Hands-On FracMan Application – 1-Day Workshop

• Total duration: ~8 hours
• Structure: 4 × ~2-hour blocks
• Core tools: FracMan (stress-aware DFNs, connectivity, risk)
• Convenors:  Dr Mark Cottrell (WSP UK), and Dr Dan Roberts (WSP UK)

Session 1 (2 hrs):  DFN Fundamentals for Low-Carbon Reservoirs

Purpose:  Create a shared DFN foundation across disciplines (geothermal + CCS).

Overview and Introduction (30 minutes)  

• Why DFNs dominate low-carbon systems
• Injection-driven vs depletion-driven behaviour
• What DFNs should and should not be used for
• P10 / P21 / P32 (practical interpretation)
• Fracture size, intensity, and connectivity

Hands-On DFN Analysis (90 minutes) 

• Build a base stochastic DFN
• Visualise connectivity and clusters
• Identify first-order flow controls

✅ Outcome: Everyone can build and interpret a basic DFN.

Session 2 (2 hrs):  Conditioning DFNs to Reality

Purpose:  Turn conceptual DFNs into defensible subsurface models.

Overview and Introduction (30 minutes)  

• Conditioning philosophy and hierarchy
• Avoiding over-conditioning
• Preserving uncertainty ranges
• Conditioning to: 
  • image logs
  • seismic lineaments
  • well tests

Hands-On DFN Analysis (90 minutes)  

• Frac stimulation enhancement
• Condition fracture orientations and connectivity
• Compare pre- vs post-conditioning DFNs
• Quantify what uncertainty remains (and why)

✅ Outcome: Participants can justify a DFN to technical reviewers or regulators.

Session 3 (2 hrs):  Geothermal DFNs: Sweep, Connectivity & Sustainability

Purpose:  Use DFNs to optimise geothermal performance, not just explain it after the fact.

3.1 Geothermal-Specific DFN Concepts (30 min)

Key ideas

• Why geothermal is connectivity-limited, not volume-limited
• Productive vs parasitic fracture networks
• Thermal breakthrough mechanisms
• Why “more fractures” often makes things worse

Geothermal lens

The best DFN is not the most connected one — it’s the right connected one.

3.2 FracMan Workflows for Geothermal (30 min)

Live demo

• Assign geothermal stress regime
• Identify flow-dominant fracture clusters
• Aperture and transmissivity 
• Visualising preferential flow paths

3.3 Hands-On: Geothermal Scenario Testing (60 min)

Scenarios

• Base case circulation
• High-connectivity DFN
• Controlled-connectivity DFN

Tasks

• Identify short-circuit risks
• Predict thermal breakthrough zones
• Recommend: 
  • well spacing
  • stimulation intensity
  • circulation strategy

Deliverable

• DFN-based geothermal optimisation summary

✅ Outcome: Participants can use DFNs to design and extend geothermal system life.

Session 4 (2 hrs):  CCS DFNs: Containment, Faults & Injection Risk

Purpose:  Use DFNs to demonstrate containment confidence and manage injection risk.

4.1 CCS-Focused DFN Concepts (30 min)

Key ideas

• Containment > injectivity
• Faults as conditional leakage pathways
• Caprock fracture risk vs pressure management
• Why DFNs matter even in “low-fracture” reservoirs

4.2 FracMan Workflows for CCS (30 min)

Live Class Example

• Fault-inclusive DFNs
• Fracture–caprock intersections
• Stress-dependent fracture reactivation
• Pressure-limited injection envelopes

4.3 Hands-On: CCS Injection Risk Assessment (60 min)

Scenarios

• Conservative injection
• Aggressive injection
• Alternate well placement

Tasks

• Identify: 
  • reactivation-prone fracture clusters
  • vertical connectivity risks
• Define:
  • safe injection pressures
  • monitoring priorities

  Deliverable

  • DFN-based CCS risk heat map
  • Injection operating envelope

  ✅ Outcome: Participants can defend CCS containment decisions using DFNs.

End-of-Day Wrap-Up (10–15 min)

Collective discussion considering:  

• Geothermal vs CCS DFN contrasts
• What regulators care about vs operators
• DFN red flags to avoid
• Q&A

Participants leave understanding:

• How fractures improve performance (geothermal)
• How fractures threaten containment (CCS)

Participants leave with additional materials:

• Certificate of Workshop Participation 
• 60 day FracMan licence