SPE Denver Technical Happy Hour: December 2025
Abstract:
A key challenge faced in unconventional reservoir development is well
densities coupled with modern completion designs to economically optimize
resource development. Most data analytic applications use single well
production and completion data to explore optimized strategies. However,
the combination of different well densities and completion strategies
complicate single well analytics and thus could be improved upon by using
multi-well, normalized section-based data analytics. This approach can help
identify what changes can be made to the combination of wells per section
and completion metrics to optimize asset recovery or help confirm that
current strategies are working.
In most basins, the State Public Land Survey System (PLSS) sections are
the main grid used to define each section. In the Permian, the Texas Block
and Survey sections are used, whereas in the Eagle Ford, a custom grid
with 1-mile by 1-mile sections are used. Total lateral length within the
section, pumped proppant and fluid, and production volumes are rolled up
within each grid section and normalized by section area on a per-acre basis.
Examples in the paper mainly use three-year cumulative oil production and
simple three-year payout economics as performance metric. Processed
section level data is then visualized in both map views and cartesian plots,
to draw insights on section-level performance in specific areas and then
determine the best strategies to optimize asset recovery.
The key application of this approach is to draw insights relating to differing
development strategies in each area. Trends of fluid treatment job sizes as a
function of wells per section (WPS) can be inferred. Together, with trends of
section production as well as normalized well productivity on a per-foot
basis as a function of WPS, it is possible to assess which development
strategy might work best. The trends of section production versus WPS and
completion metrics are generally much better than for single-well analytics.
The examples show how optimum performance and development strategy
may change for different unconventional basins.
Section-based data analytics has proven to be an excellent complement to
well-based data analytics and physical models as it provides better data
correlations for the whole “development system” compared to single-well
analytics. This approach is largely automated and can be used in any basin
to gain insight into the section-level performance of a given well
development and completion strategy.
Bio:
Howard Melcher is a Subsurface Technical Advisor at Liberty Energy, where
he has been a member of Liberty’s technical team for 12 years, focusing on
data analytics, formation evaluation, and frac & reservoir modeling. Before
joining Liberty, he spent 6 years with U.S. Energy, a privately held E&P,
working primarily in the Appalachian Basin. He holds a Bachelor of Science in
Geology from the University at Buffalo and has completed graduate
coursework at Texas A&M.