Productivity drivers in North American tight and shale plays: A comprehensive analysis of completion trends, stimulation parameters, and geological characteristics

Abstract

This study evaluates the productivity of ten major unconventional oil and gas plays in North America, emphasizing the role of completion, stimulation, and geological factors. The primary objective is to thoroughly assess the influence of various completion, stimulation, and geological parameters on well productivity while uncovering key insights and emerging trends unique to each play.

The dataset comprises 72,809 horizontal wells from 2015 to 2022 across 10 plays, encompassing 6 oil plays (Bakken, Delaware, Duvernay, Midland, Eagle Ford, and Scoop|Stack) and 4 gas plays (Haynesville, Barnett, Marcellus, and Utica). This study examines completion and fracture stimulation trends influencing the productivity of various plays, along with the significance of geological and mechanical properties.

Key findings reveal that while geological characteristics, such as total organic carbon (TOC) content and brittleness, significantly impact reservoir quality, operational practices like completion design and stimulation techniques, also play critical roles in well productivity. Key insights from the analysis challenge the traditional emphasis on TOC as a sole productivity indicator, which might not be as pronounced as commonly assumed. The analysis indicates that, contrary to common beliefs, plays exhibiting both a lower brittleness index and fewer wells per pad are associated with faster fracture growth rates. Adding more wells per pad increases the minimum horizontal stress in the neighborhood, which slows fracture growth and causes it to redirect upward. Horizontal spacing plays a crucial role in enhancing productivity, especially in less productive plays which benefit from denser well development. Co-completion of wells leads to superior performance by reducing fracture-driven interactions or “frac hits”. While longer laterals increase resource contact, productivity gains are not linear. The productivity impact of increasing clusters per stage is variable, potentially limited by the stress shadowing effect.

In summary, this study offers critical insights into the productivity-influencing factors across diverse shale plays, contributing to the optimization of well development and resource extraction in the future. This study not only provides technical guidance for the unconventional oil and gas developments in North America, but can also serve as a valuable guide for similar projects elsewhere.