Abstract
In shale gas hydraulic fracture monitoring or rock acoustic emission experiments, fracture plane identification is always a complex task. Conventional approaches typically use the source locating results derived from the micro-seismic event and then interpret the fracture plane using manual qualitative analysis. Large errors typically occur due to manual operations. On the other hand, the density-based clustering algorithm with spatial constraints is widely used in geographic information science, biological cells science and astronomy. It is an automated algorithm and can achieve good classification results. In this paper, we introduced the above-mentioned clustering algorithm with spatial constraints to fracture identification applications. Moreover, because micro-seismic events are 4D in nature, every micro-seismic event has both time and space information. Hence, we improve the conventional clustering algorithm by incorporating a time constraint. We test the proposed method using rock acoustic emissions data and compare our fracture identification results with CT scan images; the comparison clearly shows the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Highlights
Shale gas occurs in organic-rich matter in mud shale and in the interlayers through adsorption or in a free state
Through fracture monitoring: (a) We can better understand fracture construction, determine an approximate size of the crack and determine whether a new crack has been created during fracturing. (b) We can better understand the production results after hydraulic fracturing, determine whether a crack intersects the production layer and analyze whether the cracks and natural fractures intersect. (c) We can adopt fracture optimization and production economic evaluation to optimize fracturing design with an increase in the construction scale
An accurate fracture monitoring method is an effective tool for understanding the fracturing conditions for a shale gas well
Summary
Shale gas occurs in organic-rich matter in mud shale and in the interlayers through adsorption or in a free state. Because the shale gas reservoir has low porosity and low permeability physical property characteristics, only very few shale gas wells with significant natural fracture development can be put directly into production. Most shale gas wells need hydraulic fracturing to achieve the desired production. The construction personnel can effectively evaluate the fracturing result using fracture monitoring technology. Through fracture monitoring: (a) We can better understand fracture construction, determine an approximate size of the crack and determine whether a new crack has been created during fracturing. (b) We can better understand the production results after hydraulic fracturing, determine whether a crack intersects the production layer and analyze whether the cracks and natural fractures intersect. An accurate fracture monitoring method is an effective tool for understanding the fracturing conditions for a shale gas well
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