Sensitivity Analysis for the Appraisal of Hydrofractures in Horizontal Wells with Borehole Resistivity Measurements

Abstract

This paper numerically evaluates the possibility of using borehole electromagnetic (EM) measurements to diagnose and quantify hydraulic fractures that have been arti ficially generated in a horizontal well. Hydrofractures are modeled as thin disks perpendicular to the well and filled with either sand-based or electrically-conductive proppant. The study focuses on the e ect of both thickness and length (radius) of hydrofractures to assess their eff ects on speci fic con figurations of borehole resistivity instruments. Numerical results indicate that several measurements (e.g. those obtained with low- and high-frequency solenoids) could be used to asses the thickness of a fracture. However, only low-frequency measurements performed with electrodes and large-spacing between transmitter and receivers (18 m) exhibit the necessary sensitivity to reliably and accurately estimate the length of long hydrofractures (up to 150 m) in open-hole wells. In the case of steel-cased wells, the casing acts as a long electrode, whereby conventional low-frequency short-spaced, through-casing measurements are suitable for the accurate diagnosis of long hydrofractures (up to 150 m in length).