Published: 10/01/2013
Published: 10/01/2013
The liquids-rich Wolfcamp shale play in the Permian basin has high production potential. However, its heterogeneous rock properties, high pressure, and high clay content have often led to ineffective stimulation treatments. After geometric completion designs yielded limited success, Clayton Williams Energy, Inc. partnered with Schlumberger to create a tailored completion design based on the mechanical properties of the rock.
Because of the laminated, heterogeneous nature of the shale, log measurements are critical for effective stimulation treatments. Petrophysical and mechanical rock properties were measured along the lateral, using ThruBit logging services, to acquire a full suite of wireline logs through the bit. The data—including porosity, resistivity, Poisson’s ratio, and Young’s modulus—were used to calculate in situ stress. Mangrove stimulation design then selected the optimal perforation intervals based on the computed stresses.
Within the first 90 days, Clayton Williams measured substantially higher production compared with other horizontal wells in the field. The engineered completion workflow has helped the customer with significant deduction in completion costs and increased time savings. Upon observing the benefits of the engineered completion design, the operator requested the combination of ThruBit services and Mangrove stimulation design for twelve additional wells.
Challenge: Meet production targets for horizontal wells drilled into the Wolfcamp Shale, where economic production is challenging.
Solution: Integrate ThruBit logging services data with Mangrove engineered stimulation design in the Petrel platform to design an optimal completion.
Results:
