Multidisciplinary Data Gathering to Characterize Hydraulic Fracture Performance and Evaluate Well Spacing in the Bakken

To effectively drain hydrocarbon from unconventional plays, operators have been optimizing their drilling spacing unit (DSU) well spacing for many years. This presentation illustrates a continuous improvement of Bakken well spacing using trial pads with smaller spacing and multidisciplinary data gathering to understand the most effective spacing between wells. The operator’s standard well spacing between Middle Bakken (MB) wells in the East Nesson (EN) area [Alger Field] ranges from 500 to 700 ft. To understand the optimum spacing between wells in this area, the operator trialed well spacing of 500 ft between like formations. The spacing between Middle Bakken and Three Forks wells was 250 ft. Data gathered during the spacing trial included microseismic, microseismic depletion delineation (MDD), radioactive (RA) tracers, chemical tracers, image logs, pressure measurements during completion/flowback/early-time production, and diagnostic fracture injection tests (DFITs). The data was used to calibrate advanced hydraulic fracture models and guide next-generation reservoir simulation history matching to characterize multi-well production behavior.

Location: Norris Conference Centers - Houston/Westchase
9990 Richmond Ave.
Houston , TX 77042

Date: Feb. 27, 2019, 11:30 a.m. - Feb. 27, 2019, 1 p.m.