Microseismic depletion delineation

Hess Corporation performed an extensive data collection project in 2011 designed to investigate infill well spacing in the Williston Basin. Using combined microseismic and pressure data collected from six observation wells and the original depleted horizontal wellbore, we identified the potential for using microseismic data to monitor the extent of depletion in unconventional reservoirs. We propose broader use of this surveillance process, which we call microseismic depletion delineation. We recommend pumping pressurized fluids into, or in the vicinity of, a well that has been on production while simultaneously monitoring for microseismic events as a means to discover the optimal spacing for development wells. Our measurements revealed that depletion over a two-and-a-half year period puts the reservoir in a critically stressed state. By repressurizing the depleted wellbore to a level below the minimum horizontal stress, we promoted shear events that revealed the location of the connected, permeable fractures that delineate the depleted part of the subsurface. We considered alternative interpretations for the nonuniform depletion that we mapped along the length of this Middle Bakken well, including completion fluid diversion by faults and wellbore sloughing occluding the production string. We conclude that this procedure has application to shale plays in much the same way that 4D seismic monitoring is used as a production surveillance tool for conventional reservoirs.