Patent ID: 8126689

Claim:
A method of optimizing a number, placement and size of fractures separated from each other along a length of a well bore arranged in a subterranean formation, the method implemented in a computer system comprising at least one processor and a memory, the method comprising the steps of: a) modeling each fracture so as to provide modeled dimensions and a location for each fracture along the length of the well bore; b) determining an initial stress field induced by the fractures and based on the modeled dimensions and the location of each fracture; c) modeling a new fracture and determining a new fracture stress field based on the new fracture; d) determining a new stress field based on a combination of the initial stress field and the new fracture stress field; e) determining a geomechanical maximum number of fractures based on the new stress field; and f) generating an optimized number, placement and size for two or more fractures in a subterranean formation, where generating the optimized number, placement and size for two or more fractures in a subterranean formation is based, at least in part, on one or more of: the geomechanical maximum number of fractures; and the new stress field based on the combination of the initial stress field and the new fracture stress field.