During hydraulic fracturing in an inclined well, the hydraulic fracture plane develops in a vertical plane and diverges from the wellbore above and below the initiation site. Estimation of the fracture height in this case is impossible using shallow geophysical methods, and has never previously been performed in inclined wells. The method of borehole seismoacoustic sounding using reflected waves, with a research depth of up to 30 m, was used for the first time to determine the height and extent of a hydraulic fracture. The method include recording the complete wave pattern along the directions of the instrument axis, filtering and summing the data, isolating the useful signal and its interpretation based on data on the well curvature and the position of the instrument at the time of the study. The article describes the research method, its limitations, provides experience from actual work performed and compares the results with the original fracturing model for which these studies were calibrated. The data obtained demonstrated high convergence of the parameters of the actual fracture with the design calculated by analytical methods. Verification of the model used made it possible to develop a hydraulic fracturing strategy for subsequent wells of the P1ar formation and achieve high starting flow rates with minimal inflow water cut values associated with fracture breakthrough into the underlying sediments. At the same time, the limitations of the method include the current lack of a mathematical basis for assessing the fracture opening and half-length. Further testing of the technology, taking into account the degradation of hydraulic fractures over time, will likely overcome these limitations and make the presented technological solution an economically viable alternative to microseismic monitoring methods.
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