Employing Live Subsurface Measurements to Support Supervised and Autonomous Intelligent Decision-Making While Fracturing

Real-time adjustments during hydraulic fracturing have traditionally been limited to reactive surface pressure monitoring to avoid screenouts. Integrating live subsurface measurements enabled by Acoustic Friction Analysis (AFA) allows for supervised and autonomous intelligent decision-making during a fracture stage. By continuously calculating perforation efficiency and the Uniformity Index (UI) from induced tube waves, operators can identify underperforming clusters mid-stage. This real-time feedback drives immediate interventions—such as adjusting proppant ramps, tuning flow velocities, or terminating low-efficiency stages early to reallocate fluid and proppant to better-performing intervals. Ultimately, this proactive, closed-loop approach maximizes capital efficiency and creates a more uniform and productive fracture network without the need for invasive downhole equipment.