Effect of Stress Shadow Caused by Multistage Fracturing from Multiple Well Pads on Fracture Initiation and Near-Wellbore Propagation from Infill Wells

Multistage fracturing with multiwell pads (MSFMP) is an essential technology for the efficient development of unconventional oil and gas reservoirs, but the reservoir area between two well pads is often not stimulated. Fracture initiation and near-wellbore propagation from infill horizontal wells drilled with different azimuth from the optimal azimuth in the unstimulated area is poorly understood, largely because of the stress shadow (or induced stress) caused by MSFMP. In this study, we propose an integrated method for calculating the stress shadow caused by MSFMP and then determine optimal completion parameters for infill horizontal wells in the unstimulated connecting area between two well pads. First, we develop a theoretical stress shadow model caused by MSFMP on the basis of the dislocation theory. Considering two extreme cases, fully open and completely closed propped fractures, the range of stress shadow in the unstimulated area after MSFMP of 20 horizontal wells in Platform H of tight reservoirs in the Changqing Oilfield, China, is considered as an example. Second, we import the calculated stress shadow into a 3D perforated fracturing model that is built based on the discrete lattice method. Then, we investigate the influence of perforation technology, horizontal wellbore azimuth, phase angle, and injection rate on fracture initiation and near-wellbore propagation. Our results show that this model is capable of calculating stress shadow at any position and then can be used to optimize the fracturing interval for the middle unstimulated area. We find that appropriate perforation and fracturing parameters significantly decrease the complexity of near-wellbore fractures. The models and results presented in this paper provide a new method and new insight for quantifying and optimizing fracture initiation and propagation for infill horizontal wells to maximize reservoir stimulation efficiency.

Automated summary

Multistage fracturing with multiwell pads (MSFMP) is an essential technology for the efficient development of unconventional oil and gas reservoirs. This study proposes an integrated method for calculating the stress shadow caused by MSFMP and determining optimal completion parameters for infill horizontal wells in the unstimulated connecting area between two well pads.