Paper: Bottomhole Pressure and In-Situ Stress Profiling Techniques Improve Hydraulic Fracturing in A Secondary Recovery Unit

In-fill development within mature producing fields has been increasing throughout the Permian Basin, West Texas. Stimulation of new wells and recompletion of present producers and injectors many times accompanies this in-fill development. Most recent studies have focused on the overall strategy of in-fill development from a petrophysical characterization standpoint. The impact of hydraulic fracturing within a secondary recovery project has not been as thoroughly investigated as to benefits in production enhancement and overall field development. Before the effectiveness of hydraulic fracturing in the secondary recovery processes can be fully evaluated, the processes involved in effectively designing hydraulic fractures in this environment need to be addressed. Hydraulic fracturing is complicated by the lack of historical data. Treatments in these fields have often been "cook-booked" and given less attention due to their smaller size and scope. Many times the process is further complicated by the interactive nature required in effective treatment modeling (i.e. historical review, candidate selection, pre-job design, pre-job diagnostics, on-site or post-job modeling, and post-job diagnostics). In this paper, we will outline the steps required to improve the process without expending excessive resources, and we will discuss the steps where streamlining the process is warranted without compromising the end result. Finally, we will document several cases illustrating effective use of these technologies to obtain more effective stress profiles and more efficient fracture treatments.