Methods and systems for ballooned hydraulic fractures and complex toe-to-heel flooding
Improved methods and systems for hydrocarbon production, including operations involving ballooned hydraulic fractures and complex toe-to-heel flooding. The recovery of ballooned hydrocarbons via ballooned hydraulic fractures can include the use of an OZF (Optimized Modified Zipper Frac) that recovers hydrocarbons. OZF can be implemented as a fracturing technique with respect to organic shale reservoirs to maximize near-wellbore complexity and overall permeability and hydrocarbon recovery. Additionally, Complex toe-to-heel flooding (CTTHF) can be applied to horizontal wells. CTTHF uses one or more barriers and an injector hydraulic fracture, and facilitates the control of early water production.
1. A system for recovering hydrocarbons via hydraulic fractures, said system comprising:
an OZF (Optimized Zipper Frac) that recovers hydrocarbons, wherein said OZF is configured by an operational sequence comprising:
initially creating a first stage of hydraulic fractures first created near a toe of a horizontal well, wherein said first stage is ballooned;
creating a second stage, wherein said second stage is ballooned on a same well at a designated distance from said first stage;
creating a third stage of non-ballooned hydraulic fractures along an adjacent well midway and staggered between said first stage and said second stages, and thereafter repeating said operational sequence.
2. The system of claim 1 further comprising:
using stress shadowing to minimize stress anisotropy.
3. The system of claim 1 wherein said first and second stages along a first well are ballooned to produce a stress shadow strong enough to maximize a complexity of said third stage along a second well when said second well is fractured.
4. The system of claim 1 wherein repeating said operational sequence further comprises:
repeating said operational sequence until a whole horizontal section of the horizontal well is fractured.
5. The system of claim 1 wherein said OZF is applied to a reservoir to maximize near-wellbore complexity and overall permeability and hydrocarbon recovery with respect to said reservoir.
6. The system of claim 5 wherein said reservoir comprises an organic shale reservoir.
7. A method for recovering hydrocarbons via ballooned hydraulic fractures, said method comprising:
configuring an OZF (Optimized Zipper Frac) that recovers hydrocarbons, wherein said OZF is configured by an operational sequence comprising:
initially creating a first stage of hydraulic fractures first created near a toe of a horizontal well, wherein said first stage is ballooned;
creating a second stage, wherein said second stage is ballooned on a same well at a designated distance from said first stage;
creating a third stage of non-ballooned hydraulic fractures along an adjacent well midway and staggered between said first stage and said second stages, and thereafter repeating said operational sequence.
8. The method of claim 7 further comprising:
using stress shadowing to minimize stress anisotropy.
9. The method of claim 7 further comprising ballooning said first and second stages along a first well to produce a stress shadow strong enough to maximize a complexity of said third stage along a second well when said second well is fractured.
10. The method of claim 7 wherein repeating said operational sequence further comprises:
repeating said operational sequence until a whole horizontal section of the horizontal well is fractured.
11. The method of claim 7 wherein said OZF is applied to a reservoir to maximize near-wellbore complexity and overall permeability and hydrocarbon recovery with respect to said reservoir.
12. The method of claim 11 wherein said reservoir comprises an organic shale reservoir.