Stimulation of Horizontal Wells in the SNS

Mark Norris
Engineering Advisor DCS Schlumberger

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Agenda
Drivers for SNS gas stimulation and historical recap Aspects of SNS fracture design Modern methods for maximising reservoir contact Resource availability Questions

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Drivers for SNS Stimulation

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EU Hydrocarbon Consumption
Oil and Gas consumption curves for the EU

Demand for energy will continue to rise

EU Energy Mix 2008

Natural Gas is an important part of the Energy Mix in the EU

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North Sea is becoming Gas Province

Gas field Oil field

2008
Contribution to GDP

NWY
11.8 %

UK
1.3%

NHL
2.5%

DK
0.8%

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..and where is the production

UK Norway

Denmark

Netherlands

Units in million stm3 Oil and billion nm3 Gas

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Drivers for Stimulation in the SNS

Encouraging GIIP in fallow fields but often associated with low permeability Gas prices volatile compared to oil Gas producers must compete with oil producers for resources (rigs, materials services etc.) Need to maximise the commercial potential of each new well Need to take advantage of the current surface infrastructure before it gets too old and/or is retired out of service.

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Where is NS Fracturing taking place

Map shows the location of major stimulations operations over the last 3 years by all operators The majority are still in Scandinavia sectors Central UK sector steady activity The SNS is becoming more active >95% of North Sea stimulation work is on horizontal wellbores Multiple fracturing operations dominate
FlexSTIM type
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Purpose Built

Aspects of SNS Fracture Design

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What is Hydraulic Fracturing

Objective: create a high conductivity vertical plane with the reservoir

The rock is split using the liquid lever principle

The split or fracture is held open using a hard granular material called proppant

Hydrocarbon is then drawn from the fracture faces, between the proppant grains, to the wellbore
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Real OH Hydraulic Fracture

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A recent photograph of an OH wellbore drilled in the direction of maximum horizontal stress The fracture is packed with proppant to prevent it closing
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Pseudo Steady State Production

Improve connection to the reservoir

Q P - Pwf

= PI = ln

2 kh

{ ( )- + s }
Bypass near wellbore skin effects

re rw

Increase the inflow area

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Stimulation and Effective Skin

Moving from a +ve skin to 0 skin is damage removal eg. matrix acidising a sandstone, conventional perforating etc. Moving from 0 skin to ve skin is stimulation eg. hydraulic fracturing Changes in skin value below 0 represent a dramatic increase in well productivity

Folds of Increase

Matrix acid izing San d Matrix acid izing Carb Perf & P ropellan ts Hydraulic fracturing

-8

0 Skin

+20

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Maximising Sandface Contact in a Tight Gas Reservoir

Economic drainage rates and recovery are driven by maximising wellbore contact to the sand face in a cost effective manner Hydraulic fracturing, often linked to horizontal wells, has been utilised with considerable success in many tight gas regions to maximise the formation face are exposed to drawdown
OH Vertical well frac Horizontal well fracs

Cased/perf

157 ft2
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210 ft2

20,000 ft2
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80,000 ft2

Fracture Wing Design

Conductivity

Horizontal stress profile is the key parameter This dictates the shape of the fracture The stress profile is derived from the rock mechanics properties and calibrated for tectonic effects etc. using offset data and core data The stress magnitude drives the decision for proppant grade selection The in-situ formation permeability drives the selection of proppant mesh size The temperature drives the selection of fracturing fluid

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Numerical 3D Production Modelling

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Typical gas targets are the Rotliegendes, Leman, Carboniferous and Silverpit
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Nf = 1 20000 Nf = 2 18000

Production Rate

Nf = 3

16000 Nf = 4

P ro duction Rate (S TB/D)

14000

12000

Nf = 5

10000

Nf = 6

8000 Nf = 7 6000 Nf = 8 4000 Nf = 9

Productivity vs. No. of Fractures

Fracture prod. Simulator is used to determine potential productivity for various spacings along the wellbore By varying the length and conductivity etc.an optimisation process is possible Objective: frac spacing & frac length

2000

0 0 50 100 150 200 250 300

Nf = 10

Time (Days)
Nf = 1 4000 Nf = 2 3600

Cum Production

Nf = 3

3200

Cumulative Production (MSTB)

2800

Nf = 4

2400

Nf = 5

2000

Nf = 6

1600 Nf = 7 1200 Nf = 8 800 Nf = 9

400

0 0 50 100 150 200 250 300

Nf = 10

Time (Days)

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Case History - Fracture Length Effect

3 2.5

2 2.5-3 2-2.5 1.5-2 1-1.5 0.5-1 0-0.5 1 1.5

0.5 250 ft 200 ft 150 ft 100 ft 50 ft 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0

Fracture Half Length (ft)

Number of Colinear Fractures

Little or no improvement in PI observed with colinear fracture length Beyond 6 fractures very little improvement in PI observed
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Productivity Index (STBD/psi)

Case History - Fracture Conductivity

3.5 3

Productivity Index (STB/Psi)

2.5

3-3.5 2.5-3
1.5

2-2.5 1.5-2 1-1.5 0.5-1 0-0.5

0.5

0 1 2 3 4 5

5205 mdft 3123 mdft 6 7 8 9 1041 mdft 10

Proppant Fracture Conductivity (mdft)

Number of Colinear Fracture

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Improvement in PI observed upto 3000 mdft conductivity Beyond 6 fractures very little improvement in PI observed
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Economic Optimization
Fracture size and placement is a trade-off between income vs. expenditure Historically calibrated production simulator used to assess production income Economic indicators (NPV, DROI etc.) are then optimized against fracture parameters
16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 -2 -4 -6 -8 -10 8

30 50

Length (m) 70
90 2 3 4

Number of Proppant Fractures

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NPV (MM$)

The Process

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The Process
Concentrated Gel Proppant Additives

well

Brine

Linear Gel

POD Blender

HP Triplex Pumps

Process Control
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First Hydraulic Fracture Treatment 1946

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Material Selection
Placement fluid needs to exhibit high visco-elastic viscosity to prevent fluid leakoff into the high perm sands while also transporting proppant 30 lbm to 40 lbm Delayed Borate XL Guar Injection rates 30 40 BPM Oxidising breakers are used to enhance flowback 16/20 or 12/18 proppant used to maximise conductivity Typically >50% resin coated

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Minimising the Pressure Drop in the Fracture

Every psi of gas pressure drop along the fracture represents a reduced drawdown on the sand face compromised productivity SNS fracturing up to the late 90s typically used 20/40 and/or 16/20 sized proppant due to a) unrealistic expectations of proppant performance and b) concerns proppant diameter & screenout In recent years a switch has been made to 12/18 proppant, coupled with fracturing fluid advances, to minimise the Beta Factor and maximise fracture permeability/conductivity especially in horizontal well fracturing
Dmean = 0.7mm Dmean = 1.0mm Dmean = 1.3mm

20/40
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16/20
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12/18

Maximizing Fracture Conductivity

Net Pressure using Rat Hole Pressure Gauge
1000.00

Tip screenout techniques are used to maximize fracture width Proppant size & material optimized Wellbore vs. fracture azimuth influences near wellbore fracture width

Net Pressure (psi)

2 PPA proppant stage at perforations

100.00 10.00

Initiation of tip screenout

100.00

Treatment Time (mins.)

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Treatment Execution Methods

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Plug & Guns Wellbore Preparation

Coil tubing or snubbing used for all wellbore operations (ie. perforating, cleaning out excess proppant and setting retrievable bridge plugs if required) Allows stand alone completions to be performed while rig continues to drill No well control issues due to brine weights
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Well Preparation
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CoilCADE*
60000

Coiled Tubing Weight Indicator Load

Acq Load Case 01-31-2001

50000

Stripper Friction Load - 1000 lbf Well Head Pressure - 1000 psi Coiled Tubing Circ. Pressure - 1000 psi

Weight Indicator Load - lbf

40000

30000

20000

10000

-10000

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000

Measured Depth of Tool String - m

*Mark of Schlumberger

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Perforating 1st Zone

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Fracturing With Proppant

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Staged Isolation - Proppant Plugs

Frac Tip-Screen-Out Slurry under-displaced

Frac is allowed to close, before the remaining wellbore proppant is squeezed to form a rigid plug

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Proppant plugs
Comparison of Proppant Plug Setting in Adjacent Zones
Pressure Differential Across Proppant Plug (psi) 9500 Zone 2 Bottom Hole Pressure at Gauge (psi) 8500

Pressure Diffential Across the Proppant Plug

2500 2000
Thermal effects

1500 1000 500

Plug forming post shutdown 2 squeeze cycles to set the plug

Gradual bleedoff at surface

7500

6500 Zone 1 5500

0 520 -500 -1000

540

560
Plug fails at 850 psi reverse differential

580

600

4500 0

20 40 60 80 Time Since Shutdown (mins.)

100

Treatment Time (mins.)

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Clean-Out and Perforate

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Multiple Zone Completion

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Final Clean-Out
CoilCADE*
Solid Transport and Removal - Flow Regime Map 5

Pressure drop through 23/8" coiled tubing

Seawater only

300 Minimum Suspension Flowrate 250 Stationary Bed Flowrate Downward Sliding Bed Flowrate 200 150 100
Pipe ID - 3.92 in CT OD - 2.38 in

Flow Rate - bbl/min

Pressure drop 3 (psi per 1,000 ft)

2

Seawater

Seawater + J507

50 0

Particle Mean Diameter - 0.025in Particle Specific Gravity - 2.65 CT Standoff - 70 % Density of Slurry - 9.03 lb/gal Fluid Index - 1 2% KCL Water

0
0 0 10 20

1
30

3
70

4
80

5
90

40 50 Pump rate (bpm) 60 Angle with Vertical - deg

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Well Ready for Production

Spinner response
4100 4200 4300 4600 4700 3800 4400 3900 4000 4500 4800

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North Sea Fracture Direction

Offshore the global fracture direction from multiple datasets indicates a NW:SE azimuth In soft formations (E < 1.5 Mpsi) this stress regime dominates In hard formations (E> 3.0 Mpsi) local faulting influences the fracture azimuth

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Wellbore Azimuth vs. Fracture Tortuosity

< 5 Hmax 30

90 Hmin

45

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Colinear vs. Orthogonal Fracs Field data (cased hole)

Fracture Initiation Pressure vs. Wellbore Azimuth
7000

Near Wellbore Friction Pressure vs. Wellbore Azimuth

3000 Near Wellbore Friction Pressure (psi) 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0

Fracture Initiation Pressure (psi)

6500 6000 5500 5000 4500 4000 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 Wellbore vs. Perferred Fracture Azimuth (deg)

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 Wellbore vs. Perferred Fracture Azimuth (deg)

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Field Case Prop Slugs for Tortuosity

BHP (Psi)
8,500

Proppant Conc. (PPA)

Pump Rate (BPM)

40

8,000

35

7,500

Bottom Hole Pressure (psi)

30

7,000

550 Psi

6,500

450 Psi

25

20

200 Psi

6,000

15

5,500

10 5,000

Proppant Slugs
4,500 5

4,000 0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Time (mins.)
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Pump Rate (BPM) & Prop Conc. (PPA)

1,750 Psi

Perforating by Abrasion Jetting

Enhancements
i-Coil for CCL, BHP, BHT Anchor Centralizer Orientating Sub Slot Cutting Reverse Circulating Sub Nitrogen (improves cutting) Longevity of Nozzles Jets

Anchor

Parameters
2500psi Pressure Drop 1.25 BPM per Jet Require Standoff H2S when Reverse Circulating Reverse Circulating Port

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Casing and Formation Penetration

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How is OH Horizontal Well Fracturing Performed?

Uncemented liner with external packers and selectable ports OH interval fractured sequentially from toe to heel Balls dropped from surface isolate below and open the next zone Packers must withstand shock cooling (40 55 degF frac fluid) Inflatables and swellables less well designed for shock cooling, solid element types typically used (approx 4,000 wells to date) Balls flow to surface or can be milled out with seats for PLT access

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Typical spread rate $250k - $350k /day Fluid on formation 3 days compared to 21 days Completion time saving 19 days Faster, more complete, well cleanup
Flow well to clean up
11 12

Timing and Cost savings via OH

31

32

33

Flow well to clean up

28

29

30

Clean out Stimulate 6 Perforate Cleanout Stimulate 5 Perforate

22

23

24

25

26

27

Perforate Cleanout Stimulate 3 Perforate Cleanout Stimulate 2 Perforate Cleanout Stimulate 1 Perforate Rig up CT and Frac

Cemented Liner Plug & Guns

10

11

10

Stimulate Stages 4-6

OH Staged Fracturing

Nipple up Tree Nipple down BOPs Run Upper Completion

Reload Frac Vessel

8

Stimulate Stages 1-3

7

Rig up for Frac

6

Nipple up Tree
5

Nipple down BOPs Cleanout wellbore

4

Run Upper Completion

3

Cement
2

Run Liner
1

Run StageFRAC Liner

1

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Stimulate 4

16

6 zone well

Cleanout

17

18

19

20

21

14

15

13

12

13

14

Example of OH vs. Perfs Production

Wellbore fracture contact Perfs 6ft OH 30ft 125ft frac Drawdown at fracture face inhibited by pressure losses in the fracture These are concentrated in the convergent non-darcy flow region near the wellbore contact In this case 24% more production rate is realised by allowing the OH fracture to naturally dictate the contact distance at the wellbore
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Production Rate Mscf/day

Cased/Perf Pressure Drop in Frac

OH Pressure Drop in Frac

10 12.4

2700 3500

2300 2700

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OH Horizontal Well Fracturing

Pros
Longer track record OH system so cost/risk of cemented liner is eliminated Reduced production convergence Short period from frac to cleanup Very low historic screenout incidence Frac fluid on zone for minimal time before flowback (hrs) OH sandface and frac open for production, full kh exposed Fracture contact interval maximised Performed via prod. string or frac string Can arrange for sliding sleeves to be built-in

Cons
Need all materials on location to take full advantage of rapid cycle time Larger lower completion OD to run in place Need to mill seat for PLT access

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Stimulation Resources

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Resources
The entire North Sea area is limited
to two Stimulation Vessels

Many operators have in the past

discounted stimulation due to lack of surface resources

Recently operations have moved to

temporally classed stimulation vessels using converted PSVs

Vessels commonly mobilise for 1 3

months

>25 large scale proppant fracture

treatments have now been executed in this way in the SNS since Q1 2007
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Selection of the PSV

Job Specifications ie. rate, pressure and materials volume dictate deck
area required, commonly 700 900m2 deck A high wind wall is an advantage for protection of personnel and equipment Typically use a pool PVS with Class 2 DP provided by Operator
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Detailed Engineering & Planning

Detailed engineering conducted in parallel with regulatory compliance process Full 3D layouts allow equipment fit to be fully optimised Due consideration given for emergency ingress/escape

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Vessel Build 7 21 Days

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North Sea Fracturing Fleet 2007 - 2010

SLB

HES

BJS
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Left the North Sea

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FlexSTIM Type Activity

FlexSTIM type

Purpose Built

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In Summary
Stimulation of gas fields by multiple proppant fracturing of horizontal wells is the preferred completion method for growing number of operators in the SNS It is a well proven technology that was largely pioneered here in the North Sea for oil wells and latterly in the USA/Canada for gas wells The NS service industry is no longer constrained by low levels of available stimulation resources

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Questions

Flaring Chiswick Alpha following 5 fracs performed by Schlumberger FlexSTIM Autumn 2007

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