Abstract

Tank-style development in the thick Spraberry-Wolfcamp sequence in the Midland Basin offers a variety of operational efficiency gains which directly translate into cost savings for the operator who has the foresight to plan their acreage development in this manner. Simultaneous development of multiple stacked pay zones presents a technical challenge to maximize production from each zone and the value of the entire DSU, while achieving cost savings, as appropriate. Optimizing completions in tank-style development in a multi-zone pay system is conducted through a combination of well experiments, field trials, and numerical modeling. Using longer stages allows an operator to increase the pace at which wells are completed and translates directly into cost savings. Completing two wells at once further accelerates development, but surface equipment capabilities must be considered if maximum pump rate per well is restricted. Balancing this reduced pump rate with limited-entry can be used to maximize cluster efficiency and the likelihood that hydraulic fractures propagate from each perforation cluster in a stage. Data from RA tracers and step-down tests show the effectiveness of limited-entry on maximizing cluster efficiency. Hydraulic fracture modeling provides insight into the development of competing fractures during the completions operations. Field observations from RA tracers and step-down tests show that the limited-entry approach of reducing shots-per-foot and perforation diameter and focusing on perforation friction pressure instead of total rate leads to equally effective stimulation in a more operationally efficient manner. Hydraulic fracture modeling supports how limited-entry can be used to effectively stimulate longer stages and complete at lower pump rates by optimizing perforation friction pressure. Hydraulic fracture modeling also shows the impact of stress shadowing on hydraulic fracture geometry of different designs in stacked field development. Forward modeling of production from the hydraulic fracture models allows quantification of the value of the operational efficiency gains. This work will highlight how one operator worked to balance optimal fracture design with operational efficiency to maximize the value of a DSU in a stacked, tank-style development. This presentation integrates field and well level completion results, historical stage-level data analytics, and forward modeling of hydraulic fracturing and production in a coupled numerical simulator.