Enhancing Predictive Understanding of Parent-Child Fracture Dynamics: A Holistic Approach
ABSTRACT: This talk presents a novel approach to understanding fracture interactions between infill wells and producing offsets during hydraulic fracturing, integrating wellbore pressure responses with geospatial data and completion results in a four-dimensional environment. Unlike traditional methods that focus narrowly on pressure changes, this approach incorporates crucial factors such as well locations, existing fractures, geological properties, and fracture sequencing. Through real-world case studies, advanced tools were used to analyze offset well pressure responses alongside data on rock strength, depletion, and wellbore heterogeneity. By combining these data, the method accurately identifies fracture interaction locations and mechanisms, enabling predictive modeling of fluid pathways. In the study of 100 stages, depleted fractures were found to strongly correlate with significant pressure increases in parent wells and direct fracture hits, with the method successfully predicting 90% of these interactions. This proactive, real-time integration of geological, geospatial, and completion data offers a groundbreaking framework for predicting and mitigating fracture interactions in a dynamic, four-dimensional context.
KEVIN WUTHERICH’s BIO:
Kevin Wutherich is the Chief Technology Officer at Drill2Frac, a leading provider of innovative solutions in the oil and gas industry. With over 25 years of experience, including roles at Schlumberger and Rice Energy, Kevin is a seasoned expert in fracturing, reservoir engineering, and frac modeling. During his 14-year tenure at Schlumberger, he was instrumental in many of the first shale fracs in Europe and played key roles in optimizing the development of the Marcellus Shale, winning dozens of technical achievement awards along the way. Since then, he has continued to develop cutting-edge technologies in the space of completions and data applications, including being lead author on five patents. Armed with a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Waterloo in Canada, Kevin is committed to driving technological advancements in the field of completions using common sense approaches to enhance production efficiency for clients worldwide.