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HF Thumb Rules
HF Thumb Rules
Holditch
Hydraulic Fracturing
In Tight Gas Reservoirs
20 Rules of Thumb
2010
4. When analyzing the open hole logs in tight gas reservoirs, always
review the caliper log first, and look for mud cake. If there is mud
cake, there is enough permeability to produce gas, usually at
commercial rates. Also, look for separation of the short, medium and
deep resistivity logs. If there is separation, there has been mud filtrate
invasion, which also means the zone is permeable.
5. If the logs and cores indicate a zone contains natural gas, you can not
condemn the zone due to a negative pre-fracture test, such as a drill
stem test (DST) that results in a result like too-small-to-measure
(TSTM). You may need to run a closed-chamber DST to get a valid
test of the zone. In any event, the zone will have to be fracture
treated before it can be condemned.
6. If you are going to drill a well to test a tight gas sand and the zone you
are drilling for is present, you essentially make the decision to set
pipe, perforate and fracture treat the zone when you spud the well.
You will not know what the real potential of the zone is, in terms of
gas flow rate and reserves, until it is fracture treated and produced for
several months.
7. The minimum data set needed to design a well completion in a tight
gas reservoir is as follows:
• Number of layers that are productive, and then
• For each layer
i. Gross thickness
ii. Hydrocarbon volume
iii. Effective permeability
iv. Minimum in-situ stress
8. As the propped fracture length increases within the limits of the pay
zone, you will always produce more gas as long as the treatment fluid
breaks and does minimal damage to both the fracture face and the
proppant in the fracture.
11. For most fracture treatments, the number of perforations per stage
should be no more than ¼ bpm per perforation and no less than ½
bpm per perforation. For limited entry treatments, the number of
perforations should be such that the injection rate is between 1–2 bpm
per perforation.
12. In general, treatments are more successful when they are pumped at
higher injection rates. The injection rate during a fracture treatment
should be the maximum value of the feasible range to minimize the
effects of leak-off and to maximize proppant transport by minimizing
the pumping time to minimize the effects of proppant settling.
13. Viscosity does matter. You can pump more proppant at higher
concentrations using a more viscous fluid than if you a use less
viscous fluid. The key to success is to pump more proppant using a
fluid that breaks and cleans up at the formation temperature.
18. No well is straight and no well is vertical. As such, the chances that
multiple fractures will occur increase with the length of the perforated
interval. A perforation interval of 20 ft. or less, located in the most
porous and permeable zone, should be sufficient for most cases. A
properly packed fracture will connect the entire pay interval to the
well bore assuming the treatment is pumped correctly and is not over
flushed.
19. If you know the preferred azimuth of the fracture in a vertical well,
and the technology is available at a reasonable price, the well should
be perforated using 180o phasing, oriented in the most likely direction
of fracture propagation.