Date: Thursday March 16.

Time: 11:30 - 1:00

Location: Denbury Resources 5320 Legacy Dr. Plano Tx.

Topic: Microseismic event growth and interaction with local geology across multiple horizons of the Permian Basin

Speaker: Sheri Bowman-Young, Group Manager, Analytics and Technical Sales, ESG Solutions

Abstract: 

As operators in the Permian Basin continue to focus on unconventional plays including the Wolfcamp, Bone Spring, Spraberry and Cline, geoscientists working in the region are increasingly using geological and geophysical data to optimize drilling and completions strategies in an effort to maximize well productivity.  Microseismic monitoring is one such geophysical tool that provides operators with a wealth of feedback on the nature of fracture stimulations in these formations. 

 By characterizing and evaluating factors such as fracture containment, lithological characteristics, geomechanical properties, stress regimes and distribution of natural fractures, an opportunity exists to apply learnings to design more effective stimulation programs.  New developments in advanced microseismic analysis designed to better understand in-situ reservoir behavior are also emerging with considerable success.  Here we present results from numerous case studies throughout the Permian basin and demonstrate how operators are using these results to evaluate wellbore spacing, compare completions parameters, characterize out-of-zone growth and understand stress release in order to optimize subsequent treatments.

 The introduction of new sensor deployment strategies have also shed light on the relationship between hydraulic fracture stimulation and fault activation in other north American unconventional formations and may provide similar benefit to operators in the Permian.  Evaluation of critically stressed fractures or faults in the vicinity of target production zones may have implications for estimates of reservoir deformation or communication across lithological boundaries.  Understanding the nature of fault-related induced seismicity and their relationship to the injection processes is critical to define the potential for out-of-zone growth, but also to understand the role that larger-scale fractures play with respect to the dynamics of the reservoir.

Bio: Sheri Bowman-Young is an engineer and senior level manager with ESG’s global energy services division, where she oversees all analysis, interpretation and reporting for microseismic projects related to hydraulic fracture mapping and reservoir monitoring.  Sheri joined ESG in 2007 as a geophysicist and has since held positions of Geophysical Analyst, Project Manager and Manager of Data Services.  Sheri has played an integral role in the growth of ESG’s FRACMAP services, leading efforts to better understand microsiesmic data beyond traditional event location while educating operators on the additional value that can be extracted from microseismic datasets. Sheri is a registered professional engineer (P.Eng.) and a member of the SPE and SEG.  She holds dual degrees from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario in Applied Math & Mechanical Engineering and Geological Sciences and has authored or presented over 20 papers on microseismic monitoring.