Case Study: Western US Operating Company places a Niobrara lateral in target formation with SLB MicroScope service

MicroScope Service Guides Placement of Lateral Within Target Formation in Niobrara Shale

SLB helped Western US Operating Company address the challenge of maximizing production from a highly faulted Niobrara shale reservoir in the western US. The operator needed better reservoir characterization and well placement in a complex chalk-and-marl formation with low porosity and permeability, and used SLB’s MicroScope resistivity- and imaging-while-drilling service to support the effort.

SLB used real-time MicroScope images and resistivity data to steer the horizontal lateral within the target interval and to interpret fractures and faults for stimulation planning. The result was a lateral placed in the target formation with no sidetrack, maximizing reservoir exposure and revealing the complex structure, fractures, and faults that informed an effective stimulation strategy.