What is it about?
Understanding the effectiveness of hydraulic fracturing designs in unconventional reservoirs has long been a challenge. This study introduces enhanced mapping techniques to analyze microseismic data from 11 horizontals wells in the Permian Basin. These enhanced visualizations - including time-lapse maps of dynamic fracture growth - offer insights into how varying completion designs influence the fracture geometry.
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Why is it important?
This paper presents enhanced ways for visualizing and understanding the dynamic evolution of subsurface fractures induced by hydraulic fracturing. By offering time-lapse imaging of fracture development, it provides clear, quantitative insights into how completion designs and operational parameters affect the fracture geometry. These findings help to optimizing well spacing and completion strategies, ultimately supporting improved reservoir development in unconventional reservoirs.
Perspectives
While many publications have used the HFTS dataset in Permian Basin, this paper aims to bridge the gap between academic research and real-world application. With over a decade working in unconventional reservoirs and involvement in planning and executing more than 500 horizontal wells, I wanted to offer practical insights into how completion design, well spacing, and operational decisions influence fracture propagation and, ultimately, well performance. I hope this work adds value to both technical and operational audiences, and I may explore related topics in future publications.
Iris Wang
University of Houston
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Evaluating well completion effectiveness using microseismic monitoring data from the hydraulic fracturing test site-1, West Texas, Interpretation, August 2025, Society of Exploration Geophysicists,
DOI: 10.1190/int-2024-0116.1.
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