Abstract
Summary A dual seismic system designed to monitor the growth of hydrofractures was fielded during the first stimulation at the U.S. DOE-sponsored Multiwell Experiment (MWX) during Dec. 1983. The MWX consists of three 8,000-ft [2438-m] wells drilled in low-permeability gas reservoirs. The wellbores are spaced less than 200 ft [61 m] apart over most of their length. With this configuration, microseismic activity created by the fracture treatment in one well could be observed with downhole geophone packages in the two adjacent wells. Responses of the two triaxial borehole seismic tools (BST's) were monitored in real time. Upon detection of a seismic event of known location, orientations of the BST's were determined from the polarization of the compressional wave arrivals. From knowledge of the horizontal and vertical angles of incidence and an empirical estimate of seismic velocities, the locations of the fracture-induced seismic sources were estimated. Thus the location of the microseisms could be estimated and, in turn, the fracture height and extent inferred. This paper presents the results of fracture diagnostics by use of this borehole seismic system for the first MWX stimulation. This information is compared and combined with the results obtained from other diagnostic techniques to provide an integrated estimate of the fracture geometry resulting from the stimulation.
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