Integrated Geomechanical Characterization for Vaca Muerta Fm.: Shale Oil Well Integration from Logs, Core, and Pressures for Fracture Optimization

摘要

The main shale oil reservoir of Argentina, the Vaca Muerta formation, is located in the Neuquén basin and is producing due to massive hydraulic fracturing. Optimizing the hydraulic fracture design and completion strategy requires an optimized reservoir characterization based on specific petrophysical and geomechanical evaluation. The reservoir characterization integrates reservoir quality (RQ) and completion quality (CQ) logs to derive a completion quality index (CQI). The CQI is used to define the best cluster position and stimulation strategy. This design is then simulated in unconventional hydraulic stimulation software to evaluate the fracture behavior. A ID anisotropic geomechanical model was performed based on well logs, updated with a suite of mechanical core tests, and finally, calibrated with the pressure interpretation of a mini fall off test on the first fracture stage. The results demonstrate the impact of a proper characterization of the CQI based on an integrated anisotropic geomechanical model calibrated with core data of the Vaca Muerta formation improves the development of a completion strategy, which ultimately optimizes economic performance of the well.