American Oil and Gas Reporter - January 2016 - 87

Also shown is a volume generated by
combining APVs generated during the
first two and a half years of production.
The data for these volumes were collected
inadvertently while monitoring well completions under a buried grid. Planned,
regular monitoring of wells is expected
to give a more comprehensive image of
production changes over time.
Monitoring production for multiple
wells under a grid allows for mapping
interactions or potential interactions between wells. Volumes of rock that are
not contributing to production can be
identified for either recompletion or as
sites for infill wells. Differences in activity
can be used to design recompletions on
a stage-by-stage basis.
Figure 6 shows potential interactions
between two wells. The APV for well A
is shown while producing, just prior to
completion of well B.
The potential production volume was
generated for well B. This analysis was
carried out after completing well B, but
indicates a high potential for interactions
between the two wells. Interactions could

have been predicted before completion.
When well B was completed, a frac
hit on well A adversely affected production.
If this analysis had been completed in
advance of the fracture, well A could
have been shut in for the completion, or
stage locations in well B could have been
modified in an attempt to avoid the frac
hit.

FIGURE 6
Well B

Well A

Conclusions
Ambient production monitoring is a
valuable new technology that provides
regular monitoring of production activity
over the lifetime of a reservoir, and also
provides predictive value for future wells
drilled in the reservoir.
Regular monitoring of wells is made
possible by installing a shallow buried
grid over the reservoir. Existing grids,
used for frac monitoring purposes,
record valuable production data for
wells that were producing under the
grid at the time of monitoring. Existing
grids can be re-activated on a regular
schedule to monitor current and future
production.
❒

1,000 ft.

APV for well A (right) and potential production volume for well B are presented
as map-view, semi-transparent, orthogonal projections of the volumes.

JAN
VERMILYE

Jan Vermilye serves as Global Geophysical's manager for microseismic processing and interpretation, and is the company's principal geologist for Tomographic Fracture ImagingTM. She
has more than 20 years of experience working and teaching in the field of geology, and has
expertise in fracture mechanics and structural analysis of natural fracture systems from the
microscopic to the field scale. Vermilye has been published in "First Break," the "Oil and Gas
Journal," the "Journal of Structural Geology," the "Journal of Geophysical Research" and
"Geology." She holds a bachelor's in geology from the State University College of New York,
a master's in geology from Columbia University, and a doctorate in geology from Columbia
University.

CHARLES
SICKING

Charles Sicking is vice president of research and development at Global Geophysical Services,
and led development of the company's microseismic processing system. Before joining Global
Geophysical, he was chief geophysicist at Weinman GeoSciences. He also formerly served as a
research geophysicist at ARCO. During his career, Sicking has developed multiple seismic
processing algorithms and technologies for 2- and 3-D velocity model building using time-todepth and depth imaging applications. He also led development of the seismic wavelet
processing flow and methodology for ARCO's seismic processing system. Sicking holds a B.A.
in physics and a Ph.D. in geophysics from the University of Texas at Austin.
JANUARY 2016 87

American Oil and Gas Reporter - January 2016

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