SPE Technical Happy Hour: January 2026
Host: Society of Petroleum Engineers, Denver Section
Event: January 2026 Technical Happy Hour
Time: January 27th, 4-6 (HH begins at 4, Talk at 430, Social until 6)
Location: Liberty Energy, 950 17th St, Suite 2400, Denver, CO 80202
Sponsor: Liberty Energy
Study Group Category: Completions
Speaker: Dr. Ge Jin, Associate Professor, Colorado School of Mines
Title: Abnormal Fracture Propagation during Hydraulic Fracturing Captured by Cross-well Strain Sensing
Measurements
Abstract:
Fiber-optic cross-well strain measurements have proven to be a powerful tool for optimizing hydraulic
fracturing operations, including well spacing and completion designs. As more field data have been
collected, abnormal fracture propagation behaviors have emerged in several case studies from
geologically complex areas. In this presentation, I’ll showcase field measurements that reveal abnormal
strain patterns associated with natural fracture stimulation, fault reactivation, and large-scale bedding
plane slippage. These case studies demonstrate the power of cross-well strain measurements to
characterize abnormal fracture behavior while highlighting how geology impacts stimulation results and
efficiency.
Bio:
Dr. Ge Jin is an Associate Professor of Geophysics and Co-director of Reservoir Characterization Project
at Colorado School of Mines. His research interests focus on applications of Distributed Fiber-Optic
Sensing (DFOS) in geoscience and engineering, as well as seismic imaging and machine learning
techniques. He received the ARMA Case Study Award in 2025, delivered the AAPG/SEG Distinguished
Lecture in 2024, received the Best Paper award at the URTeC conference in 2023 and 2024. Before
joining Colorado School of Mines, Dr. Jin worked for five years as a research geophysicist at
ConocoPhillips. Dr. Jin earned his Ph.D. in Geophysics from Columbia University and holds dual B.S.
degrees in Geophysics and Computer Science from Peking University.