ABSTRACT of Presentation

THIS REGULAR GENERAL MEETING LUNCHEON EVENT WILL BE HELD VIA WEBINAR AND IN-PERSON. TO REGISTER FOR THE IN-PERSON EVENT, PLEASE RETURN TO THE EVENTS PAGE TO FIND THE IN-PERSON LINK.

Unconventional reservoirs are filled with extensive micro-fractures created by hydrocarbon expulsion that are reactivated via hydraulic fracturing.  Unlike fracturing conventional rock that is reliant on highly conductive tensile fractures, these micro-fractures fail in shear and greatly increase the connected surface area to nanodarcy unconventional rock. By actively increasing the number of shear fractures created during hydraulic fracturing, operators can re-enter these micro-fractures and maximize the well’s productivity.

This presentation will present modern physics based on hydraulic fracturing and proppant placement coupled with the field use of real-time software that is capable of measuring and qualifying tensile and shearing fractures on a second-by-second basis.  Examples of how operators made “on-the-fly” changes to their pumping schedule to maximize shear fracturing will be presented. Case histories will be presented showing the real-time changes and added production benefits of shear fracturing.