Numerical study of hydraulic fracturing in the sectorial well-factory considering well interference and stress shadowing

In the Changqing Oilfield in northwest China, when traditional petroleum exploitation encounters forestry reserves or water source protection areas, sectorial well-factory design is proposed. The most distinct feature of a sectorial well-factory is the deviation of the well from the minimum horizontal principal stress, resulting in hydraulic fracture deflection after the initiation, along with possible well interference (i.e., fracture hit) and fracture coalescence in the oblique wells. Four indexes describing well deflection are then proposed according to fracture morphology. Several fracturing designs, including stage arrangement, fracturing sequences, and fracturing techniques are applied to study the feasibility of the sectorial well-factory design. The results show that the “gradual” or “sparse” stage arrangement, large injection rate, and simultaneous multifracture treatment can help to optimize the fracture morphology and stimulation design. However, the subsequent stress shadowing effect usually adversely affects the fracturing of adjacent wells. With a small initial horizontal stress difference, large injection rate and staggered stage arrangement can achieve ideal stimulation performance. Our results can provide a guidance for optimizing stimulation design in unconventional well-factory while taking into account environmental protection.