Shallow Formation Hydrofracture Mapping Experiment

Abstract

Geophysical diagnostic techniques are being developed to characterize the massive hydraulic fractures that are being utilized for the enhanced gas recovery from the Western tight gas reservoirs. Sandia Laboratories is developing a system based on the measurement of surface electrical potentials. Model calculations indicate that the electrical potentials produced by direct electrical excitation of the fracture well and the fracture fluid can be used to determine the direction and asymmetry of a massive fracture. A small scale, shallow formation hydrofracture experiment was conducted by the AMOCO Production Company in an attempt to better correlate theoretical and experimental data.