Slick-Water and Hybrid Fracturing Treatments: Lessons Learned

Abstract

This article, written by Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights of paper SPE 89876, "Slick-Water and Hybrid Fracture Treatments in the Bossier: Some Lessons Learned," by Mukul M. Sharma, SPE and Phani B. Gadde, U. of Texas at Austin; Richard Sullivan, SPE, Richard Sigal, SPE, Robin Fielder, SPE, and David Copeland, SPE, Anadarko Petroleum Corp.; and Larry Griffin, SPE, and Leen Weijers, SPE, Pinnacle Technologies, prepared for the 2004 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Houston, 26-29 September. To better understand the process of fracturing tight gas sands, a comprehensive data set was gathered and analyzed for the Bossier formation in the Dowdy Ranch field. The bottomhole treating pressures were higher than expected on the basis of the measured stress profiles. Effective fracture lengths derived from pressure-buildup analysis and history matching of production data were significantly shorter than designed fracture lengths (or those predicted from uncalibrated fracture models). The data collected and analyzed provided valuable insight into the performance of water and hybrid fracturing treatments in tight gas formations. Introduction Waterfracs and hybrid fracs are the stimulation treatments used in many low-permeability reservoirs. Typically, improving the performance of gas wells in marginal gas plays requires improvement of fracturing technologies. To ensure that these gas wells remain economically attractive, even at modest gas prices, completion and fracturing practices must be optimized. Research was aimed at improving the performance and reducing the cost of fracture treatments by acquiring and analyzing fracture-treatment data from the Bossier play in east Texas. Six gas wells (data wells) were identified in the Dowdy Ranch field for a detailed analysis of the well and fracture-treatment data before, during, and after a fracture treatment. The full-length paper details data acquired in Anadarko Petroleum Co.’s Anderson No. 2 well, summarizes findings, and presents recommendations for better fracture treatments on the basis of lessons learned.