Over the last couple of decades, microseismic data has played a consistent role in upstream asset development, but the field has always had certain limitations. Those limitations weren’t in the data itself, but rather in the tools available for operators to make use of it in a way that enables more profitable well and field decisions, according to ESG Solutions.
The company’s FracMap Clarity is a proprietary six-step process that’s increasing the value of microseismic data in the upstream oil and gas industry. By breaking down microseismic data in a variety of new ways, and examining the relationships between variables in greater detail, FracMap Clarity gives operators a clearer view of fractures created by fluid versus those simply driven by stress, said ESG.
It adds a premium level of insight to ESG’s existing FracMap offering encompassing comprehensive downhole and surface microseismic acquisition, processing and analysis services for hydraulic fracturing operations.
Armed with a better picture of the productive fracture network, operators can use FracMap Clarity to make more profitable well planning decisions, optimize well spacing, improve reservoir coverage and maximize Estimated Ultimate Recovery (EUR), the company said.
“At a baseline, a microseismic data set resembles a cloud of events,” Sheri Bowman-Young, ESG’s senior manager of Global Energy Services, said in a statement. “It adds value but requires a lot of work by the interpreter to decipher what it means for well production. By rethinking the math and providing a lot more data context, we can strip away stress-induced events. So rather than a cloud, we’re looking at a map of the productive fracture network. The information is much more actionable.”
“The opportunity cost for these asset development decisions is high,” added Shan Jhamandas, vice-president of Global Energy Services for ESG. “If operators can place wells and stages more strategically, and better troubleshoot things like fluid communication issues or parent and child well interaction, the impact on maximizing overall asset ROIs through reducing completion costs and increasing production per pad could be huge.”
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