COURSE OVERVIEW:

Natural fractures play a pivotal role in the productivity of many reservoirs, often acting as the primary pathways for fluid flow or significantly enhancing the permeability of tight rock matrices. This course provides a deep dive into the identification, characterization, and numerical modeling of these complex features. Participants will learn how to integrate multi-scale data—from micro-scale thin sections and borehole image logs to macro-scale seismic attributes—to create a coherent picture of the fracture network. The coverage includes the mechanical origins of fractures and the influence of regional stress fields on their orientation and aperture.

The core of the technical content focuses on the development of Discrete Fracture Network (DFN) models. Unlike traditional continuum models, DFNs explicitly represent individual fractures or sets of fractures in a stochastic 3D framework. Participants will learn how to populate these models with statistical distributions of fracture size, orientation, intensity, and connectivity. The scope of the course also covers the upscaling process, where detailed DFN models are converted into effective properties (porosity and permeability tensors) suitable for dual-porosity and dual-permeability reservoir simulation.

Beyond the modeling aspect, the course emphasizes the practical application of fracture characterization in field development. This includes the assessment of fractured basement plays, carbonate reservoirs, and unconventional shale gas systems. Participants will explore how to predict "sweet spots" where fracture density is highest and how to optimize well trajectories to intersect the most productive fracture sets. Through comprehensive case studies and advanced modeling exercises, the course ensures that geoscientists and engineers can manage the uncertainties inherent in fractured reservoir management.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

After completion of this course, the participants will be able to:

• Define the types of natural fractures and their mechanical origins.
• Interpret fracture properties from borehole image logs (FMI/OBMI).
• Identify fracture-related signatures in core samples and thin sections.
• Utilize seismic attributes to map large-scale fracture corridors.
• Analyze the relationship between fractures and local/regional stress fields.
• Characterize fracture sets using orientation, intensity, and size distributions.
• Build stochastic Discrete Fracture Network (DFN) models.
• Validate DFN models using well test data and production history.
• Upscale DFN properties for use in dynamic reservoir simulators.
• Evaluate the impact of fractures on reservoir connectivity and sweep efficiency.
• Design horizontal well trajectories to optimize fracture intersection.
• Distinguish between open, mineralized, and deformation band fractures.
• Use curvature and coherence attributes to guide fracture distribution.
• Apply DFN modeling to unconventional and tight-gas reservoirs.

TARGET AUDIENCE:

Reservoir Geologists, Geomechanicists, and Reservoir Engineers involved in the characterization and simulation of naturally fractured reservoirs.

TRAINING COURSE METHODOLOGY:

A highly interactive combination of lectures, discussion sessions, and case studies will be employed to maximise the transfer of information, knowledge, and experience. The course will be intensive, practical, and highly interactive. The sessions will start by raising the most relevant questions and motivating everybody to find the right answers. The attendants will also be encouraged to raise more of their questions and to share in developing the right answers using their analysis and experience. There will also be some indoor experiential activities to enhance the learning experience. Course material will be provided in PowerPoint, with necessary animations, learning videos, and general discussions.

The course participants shall be evaluated before, during, and at the end of the course.

COURSE CERTIFICATE:

National Consultant Centre for Training LLC (NCC) will issue an Attendance Certificate to all participants completing a minimum of 80% of the total attendance time requirement.