Fracture Treatment Design

The well completion approach and reservoir engineering are integrated with IPT's customized hydraulic fracturing models to present economic sensitivities to provide an optimized fracture stimulation treatment design. We have corroborated the predicted effective fracture dimensions from these models with a significant amount of reservoir simulation of actual production responses and pressure transient tests. The result is that over the years we have developed effective fracture and reservoir models for most formations and fracturing characteristics to give our clients sound fracture treatment designs.

The well completion approach also impacts the fracture treatment design. How a well is perforated, broken down, flow tested, etc. will dictate how the fracture geometry is initiated and propagated into the far-field. This impacts the treatment design pump schedule and fluid character needed to optimally stimulate a formation.

IPT's fracture treatment designs focus on lateral and vertical proppant distribution, not to simply put the treatment in the ground. From our study of thousands of wells we have developed a unique understanding of what completion and stimulation approaches are most effective to minimize proppant-induced friction, which is a mechanism that can have a serious negative affect on the effective fracture length and resultant production response.

The best of intentions in the design phase can be trumped by inappropriate field implementation. The field application is critical and it is inappropriate to discern fracture treatment effectiveness by whether a job is placed in the ground or not.