Sei sulla pagina 1di 3

8/21/2017 Minifrac Observations From Real Data

Home > Theory and Equations > Analysis > Minifrac Analysis > Minifrac Observations From Real Data

Minifrac Observations From Real Data


Observations made from minifrac tests conducted in various shale/tight formations in North America have provided some insight on
what to expect. Not surprisingly, the time required to achieve fracture closure during the falloff period is indicated to be greatly
influenced by the injection rate and injection volume. Minimizing both of these components will greatly increase the chance of
observing fracture closure in a reasonable time frame, and possibly achieving radial flow to reduce the uncertainty in estimating
reservoir pressure and formation permeability. In many cases, injection rates on the order of 1 to 2 bpm (1440 2880 bbl/d) have
been observed to quickly achieve formation breakdown. With average injection times of 3 5 minutes, fracture closure was observed
within 1 to 24 hours of falloff. In some cases, radial flow developed quickly after closure, while in others, bilinear and linear flow was
observed. When radial flow developed soon after closure, a falloff period on the order of 1 3 days was sufficient to obtain reliable
estimates of reservoir pressure and formation permeability.
When bilinear or linear flow is observed after the main closure event, the development of radial flow is delayed, and may not be
observed in a reasonable time-frame. Although this introduces greater error in estimating the reservoir pressure and formation
permeability, extending the falloff period will help reduce the error. For these situations, the required falloff duration is case sensitive,
and will depend on the importance of the information. Even if radial flow is not achieved, upper limits of reservoir pressure and
formation permeability can usually be determined, which is very useful.
An example of a minifrac test analyzed using F.A.S.T. WellTest is shown in figures 1 - 6. The test was conducted on a vertical well
at a formation depth of 10,000 ft. Pressures were monitored at the wellhead, and converted to bottomhole values for analysis. The
total test duration is about 24 hours. Figure 1 shows the pressure profile during the 18-minute injection period performed at 1 bpm
(1440 bbl/d). The sudden drop in pressure shortly after injection commenced indicates that formation breakdown occurs very quickly.

Figure 1

Figure 2 shows the pre-closure analysis using the semilog and first derivative corresponding to G-function time. From this plot,
fracture closure is identified within the initial 3-hours of the falloff period.

http://www.fekete.com/SAN/TheoryAndEquations/WellTestTheoryEquations/Minifrac_Observations_FromRealData.htm 1/3
8/21/2017 Minifrac Observations From Real Data

Figure 2

Figure 3 represents the log-log diagnostic plot used mainly for identifying the flow regimes developed after-closure. The semilog
derivative, calculated with respect to shut-in time, exhibits a slope of -1 shortly after-closure, suggesting that radial flow has
developed. The fluctuations in the derivative slope can be attributed to gas-entry that is not accounted for with the bottomhole
pressure calculations.

Figure 3

Figure 4 represents the falloff data plotted with the radial time function for the Soliman/Craig solution.

http://www.fekete.com/SAN/TheoryAndEquations/WellTestTheoryEquations/Minifrac_Observations_FromRealData.htm 2/3
8/21/2017 Minifrac Observations From Real Data

Figure 4

Figure 5 represents the log-log plot of the derivative data and shows the match obtained with the Soliman/Craig model. The model
suggests radial flow was not quite achieved during the test period, and would likely develop after about 49 hours of falloff. However,
in this case the transition to radial flow is sufficiently developed to yield reliable estimates of formation pressure and permeability.

Figure 5

http://www.fekete.com/SAN/TheoryAndEquations/WellTestTheoryEquations/Minifrac_Observations_FromRealData.htm 3/3

Potrebbero piacerti anche