The Future of Technology in Unconventional Shale Production

to recommend fracture treatment designs that maximize treatment efficiency, and clearly demonstrate the impact of completion designs on reservoir recovery. For instance, a technique that could predict initial production and EUR would enable operators to understand the economics of each well earlier to improve booked reserves.

Today, about 62 percent of all wells frac’d in the U.S. are horizontal wells. In an effort to reduce costs, E&P companies are “factory mode” drilling these wells, which means they are using identical well spacing, orientation and frac’ing techniques for every well. It is a one-size-fits-all approach that may keep costs low by shaving days off of the drilling process, but is failing to adequately deplete the reservoir.

Only about 10 percent of gas-in-place and 5 percent of oil-in-place is being recovered today. In fact as much as 25 percent to 35 percent of “factory mode” drilled wells do not even produce. Simply put, though this method has allowed for rapid field devel­opment, it is yielding lower productivity than expected, which is driving the need for efficiency gains and improved recovery methods.

The industry is facing a paradox as it strives to maintain high efficiencies and low costs, while looking to technology advance­ments to improve recovery factors. The bottom line is technol­ogy development should be tailored to the unique production characteristics of the reservoir, which will increase recovery. Look for engineered completions designs to take the lead; these will entail optimizing individual stages and wells to maximize production as opposed to the standardized stage completion methods currently used. This is a more efficient and effective approach which will drive the future of our industry.

Forthcoming technology solutions must offer results that are achievable and credible. Multi-disciplinary technical services that address the needs of geophysicists and geologists, as well as the needs of geomechanics, completions, production and res­ervoir engineers are ideal. These disciplines are interdependent and require an integrated understanding of geologic controls to interpret production behavior for future success.

Going forward, the industry will continue to develop tech­nology to increase effectiveness for completions operations and production enhancement. As we develop the science and tech­nology to interpolate initial production and estimated ultimate recovery (EUR) in the shale plays, we will be more knowledgea­ble in where we place wells vertically and laterally; we will com­plete them with more confidence and more success. Also look for real-time evaluation methods to determine how each stage is performing and enable real-time changes to optimize outcomes.

As shale plays mature, it is becoming increasingly apparent that many well programs will need to be recompleted with new techniques. For wells that were monitored and evaluated using microseismic technology during the initial fracturing, operators will have a quantifiable advantage. During the re-frac program they will have a much better understanding of the geology and what did and did not work previously.

Real-time evaluation of these re-frac programs will ensure that frac coverage area goals are achieved. We can also expect to see a greater use of data acquisition tools that will help with completions engineering and design. And although LWD tools are valuable in the oilfield, it is likely that less costly, non-intru­sive technologies will emerge that do not enter the well, such as microseismic geophones, electromagnetics, and offset well fiber sensors.

As 2014 comes to a close, I am optimistic that we are closer than ever to successfully understanding how to forecast and maximize EUR. The industry is continually developing technol­ogy and solutions to make better real-time decisions while drill­ing and completing its wells, ultimately reducing the finding and development costs and maximizing recovery.