This paper presents a detailed description of the completion and fracture stimulation of a high-angle well in the Madison formation of the Williston Basin in North Dakota. The case history of the Candee 26-13 HA well is used. The completion and fracture stimulation techniques used on this well resulted in a three and a half-fold increase in the ultimate recovery of the well, in comparison to a vertical well in the same field.

The well was directionally drilled to intersect natural fractures and provide optimal conditions for hydraulic fracture stimulation. To ensure zone selectivity and isolation, the well was cased and cemented. Notching techniques were used to allow hydraulic fracture treatments to be selectively initiated along the wellbore. Matrix acidizing was an essential phase to achieve this goal.

This paper also presents a discussion of how reservoir simulators can be used to optimize the number of fractures needed to cover a given drainage area. In addition, prefracture and postfracture evaluations are discussed.

Keywords:
case history, fracture, horizontal well, hydraulic fracturing, wellbore, gal high-temperature, horizontal section, horizontal stress, fracture geometry, multiple fracture
Subjects:
Drilling Operations, Hydraulic Fracturing, Reservoir Characterization, Reservoir Fluid Dynamics, Formation Evaluation & Management, Unconventional and Complex Reservoirs, Directional drilling, Perforating, Flow in porous media, Naturally-fractured reservoirs
Copyright 1995, Society of Petroleum Engineers
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