Microseismic Imaging of Hydraulic Fracture Complexity in the Barnett Shale

Abstract Microseismic monitoring has been used to image hydraulic fracture growth in the Barnett Shale. The Barnett is a naturally fractured shale reservoir, which causes significant complexity in fracture growth during well stimulation operations. Several Barnett treatments have been successfully imaged between March 2000 and December 2001. In this paper, examples will be given to illustrate the complexity and variability which is developed during the treatment as the slurry interacts with the pre-existing fracture sets. The microseismic images explain why the stimulations occasionally grow at an angle to the assumed fracture orientation and into neighboring wells. Differences in production rates from various wells could also be related to the fracture geometry. The implications of the images to reservoir management highlight the benefit of imaging individual fracture networks to avoid overlapping and for targeting potential new well locations.