Fracturing Pressures for Horizontal Wells (1992)

Fracturing Pressures for Horizontal Wells K.A. Owens; K.A. Owens Maersk Oil and Gas Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar S.A. Andersen; S.A. Andersen Maersk Oil and Gas Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar M.J. Economides M.J. Economides Mining U. Leoben Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Paper presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Washington, D.C., October 1992. Paper Number: SPE-24822-MS https://doi.org/10.2118/24822-MS Published: October 04 1992 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Get Permissions Search Site Citation Owens, K.A., Andersen, S.A., and M.J. Economides. "Fracturing Pressures for Horizontal Wells." Paper presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Washington, D.C., October 1992. doi: https://doi.org/10.2118/24822-MS Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAll ProceedingsSociety of Petroleum Engineers (SPE)SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition Search Advanced Search SPE MembersAbstractA fully horizontal well, drilled at an angle from the fracture plane, will experience a potentially substantial increase in the fracturing pressure. The magnitude of this pressure depends on the angle (as the angle increases so does the pressure) and, very importantly, on the value of the intermediate of the three far-field stresses.Application of these findings to eight horizontal wells in the DAN field and comparison with actual data from several fracture treatments within each well showed an excellent, match between predicted and observed fracturing pressures. The results are presented in this paper.IntroductionThe hydraulic fracturing of horizontal wells is a relatively new stimulation exercise not only because this type of well is new but also because of the difficulty associated with envisioning and executing a treatment.In an extensive comparison of the performance of fractured vertical, unfractured and fractured horizontal wells, Brown and Economides have demonstrated the obvious necessity of fracturing horizontal wells in the vast majority of reservoirs that traditionally have been candidates for vertical well fracturing. This generates a number of new issues. First, horizontal wells that are to receive multiple fracture treatments must be cemented and cased. Second, since multiple treatments should be expected, appropriate zonal isolation must be done. Third, the configuration, formed by the expected fracture direction (normal to the minimum stress) and the horizontal well trajectory is extremely important both for the fracture execution (and the implied success or failure) and, especially, the posttreatment well performance.This issue has been largely put to rest in a series of publications. In general, in the cases where a created hydraulic fracture has low conductivity (i.e., a higher-permeability reservoir) the appropriate configuration is for a longitudinal fracture. In lower permeability reservoirs, where the created fracture has high conductivity, it would be appropriate to create a number of transverse (orthogonal) fractures.Thus, in the first case the well should be drilled along the maximum horizontal stress whereas in the second case it should be drilled along the minimum horizontal stress (for depths where vertical fractures are created).In either of these configurations these directions, coinciding with principal stress axes, would result in fracturing pressures that can be estimated readily by the classic Terzaghi relationships.The ability to perform an optimized positioning between well and fracture trajectories is frequently hindered by operational problems. Drilling from pads or platforms would necessitate the drilling of wells in a largely radial pattern.P. 581^ Keywords: spe 24822, hydraulic fracture, fracture initiation pressure, fracture, trajectory, hydraulic fracturing, horizontal well, horizontal stress, andersen, economide Subjects: Drilling Operations, Hydraulic Fracturing, Directional drilling This content is only available via PDF. 1992. Society of Petroleum Engineers You can access this article if you purchase or spend a download.