A New Method To Interpret Fracturing Pressure-Application to Frac Pack

作者：Pirayesh Elias^*; Soliman Mohamed Y; Rafiee Mehdi; Jamali Ali

来源：SPE Journal, 2015, 20(3): 508-517.

DOI：10.2118/166132-pa

Real-time analysis of fracturing data is an invaluable tool for determining whether a fracturing job is progressing as planned. Since early days, understanding of fracturing pressure was emphasized and practiced by the industry. The most well-known fracturing-pressure-analysis tool is the Nolte-Smith technique. To predict the geometry of a hydraulically induced fracture, the Nolte-Smith technique analyzes the pressure response of a formation during pumping. Extensive application of this technique has proved reliable to interpret fracturing events. However, the compression of data imposed by logarithmic scale may make the detection of some events difficult. In addition, the Nolte-Smith technique necessitates prior accurate knowledge of formation-closure pressure.
In this paper, we present a real-time fracturing diagnostic. This method, which is based on a modification of the Nolte-Smith technique, has proved reliable in the interpretation of fracturing behavior while a fracturing job is being carried out. In addition, it eliminates the shortcomings of the original technique, meaning that while making the interpretation of fracturing pressure faster, the new technique does not require prior knowledge of formation in-situ stresses. This technique was reached by a new innovative moving-reference-point concept assembled with the power-law fracture-propagation theory. Application of the new technique in the analysis of a variety of field cases, including several frac-pack and regular fracturing treatments, proved successful.

• 出版日期2015-6