ABSTRACT
Well testing and reservoir analysis results from the Department of Energy's Multiwell Experiment (MWX) are presented before and after a set of hydraulic fracturing treatments were performed in two naturally fractured, lenticular Paludal sands of the Mesaverde Group in the Rulison Field, Colorado. The well testing data combined with seismic, core, log, production, and special fracture diagnostics information was integrated into a reservoir model that was used to assess the effects of various reservoir parameters on well performance before and after each fracture treatment.
Production/interference testing and the subsequent reservoir modeling revealed that although hydraulic fracturing produced a highly conductive linear flow path to the wellbore, the productive fracture lengths appeared to be considerably shorter than designed lengths. Furthermore, a post-frac decline in overall production implied a degrading effect upon the flow capacity of the original natural fracture system that was adjacent to the propped fracture. The production/interference testing illustrates the gradual degradation in the near term production capacity of the reservoir from its initial state through two hydraulic fracture treatments.
