Breakthrough Geomechanics Technologies for Cost Effective Hydraulic Fracture Design & Optimization

This paper presents and discusses field implications of a breakthrough geomechanics modeling software suite ELFEN for cost effective hydraulic fracture design and optimization. ELFEN is the first commercially available software suite that offer multiple unconventional geomechanics capabilities under one umbrella. These integrated breakthrough capabilities can accurately capture: (i) “true” 3D hydraulic fracture propagation with arbitrary/curving paths; (ii) near wellbore stress field and perforation architecture with implications to fracture tortuosity and breakdown; (iii) DFN stimulation integrated with induced seismicity and proppant transport; (iv) multi well interference and fracture-fracture interactions with stress shadows; (v) full cycle of fracture initiation, propagation, production and re-fracturing; (vi) multi-mode failure with tensile, shear and compaction localization; (vii) ductile-brittle transition through the utilization of advanced constitutive models; (viii) stress dependent permeability and fracture closure; (ix) fracture height growth in laminated/anisotropic rocks; (x) natural fracture evolution and characteristics.