Hydraulic Fracture Monitoring & Mapping

Hydraulic Fracture Monitoring and Mapping (HFM)

Our unique passive surface and downhole acquisition techniques help organizations optimize completions and determine where to drill next. With surface arrays, the large aperture, high fold, wide azimuth acquisition reduces bias related to monitoring well location that can affect event quality. Patented PSET™ full waveform processing ensures high quality, real-time depth imaging and resolution, even in low signal areas. While our downhole arrays, optimal for use in short lateral or vertical wells, use proprietary EventPick™ first arrival picking to identify fracture geometry and azimuth. Both acquisition methods can be combined to achieve the highest levels of hypocenter detection and locational accuracy.

Array calibration is conducted by monitoring a string shot or perforation shot performed by the operator. Since the time and location of the shot is known, the imaged event hypocenters can be migrated back to the known location. PSET™’s VTI algorithms account for velocity variations due to the anisotropy. Processing results in X, Y, Z errors ranging between +\- 10’ to 50’, depending on signal quality and event magnitude. In addition, operators can identify patterns of fluid movement, fracture development, connectivity, compaction and whether the frac and proppant are staying “in zone” or traveling “out of zone.” These critical insights allow the stimulation treatment plan to be refined, and provide useful insights for long-term improvements to the well spacing plan, the well design, and the completion design.

HFM Benefits

• Optimize completions by understanding how the reservoir responds to stimulation
• Determine where to drill next by determining well spacing and well bore orientation
• Improve recovery through better determination of well landing zone and more productive stage placement

HFM Service – Results

A team of experienced geoscientists and engineers work with the customer to provide interpretation of the results and recommendations for optimizing future completions. Real time results can help optimize a frac program during the job. Full analysis is delivered within three weeks, including fracture mapping, geomechanical analysis, geocelluar modeling, discrete fracture network creation, and an estimation of stimulated reservoir volume.

MicroSeismic HFM Services

To learn more about hydraulic fracture monitoring & mapping, please contact MicroSeismic.

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Hazard Mitigation

Fault zones present often unknown hazards. Faults can absorb frac'ing slurry without increasing pressure in the reservoir, wasting time and material. In some cases, it could take days of pumping before a pressure loss signals decreased performance due to a fault.

Faults are pathways that, if reactivated, can tap aquifers that water out the well. Faults are thief zones that reduce pressure support; both scenarios can kill a lucrative project.

MicroSeismic monitoring can detect faults below the resolution of conventional seismic imaging using our unique FracStar® and Buried Array™ acquisition systems. Real-time monitoring of multiple wells across a reservoir provides important structural data that allow operators to avoid troublesome faults when planning their perforation zones.

Avoiding faults saves valuable time and material and is one of the best ways to maximize stimulation and reduce operating costs.

MicroSeismic’s geological analysis help answer several important questions:

• Are microseismicity trends parallel to the maximum stress orientation?
• Are existing natural fractures being reactivated?
• What is the significance of multiple trends in the microseismicity?
• What failure mechanisms are present?

Analysis of local and regional geology also yields vital information that includes:

• Verification of visible trends as stimulated fractures
• Identifying the relationship of failure mechanisms and mechanical events to hydraulic fracturing
• Providing an explanation for fracture trends that deviate from the expected in-situ stress orientation

For more information on hazard mitigation, please contact us.

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Geomechanical Analysis

MicroSeismic, Inc. offers Geomechanical Analysis of induced microseismicity, including rock mechanics. This geologic interpretation provides a better understanding of the processes that may have been in play during the stimulation. Incorporating available geologic information into the microseismic results gives a more comprehensive interpretation, allowing for a better prediction of frac behavior in subsequent wells. MicroSeismic’s FracStar™ and BuriedArray™ microseismic data acquisition systems allow for full source mechanism inversion analysis, a benefit not possible using conventional downhole monitoring. Such analysis provides the orientation of the fault or fracture plane, as well as the direction of slip, and information on the tensile and volumetric portions of the failure mechanisms.

By integrating the source mechanism results with the geology, a complete picture of how the rock fracturing is derived providing an explanation of the observed fracture trends.

To learn more about MicroSeismic’s Geomechanical Analysis services, please contact us.

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Fracture Geomodeling

Experienced interpreters develop geologically constrained discrete fracture networks (DFNs) to provide estimated stimulated rock volume calculationsMicroSeismic’s team of experienced geologists and geophysicists place the microseismic event data into discrete fracture networks (DFN’s), along with other properties like stress and rock mechanics, to produce a scientifically reasonable estimate of well stimulation.

To learn more about MicroSeismic’s Fracture Geomodeling services, please contact us.

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