Joseph H. Schmidt

Well-Productivity Improvement by Use of Rapid Overpressured Perforation Extension: Case History

This paper describes an overbalance perforating and surging technique used as a pretreatment to hydraulic fracturing of the Romeo interval at Prudhoe Bay. Operation conditions, surface and bottomhole pressure (BHP) measurements, and modeling results are presented and discussed. Well productivity and the amount of proppant placed are compared with results in offset wells where the technique was not used.

Perforation and Stimulation Design for Deviated Wells at the Kuparuk River Field, Alaska

Publisher Summary This chapter describes perforation and stimulation design for deviated wells at the Kuparuk River Field in Alaska and explains how an understanding of rock mechanics principles impacts the stimulation practices and ultimate productivity from this field. The objective of fracturing a hydrocarbon-bearing formation is to expose additional reservoir rock to the wellbore through a relatively high conductivity fracture. Productivity is enhanced by increasing the drawdown on the formation and the removal of near-wellbore pressure losses associated with near-wellbore damage and/or radial flow towards a producing well. In water-sensitive and other formations, the prestimulation productivity is often reduced because of damage from drilling and completion fluids. In these cases, the productivity improvement from hydraulic fracturing can often be the difference between having a dead well and a well that can flow at a commercial rate. The size of the created hydraulic fracture is controlled by both the rock properties and the type of treatment pumped. High-viscosity water-based gels are injected with varying concentrations of well-sieved proppant material.