SPECIAL

Unconventional
SECTION: resources
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Unconventional
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monitoring
resources
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s 2omonitoring
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The importance of geophysical and petrophysical data integration

for the hydraulic fracturing of unconventional reservoirs
JENNIFER MISKIMINS, Colorado School of Mines

M ultidisciplinary integration is com-

mon in the petroleum industry and
is critical for the success of many projects.
This paper discusses the need for and im-
portance of multidisciplinary integration
of data inputs for the success of hydraulic
fracturing treatments in unconventional
reservoirs, specifically tight-gas sands and
shale systems. Four main areas are dis-
cussed, including microseismic, field-wide
seismic, petrophysical rock properties, and
geological characterization. A discussion
of future areas for integration is also pro-
vided.

Background
The first intentional hydraulic fracturing
treatment for hydrocarbon stimulation
purposes took place in 1947 and was docu-
mented by J.B. Clark in 1949. Since that
time, hydraulic fracturing has become the
most common type of stimulation treat-
ment used in the oil and gas industry. In
many unconventional reservoir types such
as tight-gas sands and shale reservoirs, hy-
draulic fracturing is vital to establish eco-
nomic production. In fact, several authors
and organizations actually define an un- Figure 1. Microseismic results from a Barnett shale vertical well treatment. The wide
conventional reservoir as one that requires extent of the hydraulic fracture creation (and natural fracture reactivation) is evident by
stimulation to be economically developed. the widespread distribution of microseismic events (dark blue diamonds). An interpretation
Modeling of hydraulic fractures was of hydraulic fracture creation and/or natural fracture reactivation is indicated by the light
blue lines. The observation and treated wells are shown by red squares. Other offset wells are
initiated in the 1950s and 1960s with two- shown as light blue squares. “Stimulated reservoir volume” calculations are based on results
dimensional models, where height growth is such as those presented here. (Figure courtesy of Pinnacle Technologies.)
confined, and length and width dimensions
are predicted. Since then, fully three-dimensional hydraulic growth and the associated complexities. Nowhere is this more
fracture models have been developed and are commonly used evident than in unconventional reservoirs, such as shale-gas
to design and analyze treatments. The first pressure diagnostic reservoirs, where three-dimensional fracture growth is no lon-
techniques started to appear in the 1970s, most notably with ger defined by a single plane with height, width, and length
net-pressure analysis that can provide an indication of fracture growth, but rather by multiple fracture systems that can cover
height parameters, including if length or height growth is oc- large areal extents of the reservoir.
curring or if screenout is imminent. Screenout is the inability Although knowledge of the geological setting in a given
to continue to pump a hydraulic fracturing treatment without reservoir has always been important to stimulation treatment
exceeding maximum allowable pressures. Although net pres- design and analysis, enhanced direct-diagnostic techniques
sure analysis provides immediate, on-the-wellsite information have necessitated an ever-increasing integration of multidisci-
about geometric growth of the fracture, the information is plinary data, both from an initial design perspective and from
qualitative and does not provide quantitative or detailed data a follow-up analysis standpoint. This paper discusses some of
about the actual fracture dimensions. these data needs and how they apply to unconventional res-
Geometric diagnostic techniques, such as microseismic ervoir systems.
and tiltmeters, started to be commercially available in the
1980s. These direct-measurement techniques have revolu- Microseismic mapping
tionized the industry’s understanding of hydraulic fracture Microseismic mapping of hydraulic fracture growth can be

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 Unconventional resources and CO2 monitoring

considered one of the most im-

portant advances in hydraulic
fracturing technology since the
initial treatment was pumped in
1947. For the first time, hydraulic
fracture growth, or at least the res-
ervoir area affected by associated
stress changes, could be tracked
in a time-dependent fashion. Al-
though used in all reservoir types,
microseismic has had a significant
impact on unconventional reser-
voir management because of the
need to access reservoir volume.
The extremely low matrix perme-
ability present in unconventional
reservoirs prevents economic drain-
age without enhancement of the
reservoir flow capacity. Hydraulic
fractures provide conduits to im-
prove such flow capacity, thus im-
proving the production rate and
reserve recovery from a given well.
Microseismic allows direct obser-
vation of such complex created
drainage areas.
One example of this is the Bar-
nett shale in the Fort Worth Ba- Figure 2. Downhole microseismic results from a stacked-pay system. Six hydraulic fracturing
treatments were pumped in this well. The microseismic results of each stage are indicated by different
sin of Texas, where microseismic colors plotted as diamonds. Perforation sets for each treatment are shown at the wellbore (center line)
monitoring has demonstrated the by triangles. In this type of geologic setting, a good understanding of height growth is critical. (Figure
complexity of hydraulic fractur- courtesy of Pinnacle Technologies.)
ing in certain systems. A large
Barnett shale monitoring program
in 2001, which integrated micro-
seismic and tiltmeter monitoring
with pressure diagnostics, showed
that hydraulic fracture growth is
not a simple biplanar system as
generally theorized, but rather an
extremely complex system of mul-
tiple fracture strands. These sys-
tems contain fractures that extend
several hundreds or thousands of
feet in various directions (Figure
1). This type of growth has lead to
the concept of “stimulated reser-
voir volume” that uses the created
3D microseismic cloud to describe
the created fracture network and
its effect on reservoir flow and
drainage—a very different model
than traditional single-plane frac-
ture drainage profiles that result in
pseudo-steady-state radial drain- Figure 3. Modeling results of a single treatment in a tight-gas, fluvial, stacked-pay system.
age patterns. Microseismic results are superimposed over the modeling results. The model was used to calculate
a single wing of the fracture, thus the microseismic events in light blue occur on both sides of the
Tight-gas sands have also ben- wellbore. The red microseismic events were out-of-zone for the treated sands M1–M6. (Figure
efited from microseismic mapping, courtesy of Green et al., SPE paper 106270, 2007.)

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 Unconventional resources and CO2 monitoring

as exemplified in the Rocky

Mountain area of the United
States. Major producing inter-
vals in the Piceance Basin of
Colorado and the Green River
Basin of Wyoming consist of
thick, stacked, lenticular sand
bodies where several hydraulic
fracture treatments are pumped
in a given well. Frequently,
20–30 treatments are pumped
in one well to treat the ±650-m
gross interval. Microseismic has
provided insight into the verti-
cal growth of these treatments
and whether all sand lenses are
receiving adequate stimulation,
which in turn has improved
treatment designs. Figure 2
shows an example of a series of
stacked treatments in a Rocky
Mountain fluvial system. Such
monitoring has also given insight
into concepts such as asymmet-
ric growth of fracturing treat-
Figure 4. Microseismic growth of a hydraulic fracture in the Bossier play of east Texas. The blue dots
ments that belies the traditional represent the first treatment stage and the orange dots represent the second treatment stage. The second
biwing planar system postulated treatment stage initiated from perforations in the Bonner sand, then traveled up the fault (in yellow
by past modeling practices. Fig- on the left of the figure), back to the right, and to the wellbore. (Figure from Sharma et al., SPE paper
ure 3 shows the model results 89876, 2004.)
from a hydraulic fracturing soft-
ware package of a single treatment with the microseismic su- Full-field seismic
perimposed on it. Although microseismic is the type of seismic most often asso-
For both the Barnett and Rocky Mountain systems, mi- ciated with hydraulic-fracturing treatments, integrating full-
croseismic has also had a large effect on the overall field and field seismic with treatment design is also useful. Faults can
reservoir development. Since tight-gas and shale reservoirs impact hydraulic fracture growth by providing weak zones
need hydraulic fractures to effectively produce the reservoirs, that might promote fracture growth along them or barriers
well spacing has been focused on “filling in” the areas between that can terminate fracture growth and lead to undesirable
the microseismic signatures. This type of investigation has lead conditions such as screenout. Figure 4 shows apparent fault-
some tight-gas reservoirs to be down-spaced from 160 acres to related growth of a hydraulic fracture in the Bossier play, east
10 acres per well, enhancing overall reserve recoveries. Texas. Being aware of such fault systems is important to the
However, all these benefits of microseismic are strongly design and completion of the treatment.
dependent on the accuracy of the microseismic analysis, and, Additionally, the three-dimensional stress states that con-
concurrently, the velocity model used to define the spatial lo- trol fracture growth are significantly affected by nearby fault-
cations. An understanding of the fracture mechanisms and ing systems. Such fault systems can control the maximum and
stress regimes that cause the microseisms is also needed. Fur- minimum horizontal orientation directions and can also lead
thermore, the uncertainty analysis associated with microseis- to large fracture gradients that are difficult or even impossible
mic mapping needs to be fully understood and exploited for to overcome. Equation 1 shows an expanded version of the
any design improvements. Engineers who design hydraulic plane strain equation with tectonic components. The larger
fractures are often unaware of the spatial resolution and un- these tectonic components, the larger the minimum stress
certainty of microseismic events. They frequently believe that that must be overcome and the larger the horsepower require-
if a microseism is plotted at a point on a map, then that loca- ments, all of which lead to increased costs of the treatment.
tion is exactly where that microseism occurred—without any
consideration for the uncertainties that might go into locat-
ing it. To overcome such misconceptions, multidisciplinary
integration and understanding of techniques with multiple (1)
inputs is critical, along with the education of the professionals
integrating these tools. where Pc = closure pressure, psi; i = Poisson’s ratio; Dtv = true

846 The Leading Edge July 2009

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 Unconventional resources and CO2 monitoring
vertical depth (ft); aob = overburden stress gradient (psi/ft); ap
= pore fluid gradient (psi/ft); _v = vertical Biot’s poroelastic
constant; _h = horizontal Biot’s poroelastic constant; Poff =
pore pressure offset (psi); ¡x = regional horizontal strain, mi-
crostrains; E = Young’s modulus (million psi); mt = regional
horizontal tectonic stress.
During the treatment, these stresses all work to control the
three-dimensional growth of the fracture. However, hydraulic
fracturing is a time-dependent, path-of-least-resistance pro-
cess, and orientations can change during the treatment. For
instance, if the stresses at the start of the treatment are orient-
ed in a direction such that fracture growth will be vertical and
in the NS plane, as the treatment is pumped and additional
forces are created in the wellbore region, the path of least re-
sistance might become horizontal and a horizontal fracture
component created. Such vertical and horizontal components
being created in the same fracturing process is not always ide-
al because proppant transport and the associated conductivity
(flow capacity of the fracture) can be inhibited.
Petrophysical properties
Although petrophysical properties, such as permeability, po-
rosity, Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio, Biot’s constant, and
fracture toughness are needed for hydraulic fracture mod-
eling and analysis, they can be difficult to acquire for un-
conventional reservoirs using standard techniques. Tight-gas
sands generally have permeabilities in the microdarcy range.
Matrix permeabilities of many shale systems are even lower.
Additionally, natural fractures require dual permeability
considerations in the models.
These low permeabilities are one of the main reasons that
slickwater (an extremely low-viscosity fluid) fracturing treat-
ments have success in many unconventional reservoirs. The
fracture conductivity (width of the fracture multiplied by
the permeability of the fracture) needed in low-permeability
systems is significantly lower than those in conventional res-
ervoirs. Therefore, slickwater, which cannot carry as much
proppant as gelled fluid systems, can generally provide the
necessary conductivity while being more economic and mini-
mizing the introduction of damaging fluids. However, to
correctly design the fracture conductivity, accurate reservoir
permeability measurements are needed.
Rock mechanical properties are also
a large component of integration. Geo-
physical inputs require dynamic shear
and Lamé’s moduli, while hydraulic
fracturing design requires static Young’s
modulus and Poission’s ratio. Either
moduli set can be used to calculate the
other, so sharing this data and the static-
to-dynamic transforms can benefit all
disciplines. Additionally, unconventional
reservoirs demonstrate unique rock me-
chanical parameters that affect fractur-
ing treatments. In shale systems, total
organic content (TOC) has an effect on
the rock moduli, which in turn will have
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an effect on hydraulic fracture growth. Young’s moduli values
affect the width of a created fracture, which in turn controls
the potential fracture conductivity that can be placed in that
setting. If TOC varies across an otherwise “consistent” black-
shale interval, Young’s moduli might also be varying, which
will impact the fracture conductivity that can be placed across
the zone.
Geologic model
Integrating a geological model into hydraulic fracture treat-
ment design has always been important, but it has become
even more so in the development of many unconventional
reservoirs. The depositional environment is one key compo-
nent. The half-length or lateral extent of a hydraulic frac-
ture treatment into a reservoir body has a direct impact on
the area of the reservoir that will be drained. In a tight-gas
fluvial, lenticular system such as shown in Figures 2 and 3,
the lateral extent of the treated sand bodies will have an ef-
fect on the fracture growth. Additionally, it does not make
economic sense to pump a treatment larger than is needed to
treat that particular zone or stacked system.
Reorientation of hydraulic fractures in low-permeability
and shale systems has also been successful. Historically, wells
were restimulated when the first stimulation technique was
ineffective. In low-permeability systems, with permeability
anisotropy, the effective stress (stress minus the pore pressure)
is altered over time by pore-pressure drainage (Equation 1).
This drainage is more elliptical than in conventional systems
mainly due to the permeability anisotropy, which leads to un-
even alteration of the horizontal effective stresses. A hydraulic
fracturing treatment that is pumped several months or years
after the initial treatment will orient in a different direction
and will reach additional areas of the reservoir. Such reori-
entation has been verified by microseismic, as well as other
direct- and indirect-measurement techniques. Successful re-
orientation or refracturing programs has been documented in
the tight, blanket sands of the Denver-Julesberg Basin, Colo-
rado; the Bakken shale in North Dakota and Montana; and
the Barnett shale.
Natural fractures are common components in many un-
conventional reservoir systems and can have a great effect on
the overall productivity of the reservoir. Natural fractures can
July 2009 The Leading Edge 847
 Unconventional resources and CO2 monitoring
also affect hydraulic fracture growth by providing leak-off sites
and pre-existing planes of weakness. Knowing that natural
fractures exist prior to pumping a treatment from sources such
as cores or log suites is helpful in the treatment design so that
appropriate fluids and treatment stages can be prepared. Mini-
fracs, or diagnostic injection tests, can also provide this type
of information. Mini-fracs are small fluid pump-in treatments
performed prior to the main hydraulic fracturing treatment.
Mini-fracs can provide information on the minimum in-situ
stress, reservoir pore pressure, permeability, and the presence
of natural fractures. Even if the main stimulation treatment
is never pumped, mini-frac data can be integrated with the
geologic model to improve the overall reservoir model.
The future?
As unconventional reservoir development grows worldwide,
the need to improve the stimulation of these reservoirs will
also continue to grow. Such improvements will depend
greatly on the ability to integrate multiple data inputs. Cur-
rent “three-dimensional” models are created to model the
three dimensions of width, height, and length of a hydraulic
fracture. However, reservoirs such as the Barnett shale have
shown that three dimensions can actually mean three-di-
mensional volumetric growth across the reservoir and incor-
porate “stimulated reservoir volumes” (refer to Figure 1), and
future fracturing models will need to define the extents of
these boundaries. Such models will only provide high-quality
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results if the input data are accurate, and just as with reservoir
simulation, geophysical and petrophysical inputs will be criti-
cal to reach this accuracy.
Likewise, the use of petrophysical characterization in hy-
draulic fracturing needs to be expanded. As many authors have
stressed, not all shales are the same, nor does the Barnett shale
represent all shale systems. Additional understanding of the
specific rock properties and stresses of individual unconven-
tional reservoirs will be critical to improvement of stimulation
and overall reservoir management. Areas such as these dem-
onstrate the necessity of continued integration of disciplines
in the design and analysis of hydraulic fracture treatments in
unconventional reservoirs.
Suggested reading. “Holistic fracture diagnostics” by Barree et
al. (Rocky Mountain Oil & Gas Technology Symposium, 2007).
“Integrating fracture mapping technologies to optimize stimula-
tions in the Barnett shale” by Fisher et al. (SPE paper 77441-
MS, 2002). “What is stimulated reservoir volume (SRV)?” by
Mayerhofer et al. (SPE paper 119890-MS, 2008). “Design and
life cycle considerations for unconventional reservoir wells” by
Miskimins (SPE Production & Operations, 2009). “Maturity and
impedance analyses of organic-rich shales” by Prasad et al. (SPE
Rocky Mountain Petroleum Technology Conference, 2009).
Corresponding author: jmiskimi@mines.edu
July 2009 The Leading Edge 849