Fracture Height Quantification from Vertical and Horizontal Section Fiber Measurements: A Comprehensive Study Using LF-DAS Measurements from HFTS-2 Data Set

Abstract

Summary Understanding fracture height growth is critical for optimizing hydraulic fracture treatments and field development. In recent years, low-frequency distributed acoustic sensing (LF-DAS) has become a popular tool for monitoring strain changes during hydraulic fracturing. While LF-DAS data from vertical monitoring wells (VMWs) can be used to determine fracture height, measurements from the vertical section of horizontal wells may have the potential to capture fracture height growth. The objectives of this study are (1) to apply three methods—(a) using the vertical section of horizontal fiber measurements, (b) using the vertical fiber measurements, and (c) using the horizontal section of horizontal fiber measurements—to determine the fracture height using the Hydraulic Fracturing Test Site 2 (HFTS-2) data set and (2) to demonstrate the reliability of using LF-DAS measurements from the vertical section of horizontal fibers for fracture height determination. In an effort to determine the fracture height from the HFTS-2 data set using the three methods, we demonstrate the reliability of the height prediction using strain measurements in the vertical section of the horizontal monitoring well (VS-HMW). First, we analyze the measurements from the vertical section of the horizontal fiber (B3H) during the stimulation of the heel-most stages of the horizontal wells (B1H, B2H, and B4H). Second, we analyze the measurements from the VMW (B5PH) during the stimulations of B1H, B2H, and B4H. Third, we use a geomechanical inversion algorithm to obtain height estimates from the horizontal section of the LF-DAS measurements at B3H during B1H, B2H, and B4H stimulations. The fracture height is determined based on the transition of the extension-compression zone in the LF-DAS measurements from the vertical sections. The height estimates obtained using the three methods are compared and found to be consistent in the six well pairs we analyzed. The LF-DAS measurements from the vertical well B5PH provide a complete height profile, while measurements from the vertical section capture fracture growth from the upper tip of the fracture to the landing depth of the horizontal well. The fracture height estimates obtained from our inversion algorithm represent the average height value of all fracture hits at the chosen stage. This study demonstrates the potential to determine fracture height growth using LF-DAS measurements in the vertical section of a horizontal well, thus avoiding the cost associated with drilling VMWs to obtain fracture heights.