N646 Hydraulic Fracturing Shale and Tight Rock: Technical Design and Analysis
N646 Hydraulic Fracturing Shale and Tight Rock: Technical Design and Analysis
Hydraulic fracturing has been applied in the oil & gas industry for more than fifty years and massive hydraulic fracturing has been applied for over thirty years. With the current focus on unconventional reservoirs, where hydraulic fracturing is essential to commercial success, the activity level and cost of hydraulic fracturing has grown dramatically in recent years.
Significant advancements have been made in monitoring, understanding and improving these treatments but unfortunately it is still not possible to precisely forecast fracture placement and performance using even the most advanced computer simulation models. However, a number of valuable and practical methods have emerged to integrate engineering and geologic information to optimize, and better understand, these essential and costly modern treatments.
This two-day course explains the key elements of hydraulic fracturing and why the proper treatment varies as reservoir type and reservoir properties change. The course also outlines the most effective practical methods to design, monitor, evaluate and optimize the profitability of these treatments.
A number of short class problems, requiring a simple calculator, are included to reinforce evaluation and design concepts.
Two classroom days providing 1.6 CEU (Continuing Education Credits) or 16 PDH (Professional Development Hours)
The course is intended for petroleum engineers, geoscientists and others involved in designing, evaluating or modifying hydraulic fracture treatments. Those involved in managing these activities would also be expected to benefit from this course.
A more comprehensive review of the technologies involved in characterizing and evaluating these reservoirs, with less in-depth coverage of hydraulic fracturing, is provided in the three-day course titled "Shale Oil & Gas for Petroleum Engineers and Geologists". In addition, a more introductory review of shale development and fracturing is provided in the two-day "Introduction to Shale Oil and Gas" course.
Click on a name to learn more about the instructor
Steve Hennings, M.S., P.E. is the owner and principal consultant at Source Rock Engineering in Littleton, Colorado, USA. He is a registered professional engineer with a Bachelor’s degree in Petroleum Engineering and a Master’s degree in Finance. Steve worked for a major energy company during his first 20 years in the oil & gas industry where he completed a wide variety of reservoir, well completion, and production engineering assignments. His very first assignment was to evaluate ways to optimize hydraulic fracturing treatments and improve forecasting methods, and Steve continues to focus attention on those issues. During his career he also led engineering and geoscience teams for: the largest U.S. oil field, the largest underground coal mine in Australia, and a prestigious petroleum laboratory and research center. For the past ten years Steve has focused exclusively on unconventional reservoirs in the United States, Canada, Australia, China, India and other countries. He also occasionally conducts private or public technical workshops to share lessons learned from his on-going participation in exploration and development efforts. Steve is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists, and the Society of Mining Engineers. In 2008 he shared the annual Stefanko Award for his technical presentations.
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