Hydraulic fracture stage identification and size estimation using distributed strain and temperature sensing

We present a case study in which we analyze distributed strain sensing (DSS) and distributed temperature sensing (DTS) measurements from an actively fractured well, located in a field laboratory project investigating hydraulically fractured horizontal wells. By examining the spatio-temporal distribution of temperature-compensated strain, we identify distinct strain signatures corresponding to individual stages in the fracturing process and estimate fracture widths within the fracture zone. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of distributed fiber optic sensing in monitoring the hydraulic fracturing process and assessing the resulting fracture system, as well as assisting future studies in the interpretation of strain signatures obtained from distributed strain and temperature sensing data.