Integration of outcrop, subsurface, and microseismic interpretation for rock-mass characterization: An example from the Duvernay Formation, Western Canada

Abstract

Identifying and characterizing geomechanical domains is important for understanding how a reservoir will respond to hydraulic fracturing, including interaction with natural fractures to create new permeable pathways. We have used a rock-mass characterization approach, which describes the mechanical reservoir package by combining parameters of the intact rock, such as brittleness, with inferred geometry and density of natural fractures. Insights from outcrop observations are important to complement the interpretation of fracture geometry and density derived from subsurface data, to give a more complete understanding of natural fracture networks. This integrated approach is applied to a data set from the Duvernay play in Western Canada. A synthetic model of the subsurface reservoir is constructed using data from well logs, cores, and outcrop analogs. Numerical simulation of the response of the artificial rock mass to hydraulic fracturing is performed using a distinct element code. Independent validation of the model is obtained by achieving an agreement between the simulated microseismic response and the observed distribution of microseismicity during hydraulic fracturing.