Well-to-well communication—often found as frac hits during hydraulic fracturing—is common in unconventional oil and gas development. When the fracture network of a newly drilled well connects to an older well’s fracture network, the older well may fill with sand and fluids, requiring an expensive cleanout to restore production. If not properly mitigated, these frac hits can cost operators billions of dollars in lost production. The key to developing sound frac hit mitigation strategies is data visualization.
Visualizing Potential Frac Hits During Pre-Drill Planning
Monitoring Frac Data: From Visualization to Analysis
If microseismic data are accessible, it can be used to visualize frac hits in CoViz 4D. With respect to opens in a new windowmicroseismic data analysis, CoViz 4D can achieve the following:
- microseismic viewing in 2D, 3D, or 4D, with the addition of fracking data combined with subsurface datasets (i.e., FMI logs, fault geometries, or earth models) to gain better insight into complex reservoir systems
- the viewing of fracturing data in an animated sequence via 3D, with the inclusion of relevant data such as petrophysical or geologic data to know what exactly is happening during microseismic events
By leveraging CoViz 4D to place a radius around each event or to calculate distances away from each event, geoscientists can estimate if they may have had a frac hit.
Improving Frac Hit Mitigation Strategies with CoViz 4D
CoViz 4D, a data visualization analytics software from Dynamic Graphics, Inc., provides clear visuals of subsurface profiles, allowing engineers to understand the field on a comprehensive level. Its visualization and analysis capabilities can help asset teams drill wells without interfering with the operations of existing wells. Contact our team today to learn more about CoViz 4D and how it can enhance your frac hit mitigation strategies.
