Integrated approach for fracture characterization of hydraulically stimulated volume in tight gas reservoir

Hydraulic fracturing is conducted on unconventional reservoir which has very low permeability. It increases the production from unconventional oil and gas reservoirs through the creation of a connected stimulated rock volume (SRV) with higher conductivity. The permeability and the SRVs dimension are important parameters which increase the performance of hydraulically fractured wells. Microseismic monitoring is used to estimate the seismically stimulated volume within the reservoir, which can provide a proxy for the SRV. Finite element analysis was used in this study in the determination of SRV characteristics by utilizing field data from a horizontal well hydraulic-fracturing program in the Hoadley Field, Alberta, Canada. Coupled fluid-flow geomechanics finite element (FE) model was used. The permeability of the SRV is altered to match the field bottom-hole pressure. The pressure drop and in situ stress changes within the SRV are determined through the matching of the FE model. Fracture aperture, number and spacing in the SRV are then inferred from the estimated reservoir parameters by using a semi-analytical approach.