The last few days I had the opportunity to organize, as well as take, a technical course on hydraulic fracture analysis. The course taught students how to use the FRACPRO software, which is a program, used across the world in oil and gas industries. This program allows engineers to design fracture stages, model subsurface conditions, and analyze and monitor stimulation processes. This software is important because every reservoir rock is different. Properties like porosity, permeability, vertical and horizontal stress, as well as elastic properties like Young’s Modulus, cause fractures to propagate in different directions and to have different geometries. Proppant, which is pumped into a well with water, is used to prop open the rock so that hydrocarbons have increased permeability. FRACPRO helps engineers understand proppant placement and can be used to improve conductivity. FRACPRO gives engineers the tools to determine the best way to stimulate a reservoir and efficiently recover hydrocarbons in any kind of reservoir. I’m very grateful I was able to learn how to use this software because it is something that I will likely utilize as a full time engineer at Range Resources. I hope I can take what I learned this week and use it to further my understanding of well completion techniques.
As the SPE Vice President, I was in charge of organizing the logistics of this course. This was the second time our chapter hosted a FRACPRO course. Since I had organized it last semester, it was easier for me to plan everything again this semester. Still, it is a stressful endeavor to be in charge of organizing a course for students. Making sure that we had enough software licenses, that all the students had accounts at the engineering computer lab, printing course packets, signing everyone in each day and providing food, and ensuring the instructor had all the essential supplies to have class run smoothly were just a few of the tasks I had to complete to make this course a success. I’m glad I was able to pull it off, and network will fellow students and industry professionals in the process.
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