Significant attention has been placed on well-to-well interactions since the beginning of infill development in unconventional plays. Asymmetry of hydraulic fractures toward pressure-depleted parent wells has been attributed to poor performance of early in-fill completions (Xuyang et al., 2019). Factors include well spacing, timing, and specifics of colocation. Various operators have developed strategies to mitigate these effects and improve production for new spacing units. This paper reviews the historical response to parent–child well development in the Bakken, characterizes trends, and examines the techniques that have been applied and their efficacy. Results provide evidence that development decisions continue to be largely driven by surface constraints, suggesting there is more work needed to improve future child well performance. There is a trend away from refracturing for most operators, particularly as part of drilling spacing unit (DSU) redevelopments involving drilling of multiple child wells. Common mitigation techniques include fracturing the child well closest to the parent well first and increasing well spacing.

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