Hydrocarbon Recovery Boosted by Enhanced Fracturing Technique

Abstract

Abstract The oil and gas industry has continuously searched for methods to increase the recoverable reserves of known hydrocarbon reservoirs. Keeping in mind that every reservoir will have its own recovery factor, historic numbers indicate that original completions access between 10 to 25% of available reserves, and secondary and tertiary recovery techniques can improve the recovery factor to as much as 25 to 60% of the hydrocarbons in place. With an industry focus on unconventional shale and its ultra-low permeability, the recovery factors are on the lower end of the historic figures. The ultra-low permeability dramatically limits the drainage radius of a given fracture. A new completion technique is providing a methodology to improve hydrocarbon recovery. This paper presents the results of case studies for two different fields where a deep reservoir diverting technique using environmentally acceptable self-removing diverters has significantly impacted the production from 15 shale wells. Insight is also presented regarding how this deep reservoir diverting technique has the potential to impact a well’s production, spacing, and ultimate hydrocarbon recovery in unconventional shales.