Fracture height containment in the stimulation of Oriskany formation

Tushar Vatsa, John Yilin Wang

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

The Oriskany formation has been a prolific producer of natural gas in the Appalachian basin since 1930s. Lot of production wells have been converted to gas storage wells for the ease of operation. Natural gas storage industry is a vital part of North American energy driven economy because of the fluctuation in seasonal demand and in maintaining the reliability of supply needed to meet the demands of the consumer. However, the storage wells suffer from an annual deliverability loss of 5% owing to the various damage mechanisms. A lot of work pertaining to the issue of identification of damage mechanisms, and subsequent development of stimulation technology in order to mitigate the damage and restore the wells deliverability has been done in a joint effort between The Gas Research Institute, Department of Energy, American Gas Association and the various other operator companies involved in the storage industry. Operators mostly rely on traditional methods such as blowing, washing, reperforating, acidizing, infill drilling to restore wells deliverability. These traditional methods do provide short term benefits but the longevity is not sustained and the overall situation remains same. Hydraulic fracturing is not preferred in terms of legitimate concerns over excessive vertical height growth, long fracture fluid clean up times, lack of expertise and cost. This research study was carried out to understand the various damage mechanisms affecting the Oriskany wells, with a focus on gas storage wells. I then developed a dataset of reservoir properties, rock properties and fracture treatment data for Oriskany based on a complete literature review and calculations from a sonic log. New stimulation methods were developed based on a systematic parametrical study on the type of fracture fluids, injection rate, types of proppant, treatment volume, reservoir pressure and treatment schedule. These new methods lead to increased well deliverability, fracture height containment and higher average fracture conductivity.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationSociety of Petroleum Engineers Eastern Regional Meeting 2011
PublisherSociety of Petroleum Engineers (SPE)
Pages225-237
Number of pages13
ISBN (Print)9781618390936
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 2011
EventSociety of Petroleum Engineers Eastern Regional Meeting 2011 - Columbus, OH, United States
Duration: Aug 17 2011Aug 19 2011

Publication series

NameSPE Eastern Regional Meeting

Other

OtherSociety of Petroleum Engineers Eastern Regional Meeting 2011
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityColumbus, OH
Period8/17/118/19/11

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Engineering
  • Energy Engineering and Power Technology
  • Fuel Technology

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