Factors Affecting the Productivity of a Multifractured Horizontal Well

Horizontal well technology has been widely used in developing oil fields. Very commonly, these wells are hydraulically fractured to improve productivity in low permeability reservoirs. The productivity of a multifractured horizontal well is mainly affected by reservoir properties and fracture parameters. A simple and accurate method for evaluating and optimizing productivity of this type of wells is not available and is highly desirable to reservoir engineers. The authors analyzed the equipressure contour, velocity vector distributions, and the influence of factors such as ratio of vertical permeability to horizontal permeability, anisotropy of plane permeability, hydraulic fracturing angle, fracture distribution, and morphology on horizontal well's productivity by finite element numerical simulation method. The results show that optimizing the well trajectory and direction can reduce the degree of reservoir permeability anisotropy influencing on the productivity of well. Hydraulic fracture tilt or angles among multifractures due to natural fractures or ground stress can lower the productivity. Asymmetric distribution of fractures about wellbore can improve production and distribution with staggered interval can generate greater production. When the space between hydraulic fractures is small, fractures bend at a small angle and display a separated trend due to interference among fractures. In this case production has a little increase. Finite element numerical simulation method is accurate and intuitive when simulating percolation field of fractured horizontal wells. The results have certain reference significance for in situ fracturing operations.