Calgary hosted the 2019 Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (ATCE). This is the first time that the exhibition has been held in Canada and with its thriving oil & gas Industry was the perfect place. The ATCE is considered one of, if not, the largest gathering of exploration & production (E&P) professionals in the world. The ATCE has exhibitors from all around the world and includes an extensive technical program covering all industry disciplines. It is the perfect environment for technical experts to share their insights and knowledge to help advance the industry. Energi Simulation was one of the sponsors at ATCE.
The Geomechanics Group took this great opportunity to present the results of the collaborative work that has been taking place over the past two years with PETRONAS Canada (Industry Partner). The publications presented showcased findings that came out as a result of summer student internships and experimental work carried out at the University of Toronto under the directive of PETRONAS Canada and PETRONAS Sdn Bhd.
The summer internship at PETRONAS Canada allowed Yusheng Qiu to evaluate diagnostic fracture injection tests (DFITs). In doing so, a novel workflow was proposed to determine the instantaneous shut-in pressure (ISIP) from readily available completions data. This novel workflow also validates the expected in-situ stress trends at depth, with a relationship of high ISIP gradients closer to fault zones similar to stress change behaviour.
The experimental work leveraged the facilities available at the Rock Fracture Dynamics Facility readily available at the University of Toronto. The novel laboratory experiment mimics a single-stage open-hole hydraulic fracture under true triaxial stress conditions similar to the reservoir at depth. The injection utilized a slickwater system, composed of surfactant, friction reducer, and biocide. Micro-computed tomography (μCT) scans were used to identify the presence of preexisting fractures and bedding planes.
| Abdelaziz, A., Ha, J., Abul Khair, H., Adams, M., Tan, C. P., Musa, I. H., & Grasselli, G. (2019). Unconventional Shale Hydraulic Fracturing Under True Triaxial Laboratory Conditions, the Value of Understanding Your Reservoir. Paper presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. https://doi.org/10.2118/196026-MS |
| Qiu, Y., Adams, M., & Grasselli, G. (2019). Simplified Dark Data Analytics of Everyday Completions Data, and its Relation to Observed Induced Seismicity Events: An Unconventional Big Data Solution. Paper presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition 2019, ATCE 2019, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. https://doi.org/10.2118/195952-MS |
A comprehensive list of publications by the Grasselli’s Geomechanics Group can be found here.