Advanced Microseismic Data Analysis and its Application to Unconventional Reservoir Characterization.

The current upswing in unconventional reservoir production, what some are calling the “shale gale”, is not a geology play. The tight rocks being turned into producers are millions of years old and have been known to be petroliferous for decades. Rather, this is a technology play. The technologies that have enabled this storm are 3: horizontal drilling, hydraulic fracturing, and microseismic monitoring. Horizontal drilling extends the pay intersection to allow for economic levels of production. Frac’ing creates the connections with the hydrocarbon molecules that give them free pathways to the wellbore and thence to the surface. Microseismic monitoring illuminates and informs as to how well the frac propagated and just what part of the reservoir has been contacted by the frac in a way that predictive models can’t.