The FracMan® Technology Group is pleased to announce the release of Version 7.0 of FracMan® Reservoir Edition (FRED), an integrated application for fractured reservoir model construction, analysis, and simulation. FracMan Reservoir Edition allows geologists and engineers to seamlessly integrate geological, geophysical, and well-test data into a single quantitative discrete fracture network model. The resulting models can then be used by industry-standard applications to evaluate well drilling location and completion design, gel and grout treatment design, estimate original oil-in-place (OOIP), and compute estimated ultimate recovery (EUR).
FracMan Reservoir Edition Features 
FracMan Reservoir Edition includes numerous options for discrete-fracture network model generation, including:

  • fracture networks directly correlated to well fracture data;

  • fracture networks derived from detailed outcrop maps, regional lineament maps, or top-of-reservoir structure maps;

  • fracture networks based on common structural elements (folds, faults, and existing regional stress patterns);

  • Geocellular-based fracture networks, with geometric and hydraulic parameters conditioned to petrological, structural, or seismic data, and

  • fracture networks based on user-specified statistical distribution parameters.

FRED User Interface: Click for full-size view 
FracMan Reservoir Edition allows users to perform detailed spatial and network analysis of discrete-fracture network (DFN) and well fracture data, including:

  • pathway analysis between production wells;

  • reservoir compartmentalization and drainage patterns around wells;

  • network flow capacity analysis;

  • box and mass fractal dimension analysis;

  • Interactive Set Identification System (ISIS) for determining distinct geologic fracture sets from well fracture log data based on an adaptive weighting algorithm;

  • intuitive hardware-accelerated 3D visualization of integrated fracture network data; and

  • integrated charting and graphing capabilities, including histograms, PDF/CDF plots, and stereonets.  

Cluster Analysis: Click for full-size view 
FracMan Reservoir Edition can be used to calibrate reservoir models to well-test data and to existing production data, including mud-loss results and single- or multi-well pump tests. FracMan Reservoir Edition uses a fully-integrated finite-element multi-phase flow solver to simulate steady-state and transient flow through three-dimensional rock masses with discrete fracture networks.

FracMan Reservoir Edition allows users to upscale discrete fracture network flow properties to equivalent porous medium (EPM) parameters necessary for dual-porosity flow simulations, including:

  • equivalent fracture permeability tensors for directional flow behavior;

  • equivalent fracture porosities; and

  • shape (σ) factors;


FracMan Reservoir Edition supports the use of existing geologic, geophysical, and model boundary data through the import of industry-standard surface and grid file formats, including:

  • GOCAD® (Earth Decision Sciences)

  • AutoCAD® DXF (Autodesk Software)

  • Irap Classic (Roxar)

  • CPS-3 (Schlumberger)

  • EarthVision® (Dynamic Graphics)

  • Z-Map Plus™ (Landmark Graphics)

  • ECLIPSE® (Schlumberger)

  • 3DMove (Midland Valley Exploration)  
FracMan Reservoir Edition Workflows
FracMan Reservoir Edition fits seamlessly into the typical production analysis workflow; the extensive import and export functionality allows users to bridge the gap between geological models and field-scale flow simulations. The typical fractured reservoir workflow is:
 

  • Conceptualization of a structural model using geologic, geophysical, and hydraulic data obtained from exploration or production efforts;

  • Construction of the structural model in FracMan Reservoir Edition (stratigraphic horizons, structural elements such as folds and faults, and regional model barriers);

  • Derivation of discrete-fracture network model parameters, including fracture orientations, sizes, intensities, spatial patterning, and hydraulics based on geologic (well logs, trace maps, geologic CAD models) and geophysical (3D and 4D seismic, gravity, magnetics, EM imaging, etc.) data. The parameters of each fracture set (orientation, intensity, size, aperture, conductivity, compressibility, and specific storage) can be conditioned to a different set of variables (seismic coherence, resistivity, stratigraphic thickness, etc.);

  • Construction of a preliminary field-scale discrete-fracture network model;

  • Evaluation of model uncertainty;

  • Calibration of hydraulic properties of the model through well-test simulation;

  • Export equivalent porous medium (EPM) parameters for dual-porosity, dual-permeability simulators such as Eclipse®.  

 Well Test Example: Click for full-size view 
System Requirements
FracMan Reservoir Edition (FRED) Version 7.0 runs on any modern x86 system (Pentium-class processor or better) with at least 512 MB of RAM, an OpenGL 1.2-compliant graphics adapter, and at least 2 GB of free hard disk space. FracMan Reservoir Edition requires Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003; Windows NT and Windows 9x-series operating systems are not supported.

Get FracMan Reservoir Edition (FRED)!
Request a full-featured 30-day trial of FracMan Reservoir Edition 7.0:  
Request 30-day trial of FracMan Reservoir Edition 
If you are interested in purchasing licenses for FRED or have any questions regarding the software, please contact us at fracman@golder.com 
Golder Associates
©2007 Golder Associates.
E-mail: fracman@golder.com
Updated 10.18.07		 Top of Page