When: Thursday March 28, 2019 | 11:30 a.m.

Where: Halliburton | 1125 17th Street, Suite 1900

Title: "Using Well Heterogeneity as Advantage to Designing Stage Specific Diverter Strategies"

Speaker: Kevin Wutherich, CTO, Drill2Frac

Abstract:
When hydraulically fracturing a horizontal wellbore with multiple perforation clusters, the fluid being pumped into the reservoir will preferentially take the path of least resistance. Perforations that are located in the lowest stressed rocks will take a larger amount of fluid, and those perforations located in highest stressed rocks will receive less, or in some cases none.  One of the ways that engineers are trying to overcome these differences is the use of diverters.  A fluid diverter is typically inserted at some point within a hydraulic fracturing pump schedule to seal off dominant fractures, allowing fluid to flow into under-stimulated fractures.

The problem with this methodology is that without reservoir knowledge, operators rely on rules of thumb developed through trial and error to determine when and how much diverter to use. Data has shown how this methodology can be ineffective, leaving some clusters over stimulated and others under-stimulated.  Anecdotal evidence also supports these concerns because equally sized diverter slugs do not always have equal pressure response. This talk will discuss a methodology that examines well heterogeneity, and designs the diversion strategy based on the rock properties within each fracturing stage.  In addition to rock properties, the method proposed utilizes stress shadows, perforation design, and modified pump schedules to ensure equal cluster stimulation in diverter applications.

The result of this workflow is a tool that has been used to maximize the effectiveness of diverters which has shown, through several case studies that will be discussed, to result in better producing wells at lower completions cost.

Bio:

Kevin has 19 years of industry experience as an operator and in the service industry. Before joining Drill2Frac as the Chief Technology Officer, where he has worked for the last 2 years, he was the Director of Completions at Rice Energy. Before that he held multiple positions including Stimulation Domain Expert over a twelve-year career at Schlumberger.  He is the lead inventor on six patents related to fracturing procedures and tools. He has authored many SPE papers and contributed to several industry publications primarily focused on shale completions, as well as winning multiple industry awards. Most recently, Mr. Wutherich’s invention, “Engineered Diversion Strategy”, was selected as the World Oil Awards “2018 Best Completion Technology”. Kevin received a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Waterloo in Canada.

When: Wednesday, April 10, 2019 | 11:30 AM

Where: Liberty Oilfield Services | 950 17th Street #24, Denver, CO 80202

Speaker: Craig Beveridge, Well Solutions Manager, Owen Oil Tools

RSVP Link: YP Lunch & Learn

When:  April 17-18, 2019 | 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Where: Embassy Suites by Hilton - Downtown Convention Center | 1420 Stout St. Denver, CO 80202

The Society of Petroleum Engineers Denver Section is pleased to host the Advanced Practices in Unconventional Basins covering key topics and challenges in Unconventional Basins, geared towards professionals with experience in these types of basins.

Plan to attend to learn from the experts in Unconventional Basins and Technologies. The event will feature extended technical sessions and multiple networking opportunities.

Link: DAPUB 2019

When: Wednesday, May 15, 2019 | 11:30 AM

Where: Denver Athletic Club | 1325 Glenarm Pl., Denver, CO

Speaker: Mark L. Van Domelen, Vice President of Technology for Downhole Chemical Solutions.

Abstract: 

As the development of oil and gas reservoirs continues around the world, the need for innovative solutions to economically produce these reservoirs remains as strong as ever. Building a talent base within an organization is paramount for this task. The successful exploitation of these often- challenging plays will require completion engineers who can implement new technologies and function within a multidisciplinary work environment. This presentation will describe technical training options and available resources for developing high performing completion engineers within an organization. A case study of an advanced engineering training program implemented within a major service company will be presented, along with recommendations for external training and development programs.

Our industry faces several challenges related to advanced engineering training and technology application including generation gaps brought about from industry downturns, global expansion of unconventional reservoir plays, cost constraints, and the complex nature of the reservoirs we work in today.   Companies that recognize this changing landscape and focus their efforts on engineering development will be rewarded with a more productive workforce, higher retention of their technical employees, and a more seamless transition through the years ahead.

Speaker Bio:

Mark Van Domelen is an industry-recognized expert in hydraulic fracturing and well completion methods.  He is currently the Vice President of Technology for Downhole Chemical Solutions, and worked for Halliburton for 31 years in a variety of roles including engineering, technology, operations management, supply chain, and training positions.  Nearly half of Mark’s career has been spent in international positions in The Netherlands, Angola, Egypt and Denmark.  Mark has a degree in Mining Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has been a member of SPE since joining the industry in 1984.  He has authored or co-authored 17 industry papers and has served on several committees for the Society of Petroleum Engineers.

A few of Mark’s major accomplishments include his involvement on several startup hydraulic fracturing projects in frontier areas such as Kuwait, Oman, Thailand, Poland and West Africa, startup of a new technology center in the Netherlands, becoming the first category manager in Halliburton for global sourcing of proppants, and advancing well stimulation operations in Africa as the Regional Manager.

Mark is passionate about training young professionals and spent the past several years developing and implementing an advanced engineering training program called the College of Completions Engineering for Halliburton engineers in the area of unconventional reservoirs. He has also recently published two SPE papers on the topic of multidisciplinary training, and participates as a mentor for young engineers through the SPE Trailblazer and E-Mentoring programs.

When: Wednesday, March 20, 2019 | 11:30 AM

Where: Denver Athletic Club | 1325 Glenarm Pl., Denver, CO

Speaker: Dane Gregoris, E.I.T., CFA, Senior Vice President, RSEG 

Abstract:

After eight years of horizontal development in the DJ basin, operators still remain differentiated in their completion design and well spacing. We examined the impact of various operational and geological variables on well performance and economics to understand the key drivers of success in the basin. This presentation will illustrate the results of our analysis and provide recommendations for optimal completion design and well spacing.

Speaker Bio:

Dane joined RSEG in 2014. His previous work experience includes positions at GLJ Petroleum Consultants and Encana. Dane leads the Rockies research team and deepens RSEG’s group of technical and financial specialists by contributing to company valuations and play modeling. Dane graduated from Queen’s University with a degree in geological engineering and is a Chartered Financial Analyst charterholder.

When: Tuesday March 19, 2019 | 8:30 a.m to 5:00 p.m.

Where: Ellie Caulkins Auditorium, Denver Center for the Performing Arts Complex

The 25^th annual 3D Seismic Symposium, sponsored by the Denver Geophysical Society (DGS), will be held Tuesday 19 March, 2019 at the Ellie Caulkins Auditorium, Denver Center for the Performing Arts Complex in downtown Denver, Colorado. This year’s theme, 3D Seismic Symposium Silver Anniversary, celebrates the 25 year history of the 3D Seismic Symposium with a program that is a rich mix of case studies from across the United States and leading-edge technology workflows.

Dr. Joe Davis of Kalnin Ventures will kick off the day by outlining his petroleum system-based methodology for risking unconventional plays in his talk Defining Unconventional Sweet Spots.  And Chris Wright, CEO and Chairman of Liberty Oilfield Services, Executive Chairman of Liberty Resources, and founder of microseismic pioneering Pinnacle Technologies, will energize the lunchtime crowd with his observations and learnings of unconventional resources.

Presentations on complex interpretations include overthrust depth imaging in Beaver Creek Field, Wyoming from Devon Energy’s Robert Horine, and geosteering high angle, Lycoming county Marcellus horizontal wells by Bob Grundy of Inflection Energy.  Continuing the complexity theme, Laurence Letki, DUG, will present seismic acquisition and processing challenges in the SCOOP play of Oklahoma.

California Resources’ Darren Williams will discuss derisking unconventional reservoirs through integrated data analysis while Chad Severson, Aera Energy, will discuss delineation of tectonically controlled submarine channels with seismic attributes, both highlighting work in the San Joaquin Basin. 

Multiple aspects and scales of the Permian Basin will be on show throughout the program.  In the Midland Basin, Aaron Fisher, of Tracker Resource Development, will outline the use of 3D seismic to map rock quality and landing target selection while QEP’s Cory Christie will discuss using geophysical applications to identify and minimize well interference.  Details of the Delaware Basin will be revealed through data integration studies as Devon Energy’s Marianne Rauch-Davies will discuss pore pressure prediction and rock properties insight from the Bone Springs Limestone and Wolfcamp will be outlined by Andrew Lewis of Fairfield Technologies.  Scott Cook of Tricon Geophysics and Mike McKee of Jetta Permian LP will present Wolfcamp fracture hazards as highlighted with the use of HTI fracture analysis.

As the use of fiber continues to gain traction in the industry, two presentations will discuss various applications of distributed acoustic sensing (DAS). Ge Jin, ConocoPhilips, will present the value of different frequency ranges of DAS data for well spacing and completion design optimization.  Gary Binder, of Colorado School of Mines, will discuss the value of incorporating time-lapse vertical seismic profiling (VSP) and DAS data together to identify stress induced velocity changes.

Registration and sponsorship is open and available through the DGS website: https://www.denvergeo.org/events

Please contact committee chairs Angie Southcott and Brad Birkelo for more information at 3DSS@denvergeo.org

When: Wednesday, March 13, 2019 | 11:30 AM

Where: Liberty Oilfield Services | 950 17th Street #24, Denver, CO 80202

RSVP Link: YP Lunch & Learn

Title: Integrating Rock Properties and Fracture Treatment Data to Optimize Completions Design.

Speakers: Joel Mazza, Technical Solutions Manager & Carrie Glaser, Pethropysist, FractureID

Abstract

A horizontal well landed in a single formation rarely encounters homogeneous rock from the heel to the toe of the wellbore. When analyzing treatment responses that occur during hydraulic fracturing, a decreasing trend in surface treating pressure in sequential stages is typically attributed to reduced friction within the casing or frac string. However, there are several variances in treating pressure that are not readily explained by examining the surface pressures and pipe friction in isolation. These variances are also apparent when looking at bottom hole injectivity. Combining surface data and geomechanical data quickly reveals the degree of variability in rock properties along a lateral and the impact that variability can have on a completion, leading to a more optimal design. This paper demonstrates how engineers can take advantage of their most detailed completions and geomechanical data by looking for trends arising from past detailed treatment analyses and applying that gained knowledge to future completions.

This study relies on the analysis of proprietary high-resolution geomechanical data derived from the processing of accelerations measured at the drillbit and high-frequency fracture treatment data recorded at one-second intervals. The data were standardized to a common format, screened for quality control, normalized, and analyzed using a data management platform. The methodology combines critical mechanical rock properties such as Young's Modulus, and Poisson's ratio with high-frequency fracture treatment data, including treating pressures, rates, and fluid and proppant volumes. Further application of the geomechanical data to derive brittleness allows for construction of a more predictive petromechanical model to optimize completion approaches.

A brief analysis of past completions indicated virtually no correlation between gamma ray measurements along the stage and fracture treating conditions. However, when evaluating high-resolution mechanical rock properties along the lateral, a much more useful correlation exists between minimum horizontal stress variations (calculated from Poisson's Ratio) and eventual treating pressure and proppant placement difficulties. Calculated brittleness and bottomhole injectivity (which accounts for changes in slurry rate and pipe friction) also show a relationship, especially when cluster efficiency factors are included. This study of six Eagle Ford wells suggests that rock properties are the dominant variables affecting fracture treatment pressure and bottomhole injectivity. This method can be used to predict trouble stages, improve operational efficiencies, and optimize proppant placement.

This paper proposes a process to improve completion efficiency while demonstrating the value of information contained in high-resolution and high-frequency datasets. Historically underutilized, these datasets are playing an increasingly prevalent role in advanced analytics due to improved and novel technologies for data management and interpretation. This process is useful to ask better questions and to improve critical decision making with real data.

When: March 1-3, 2019

Where: Copper Mountain

Welcome to the annual Oil Industry Ski Trip! This year, SPE and DAPL are partnering up to make a true Oilfield Ski Bash! Don thy onesie and prepare your favorite mountainside drinking container, for this year is sure to be the best year of petroleum shenanigans to hit the slopes since 2015! We'll have a ski bus traveling up on Friday, après ski party Friday, and other networking opportunities for the remainder of the weekend. More details will be provided in February! Registration this year is a-la-carte. You can have a fun ski day on Friday OR stay for the entire weekend! If you plan to ski for all 3 days, make sure to buy 3 lift tickets. The over 30 year tradition of the après ski party on Friday will be hosted at the base of Copper. Feel free to attend even if you don't ski!  If you don't take the bus up on Friday, then be sure to pick up your lift tickets prior to March 1 from Tabatha at the DAPL offices: 535 16th. St Suite #850, Denver, Colorado 80202 (dapl@dapldenver.org). Registration closes on February 14, 2019 ...  don't miss the window! We have plenty of opportunities to sponsor! Descriptions for each of these options is in the ticket section. If you would like to mail a check instead of registering online (to avoid fees), please email Mark (mark.hinaman@gmail.com) at SPE or Meg Gibson (meg@majorsgibson.com; 720.515.5580) at DAPL.

RSVP Link: 2019 Fast Oil Bash

When: Thursday February 28, 2019 | 11:30 a.m to 1:00 p.m.

Where: Halliburton | 1125 17th Street, Suite 1900 Denver, CO

Title: Adressing Well Interaction with the Help of Microseismic: Enhancing Integrated Diagnostic Data Streams with Heatmaps.

Speaker: Hannah Chittenden, Geophysical Analyst and Project Coordinator, ESG Global Energy

Abstract: 

It is well understood that in today’s field development, well communication and interaction is a problem influencing production in both parent and child wells. While frac-hits are not a new phenomenon, infill drilling and tighter well spacing of horizontal pads in areas like the Permian and Eagle Ford have intensified the issue, leading to appreciable production losses or diminished producing capacity in many wells. 1 Some operators have taken a broader field wide approach to mitigate production loss, using techniques such as simultaneous operations or tank development2 while others propose pre-loading parent wells3 or customized well sequencing4 , all in efforts to generate protective pressure barriers between wells. However, with the added complexity of subsurface heterogeneity, operators need to consider a custom approach to developing their own mitigation solutions. Microseismic analysis, in conjunction with other diagnostic data streams such as tracers, fiber, geomechanical modeling and pressure data, can provide key feedback on the nature of well interaction. While assessment of microseismic event clouds can provide evidence of interaction, it lacks the resolution required to fully assess the mechanisms driving this interaction. Building on a new approach to interpreting microseismic data that emphasizes spatial and temporal trends in seismicity over discrete event locations, zones of “wet” and “dry” seismicity are visualized in heatmaps as a function of reservoir stress conditions, providing operators with a visual tool to evaluate the degree of interaction between wells. Looking at trends in seismicity at the stage-level and across a pad in conjunction with additional diagnostic data streams provides greater clarity on zones of communication or interaction between wells. With a better understanding of the nature of this well interaction, operators can make important decisions around well spacing, frac sequencing and completions design to optimally stimulate a reservoir while minimizing production losses associated with unintended interaction. Here we present a case study from the Permian basin to demonstrate how integrated data streams can be enhanced with microseismic data to provide additional knowledge of the mechanisms driving well interaction, and offer insights to operators to help mitigate the risk of frac-hits.

Speaker Bio:

Hannah Chittenden is a Geophysical Analyst and Project Coordinator with ESG’s global energy services division, where she oversees analysis and reporting for hydraulic fracture monitoring projects.  Hannah joined ESG in 2014 as a geophysicist and has since taken on many responsibilities both in the office and in the field.  Hannah is currently a G.I.T. pursuing her professional designation (P.Geo) and a member of the AAPG.  She holds a Master’s Degree in Tectonic Geology from the University of Bern and a B.Sc. in Geology from McMaster University in Canada where she worked as an intern for the Stable Isotope Laboratory.  Prior to joining ESG, Hannah worked as a research assistant where she published her work investigating foreland basins and the influence of bedrock architecture on the development of alpine landscapes.