Monitoring and modelling hydraulic fracture stimulation: Future directions

Multiple hydraulic fracturing along horizontal wells has proved to be a game changer that has led to the economic recovery of a vast amount of natural gas from shale resource plays in the USA. Optimization of hydraulic fracture stimulations has generally been achieved using a trial-and-error approach; although the microseismic monitoring of event locations has over the last decade proved to be a key enabling technology. Reductions in gas price, combined with the push to exploit resource plays in highly populated areas without a well-developed supply chain, mean that there is increasing pressure to optimize hydraulic fracture stimulations. Use and integration of advanced microseismic monitoring and geomechanical modelling offers the potential to make a step change in the optimization of hydraulic fracture stimulation. In particular, interpretation of microseismic attributes such as the magnitude and frequency dependence of shear wave splitting can be used to track temporal and spatial changes in fracture density, compliance and potentially size. Geomechanical modelling of the stress distributions prior to and following fracture stimulation can potentially help optimize the spacing and sequencing of individual stages of a fracture treatment as well as identifying the optimal time to conduct workovers (i.e. refracturing).