Hydraulic Fracture Propagation in Denver-Julesburg Basin Constrained by Cross-Well Distributed Strain Measurements

Abstract

Summary Evaluating hydraulic fracturing completion is critical for low porosity, low permeability unconventional reservoir development. In this study, we use low-frequency distributed acoustic sensing (LF-DAS) measurements to monitor the hydraulic fracturing in the Chalk Bluff field in the Denver-Julesburg (DJ) Basin, Colorado. Interpreting fracture-hits from crosswell LF-DAS data yields insights into the fracture geometry and propagation across and within two targeted formations: Niobrara and Codell. We observe significant differences in hydraulic fracture propagation between the two formations; the half length of hydraulic fractures in the Codell formation is much longer than that in the Niobrara. In addition, hydraulic fracture propagates significantly faster in Codell than in Niobrara under the same pumping rate. The differences could be explained by higher natural fracture density and potentially lower stress anisotropy in the Niobrara formation. We also observed different fracture orientations between the two formations and inconsistent fracture orientations within Niobrara. Hydraulic fractures observed in Codell oriented at 100 degree consistently, while two group of fracture azimuths (110 and 240 degrees) can be observed in Niobrara. The difference in fracture orientations in Niobrara and Codell indicates stress regime changes between the formations. The inconsistency of fracture azimuth in Niobrara may be caused by the zipper fracturing sequence. Strong cross-formation fracture connections between the two formations can also be observed, with different up-going and down-going fracture propagation velocities. These observations help us better understand the complex fracture geometry in the DJ Basin and provide critical constraints on the optimization of the unconventional reservoir development.