A Multiply-Fractured Horizontal Well in a Rectangular Drainage Region

Abstract

Summary We examine the productivity of a multiply-fractured well in a reservoir that is in the form of a rectangle. The properties of the individual fractures (length, conductivity, skin, etc.) are entirely arbitrary. The fractures are assumed to be parallel to one of the sides of the rectangle and maybe either parallel or perpendicular to the horizontal well. The primary objective of this work is to outline a computationally-efficient scheme to compute well productivity. This objective yields a simple method to incorporate this completion scheme in reservoir-simulation models. It should permit an engineer to understand interactions between the fractures in the presence of boundaries. The model also permits us to compute pressure distributions under depletion conditions for single-phase oil and gas reservoirs. Further, it provides for a realistic design of this completion scheme. It is to be emphasized that the problem we consider is a nontrivial one in that flow to a single vertical fracture of finite conductivity in a rectangular drainage area is yet to be modeled successfully.