Consideration of Stress Shadows in Stacked Plays

Stress Shadows, the colloquial term used to describe the stress field change associated with hydraulic fractures, is a fundamental part of hydraulic fracture optimization in horizontal wells. The authors, and others, have written extensively about Stress Shadows and their potential influence on breakdown pressures, ISIP increases from toe to heal in horizontal wellbores, on hydraulic fracture rotation and asymmetric propagation, on perforation cluster efficiency, and on their potential impact on multi-well completion schemes. However, as many of the current Unconventional Plays, like those in the Permian Basin in Texas, in the STACK/SCOOP in Oklahoma, and the Bakken in North Dakota, involve sufficient vertical thickness that stacked laterals are being used or considered, the impact of Stress Shadows needs to also be considered for these developments.