February 2013 | EPmag.

com
C
hallenging low-permeability oil reservoirs in the
Ordos basin in north-central China offer proof that
in-depth reservoir understanding, advanced design and
evaluation workflows, and appropriate completion and
fracturing techniques result in production increases of
as much as 80% to 100% over baseline. A pilot project
recently conducted in the basin set out to quantify
production improvements in two horizontal wells and
three vertical wells placed between two horizontal wells
equipped for real-time microseismic fracture monitoring.
An unconventional fracture model incorporating
geologically and geophysically defined natural fracture
patterns and mathematical interaction criteria for
hydraulic and natural fractures was used to optimize
treatment design. Real-time microseismic fracture
monitoring through a dual-monitoring well setup
was performed on a total 26 stages of fracturing treat-
ments. Simultaneous treatments pumped in four stages
were compared to other stages pumped in chronologi-
cal sequences.
Ordos basin challenges
Although historical field development in Ordos basin
tight oil reservoirs was considered economical, the
average production after hydraulic fracturing was low,
and most of the wells were producing only marginally.
Studies indicated that insufficient connected and con-
ductive fracture surface area induced by conventional
fracture completion techniques was the major reason
for low productivity.
Yet even by increasing the fracture treatment size and
proppant mass pumped into the formation, no obvious
incremental production gains were achieved using
conventional fracture design methodologies. This
pointed to the need to improve the understanding of
fracture mechanical propagation behavior and the
proppant distribution mechanism in the reservoir to
break through the production barrier status quo.
Pilot project in Chang-7 formation
To accomplish this objective, the pilot projects two
horizontal laterals were drilled orthogonal to maximum
horizontal stress orientation to enable propagating trans-
verse hydraulic fractures across the laterals as shown in
Figure 1. To obtain accurate microseismic data, dual
monitoring was established using two out of the three
monitoring wells simultaneously.
The horizontal wells were drilled in the lower Chang-7
formation, which is very fine sandstone grading to silt-
stone with average permeability of 0.24 mD and an
average porosity of 10.5%. Natural fractures are widely
distributed across the basin; however, their nature and
characteristics vary from formation to formation and
from block to block.
Optimized treatment design
shows promise
The first horizontal wells drilled in the Chang-7 formation deliver significant production
increases in Ordos basin tight oil reservoirs.
Yang Hua, Xu Yong Gao, Yang Ke Wen,
and Zhou Shu Xun, PetroChina Changqing Oilfield Co.;
Liu Hai and Luo Yin, Schlumberger
COVER STORY:
FRACTURING
FIGURE 1. The pilot projects horizontal laterals were drilled
orthogonal to maximum horizontal stress to fracture across
the laterals. (Images courtesy of Schlumberger)
EPmag.com | February 2013
The two horizontal wells were the first in this reservoir.
The vertical wells that were completed initially produced
31 b/d to 179 b/d after conventional fracturing treat-
ment with crosslinked gel and about 50 to 120 tons of
proppant placed. Production from the vertical wells
declined quickly in three months to fewer than 18 b/d
and could hardly produce economically afterward. From
previous post-closure pressure decline analysis it was
determined that effective permeability can be as low as
0.01 mD. Extremely low permeability and insufficient
fracture surface area for oil production were considered
the main causes for low production.
New simulation workflow
To achieve the objective of maximizing the reservoir-frac-
ture surface contact area in this basin, it was necessary to
have an accurate understanding of how the fracture was
penetrating into the reservoir, including complexity,
effective length, fracture containment within the pay
zone, and fracture conductivity for hydrocarbon produc-
tion. It is well known from other tight oil plays that reser-
voir contact area can be significantly improved with
multiple transverse fractures for horizontal wells. How-
ever, even with transverse fractures, the well potential
could only be maximized with contribution from all of
the pay intervals and optimized proppant distribution
along the lateral.
Rather than using traditional planar fracture models
based on a 1-D geomechanical model, the new Mangrove
reservoir-centric stimulation design software was intro-
duced for the pilot project. The software, which is a
plug-in for the Petrel E&P software platform, uses an
integrated reservoir-centric workflow to enable seismic
to simulation as well as optimal completion and stimu-
lation scenarios to enhance production from uncon-
ventional reservoirs. The design-execution-evaluation
cycle in this workflow is distinguished from previous
conventional capability by its ability to simulate com-
plex natural fracture and hydraulic fracture interaction
via new mathematical models in tight reservoirs.
For example, the 3-D geocellular earth model cap-
tures sedimentary, stratigraphic, and geomechanical
details in the reservoir and bounding layers. In the
past these models have been used solely for geologic
study and reservoir simulation. However, in the new
workflow the hydraulic fracture completion design
based on the 3-D geoceullar earth model is coupled
with production prediction based on the hydraulic
fracture gridded onto the upscaled reservoir model.
This enables the full usage of the model and a much
more realistic picture of hydraulic fracturing behavior
and its impact on well productivity.
For improved accuracy, model calibration plays an
important role in this workflow. While 3-D earth models
and complex fracture models provide details in real-
world dimensions with deliberate data inputs, model
accuracy is improved through fracture and production
behavior calibration.
Workflow steps are integrated into a single work
platform and can be implemented routinely for single
well or multiple well design. Calibration cycles are per-
formed during the fracture treatment if necessary. The
COVER STORY:
FRACTURING
FIGURE 2. By correlating the features from several well logs, the
structural variation along the laterals between the monitoring
wells was identified.
FIGURE 3. The surfaces extracted from well correlation show
structural variation.
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COVER STORY:
FRACTURING
workflow is tailored according to how much data are
available, and the complexity of the 3-D models is cho-
sen to enable the capturing of adequate details with
acceptable computer time consumption.
In this pilot project, geostatistical well correlations to
reflect the detailed formation variation along the laterals
were established through the three vertical wells placed
between the two horizontal target wells. By looking at the
features from several well logs, a series of well tops
including the top and bottom of the target Chang-7 for-
mation was identified to reflect the structural variation
along the laterals. After building a structural model, a 3-D
zonal model was built according to the surfaces extracted
from well correlation. Geologic structure and reservoir
property variation were captured. Properties for each
zone were determined based upon the properties of the
monitoring wells along the laterals.
To capture the basic characteristic and quantitative
modeling of the natural fracture system in this area, a
discrete fracture network (DFN) approach was used
based on geologic knowledge. A manual DFN model was
initially created to represent the natural fractures. With
the DFN model and 3-D geomechanical model, the
unconventional fracture simulation result suggested
basic planar fractures with some simple fracture net-
works by opening natural fractures and creating new
fracture branches during the main fracture propagation.
The DFN model can be further calibrated according to
microseismic fracture monitoring results.
This unconventional fracture model can explicitly
model fracture propagation in 3-D. Hydraulic fracture-
natural fracture interaction, stress shadow effect
between nearby fractures, proppant transportation
in fracture networks, lateral stress, and property varia-
tions are considered.
New workflow results
in increased production
Initial production tests on both horizontal wells showed
783 b/d and 648 b/d, respectively, significantly higher
than all the wells completed in tight oil reservoirs in the
Ordos basin. Production normally varied from 31 b/d to
50 b/d in vertical wells and to 201 b/d for horizontal
wells, on average. The initial result showed substantial pro-
duction increase compared with the production from the
Chang-6 formation of the nearest offset reservoir as shown
in Figure 5, which actually had slightly better reservoir
quality. Compared with the best horizontal well, the initial
results showed an 80% to 100% production increase.
The stabilized production rates after three months
were 5.5 and 3.9 times those of the same vertical well.
Results showed more than a 50% increase compared
with the horizontal well completed in the same forma-
tion in the northern part of the basin.
This article was prepared from SPE article 158268, presented
at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition held
in San Antonio, Texas, Oct. 8-10, 2012.
FIGURE 4. The 3-D zonal model with minimum horizontal stress
was determined based upon properties from the monitoring
wells along the laterals.
FIGURE 5. The initial production result for both horizontal wells
(wells A and B) shows a substantial increase as compared to the
vertical well on the same pad.