Application of Hydraulic Fractures in Openhole Horizontal Wells
P. D. Ellis, SPE, Golden Okie Associates, Inc., G. M. Kniffin, SPE, and J. D. Harkrider, SPE, Apex Petroleum Engineering
Abstract
This paper describes a process that has improved production, reduced costs, saved time, and dramatically improved the results of fracture stimulating low permeability horizontal wells. The use of both propped and acid fracture treatments will be described.
The process has been used for openhole completions aligned in the approximate direction of fracture propagation as well as for fractures transverse to the well bore. The technique has effectively eliminated well bore connectivity problems that had been observed in vertical completions and cased and cemented horizontal wells with transverse fractures.
The process has been used to increase production over 25 fold in a 30 year old field. It has also proven successful in a marginally economic field that had been completed using propped fractures in vertical wells.
The procedure employs a system of multiple, retrievable treating subs that are specifically tailored to a unique well bore configuration and allow treating the entire interval with a single stage. The treating subs are designed to distribute the treating fluid as desired along the length of the lateral. The process has been successfully used in over 100 wells and laterals in fields located in California, Illinois, New Mexico, Utah, and Texas.
Copyright 2000, SPE/PS-CIM International Conference on Horizontal Well Technology
This paper was prepared for presentation at the 2000 SPE/Petroleum Society of CIM International
Conference on Horizontal Well Technology held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, 6-8
November 2000.
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