Towards improved hydraulic fracturing effectiveness through modelling and data integration: A case study from the Horn River Basin, BC

Kent, Alana Hope

Towards improved hydraulic fracturing effectiveness through modelling and data integration: A case study from the Horn River Basin, BC

dc.contributor.advisor	Eaton, David W. S.
dc.contributor.author	Kent, Alana Hope
dc.contributor.committeemember	Pedersen, Per Kent
dc.contributor.committeemember	Maxwell, Shawn C.
dc.date	2018-06
dc.date.accessioned	2018-04-04T21:56:53Z
dc.date.available	2018-04-04T21:56:53Z
dc.date.issued	2018-03-28
dc.description.abstract	Understanding how hydraulic fracture (HF) treatments affect a formation is crucial to ensure economical production in unconventional reservoirs. This thesis investigates an industry dataset from the Horn River Basin (HRB) that consists of microseismic (MS), reflection seismic, drilling, and completion data. Analysis of the MS reveals high variability in event clouds. While single monitor well bias is prominent in the magnitude statistics trends, kinked probability distributions and high outlier events suggest multiple mechanisms for MS generation. Spatial distributions are not classical bi-wing patterns but show lateral confinement, azimuthal variations, and out-of-zone growth. Stress heterogeneity is evident from variability in the instantaneous shut-in pressure (ISIP) and breakdown pressure values. The reflection seismic attributes of amplitude, most positive curvature (kpos), P-Wave impedance (Zp), and brittleness (BRI) show reservoir compartmentalization and are interpreted to account for irregular microseismic event growth. Deep MS growth is attributed to cross-cutting linear kpos trends and high values also appear to create a barrier; MS events arrest or curl to avoid positive anomalies. Rapid Zp transitions are also interpreted as a barrier and perforations in high zones correlate to rounded cloud growth and completion issues. In some situations, the high kpos and Zp values are co-located, suggesting that the impedance contrast is due to fractures. Both wells are in brittle areas but BRI does not appear to dictate growth direction. A completion method, named here as Short Interval Re-injection (SIR), is investigated with respect to the cohesionless state of the created fracture network, comprised of natural fractures (DFN) and the HF plane. The computer modelling code 3DEC was used to create a geomechanical model with observed MS events used as the calibration metric. The increase in MS event count seen in literature was replicated in the observed and modelled MS but it was discerned that the technique did not increase fracture complexity, as few new fractures were created during the re-injection. It is instead suggested that the SIR technique reinforces previously created fractures to improve stage production.	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Kent, A. H. (2018). Towards improved hydraulic fracturing effectiveness through modelling and data integration: A case study from the Horn River Basin, BC (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/31766	en_US
dc.identifier.doi	http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/31766
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/1880/106475
dc.language.iso	eng
dc.publisher.faculty	Graduate Studies
dc.publisher.faculty	Science
dc.publisher.institution	University of Calgary	en
dc.publisher.place	Calgary	en
dc.rights	University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.subject	hydraulic fracture
dc.subject	Microseismic
dc.subject	reflection seismic attributes
dc.subject	Short Interval Re-injection
dc.subject	natural fractures (DFN)
dc.subject	geomechanical model
dc.subject	Horn River Basin
dc.subject	data integration
dc.subject.classification	Geophysics	en_US
dc.title	Towards improved hydraulic fracturing effectiveness through modelling and data integration: A case study from the Horn River Basin, BC
dc.type	master thesis
thesis.degree.discipline	Geoscience
thesis.degree.grantor	University of Calgary
thesis.degree.name	Master of Science (MSc)
ucalgary.item.requestcopy	true
ucalgary.thesis.checklist	I confirm that I have submitted all of the required forms to Faculty of Graduate Studies.	en_US