Proppant Distribution in Newly Completed and Re-Fractured Wells - An Eagle Ford Shale Case Study

Abstract

Abstract Fracture treatments and stage designs for new wells have evolved considerably over the past decade contributingto significant production growth. For example, in the acreage discussed hererecently used higher intensity fracturing methods provided an ~80% increase in recovery rates compared with legacy wells. Older wells completed originally with less efficient techniques can also benefit from these more up-to-date designs and treatments using re-fracturing methods. These offer the prospect of economically boosting production in appropriately selected wells. While adding in-fill wells has often been favored by Operators as a lowerrisk option the number of wells being re-fractured has grown every year for the last decade. In this case study two adjacent Eagle Ford wells, comprising a newly completed and a re-fractured well, allow both methods to be considered and compared. Completion design and fracture treatment effectiveness are evaluated using the uniformity of proppant distribution at cluster and stage level as the primary measure. Perforation erosion measurements from downhole video footage is used as the main diagnostic. Novel data acquisition methods combined with successful well preparation provided comprehensive and high-quality datasets. The subsequent proppant distribution analysis for the two wells provides the highest confidence results presented to date. Clear, repeatable trends in distribution are observed and these are compared across multiple stage designs for both the newly completed and re-fractured well. Variations in design parameters and how these effects distribution and ultimately recovery are discussed. These include changes to perforation count per cluster, cluster spacing, cluster count per stage, stage length, perforation charge size and treatment rates and volumes. As a final consideration production records for the evaluated wells are also discussed. Historical industry data shows that the number of wells being re-fractured increases relative to the number of newly drilled wells being completed during periods of low oil and gas prices. With the industry again facing harsh economic realities an increasing number of decisions will be made on whether new or refractured wells, or a combination of both, provide the best solution to replace otherwise inevitable production decline. This paper attempts to provide a detailed understanding of how proppant distribution, as a significant factor in production for hydraulically fractured wells, can be evaluated and considered in these decisions.