US 12,461,268 B2
Determining hydrocarbon production zones in a subterranean reservoir
Waheed Syed Arshad, Mississauga (CA); and Otto E. Meza Camargo, Dhahran (SA)
Assigned to Saudi Arabian Oil Company, Dhahran (SA)
Filed by Saudi Arabian Oil Company, Dhahran (SA)
Filed on Aug. 29, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/897,917.
Prior Publication US 2024/0069238 A1, Feb. 29, 2024
Int. Cl. G01V 1/50 (2006.01); E21B 43/26 (2006.01); E21B 47/07 (2012.01); E21B 47/103 (2012.01); E21B 47/107 (2012.01); E21B 49/00 (2006.01); G01V 1/46 (2006.01); G01V 20/00 (2024.01)
CPC G01V 1/50 (2013.01) [E21B 43/26 (2013.01); E21B 47/07 (2020.05); E21B 47/103 (2020.05); E21B 47/107 (2020.05); E21B 49/00 (2013.01); G01V 1/46 (2013.01); G01V 20/00 (2024.01); E21B 2200/20 (2020.05); G01V 2210/646 (2013.01)] 24 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for determining one or more hydrocarbon production zones in a subterranean reservoir, comprising:
generating, with one or more hardware processors of a control system, a 3D natural fracture model that includes a 3D discrete fracture network and a brittleness model for a subterranean formation into which a wellbore is formed;
converting, with the one or more hardware processors, the 3D discrete fracture network into a 2D model to determine a continuous fracture density property;
predicting, with the one or more hardware processors, a plurality of fluid-flow pathways using the continuous fracture density property modeled for each brittleness;
hydraulically fracturing the wellbore to create one or more hydraulic fractures in the subterranean formation;
subsequent to the hydraulic fracturing, logging the wellbore to determine one or more logged properties;
identifying, with the one or more hardware processors, one or more fracture flow zones based on the one or more logged properties;
validating, with the one or more hardware processors, the predicted plurality of fluid-flow pathways based on the identified one or more fracture flow zones; and
in response to validating, producing hydrocarbon fluid from the subterranean formation through one or more perforation clusters associated with the identified one or more fracture flow zones.