Denver Section

Society of Petroleum Engineers

Continuing Education Short Course Offering

Hydraulic Fracturing – Design and Treatment

Instructor:                Michael B. Smith, Ph.D., President and Founder, NSI Technologies

Dates:                        Tuesday - Wednesday, April 23-24, 2013, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Location:                   Brown Palace Hotel and Spa, 321 Seventeenth Street, Denver, CO 80202, (303) 297-3111

1.6 CEUs (Continuing Education Units) will be awarded by SPE-Americas Office for this 2-day course.

Course Description

This 2-day course covers the fundamental principles concerning how hydraulic fracturing treatments can be used to stimulate oil and gas wells. It includes discussions on how to select wells for stimulation, what controls fracture propagation, fracture width, etc., how to develop data sets, and how to calculate fracture dimensions.  Students must bring a laptop to class.

Course Content

The course covers information concerning fracturing fluids, propping agents, and how to design and pump successful fracturing treatments. Other topics include:

•Rock mechanics/in-situ stress aspects of fracturing

•Reservoir aspects of fracturing (How much fracture do I need?)

•Fracture mechanics

•Fracture design variables                  

•Perforating for fracturing

•Fracture diagnostics

Who Should Attend

Production and completion engineers and field operations staff with basic to moderate knowledge or experience in designing, pumping or evaluating hydraulic fracture treatments can benefit from this course.  You will receive a sound engineering approach to fracture treatment design and a thorough analysis of fluid/proppant selection and ancillary fracturing topics.

About the Instructor

Dr. Michael B. Smith is president and founder of NSI Technologies, a consulting firm in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He has more than 20 years of experience in rock mechanics, well completions, and hydraulic fracturing. Smith has written more than 35 technical papers and holds six patents. He also served as an SPE Distinguished Lecturer and wrote two chapters in the SPE Monograph, Recent Advances in Hydraulic Fracturing. Smith recently received the Lester C. Uren Award for his technical contributions to hydraulic fracturing.

Registration

The registration deadline is Friday April 5, 2013.  The registration fee is $1,400 for members and $1,600 for nonmembers and is fully refundable until that date.  For more details, contact Darien O’Brien, P.E. at dgobrien@mines.edu or (303) 934-5979.  Make your check payable to SPE Denver Section and mail to: Darien O’Brien, 1632 South Lamar Street, Lakewood, Colorado 80232-7038.  Please include the course name, your FULL name (as you would like it to appear on the course completion certificate), SPE member number (if applicable), Title, Company, e-mail address, postal address, phone and fax number.  You may also register and pay on-line at http://connect.spe.org/denver/home/.