Using Data Analytics to Assess the Impact of Technology Change on Production Forecasting

Authors
Frank Male (Center for Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, University of Texas at Austin) | Chastity Aiken (Ifremer, Géosciences Marine - LAD) | Ian J. Duncan (Bureau of Economic Geology, University of Texas at Austin)
DOI
https://doi.org/10.2118/191536-MS
Document ID
SPE-191536-MS
Publisher
Society of Petroleum Engineers
Source
SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, 24-26 September, Dallas, Texas, USA
Publication Date
2018
Document Type
Conference Paper
Language
English
ISBN
978-1-61399-572-3
Copyright
2018. Society of Petroleum Engineers
Keywords
Completion Optimization, Decline Curve Analysis, Machine Learning
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Abstract

The nature of well completions in the oil and gas industry continues to evolve. Although the effects of completions and spacing on initial production are well reported, how they affect ultimate recovery and terminal decline is not well understood. Over the last decade, drilling on multi-well pads has become prevalent, spacing between horizontal wells has decreased, and hydrofracture intensity has increased. These developments have decreased drilling and completion costs, while increasing initial well production. Yet, the impact of the timing, spacing, and intensity of fracturing on terminal decline rates and ultimate recovery has not been systematically investigated.

In this paper, Bakken well production profiles are used to evaluate the impact of differences in completion design on the nature of long-term production decline. To evaluate these effects, production for 12,000 Bakken wells were forecast using a physics-based approach. Using descriptive statistics and advanced visualization, terminal decline rate and ultimate recovery parameters are found to depend upon date of well completion, volumes of proppant and water injected, lateral length, and well spacing. We utilize a tree-based machine learning approach to test predictability of completion parameters on terminal decline rate and estimated ultimate recovery.

Our analyses show that pad drilling and increased hydrofracture intensity are apparently associated with small increases in initial production rates but have led to larger terminal decline rates. For example, in the Bakken, the terminal decline rate increases by upwards of ten percentage points for wells with modern completions in multi-well pads. Since production life is dependent upon terminal decline rates, spacing and completions effects must be accounted for in type curves for wells in multi-well pads.

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