Analysis of the Relationship between Hydraulic Fracture Pressure Trends and Facies of the Montney Formation
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2024-04-24
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Abstract
This study involves the integration of multiple disciplines and utilizes a novel approach to understand how geological properties influence the behaviour of hydraulic fractures in the Lower Triassic Montney Formation in the Pouce Coupe area in Alberta. Hydraulic fracturing data presents many uncertainties, and the utilization of different datasets is important to understand the different parameters impacting hydraulic fractures. The Montney Formation is often thought to be a homogeneous siltstone unit but there are significant heterogeneities present throughout the formation which have an impact on the efficacy of hydraulic fractures. This study utilizes the patterns portrayed by pressure curves reported in each stage of a horizontal well to determine how different geological properties influence hydraulic fractures. These pressure curves prove to be a useful dataset that brings insight into how geological properties influence the behaviour of hydraulic fractures. This study investigates the pressure curves in multi-stage horizontal wells completed using different technologies and landed in the Upper, Middle, and Lower Montney members. These pressure curves portray different patterns depending on completion technology and which member the wells are landed in. There is significant variation in geological properties within the Upper, Middle, and Lower Montney thus to further analyze how geological properties influence hydraulic fractures, this study investigates pressure curves of wells landed in different facies throughout the Montney. These facies have different sedimentological heterogeneities, changing bedding plane frequency, and natural fractures and faults which form geological barriers that hinder the productivity of hydraulic fractures. Results indicate that these geological properties impact fracture initiation and propagation of hydraulic fractures based on the patterns portrayed by the different segments along the pressure curves. This research implies that pressure curves are a useful dataset that can be utilized to further understand the influence that different geological properties have on hydraulic fractures. Rather than focusing on numerical point values to provide insight into hydraulic fracture behaviour, these pressure curves analyze how pressure changes with time to visualize the evolution of induced fractures and how they transform due to variations in the reservoir geology.
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Virginillo, N. A. (2024). Analysis of the relationship between hydraulic fracture pressure trends and facies of the Montney Formation (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.