Frac Hits, Infill Drilling, and Protection Fracs

11/2/2017

11/4/2017 12:47:06 am

Good job on the video! A recent SPE paper documented that fractures tend to grow parallel to low pressure areas (direction of max stress)...is there a threshold of depletion that must occur in the parent well before a likelihood of a frac hit increases? If the protection fracs are uneconomic, wouldn't it make more sense to complete the infill wells earlier to avoid the protection frac altogether?

Aaron Burton

11/10/2017 04:26:30 pm

Hi James,

Thank you! Yes, to both questions. The level of depletion will have a direct impact on the likelihood of a frac hit, but it's difficult to quantify the time frame or depletion at this point. I was at a workshop this week and it seemed everyone agreed that the sooner you fractured the child wells, the less likely frac hits would occur. It also seems like most operators realize this and are trying to frac all wells at the same time to prevent a negative impact from frac hits. However, in most cases the practice of drilling to hold acreage is necessary in the development phase in the US and Canada, so infill drilling scenarios will also occur.

Frac Hits, Infill Drilling, and Protection Fracs

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