Dayna Rodriguez Zambrano

Often, a natural fractured formation can be described as hard rock of low porosity and permeability.

Fracture planes will have a perpendicular direction to minimum in situ stresses (horizontal stresses). For that reason the most productive fractures will have subvertical planes (nearly vertical). The maximum in situ stress (1 in the graphic) represents the overburden.
Where:

1 >2 >3

In Naturally Fractured Reservoirs: Targeting the structural crest may be useless if the largest fractures are not reached. In a Homogeneous Reservoirs: A vertical borehole will be parallel Targeting the structural crest. to the most productive fractures. Manteining vertical borehole. Over-balanced drilling may cause loss Over-balanced drilling. of circulation, and possibly, permanent formation damage due to the penetration of drilling solids into the fractures.

 The well has to contact as many productive natural fractures as possible. This objective can be achieved by drilling a deviated well. Defining the fractures geometry. Identifying fractured intervals with sufficient matrix porosity. When the matrix rock permeability is low, locattion of natural fractures become paramount.

 Hidrostatic Pressure + Pumping Pressure < Formation Pressure

 High anisotropy: kv /kh is very high (kv is dominated by the fractures permeability and kh is dominated by the matrix permeability). Hydraulic fracture stimulation is a poor strategy in naturally fractured reservoirs because hydraulic fractures will propagate in the direction of the natural fractures without creating new ones.

 Geology.- The anticlinal The last completion design structure was formed and was not succesful. dominated by wrench fault It was recommended drilling tectonics. sidetrack deviated through a The gas reserves in the the Huamampampa Caranda Field are found in formation. the Huamampampa and Robor Underbalanced drilling formations of was used. Devonian age, and in the sand ofSara Silurian age. Sara Robor and formations completed with Robor single were Because the deeper production liner. and Sara formations were the main exploration targets, the Productive formations were Huamampampa formation cemented only above and was logged, cased and below. cemented

 The Coln Block is located in All of the productive fields Venezuela southwest of Lake and most of the exploration Maracaibo next to the border prospects have 2D seismic between Drilling atColombia the top ofand the coverage. Venezuela. structural limbs was Borehole image logs recommended. It was identified that the provided the most reliable structural predominant For a FBF structure with a Nmeans for identifying and feature in the Block to be S axis direction, drilling atthe an characterizing fractures. fault bend fold angle about 45(FBF). degrees from With matrix permeability N-S direction is the Production data showed ranging from less than 0.1 recommended. improved production rate and md to at best a few 10s of cumulative production from md, significant production wells drilled on the limbs of rate was a signal of the the FBF structure. However, presence of natural fractures. exceptions occurred in crestal wells.

 An openhole completion could be recommended instead of cementing and perforating. In buckling structures, drilling the crest is recommended, but in FBF structures, the limb is preferred. Hydraulic fracturing in naturally fractured reservoirs is not recommended because the created fracture will propagate parallel to the open fractures in the reservoir instead of intersecting them. 3D seismic data is helpful for defining the structure configuration and setting the precise trajectory planning. In both studies, fracture identification from conventional logs was inconclusive, and borehole image logs are recommended as the direct way to identify the presence of natural fractures.