Numerical investigation on the hydraulic stimulation of naturally fractured Longmaxi shale reservoirs using an extended discontinuous deformation analysis (DDA) method

The Silurian Longmaxi formation in the Sichuan Basin, which is the most important gas-producing shale reservoir in China, is characterized by relatively small effective thickness, large in-situ stress difference and highly-developed natural fracture (NF) system. Microseismic monitoring shows that complex hydraulic fracture (HF) networks with relatively small height could be stimulated in the Longmaxi shale reservoirs. Traditional two-dimensional...