Timothy McNealy and Ken Borgen ; Halliburton
Stimulation techniques in horizontal wells continue to be a topic of interest and discussion. With a large variety of different stimulation practices/techniques being performed; varying from slickwater, gelled water, foam fracturing using ball activated sleeves; many people neglect the effect of fracture spacing in horizontal wells when determining the most effective methods for increasing oil/gas production.
In a review of past production wells performance with the use a of reservoir simulator; it was apparent that a large portion of the horizontal interval was not dropping in pressure and was not contributing to the well's overall production, resulting in a low EUR (estimated ultimate recovery). With the aid of a fracture simulator, reservoir simulator, logging data and local core data; a process has been developed for determining the optimal horizontal well fracture spacing. Determining the most effective fracture spacing on a horizontal interval has shown to boost production by increasing the EUR within a given drainage area.