Abstract
Hydraulic fracturing is the most common stimulation technique to make hydrocarbon production feasible and optimal worldwide. However, it has been preferentially focused on low permeability formations, and when applied to high permeability, it has been focused on sand control.
This article outlines the process and results of the hydraulic fracturing campaign for productivity purposes (not for sand control) in the basin of the eastern plains of Colombia given the petrophysical characteristics of the cretaceous formations, where thinking "out of the box" and separating from the existing premises, resulted in successful implementation of this technique in high permeability wells (~ 1D), high water cuts (up to 80% BSW) and heavy oil reservoirs (9–12 API).
The technical process consisted on several steps leading to the success of the campaign, which included:
Formation damage study that identified candidate wells and damage mechanisms affecting them.
Refining of the petrophysical model from pressure testing to establish incremental production.
Adjustment of fracture models using varying anisotropy from special sonic log runs.
Using state of the art technologies such as mobility enhancers and Flow back proppant additives as active ingredients of the fracturing fluid.
This article presents the outcomes of more than 40 wells intervened to date with an average volumetric increment of ~ 250 BOPD per well, consistent reductions of BSW up to 60% and optimized operations which let the operator consider the hydraulic fracturing as a production optimization option for the field under analysis.
