ATTEND AN UPCOMING CLASS:
Contact SCA’s Training Department at training@scacompanies.com to schedule an In-House field course.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND: Geologists and Engineers who need to characterize and understand fracture systems and their effects on reservoir permeability, who need to be able to differentiate between natural and induced fractures in cores, and who would like to be able to predict the effects of lithology on fracturing. Geoscientists who want to gain an understanding of fracture permeability as it is controlled by the in situ stress system, and of the interaction of natural fractures with hydraulic stimulation fractures, as well as the important differences between extension and shear fractures in controlling individual fracture permeability and fracture network interconnectivity.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This field trip in the area around Casper, Wyoming examines shear and extension fractures and fractures that are and those that are not related to folding on basement-cored, Laramide anticlines. The trip includes access to the heart of the Alcova Anticline and Freemont Canyon via a pontoon-boat excursion, for a comparison between highly fractured strata on the anticline to less fractured equivalent strata found off structure. Fold-related fractures can also be examined at Emigrant Gap, at Teapot Dome, and the Salt Creek and Beer Mug anticlines. Excellent outcrops of the Mancos, Frontier and Mowry shales in the Alcova Lake area allow characterizations and comparisons of the significantly different fractures in these two lithologically and mechanically dissimilar shales. Fractures in the Madison and Alcova carbonates and the Tensleep sandstones and dolomites will provide a background for discussion of fractures related to structure and mechanical stratigraphy. Fractures in the Niobrara limestones can also be examined east of Casper. Outcrop fractures in the Casper area will be observed in granites, carbonates, sandstones and shales. Fractures related to faulting, and the relationship between basement fractures faults and the fractures in overlying sedimentary strata will be a focus. Included in the two-day associated lecture is a 65-piece teaching collection of natural and induced fractures in core that students will work with during class exercises.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

• This is a hands-on field trip and classroom experience.
• The student will obtain insights into fracture mechanics and the origins of fractures, and use those concepts in a very applied sense to instill an understanding of natural fractures and their potential effects on reservoirs.
• Attendees will learn to differentiate fractures by type and the effects of these different fracture types on reservoir permeability, and what fracture types to expect in different structural domains and reservoirs, through discussion on the outcrop.
• Attendees will obtain an understanding of the interactions between natural fractures, in situ stresses, and stimulation fractures.
• Students will come away from the course with an appreciation of the wide range of structures that fall under the basket term “fracture”, and an understanding that different fracture types do not have the same effect on hydrocarbon reservoirs.