Hydraulic Fracturing Modeling Using a Discrete Fracture Network in the Barnett Shale

Abstract

Abstract Hydraulic fracturing has been a successful stimulation method for enhancing recovery in very low permeability shale gas reservoirs. Proper modeling of multistage hydraulic fracturing in shale reservoirs requires an accurate representation of the pre-existing natural fractures in the shale. The objective of this study is to utilize a 3D discrete fracture network model to simulate hydraulic fracturing in five horizontal wells A-E in the Barnett Shale. Each horizontal well had 10 stages of hydraulic fracturing stimulation. Only the well C has comprehensive logging data including an FMI (Formation Microresistivity Imager) log of the well. We characterize stochastic realizations pre-existing natural fracture network in the reservoir integrating different types of data from limited wellbore data to the geologic setting. Two fracture sets clustered using Fisher distribution after correcting for the observation biases. Fractures size constrained by induced microseismicity magnitude happened during hydraulic fracturing while fracture intensity correlated to clay contents (Gamma Ray) and distance from the fault crossing the well C. We have modeled the hydraulic fracturing in the five wells and predict that how pre-existing fractures induced to slip and contribute to permeability enhancement of the reservoir.