Detailed data and cost-effective completion strategy needed

“Wolfbone” is the local name given to the Delaware basin’s vertical wells with comingled production from the Wolfcamp and Bone Spring intervals. Because the Wolfbone comprises multistacked conventional and unconventional packages, the interval is characterized by highly heterogeneous lithologies and formation properties.

To ensure the economic success of its Wolfbone campaign, Endeavor Energy partnered with Schlumberger to characterize the reservoir and understand the acreage’s spatial variability. Detailed completion and production evaluation of the vertical well program would be critical in identifying and ranking productive horizons for future horizontal well developments. Schlumberger proposed an integrated strategy encompassing detailed reservoir characterization, complex fracture modeling with Mangrove software, and HiWAY channel fracturing technique.

Integrated workflow helped optimize well completion effectiveness

Schlumberger constructed oil shale montages using data from Platform Express integrated wireline logging tool, ECS elemental capture spectroscopy sonde, and CMR combinable magnetic resonance tool. This provided petrophysical interpretations of the Wolfbone interval and improved identification of the pay zones. Sonic Scanner acoustic scanning tool was also run on the subject wells to derive anisotropic mechanical rock properties and stress models, which are critical inputs for accurate hydraulic fracture simulations.

All available reservoir data was imported into Mangrove stimulation design software to determine treatment staging, choose perforation placements, and perform hydraulic fracturing simulations—optimizing fracture treatment parameters. To address completion costs and fracture conductivity concerns, the subject wells were treated with the HiWAY technique. A completion and production analysis, which includes post-treatment fracture simulation, production log analysis, rate transient analysis, and production history matching, was performed on the subject wells, aiding the calibration of the petrophysical and anisotropic stress models.

Pilot vertical and horizontal wells yielded more oil and more cost savings

Initial oil production of the subject wells ranked in the Wolfbone play’s top 20%. In addition, HiWAY flow-channel fracturing technique used 30% less proppant and 6% less fluid than conventional stimulation treatments. Based on the production results and commodity reductions of this project, Endeavor Energy converted all of the stimulation treatments from conventional systems to HiWAY channel fracturing.

The completion and production evaluation also provided critical input into the future drilling and completion program. The evaluation validated the effectiveness of HiWAY technique, allowing for further optimization of this completion method. Endeavor Energy identified cost savings of USD 734,000 per well in regard to drilling and completions operations. This analysis also identified high-potential horizontal targets within the Wolfbone play that would be targeted in future horizontal developments.

Key vertical Wolfbone findings and integrated solutions have been applied on the client’s initial horizontal development. Through advanced reservoir characterization, PowerDrive RSS, PeriScope bed boundary mapper, and integrated completion design and evaluation, Endeavor Energy drilled and completed a well in a new, deeper target interval. The well exhibited 60% higher initial oil production and 39% higher 10-month cumulative oil production compared with offset laterals landing in the shallower traditional target. Based on the production results of this project, Endeavor Energy converted all its stimulation treatments from conventional systems to HiWAY channel fracturing.