Methods Improve Stimulation Efficiency of Perforation Clusters in Completions
Authors: Ingram Stephen R. , Lahman Matthew , Persac Stephen 
Published: February 2015

Technology Update

Horizontal shale wells present the challenge of generating large, high-density fracture networks, reflecting the submicrodarcy permeability of the formations drilled by these wells. The goal is to create the largest fracture network volume to maximize ultimate recovery, because the fracture network volume in these wells has been shown to correlate strongly with the production level.

However, as the network becomes too large for a given wellbore access point, the relative benefit of size diminishes. This is because of the low fracture conductivity, which creates large pressure drops within the network and makes it difficult to drain distant portions. And the effect is exacerbated by the inability to move water or liquid hydrocarbon through a large complex network (Mayerhofer et al. 2006). Thus, it is very important to create an optimal number of conductive transverse fractures or access points that intersect the wellbore.

Today’s unconventional wells incorporate wellbore planning and completion designs that are based on the reservoir-specific characteristics needed for optimal drainage and field development. The key elements of the design and planning process must be carefully considered. They are well spacing, lateral length, the number of stages, the length of isolated stages, and the number of perforation clusters per stage. The strategies used are based in part on advancements in reservoir simulation, reservoir modeling, and production correlations from trial and error that stem from the initial work in various plays, except the relatively unique Barnett shale.

Progress in Shale Completion Designs

A good example of this progression toward more reservoir-specific completion designs was seen in the Haynesville shale. The play saw a rapid rampup in activity from 2009 to 2012 with peak completion activity occurring in mid-2011. By November 2011, it had reached its highest production level of 7.2 Bcf/D (EIA 2014). This dramatic rise in production was in part due to the optimization of completion and stimulation designs, particularly the reduction of the isolated length of each stage (plug-to-plug distance) and, thus, an increase in the number of stages per foot of lateral.

The average daily gross perforated interval per stage (top perforation to bottom perforation) that Halliburton completed in the Haynesville and Bossier shales from 2010 to 2013 was analyzed. The data encompasses nearly 11,000 stages for more than 30 operators. It illustrates that many operators began to reduce their gross perforated interval per stage across the play by the middle of 2011. In July 2011, it was 272 ft and by mid-2012, it declined to 150 ft, falling at a relatively constant rate as operators increasingly went to a shorter isolated stage interval.

This indicates closer stage spacing (plug to plug) or more stages per well, with lateral length remaining relatively constant. These trends continued into 2012 and a dramatic improvement was seen not only in the slope of the projected production decline curve, but also in the estimated ultimate recovery (EUR) for the wells being brought online.