Ya just wondering if I'm right in this backwards analysis of why they didn't do the DFIT micro stim ?
But why eliminate the micro-stim phase and what exactly is a micro-stim for ?
Well the annmnt hints a little imo.
Funny how DW hints at stuff rather than giving us dummies the guff in plain English !!!
"Additionally, insights have been gained into the stress profile and PORE PRESSURE of the HRZ, which appears higher than previously expected. This can have a direct effect on potentially higher flow rates. Consequently, the planned micro stimulation (DFIT) is no longer necessary and will be removed from the forward program."
Yes we've all read this many a time BUT are we making the connection here as some of the market apparently has ?Yes its good news re elevated pore pressure and good data etc etc, but WHY !!!
The DFIT (Diagnostic Fracture Injection Test) is an acronym coined by Halliburton. Schlumberger calls their equivalent test a MFO (Mini Fall-off), other operators and service companies may refer to it variously as a Data Frac or Mini Frac but is defined as:
a short duration, small volume fracturing operations where a small amount (<100 BBLS) of KCL water is pumped until fracture initiation. At that point the wing or frac valve is closed allowing the wells pressure to fall-off naturallyover the course of 24 to 48 hrs. (or longer).
The Role of the SPIDRsystem in Injection Fall-Off Testing
The SPIDR system provides a high resolution and high frequency quartz transducer to collect this fall off information at 1 second intervals over the entire duration. Because the analysis takes the pressure data into derivative analysis, etc.
So the DFIT was to be used for assessing the effectiveness of the HRZ to expel the hydrocarbons via the microfractures created by the initial small fracture procedure.
This obviously has implications for how the permeability and fractures structurally hold because if the shale does not hold together structurally then the micro stims pressure fall off data would be reflected in the pressure data collected.
This is where an appreciation for the actual real time conditions at depth come in.
What one must appreciate is that there are various forces being exterted on the reservoirs pores, pore throats and permeability channels. The downward force from the strata above is immense and its why we see the massive pressures and high temperatures being created 11,000' + down.
These forces are balanced by the strength of the shale (stress regime) and fluids pushing back out against these forces which create pore pressure as well as the gas fraction exerting higher molecular forces against the pore walls.
Now when one fractures the shale (stimulates it by fracking with pressurized fluid) one is essentially disturbing this balance and assessing the ability of the shale to retain its structural integrity (not be destroyed and blocked) and allow the hydrocarbons to flow out the already present permeability channels under the push of the pressure within the reservoir pores espc when proppant is utilized to support the fracture network.
Now we come back to the annmnt.
If they no longer feel that such a leak down test is require, then as Chilly has said they MUST have enough confidence that the combination of the higher PORE PRESSURE and the stress regime, as indicated by the logging data, that indicates very strongly that the HRZ will indeed retain its structural integrity and let the hydrocarbons flow.
Does this mean it will flow and possibly flow like a conventional reservoir ?
Well we still have the clay behavior factor to overcome. Clays being very interesting, if not somewhat dangerous to the reservoirs ability to flow. But perhaps more on that later. Postive implications on this from this annmnt tho !!!
I'd be interested as to what others think of this interpretation of the annmnt.
A BIG thanks to the Chilled one and Laz for putting me onto this line of thinking.
Well done lads. Altho I'm thinking Laz may have sussed this already.
And well done yet again by DW with the hint as to where things MIGHT be headed next.
Invariably DW's hints point directly to where the next outcome is imho. One just has to look at the companies annmnt history
(20min delay)