Method for developing an oil bearing formation

A method for developing an oil bearing formation, the method comprising:

• drilling within the formation alternating rows of horizontal production wells and rows of horizontal injection wells, the rows being placed at a first distance from each other, both horizontal production wellbores and horizontal injection wellbores are arranged in a direction of a minimum horizontal stress in the formation so as to provide hydraulic fractures perpendicular to the direction of the horizontal wellbores,
• providing at least two frac ports at casing strings in the injection wells and in the production wells, the frac ports being spaced at a second distance from each other and providing fluid communication between the wells and the formation,
• performing multi-stage hydraulic fracturing through the frac ports in the production and the injection wells so that multiple fractures are placed along each horizontal production well and each injection well perpendicularly to the direction of the horizontal wellbore, so that the hydraulic fractures of the injection wells are offset from the hydraulic fractures of the production wells by a third distance,
• putting the production and the injection wells into operation by injecting a fluid into the injector wells and controlling a fluid injection rate and/or a fluid injection volume so that an injection pressure is maintained below a fracturing pressure.