Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Applicable in gas or oil wells, fracture restimulations bypass near-wellbore damage, reestablish good
connectivity with the reservoir and tap areas with higher pore pressure. An initial period of production
also can alter formation stresses, resulting in better vertical containment and more lateral extension
during hydraulic fracturing, and may even allow the new fracture to reorient along a different azimuth.
As a result, refracturing often restores well productivity to near original or even higher rates.
George Dozier
Houston, Texas, USA
Jack Elbel
Consultant
Dallas, Texas
Eugene Fielder
Devon Energy
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA
Ren Hoover
Fort Worth, Texas
Stephen Lemp
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Scott Reeves
Advanced Resources International
Houston, Texas
Eduard Siebrits
Sugar Land, Texas
Del Wisler
Kerr-McGee Corporation
Houston, Texas
Steve Wolhart
Pinnacle Technologies
Houston, Texas
38
Oileld Review
2003
1993
Autumn 2003
39
A Multiple-Basin Evaluation
Some operators report disappointing results
when refracturing previously stimulated wells,
despite documented successes in individual
wells and several field-wide restimulation
efforts.3 However, recent research, subsequent
field trials and the ongoing refracturing
programs of a few operators still attract
considerable interest and attention within the
oil and gas industry.
In 1996, the Gas Research Institute (GRI),
now Gas Technology Institute (GTI), began
investigating fracture restimulation as a low-cost
means of enhancing gas production and adding
recoverable reserves. This preliminary evaluation identified significant onshore gas
potentialconservatively more than 10 Tcf
[286.4 billion m3] of incremental reservesin
the USA, excluding Alaska (below).
These additional gas reserves are located in
the Rocky Mountain, Midcontinent, East Texas
and South Texas regions, primary in lowpermeability, or tight-gas, sandstones (TGS)
and in other unconventional reservoirs that
include gas shales (GS) and coalbed methane
(CBM) deposits (see Producing Natural Gas
from Coal, page 8). Other areas of the USA with
refracturing potential include unconventional
Michigan
Green River
GS
Denver-Julesburg
TGS
TGS
San Juan
CS, TGS, CBM
CS
Hugoton
TGS
CC
Permian
Delaware
CC
Appalachian
USA
Piceance
TGS
CC
Val Verde
TGS
TGS
GS
Anadarko
Barnett Shale
GS
Black Warrior
CBM
CS East Texas
TGS
South Texas
TGS
400
800
1200
250
500
750
1600 km
1000 miles
> Areas with refracturing potential in the USA. The 1996 Gas Technology Institute (GTI) restimulation
investigation evaluated a wide range of gas reservoirs, including conventional sandstone and carbonate formations, tight-gas sands, gas shales and coalbed methane deposits. This evaluation focused
on conventional gas-producing provinces with cumulative production greater than 5 Tcf [143.2 billion
m3] for further evaluation. Higher production implied high numbers of older wells and more refracturing opportunities. The study also identied tight-gas sand areas with an estimated ultimate recovery
(EUR) greater than 1 Tcf [28.6 billion m3] and the largest gas shale and coalbed methane developments, but did not include offshore developments with limited production and recovery information.
40
Oileld Review
High
Type curves
Interpretation requirements
e
Tim
and
t
cos
se
rea
inc
Virtual intelligence
Production statistics
Low
Low
Data requirements
High
Operator:
Enron Oil and Gas, now EOG resources.
Operator:
Union Pacific Resources Company (UPRC), now
Anadarko Petroleum Corporation.
Operator:
Barrett Resources, now Williams Company.
Formation:
Upper Cretaceous Frontier.
Formation:
Cotton Valley.
Formation:
Mesaverde group, Upper Cretaceous Williams Fork.
Location:
Big Piney/LaBarge complex, northern Moxa Arch area,
southwestern Wyoming, USA.
Location:
Carthage Gas Unit (CGU) field near
Carthage, Panola County, Texas, USA.
Location:
Parachute and Grand Valley fields near Rulison,
Garfield County, Colorado, USA.
Deposition:
Marine sandstones, primarily rivers and streams, or
fluvial and distal shore zones.
Deposition:
Complex marine sandstones, primarily barrier reef and
tidal zone.
Deposition:
Marine sandstones, primarily fluvial and marsh,
or paludal.
Reservoir:
Tight-gas sands with permeability of 0.0005 to 0.1 mD
in up to four productive horizons, consisting of as many
as eight separate intervals, or benches.
Reservoir:
Heterogeneous, highly laminated and compartmentalized
tight-gas sands with permeability of 0.05 to 0.2 mD.
Reservoir:
Compartmentalized tight-gas sands with permeability
of 0.1 to 2 mD. Because of natural fractures, effective
permeability is 10 to 50 mD.
Initial completions:
One to three stages of a crosslinked guar fluid and
nitrogen foam with 100,000 to 500,000 lbm [45,359 to
226,796 kg] of proppant sand.
Initial completions:
Three to four stages of a crosslinked fluid and proppant
volumes of 1 to 4 million lbm [453,592 to 1,814,370 kg]
for an entire well; 1996 to present, UPR and Anadarko
used slick-water fluids with less than 250,000 lbm
[113,398 kg] of proppant.
Initial completions:
Two to five stages with proppant volumes of 50,000
to 650,000 lbm [22,680 to 294,835 kg] per stage.
GTI restimulations:
Three refracturing treatments and one gel-cleanup
treatment.
GTI restimulations:
Three refracturing treatments.
GTI restimulations:
Two refracturing treatments.
> The 1998 GTI restimulation study to evaluate refracturing candidate-selection methods at three USA test sites.
Autumn 2003
41
Site
field/basin
Well
Date
Incremental
recovery, MMcf
Treatment
cost, $
Reserve
cost, $/Mcf
Success/
failure
Big Piney
and LaBarge/
Green River
GRB 45-12
GRB 27-14
NLB 57-33
WSC 20-09
Jan. 1999
Jan. 1999
Apr. 1999
Jun. 2000
602
(186)
0
302
87,000
87,000
20,000
120,000
0.14
NA
NA
0.40
S
F
F
S
Rulison/
Piceance
Langstaff 1
RMV 55-20
Jun. 2000
Jun. 2000
282
75
50,000
70,000
0.18
0.93
S
F
Carthage/
East Texas
CGU 15-8
CGU 10-7
CGU 3-8
Nov. 1999
Jan. 2000
Jan. 2000
270
407
1100
100,000
100,000
100,000
0.37
0.25
0.09
S
S
S
2852
734,000
317
82,000
Total
Average
2864 m3/d
5727 m3/d
0.26
8590 m3/d
11,455 m3/d
450
CGU 3-8
RMV 55-20
400
CGU 10-7
CGU 15-8
350
GRB 45-12
300
250
Langstaff 1
200
WSC 20-09
NLB 57-33
150
100
50
GRB 27-14
0
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
> GTI eld-test results. Two of the four wells in the Frontier formation (Green River basin), all three of
the wells in the Cotton Valley formation (East Texas basin), and one of the two wells in the Williams
Fork formation (Piceance basin) were successful. Of the three unsuccessful treatments, one added
incremental reserves at a cost of $0.93/Mcf and two had mechanical or design problems. Of the latter
two, in one, the damage-removal treatment could not be pumped at the injection rate required to uidize the original proppant pack and remove suspected residual gel damage from the initial treatment;
the other failed to clean up because energized uids were not used as recommended in the GTI design.
42
Candidate-Selection Methods
Overall, the GTI refracturing tests were successful, but did not definitively identify a single
candidate-selection method as most effective.
Each technique tends to select different wells
for different reasons that may all be valid,
depending on specific reservoir characteristics
(next page, top). Production statistics worked
reasonably well in the Piceance basin. Virtual
intelligence and pattern recognition worked
best in the Green River basin. Type curves were
most effective in the East Texas basin. Clearly,
additional evaluations were needed to validate
the effectiveness of each technique and to
advance refracturing acceptance.
A reservoir simulation of a hypothetical
tight-gas field was designed for this purpose.7
The objective of this study was to independently
test and validate candidate-selection methods
against the simulation model. Results from this
simulation confirmed that each candidateselection method being studied tended to yield
different candidates. And like the 1998 GTI
restimulation study, some wells were selected by
more than one of the methods. The virtual-intelligence method was generally most effective,
followed closely by type curves. With less efficiency than random selections, production
statistics alone were the least effective method.
Oileld Review
Site,
field/basin
Success/
failure
Well
Type
curves
Big Piney
and LaBarge/
Green River
GRB 45-12
GRB 27-14
NLB 57-33
WSC 20-09
S
F
F
S
>50
>50
4
38
*15
*39
*>50
*2
>50
32
20
1
Rulison/
Piceance
Langstaff 1
RMV 55-20
S
F
1
43
>50
>50
>50
17
Carthage/
East Texas
CGU 15-8
CGU 3-8
CGU 10-7
S
S
S
>50
>50
4
>50
>50
26
11
7
40
*Revised analysis
Note: Bold italic numbers indicate correct classifications (true positive or true negative)
> Candidate-selection performance. Based on the economic criterion of adding incremental reserves
at less than $0.5/Mcf, the GTI study evaluated the capability of each candidate-selection method to
correctly select successful refracturing candidates or to not select unsuccessful candidates. This
determination was based on whether each method ranked a well among the top 50 candidates or
not. The three methodsproduction statistics, virtual intelligence and pattern recognition, and type
curvesidentied successful refracturing candidates or noncandidates in at least four of the nine
test wells, ve in the case of virtual intelligence. The three methods combined identied only two of
the ve successful treatments and none of the three unsuccessful wells.
Production statistics
Virtual intelligence
14
15
7
50
10
5
103
89
45
53
49
4
93
71
52
120
83
Type curves
Autumn 2003
43
had mechanical failures during the initial stimulation. When other operators began restimulating
their better producers with varying, but generally
encouraging results, Patina initiated a eld-wide
evaluation of refracturing potential.
The Wattenburg field produces mainly from
the Codell interval. This ne-grained sandstone,
deposited in a marine-shelf environment, is a
member of the Upper Cretaceous Carlisle shale.
The Codell reservoir contains 15 to 25% clay by
volume in mixed layers of illite and smectite
that ll and line the pore spaces.
The pay interval is 14 to 35 ft [4.3 to 10.7 m]
thick, 6800 to 7700 ft [2073 to 2347 m] deep and
continuous across the field. Permeability is
less than 0.1 mD. Porosity from density logs is
8 to 20%. Initially, the reservoir was overpressured with a gradient of about 0.6 psi/ft
[13.5 kPa/m]. Bottomhole temperature is 230 to
250F [110 to 121C]. Wells are drilled on a
40-acre [162,000-m2] spacing.
During 1998, Patina compiled a database of
250 fracture restimulations on both operated
and nonoperated properties. After eliminating
wells treated with borate crosslinked fluids,
which were 20% less productive than other
wells, company engineers focused on the
remaining 200 wells. These wells had been restimulated with carboxymethyl hydropropyl guar
(CMHPG) or hydropropyl guar (HPG) uids.
Further evaluation identified 35 discrete
geologic, completion and production parameters
related to well performance. Linear-regression
analysis helped determine those parameters
that correlated with peak incremental production after refracturing. Two technical
2500
1500
1000
Patina
500
Others
CMG fluids
0
1997
1998
1999
2000
> Historical refracturing performance in the Wattenburg eld, Colorado. The combined applications of CMG stimulation uids and
the candidate-selection algorithm developed by Patina Oil & Gas signicantly improved restimulation results in Patina-operated wells.
44
Oileld Review
Description
Statistical
significance
Rank
Parameter
Hydrocarbon volume,
porosity-feet
38%
Cumulative
recovery factor
17%
Initial completion
9%
Estimated ultimate
recovery (EUR) factor
11%
Gas/oil ratio
20%
Maximum differential
recovery, million BOE
5%
> Patina Oil & Gas statistical algorithm. Of the ve statistically signicant
variables of the candidate-selection algorithm for Wattenburg eld, hydrocarbon volume in porosity-feet represents reservoir quality, initial
completion represents the initial completion, and the other threecumulative recovery factor, estimated ultimate recovery factor and gas/oil
ratiorepresent well performance. Well location is not signicant because
of the relatively uniform reservoir quality. However, higher, and therefore better, gas/oil ratios do tend to occur in the center of the eld. The sixth variable
maximum differential recovery in BOE helps predict restimulation potential
for economic evaluations.
Autumn 2003
45
Ineffective or problematic
initial completions
. Unstimulated horizons
. Low fracture conductivity
. Short fracture length
. High skin, or damage
Well
underperformance
Technology evolution
. Advanced stimulation technology
. New completion techniques
. Well age
Completion-Related Underperformance
To aid in problem diagnosis, the 1998 GTI
project established a framework to classify
well-performance problems (above). For tightgas wells, three specific problems, ranked in
order of highest perceived restimulation potential were identied:
Unstimulated or bypassed pay
Insufcient fracture conductivity
Insufcient fracture length.
Ineffective or problematic initial completions are the most common type of problem.
Examples include lack of quality control during
initial fracture treatments, residual polymer
damage from stimulation fluids, inappropriate
proppant selection, premature screenout, underdesigned fracturing treatments, incompatible
fluids and single-stage treatments that leave
some pay intervals unstimulated.
Hydraulic fractures can lose effectiveness in
the years after an initial stimulation treatment
because of gradual damage that occurs over the
life of a well. Examples include loss of fracture
conductivity from proppant crushing or embedding in the formation and plugging of the pack
by formation nes or scale deposition. Proppant
owback from the near-well area can allow the
hydraulic fractures to close. Typically, little
information is available to identify these
specic mechanisms.
Wells with these types of problems have the
greatest potential for remediation by refracturing. In older wells that have a higher occurrence
of these problems, reservoir pressure must be
sufcient to justify refracturing, both in terms of
46
Oileld Review
Autumn 2003
y
New fracture
Isotropic point
Stress-reversal
region
Maximum
horizontal
stress
Wellbore
x
Initial fracture
Isotropic point
New fracture
Minimum
horizontal
stress
> Stress reorientation and orthogonal fracture extension. This horizontal section through a vertical wellbore depicts an original hydraulic fracture in the
x direction and a second reoriented fracture in the y direction. Fluid production after placement of the initial fracture can cause a local redistribution
of pore pressure in an expanding elliptical region around the wellbore and
initial fracture. The stress-reversal boundary is dened by isotropic points of
equal primary horizontal stresses. Stress reorientation and fracture extension
in a direction away from the initial propped fracture help explain pressure
responses during refracturing treatments and unanticipated production
increases from refractured wells known to have effective initial fractures.
47
should be minimized to maintain a high porepressure gradient normal to the initial fracture.
Aside from this, standard fracture design considerations should be used.
Fracture restimulations in the naturally fractured Barnett Shale, north of Fort Worth, Texas,
USA, are an example of fracture reorientation.
These treatments were monitored with an
array of surface and subsurface tiltmeters
(below).16 The results suggested signicant fracture reorientation in one well and oblique
reorientation in the other well. Post-treatment
production increased substantially in both wells.
Other refractured wells in the area had similar
increases. Reservoir depletion combined with
natural fractures can cause complex fracture
networks to develop during initial treatments
and restimulations.
E
Initial injection
1st 83 minutes
2nd 83 minutes
3rd 83 minutes
Final 83 minutes
S
Fracture-induced
surface trough
Depth
Surface tiltmeters
Fracture
Downhole
tiltmeters in
offset well
48
Oileld Review
Microseism
Receivers
Reservoir
Fracture
Wellbore
Offset
wellbore
Simple fracture
Complex fractures
> Complex fracture networks. The simple classical description of a hydraulic fracture is a single,
biwing, planar crack with the wellbore at the
center of the two wings (top). In some formations,
however, complex (middle) and very complex
(bottom) hydraulic fractures may also develop, as
appears to be the case in the naturally fractured
Barnett Shale.
16. Siebrits E, Elbel JL, Hoover RS, Diyashev IR, Grifn LG,
Demetrius SL, Wright CA, Davidson BM, Steinsberger NP
and Hill DG: Refracture Reorientation Enhances
Gas Production in Barnett Shale Tight Gas Wells, paper
SPE 63030, presented at the SPE Annual Technical
Conference and Exhibition, Dallas, Texas, USA,
October 14, 2000.
Fisher MK, Wright CA, Davidson BM, Goodwin AK,
Fielder EO, Buckler WS and Steinsberger NP: Integrated Fracture Mapping Technologies to Optimize
Stimulations in the Barnett Shale, paper SPE 77441,
presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference
and Exhibition, San Antonio, Texas, USA,
September 29October 2, 2002.
Autumn 2003
49
100,000
10,000
Refractured
1000
100
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996 1997
Year
50
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
> Typical restimulation results for a Barnett Shale well. The use of substantial volumes of slick water
and low quantities of proppant sand to refracture the Barnett Shale resulted in well productivities as
good as or better than the original completion. In some cases, the well productivities after refracturing
were the highest ever recorded in this eld.
R14
1998
R13W4
50.8
223.9
137.3
T20
397.4
570.0
743.1
916.2
829.6
T20
T19
T19
T18
T18
R14
R13W4
Oileld Review
450 psi
120
335 psi
100
Pressure depletion
over 30 years
80
60
40
335 psi
20
140
120
450 psi
335 psi
100
Pressure depletion
over 30 years
80
60
40
335 psi
20
0
Well life
Initial
Well life
Before refracturing
After refracturing
Field production
5.0
6 new wells
4.5
Autumn 2003
Production, MMscf/D
4.0
20. Degenhardt KF, Stevenson J, Gale B, Gonzalez D, Hall S,
Marsh J and Zemlak W: Isolate and Stimulate
Individual Pay Zones, Oileld Review 13, no. 3
(Autumn 2001): 6077.
21. Lemp S, Zemlak W and McCollum R: An Economical
Shallow-Gas Fracturing Technique Utilizing a Coiled
Tubing Conduit, paper SPE 46031, presented at the
SPE/ICoTA Coiled Tubing Roundtable, Houston, Texas,
USA, April 1516, 1998.
Zemlak W, Lemp S and McCollum R: Selective
Hydraulic Fracturing of Multiple Perforated Intervals
with a Coiled Tubing Conduit: A Case History of the
Unique Process, Economic Impact and Related
Production Improvements, paper SPE 54474, presented
at the SPE/ICoTA Coiled Tubing Roundtable, Houston,
Texas, USA, May 2526. 1999.
Marsh J, Zemlak WM and Pipchuk P: Economic
Fracturing of Bypassed Pay: A Direct Comparison of
Conventional and Coiled Tubing Placement Techniques,
paper SPE 60313, presented at the SPE Rocky Mountain
Regional/Low Permeability Reservoirs Symposium,
Denver, Colorado, USA, March 1215, 2000.
3.5
3.0
13 new
wells
2.5
2.0
Last well to be CT
fractured (only 10 of
15 wells have been
fractured at this point
and all through CT)
1.5
1.0
Gas compressor
shutdown
0.5
0.0
2001
2002
> Shallow-gas restimulation results. Refracturing shallow wells in the gas-bearing Medicine Hat and
Milk River formations resulted in signicant production increases, even after the wells had produced
for more than 30 years. Enerplus Resources Fund used both coiled tubing and snubbing-unit tubingconveyed stimulation techniques.
51
52
100,000
Average during the first month for all
12 wells: 6.6 MMcf/D after refracturing
Projected decline
after refracturing
10,000
1000
Rate for all 12 wells: 1.5
MMcf/D before refracturing
Projected decline had the
wells not been refractured
100
-84
-72
-60
-48
-36
-24
-12
12
24
36
48
60
methodsproduction statistics, pattern recognition and type curves. The SSTI method was
applied to determine initial hydraulic fracturing
treatment effectiveness in wells at this test site.
Successful application in several Frontier area
gas wells demonstrated the potential of the SSTI
method, but data quality and acquisition
difficulties hampered complete analysis of the
well-test data.
Interpretations using the SSTI method
require high-quality, precise data. Downhole
measurements with precise electronic gauges
and frequent data sampling help capture the
required level of detail. Downhole shut-in
devices reduce wellbore storage effects and
accelerate the onset of linear flow. Using test
times that fall between the start and end of
linear ow, the SSTI method is also applicable in
conventional well tests.
Production-Enhancement Evaluation
Kerr-McGee Corporation and Schlumberger
began working collaboratively to enhance
production from mature, or browneld, South
Texas gas properties in March 2002. These
efforts are the result of a comprehensive reservoir evaluation performed by Schlumberger to
develop a better understanding of completion
and production trends in the Vicksburg basin.
Initiated in the fall of 2001, this proactive study
concentrated on areas where application of new
technologies and techniques would have the
most impact and, in turn, help operators
produce gas more economically.
The objective was to understand how geological, petrophysical and well-completion practices
impact well performance. This Vicksburg study
identified underperforming wells and specific
technologies, such as advanced formationevaluation tools, improved well-completion
Oileld Review
Autumn 2003
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Average production
increase, Mcf/D
53