Engineering completion and selective fracturing of lateral wellbores

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11726228-B2
Application number	US-202017310695-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 18, 2020
Priority date	Feb 18, 2019
Publication date	Aug 15, 2023
Grant date	Aug 15, 2023

Abstract

A method for completing a wellbore traversing a subterranean formation includes making electromagnetic resistivity measurements along a lateral section of the wellbore. The resistivity measurements are evaluated to estimate a water content of the subterranean formation along the lateral section. The formation is fractured at selected regions along the lateral section at which the water content is below a threshold and avoiding regions at which the water content is above the threshold.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for completing a wellbore traversing a subterranean formation, the method comprising:
(a) making electromagnetic resistivity measurements along a lateral section of the wellbore;
(b) evaluating the resistivity measurements to estimate a water content of the subterranean formation along the lateral section of the wellbore; and
(c) fracturing the formation at selected regions along the lateral section at which the water content is below a threshold and avoiding regions at which the water content is above the threshold,
wherein (c) further comprises (i) cementing a casing in the lateral section of the wellbore, (ii) setting first and second packers to isolate one of the selected regions at which the water content is below the threshold, (iii) perforating the casing in the isolated region, and (iv) pumping high pressure fracking fluid downhole from surface to fracture the subterranean formation in the isolated region.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
(a) further comprises drilling the lateral section of the wellbore; and
the resistivity measurements include logging while drilling measurements.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the resistivity measurements are made during a washdown operation.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the resistivity measurements comprise deep reading resistivity measurements.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the resistivity measurements have a depth of investigation of at least 10 feet into the formation.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein (b) comprises evaluating the resistivity measurements to estimate at least one of (i) a resistivity of a near bed, (ii) a vertical resistivity and a horizontal resistivity of the near bed, (iii) a distance to a remote bed boundary, and (iv) a resistivity of a remote bed as a function of measured depth in the lateral section of the wellbore.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the water content is estimated in (b) from a resistivity value of the formation along the lateral section of the wellbore, with a higher resistivity being indicative of low water content and a lower resistivity being indicative of high water content.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein (c) further comprises avoiding regions along the lateral section of the wellbore at which a resistivity of a near bed is less than a resistivity threshold indicative of high water content.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein (c) further comprises avoiding regions along the lateral section of the wellbore at which a resistivity of a remote bed is less than a resistivity threshold indicative of high water content and at which a distance to the remote bed is less than a distance threshold.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein (c) further comprises (v) setting packers at a plurality of other selected regions at which the water content is below the threshold and repeating (iii) and (iv) at each of the selected regions.

Assignees

• Schlumberger Technology Corp

Inventors

• Khan Modhar
• Utter Robert
• Amir Irlan
• Potapenko Dmitriy
• Gremillion Joseph

Classifications

• G01V3/26 Primary

  operating with magnetic or electric fields produced or modified either by the surrounding earth formation or by the detecting device (with electromagnetic waves G01V3/30) · CPC title

• E21B43/26

  by forming crevices or fractures · CPC title

• E21B49/003

  by analysing drilling variables or conditions (E21B49/005 takes precedence; systems specially adapted for monitoring a plurality of drilling variables or conditions E21B44/00) · CPC title

• G01V3/38

  Processing data, e.g. for analysis, for interpretation, for correction · CPC title

• E21B49/00

  Testing the nature of borehole walls; Formation testing; Methods or apparatus for obtaining samples of soil or well fluids, specially adapted to earth drilling or wells · CPC title