Faulting and natural fracturing across the DJ Basin: impacts on production from Hereford field, northern Colorado
type: CreativeWork
description: The tectonic history and structural style of faulting and natural fracturing in the Denver-Julesburg (DJ) Basin have been studied extensively -- and with good reason. The natural fractures in the Niobrara formation, specifically in the Niobrara B Chalk, have been the driving mechanism behind the production from this low-porosity, low-permeability reservoir; without which, it may not be a viable play. Therefore, understanding the controls on fracture distribution and how fractures contribute to production is essential for conducting economic operations across the region. The B Chalk is not the only target reservoir in this area, however. The Codell Sandstone is also a viable reservoir target characterized by low porosity and low permeability. These characteristics, coupled with the fact that the Codell is much less naturally fractured than the Niobrara Chalk benches, make induced fractures during hydraulic fracturing operations a critical component of reservoir effectiveness and fluid deliverability. This project focuses on the structural characterization of the Hereford Field in the Northern DJ Basin with the main objective of identifying the controls on geologic heterogeneity that impact well performance; the understanding of the geologic controls can then be leveraged to optimize subsequent drilling and completions across the area. The complexity introduced by structural heterogeneity is further complicated by the fact that wells from a previous phase of development have been producing from the Niobrara B Chalk reservoir for over 10 years. Though it complicates the picture of optimizing subsequent drilling and completions, data from the legacy phase provides a unique opportunity to characterize in-situ reservoir conditions and how these contributed to the variability observed in the legacy phase of production. Various datasets were provided in order to inform the project objectives. This work integrates seismic and well data from the legacy phase of development, f…
abstract: The tectonic history and structural style of faulting and natural fracturing in the Denver-Julesburg (DJ) Basin have been studied extensively -- and with good reason. The natural fractures in the Niobrara formation, specifically in the Niobrara B Chalk, have been the driving mechanism behind the production from this low-porosity, low-permeability reservoir; without which, it may not be a viable play. Therefore, understanding the controls on fracture distribution and how fractures contribute to production is essential for conducting economic operations across the region. The B Chalk is not the only target reservoir in this area, however. The Codell Sandstone is also a viable reservoir target characterized by low porosity and low permeability. These characteristics, coupled with the fact that the Codell is much less naturally fractured than the Niobrara Chalk benches, make induced fractures during hydraulic fracturing operations a critical component of reservoir effectiveness and fluid deliverability. This project focuses on the structural characterization of the Hereford Field in the Northern DJ Basin with the main objective of identifying the controls on geologic heterogeneity that impact well performance; the understanding of the geologic controls can then be leveraged to optimize subsequent drilling and completions across the area. The complexity introduced by structural heterogeneity is further complicated by the fact that wells from a previous phase of development have been producing from the Niobrara B Chalk reservoir for over 10 years. Though it complicates the picture of optimizing subsequent drilling and completions, data from the legacy phase provides a unique opportunity to characterize in-situ reservoir conditions and how these contributed to the variability observed in the legacy phase of production. Various datasets were provided in order to inform the project objectives. This work integrates seismic and well data from the legacy phase of development, f…
author: Downard, Alicia D.
language: eng
language: English
keywords: fault, Hereford, structure, fracture, Codell, Niobrara
identifier: T 9172
date published: 2021
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:42:56Z
provider: Colorado School of Mines
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Colorado School of Mines. Arthur Lakes Library

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: https://hdl.handle.net/11124/176478