We wanted to highlight and share a paper we think everyone in tight unconventionals should read, namely SPE-191407-PA, “A New Technique for Quantifying Pressure Interference in Fractured Horizontal Shale Wells” by Weichun Chu, Kyle Scott, Ray Flumerfelt, Michael Zuber and Chih-Cheng Chen. The paper is a few years old now, but has become the “go-to” paper on leveraging the Chow Pressure Group (CPG) to quantify well-to-well interference.
This paper presents a technique for analyzing pressure communication in fractured horizontal shale wells, particularly at early times when the wells are placed on production. The technique is based on the diffusion exponent from the power-law model, and is used to quantify connectivity in multistage-hydraulic-fractured wells with complex fracture networks. The authors apply the technique to data from the Permian Basin Wolfcamp Shale to demonstrate its utility in understanding the relationship between completion size, well spacing, and well performance. The technique involves plotting pressure-interference-test (PIT) data in terms of the Chow pressure group (CPG), which allows the authors to define an indicator of connectivity reflecting temporal and spatial effects. The authors show that multiple PITs over time often indicate degrading connectivity between wells, and establish a relationship between the magnitude of pressure interference (MPI) and well spacing. The authors also demonstrate how to apply their technique to analyzing interwell connectivity during the post-stimulation phase and how to remove the effect of a power-law pressure trend on interference tests.
More info can be found in the whitson+ user manual: https://manual.whitson.com/modules/well-performance/chow_pressure_group/.
Want to learn more? Download the paper →→→here←←←.
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whitson supports energy companies, oil services companies, investors and government organizations with expertise and expansive analysis within PVT, gas condensate reservoirs and gas-based EOR. Our coverage ranges from R&D based industry studies to detailed due diligence, transaction or court case projects. We help our clients find the best possible answers to complex questions and assist them in the successful decision-making on technical challenges. We do this through a continuous, transparent dialog with our clients – before, during and after our engagement. The company was founded by Dr. Curtis Hays Whitson in 1988 and is a Norwegian corporation located in Trondheim, Norway, with local presence in USA, Middle East, India and Indonesia.