Impact of Completion Design on Fracture Complexity in Horizontal Shale Wells

Summary A proppant-filled fracture induces mechanical stresses in the surrounding rock that cause a reduction in the horizontal-stress contrast and stress reorientation around the open fracture. A 3D geomechanical model is used to simulate the stress reorientation caused by open fractures and to generate horizontal-stress-contrast contour maps. The reduction in horizontal-stress contrast can lead to increased fracture complexity. This paper...