Brittleness Index (BRIX) from D-ROCK - Rocsol Technologies - Canadian Energy News, Top Headlines, Commentaries, Features & Events

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Rock brittleness is an important reservoir property to characterize unconventional shale reservoirs for optimal stimulation design. A Young’s modulus (YM) and Poisson’s ratio (PR) cross-plot is a widely used standard of rock brittleness indicator in the oil and gas industry. Rocsol’s D-Series Technology software (D-ROCK module) calculates YM and PR from drilling data and therefrom estimates the rock brittleness index, BRIX at each drilled depth while drilling horizontal wells in shale formations. The BRIX is calculated in percentage and it is defined within the range between 0% and 100%. The higher percentage of BRIX indicates more brittle rock and potentially a more favorable location to perform hydraulic fracturing in the shale formation. The graphical representation of the percentage brittleness index (BRIX) log along with the corresponding Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio calculated from a drilling data sample is shown in the figure below.

The recommended sweet spots for a selective engineered completion should be the depth intervals with a higher percentage of brittleness index (BRIX) and the intervals with lower percentage of BRIX should be avoided if possible.

Why not consider using Rocsol software on your next well as a tool to help identify the sweet spots in your reservoir? Use the results to help design a selective engineered completion and increase the effectiveness of your fracture program and increase well production. Rather than an evenly spaced geometric design, space the fractures based on rock geomechanical properties. Our software was researched and designed using Shell Canada Montney well data. Give us a call today to discuss your reservoir and stimulation program. We can also work directly with your fracture stimulation company engineers to assist in the fracture design.