Radioactive tracers improve completion and fracturing practices. Part 2

Journal Article · Wed Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1995 · Petroleum Engineer International

OSTI ID:39897

Voneiff, G W; Robinson, B M ^[1]

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1. S.A. Holditch and Associates, Inc., College Station, TX (United States)

Radioactive tracers placed in hydraulic fracture treatments can aid completion optimization. Much like other new fracturing technologies, tracers are not necessarily profitable on every well that they are applied to but achieve substantial benefits on 5% to 10% of the wells. When averaged over a large number of wells, tracer technology can increase some field reserves by up to 10%, resulting in an increased profit of $100,000/well. To evaluate pay intervals that may be unstimulated or understimulated, radioactive tracer technology must be applied to every hydraulically fracture well. Radioactive tracer benefits were evaluated in four formations: Almond sand in Wyoming; Cotton Valley sand in East Texas; Delaware in New Mexico; Red Fork in Oklahoma. Benefit-to-cost ratios ranged from 9:1 to 12:1 for typical pay and permeability values (Table 1). Formation permeability and net pay strongly impact the magnitude of the benefits. However, the benefit over a full range of reservoir properties was evaluated, and the technology remained cost-effective, even when only a small percentage of identified problems could be corrected. This article includes a typical example of how radioactive tracers were used to increase production two-fold in a well by identifying understimulated pay.

• OSTI ID: 39897
• Journal Information: Petroleum Engineer International, Journal Name: Petroleum Engineer International Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 67; ISSN 0164-8322; ISSN PEEID4
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
03 NATURAL GAS
COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS
HYDRAULIC FRACTURING
MONITORING
NATURAL GAS WELLS
OIL WELLS
PERFORMANCE
TRACER TECHNIQUES
WELL COMPLETION