Abstract
We have carried out a geomechanical study of three wells, one each in the Niobrara A, Niobrara C, and Codell Sandstone to investigate how the state of stress and stress variations with depth affect vertical hydraulic fracture growth and shear stimulation of preexisting fractures. We determine that the higher magnitudes of measured least principal stress values in the Niobrara A and C shales are the result of viscoplastic stress relaxation. Using a density log and a vertical transverse isotropy velocity model developed to accurately locate the microseismic events, we theoretically calculated a continuous profile of the magnitude of the least principal stress with depth. This stress profile explains the apparent vertical hydraulic fracture growth as inferred from the well-constrained depths of the associated microseismic events. Finally, we determine that because of the upward propagation of hydraulic fractures from the Niobrara C to the Niobrara A, the latter formation experienced considerably more shear stimulation, which may contribute to the greater production of oil and gas from that formation.
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