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<p>Shale reservoirs are highly tight and heterogeneous, with bedding planes and natural fractures pervasively developed. Multi-well fracturing is an emerging approach for the efficient development of shale reservoirs. However, previous studies scarcely consider the influence of complex natural fractures on the performance of multi-well fracturing. A fully coupled numerical framework for fracture propagation was developed through the continuous–discontinuous element method to simulate multi-well fracturing in a naturally fractured shale reservoir. The results indicate that preferentially fracturing the low-stress reservoir promotes different well groups stimulate its corresponding reservoir independently. However, affected by natural fractures, the fractures are prone to deflect, and there is a risk of frac hit as the fractures between wells may communicate with each other through natural fractures. As the average length of natural fractures increases, the stimulation disparity between high-stress and low-stress reservoirs decreases, but the probability of frac hit risk rises. The higher the density of natural fractures, the larger the fracture area. Moreover, a relatively high density of natural fractures is more likely to exacerbate the stress interference, thereby leading to frac hit risk. When the angle of natural fractures increases, the fracture control extent expands. When the angle is in the range of 30°–60°, the fracture morphology is more tortuous, and the frac hit risk reaches the peak. Either relatively small or large angles of natural fractures are not conducive to minimizing the stimulation disparity. The natural fractures in contact with hydraulic fractures tend to experience shear failure preferentially and can be mainly classified into "wet fractures" and "dry fractures". The former has a more pronounced impact on the performance of multi-well fracturing and can directly cause the deflection of hydraulic fractures. The findings of this study can offer theoretical underpinnings for the efficient development of shale reservoirs.</p>

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Influence Mechanism of Complex Natural Fractures on Fracture Propagation of Multi-well Fracturing in Laminated Shale Reservoirs: A Numerical Study

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年6月25日

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  • Tiankui Guo,
  • Bo Zhang,
  • Ming Chen,
  • Yanlong Li,
  • Yongzan Liu,
  • Fengshou Zhang,
  • Nengyou Wu,
  • Zhanqing Qu

摘要

Shale reservoirs are highly tight and heterogeneous, with bedding planes and natural fractures pervasively developed. Multi-well fracturing is an emerging approach for the efficient development of shale reservoirs. However, previous studies scarcely consider the influence of complex natural fractures on the performance of multi-well fracturing. A fully coupled numerical framework for fracture propagation was developed through the continuous–discontinuous element method to simulate multi-well fracturing in a naturally fractured shale reservoir. The results indicate that preferentially fracturing the low-stress reservoir promotes different well groups stimulate its corresponding reservoir independently. However, affected by natural fractures, the fractures are prone to deflect, and there is a risk of frac hit as the fractures between wells may communicate with each other through natural fractures. As the average length of natural fractures increases, the stimulation disparity between high-stress and low-stress reservoirs decreases, but the probability of frac hit risk rises. The higher the density of natural fractures, the larger the fracture area. Moreover, a relatively high density of natural fractures is more likely to exacerbate the stress interference, thereby leading to frac hit risk. When the angle of natural fractures increases, the fracture control extent expands. When the angle is in the range of 30°–60°, the fracture morphology is more tortuous, and the frac hit risk reaches the peak. Either relatively small or large angles of natural fractures are not conducive to minimizing the stimulation disparity. The natural fractures in contact with hydraulic fractures tend to experience shear failure preferentially and can be mainly classified into "wet fractures" and "dry fractures". The former has a more pronounced impact on the performance of multi-well fracturing and can directly cause the deflection of hydraulic fractures. The findings of this study can offer theoretical underpinnings for the efficient development of shale reservoirs.