage when compared to the wells containing Tier J proppants. Assuming net pricing of SJ.6I@mcf and S6I@Cbbl, the ceramic wells are generating appro'imately S4.I million in additional value per well after >ust 4/ months. $t is estimated that the fracture conductivity investment is paid out within 531 months. A similar study was recently completed for the agle !ord shale by another author 7)ope /04/; using /IK wells with at least 4/ months of production of either Tier $ or Tier J proppants and concluded that Tier 4 wells produced KJ,000 9. more than Tier J wells, also generating appro'imately S4.I million in additional value. These two studies appear to corroborate the premise that the increase in cost to generate higher conductivity fractures is economically >ustified by the resulting increase in production. +onclnsions

+ontinuous completion design improvement and evaluation can improve well performance in unconventional resources. T ngineering based completion methods, hydraulic fracture design and increasing fracture and near3wellbore conductivity in agle !ord shale completions will increase well productivity. T Mechanical interaction of multiple parallel fractures will have a ma>or impact on the ability for fractures to propagate for closely spaced parallel or transverse fractures. T %!N fracture modeling is one way to improve a completion and stimulation program for enhanced shale production. T Although there are no unique solutions, completion technologies and data integration such as formation evaluation, minifrac analysis, microseismic mapping, production logging and tracer technology (radioactive and chemical* are useful in the calibration process for a %!N fracture model and provides a methodology to perform more reliable engineering based fracture optimi#ation. T Although working with public data has limitations, engineering analysis and comparisons are possible that provide benefits to evaluate and corroborate sound principles. T $ncreasing fracture conductivity can improve well performance and economic value in the agle !ord shale. T :i' and twelve month cumulative production analyses support the technical and economic benefits of the completion methodology (perforation and hydraulic fracture design using higher conductivity proppants*.

Bo)enclature
Ct

ft

h
$n

k D N t
Di
Ei

#ree$
Dy f

F
h $
m

s
+ompressibility foot or feet !racture height inch )ermeability !racture half length Total number of transverse Time !racture half length -olume
fractures

Transverse fracture spacing )orosity J% influence factor !ormation diffusivity ,eservoir aspect ratio -iscosity :tress !racture width (average*

SPE 155779
14

%ubscrt&pis

e f& i
e'terior fracture interior

Ac>no4ledg)ents
The authors wish to thank the management at ,osetta ,esources for the ability to conduct these field trails and publish the results.
,eferences

Ba#an, D.?., Da'.kin, :.%., Dattibcaudicrc, M."., and )alisch, T.T. /040. $mproving )roduction in the agle !ord :hale with !racture Modeling, $ncreased +onductivity and .ptimi#ed :tage and +luster :pacing Along the 9ori#ontal ?ellbore. )aper 4J5K/I presented at the /040 :) Tight "as +ompletions +onference, :an Antonio, Te'as, &:A, /3J November. Britt, D.U. and :mith, M. B. /001. 9ori#ontal ?ell +ompletion, :timulation .ptimi#ation, and ,isk Mitigation. )aper :)! 4/II/H presented at the /001 :) astern ,egional Meeting, +harleston, ?est -irginia, &:A, /J3/I :eptember. +heng, N. /001. Boundary lement Analysis of the :tress %istribution around Multiple !ractures< $mplications for the :pacing of )erforation +lusters of 9ydraulically fractured 9ori#ontal ?ells. )aper :) 4/I6H1 presented at the /001 :) astern ,egional Meeting, +harleston, ?est -irginia, &:A /J3/I :eptember. +heng, N., /040 Mechanical $nteraction of Multiple !ractures 3 'plore the $mpact of the :pacing@Number of )erforation +lusters of 9ori#ontal :hale "as ?ells. .ral presentation given at the /040 :hale "as %rilling and +ompletion +onference, 9ouston, Te'as, &:A, /H May. +ipolla, +.D., ?arpinski, N.,., Mayehofer, M.2. and Dolon, .). /005. The ,elationship Between !raculre +omple'ity, ,eservoir )roperties, and !racture Treatment %esign. )aper :) 44I6H1 presented at the/..5 :) Annual Technical +onference and 'hibition, %enver, +olorado, &:A /43/K :eptember. !ischer, M.U., ?right, +.A., %avidson, B.M, "oodwin, A.U., !ielder, ..., Buckler, ?.:., and :teinsberger, N.). /00/. $ntegrating !racture3Mapping Technologies to $mprove :timulations in the Barnett :hale. )aper :) 66KK4 presented at /00/ :) Annual Technical +onference and 'hibition, :an Antonio, Te'as, &:A, /1 :eptember3/ .ctober. "ermanovich, D.N., and Astakhov, %.U. /00K. !racture closure in e'tension and mechanical interaction of parallel >oints. 2ournal of "eophysical ,esearch, -ol. 401, 50//05 published /K !ebruary. 2acot, , 9., Ba#an, D.?., and Meyer, B.,. /040. Technology $ntegration 3 A Methodology to nhance )roduction and Ma'imi#e conomics in 9ori#ontal Marcellus :hale ?ells. )aper :) 4JI/H/ presented at the /040 :) Annual Technical +onference and 'hibition, !lorence, $taly, 413// :eptember. Dee, 2. and ?attenbarger, , A.< "as ,eservoir ngineering, :) Te'tBook :eries -ol. I, 411H. Dee, 2., ,ollins, 2.B., and :pivey, 2.).< )ressure Transient Testing, :) Te'tBook :eries -ol. 1, /00J. Deonard, %. /044 &tili#ing +ompletion %iagnostics to .ptimi#e :tage and )elf +luster :pacing. .ral presentation given at the /04 $ :) agle !ord :hale AT?. Meyer, B,,., Ba#an, D.?., 2acot, , 9. and Dattiebeaudierre, M.". /040. .ptimi#ation of Multiple Transverse 9ydraulic !ractures in 9ori#ontal ?ellbores. )aper :) 4J46J/ presented at the /040 :) &nconventional "as +onference, )ittsburgh, )ennsylvania, &:A, /J3/I !ebruary. Meyer, B.,., and Ba#an, D.?. /044. A %iscrete !racture Network Model for 9ydraulically $nduced !ractures< Theory, )arametric and +ase :tudies. )aper :) 4K0I4K presented at the /044 :) 9ydraulic !racturing +onference and 'hibition, The ?oodland, Te'as, &:A, /K3/H 2anuary.

Miller, +. /044 )roduction Dogging ,esults in 9ori#ontal :hale ?ells. .ral presentation given at the /044 :) :hale AT?.

agle !ord

Mukher>ee, 9. and conomides, M 2.< AA )arametric +omparison of 9ori#ontal and -ertical ?ell )erformance, A :) !ormation valuation, 2une 4114. Nolte, U.".< A%iscussion of $nfluence of "eologic %iscontinuities on 9ydraulic !racture )ropagation,A (:) (Aug. 4156*, 115. 46044* 2)T

)alisch, T. %uenckel, , , Ba#an, D., 9eidt, 9., and Turk, ". /006. %etermining ,ealistic !racture +onductivity and &nderstanding its $mpact on ?ell )erformance. )aper :) 40HJ04 presented at the /006 :) 9ydraulic !racturing Technology +onference, +ollege :tation, Te'as, &:A, /13J4 2anuary. .lson, 2. .< A)redicting fracture swarms 3 the influence of subcritical crack growth and the crack3tip process #one on >oint spacing in rock,A "eological :ociety, Dondon, :pecial )ublications, /00KV v. /J4V p. 6J355.

4K SPE 155779

.lson, 2. .< A:patial .rgani#ation of Natural !ractures< A "eomechanics Approach W ANatural !racture )attern %evelopment,A /0053/040. )ope, +.%., )alisch, TBT. and :aldungary, )., /04/. $mproving +ompletions and :timulation ffectiveness in &nconventional ,eservoirs 3 !ield ,esults in the agle :hale of North America. )aper :) 4I/5J1 presented at the :) @ %" uropean &nconventional ,esources +onference and 'hibition, -ienna, Austria, /03// March /04/. ,amurthy, M., Barree, ,.%., Uundert, %.)., )etre, ., and Mullen, M /044. :urface Area vs +onductivity !racture Treatments in :hale ,eservoirs. )aper :) 4K04H1 presented at the :) 9ydraulic !racturing Technology +onference and 'hibition, The ?oodlands, Te'as, &:A, /K3/I 2anuary /044. :hah, :.N., -incent, M +., ,odrique#, ,., and )alisch, T. /040. !racture .rientation and )roppant :election for .ptimi#ing )roduction in 9ori#ontal ?ells. )aper :) 4/5H4/3)) prepared for presentation at the /040 :) .il and "as $ndia +onference and 'hibition, Mumbai, $ndia, /03// 2anuary. :oliman, M N., 9unt, 2.D., and l ,abaa, ?.< A.n !racturing 9ori#ontal ?ells,A :) 45IK/, November 4155. Te'as ,ailroad +ommission. http<@@www.rrc.state.t'.us@eagleford@inde'.php -incent, M +. /044. .ptimi#ing Transverse !ractures in Diquid3,ich !ornPations. )aper :) 4KHJ6H presented at the /044 :) Annual Technical +onference and 'hibition, %enver, +olorado, &:A, J0 .ctober 3 / November. ?eng, X. 411J. !ractllre $nitiation and )ropagation !rom %eviated ?ellbores. )aper :) /HI16 presented at the :) Annual Technical +onference and 'hibition, 9ouston, Te'as, &:A, J3H .ctober.