Advanced cuttings analysis provides improved completion design, efficiency and well production

R ecent case studies of lateral well completions have highlighted the apparent ineffectiveness of geometric stage performance with regards to fracture initiation and stimulated reservoir volume (Far et al., 2015; Ashton et al., 2013; Ganguly and Cipolla, 2012). It has been observed that poor stage performance can be attributed to varying rock type compositions along the borehole, due to lateral facies changes and/or wellbore porpoising. The inefficiencies linked to non or poor performing stages can result in higher costs, associated with equipment and materials, and limit the production potential of wells. This case study highlights how the application of an optimized hydraulic fracture stimulation plan, by honouring lateral well geological heterogeneities, improved completion efficiency and well production within the Cleveland Sandstone formation, Oklahoma, USA. Optimized completions Designing optimized hydraulic fracture stimulation in a lateral well requires an understanding of the near-well bore geomechanical properties and the near-well bore and farfield stresses along the entire lateral. Such reservoir characterization is normally developed from geomechanical and petrophysical analyses using wireline or logging-while-drilling (LWD) services that include acoustic and borehole- image logs. Unfortunately, economic considerations can often inhibit or prohibit the use of logging techniques and hence the complete characterization of the reservoir, especially in the current low oil and gas price environment. A practical and convenient alternative for reservoir characterization is to use the commonly available cuttings samples to provide gross characterization of a vertical or lateral well. Utilizing Automated Mineralogy (AM) techniques, such as CGG’s RoqSCANTM, (Ashton et al., 2013) provides comprehensive data from these cuttings which includes mineralogy, texture and rock properties throughout the entire length of the well. RoqSCAN analysis can be performed either in the laboratory or at the well site to provide near-real-time reservoir navigation and data to optimize the design of completions that will be performed soon after the well reaches total depth (TD).