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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Earth Sci.
Sec. Solid Earth Geophysics
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/feart.2025.1560202
This article is part of the Research Topic Geophysics and Petrophysics Issues Involved in Unconventional Oil and Gas Development Processes View all 9 articles
Investigation of hydraulic fracture morphology diagnosis technology for horizontal well stimulation utilizing microseismic monitoring techniques
Provisionally accepted- 1 Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, China
- 2 HunanGeosun Hi-technology Co., Ltd., Changsha, China
Horizontal well technology has made hydraulic fracturing essential for boosting oil and gas production. However, complex fracture networks challenge traditional monitoring methods. Micro-seismic monitoring, with its high resolution and sensitivity, is now key to studying fracture morphology. Despite its advantages, current methods still have limitations in data processing and analysis, requiring further research to improve understanding of fractures and refine fracturing design. This paper investigates the potential of micro-seismic monitoring for diagnosing fracture morphology during horizontal well stimulation, with an emphasis on enhancing the accuracy and reliability of fracture characterization through advanced data processing and analytical techniques. The study combines field monitoring with experimental simulation to comprehensively evaluate fracture behavior. Fracturing experiments conducted under diverse geological conditions in horizontal wells provide micro-seismic data for analysis. Sophisticated data processing methodologies, including time-domain and frequency-domain analyses as well as inversion algorithms, are employed to classify micro-seismic events and extract their characteristics. Numerical simulations integrated with geological models systematically analyze the influence of various fracturing parameters on fracture morphology. By comparing micro-seismic data from hydraulic fracturing sites with numerical simulation results, a quantitative relationship between micro-seismic signals and fracture morphology is established, revealing the strong correlation between the spatial distribution of micro-seismic events and fracture propagation. A criterion for distinguishing fracture morphology based on micro-seismic monitoring is proposed, forming a systematic diagnostic framework for hydraulic fracturing fractures. Analysis of microseismic responses to different fracturing designs yields detailed information regarding fracture orientation, inclination, dimensions (length, width, height), spacing, and complexity. Results demonstrate that the complexity and heterogeneity of fractures significantly impact micro-seismic signals, providing new insights 2 and guidance for optimizing horizontal well stimulation technology, thereby improving recovery rates and enhancing the economic benefits of oil and gas reservoirs.
Keywords: Micro-seismic monitoring, hydraulic fracture, Fracture morphology, Horizontal well, stimulation
Received: 25 Jan 2025; Accepted: 03 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Lin, Xiong, Xu, Yan and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Longbo Lin, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, China
Xiaojun Xiong, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, China
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