scholarly journals Fracturing Gels as Analogs to Understand Fracture Behavior in Shale Gas Reservoirs

2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (10) ◽  
pp. 4345-4355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zheng Li ◽  
Jingyi Wang ◽  
Ian D. Gates
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Shale Gas ◽  
Tight Gas ◽  
Growth Behaviour ◽  
Gas Reservoirs ◽  
The Media ◽  
System Effectiveness ◽  
Continuous Injection ◽  
Fracture Growth ◽  
Growth Distribution

Abstract Hydraulic fracturing is widely used in the exploitation of unconventional reservoirs, such as shale gas and tight gas. However, a full understanding of the activation of natural fractures, prediction of fracture growth, distribution of proppant, and network fracture system effectiveness remain unresolved. The onset of fracturing in the media requires energy and this is due to the buildup of pressure within the rock due to continuous injection of fluid. In other words, when the energy associated with the injection fluid reaches the fracture strength of the rock, the fracture initiates and propagates into the formation. Here, we use gelatin in hydraulic fracturing laboratory tests and compare the results to a modified radial hydraulic fracturing theory. The mechanics of the gelatin, procedures to make a testing gelatin block, and procedures to conduct the test are described. The results show that the fracture evolving behaviours from experiments are well matched by the theory. The results are then scaled up to understand fracture growth behaviour in a tight rock reservoir.

Investigating Hydraulic Fracturing in Tight Gas Sand and Shale Gas Reservoirs in the Cooper Basin

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Paul Scott ◽  
Tim Stephens ◽  
Richard Durant ◽  
James McGowen ◽  
Warwick Thom ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Shale Gas ◽  
Tight Gas ◽  
Gas Reservoirs ◽  
Shale Gas Reservoirs ◽  
Cooper Basin

Study Evaluates Fracturing Interference for Multiwell Pads in Shale Gas Reservoirs

2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (08) ◽  
pp. 67-68
Author(s):  
Chris Carpenter
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Shale Gas ◽  
Technical Conference ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Gas Reservoirs ◽  
Well Drilling ◽  
Recovery Potential ◽  
Shale Gas Reservoirs ◽  
Well Spacing ◽  
Southwest Region

This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of paper SPE 201694, “Interwell Fracturing Interference Evaluation of Multiwell Pads in Shale Gas Reservoirs: A Case Study in WY Basin,” by Youwei He, SPE, Jianchun Guo, SPE, and Yong Tang, Southwest Petroleum University, et al., prepared for the 2020 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, originally scheduled to be held in Denver, Colorado, 5–7 October. The paper has not been peer reviewed. The paper aims to determine the mechanisms of fracturing interference for multiwell pads in shale gas reservoirs and evaluate the effect of interwell fracturing interference on production. Field data of 56 shale gas wells in the WY Basin are applied to calculate the ratio of affected wells to newly fractured wells and understand its influence on gas production. The main controlling factors of fracturing interference are determined, and the interwell fracturing interacting types are presented. Production recovery potential for affected wells is analyzed, and suggestions for mitigating fracturing interference are proposed. Interwell Fracturing Interference Evaluation The WY shale play is in the southwest region of the Sichuan Basin, where shale gas reserves in the Wufeng-Longmaxi formation are estimated to be the highest in China. The reservoir has produced hydrocarbons since 2016. Infill well drilling and massive hydraulic fracturing operations have been applied in the basin. Each well pad usually is composed of six to eight multifractured horizontal wells (MFHWs). Well spacing within one pad, or the distance between adjacent well pads, is so small that fracture interference can occur easily between infill wells and parent wells. Fig. 1 shows the number of wells affected by in-fill well fracturing from 2016 to 2019 in the basin. As the number of newly drilled wells increased between 2017 and 2019, the number of wells affected by hydraulic fracturing has greatly increased. The number of wells experiencing fracturing interaction has reached 65 in the last 4 years at the time of writing.

Fracture Initiation and Propagation in a Deep Shale Gas Reservoir Subject to an Alternating-Fluid-Injection Hydraulic-Fracturing Treatment

SPE Journal ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (04) ◽  
pp. 1839-1855 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bing Hou ◽  
Zhi Chang ◽  
Weineng Fu ◽  
Yeerfulati Muhadasi ◽  
Mian Chen
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Shale Gas ◽  
Fracture Initiation ◽  
Fluid Injection ◽  
Hydraulic Fractures ◽  
Stress Difference ◽  
Gas Reservoirs ◽  
Complex Fracture ◽  
Initiation And Propagation

Summary Deep shale gas reservoirs are characterized by high in-situ stresses, a high horizontal-stress difference (12 MPa), development of bedding seams and natural fractures, and stronger plasticity than shallow shale. All of these factors hinder the extension of hydraulic fractures and the formation of complex fracture networks. Conventional hydraulic-fracturing techniques (that use a single fluid, such as guar fluid or slickwater) do not account for the initiation and propagation of primary fractures and the formation of secondary fractures induced by the primary fractures. For this reason, we proposed an alternating-fluid-injection hydraulic-fracturing treatment. True triaxial hydraulic-fracturing tests were conducted on shale outcrop specimens excavated from the Shallow Silurian Longmaxi Formation to study the initiation and propagation of hydraulic fractures while the specimens were subjected to an alternating fluid injection with guar fluid and slickwater. The initiation and propagation of fractures in the specimens were monitored using an acoustic-emission (AE) system connected to a visual display. The results revealed that the guar fluid and slickwater each played a different role in hydraulic fracturing. At a high in-situ stress difference, the guar fluid tended to open the transverse fractures, whereas the slickwater tended to activate the bedding planes as a result of the temporary blocking effect of the guar fluid. On the basis of the development of fractures around the initiation point, the initiation patterns were classified into three categories: (1) transverse-fracture initiation, (2) bedding-seam initiation, and (3) natural-fracture initiation. Each of these fracture-initiation patterns had a different propagation mode. The alternating-fluid-injection treatment exploited the advantages of the two fracturing fluids to form a large complex fracture network in deep shale gas reservoirs; therefore, we concluded that this method is an efficient way to enhance the stimulated reservoir volume compared with conventional hydraulic-fracturing technologies.

scholarly journals Modeling of fault reactivation and induced seismicity during hydraulic fracturing of shale-gas reservoirs

2013 ◽  
Vol 107 ◽  
pp. 31-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonny Rutqvist ◽  
Antonio P. Rinaldi ◽  
Frédéric Cappa ◽  
George J. Moridis
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Shale Gas ◽  
Induced Seismicity ◽  
Fault Reactivation ◽  
Gas Reservoirs ◽  
Shale Gas Reservoirs

Impacts of Diverse Fluvial Depositional Environments on Hydraulic Fracture Growth in Tight Gas Reservoirs

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Helena Cuba ◽  
Jennifer Lynne Miskimins ◽  
Donna Schmidt Anderson ◽  
Mary Carr
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Fracture ◽  
Depositional Environments ◽  
Tight Gas ◽  
Gas Reservoirs ◽  
Tight Gas Reservoirs ◽  
Fracture Growth

scholarly journals APPLICATION OF FRACTAL GEOMETRY IN EVALUATION OF EFFECTIVE STIMULATED RESERVOIR VOLUME IN SHALE GAS RESERVOIRS

Fractals ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (04) ◽  
pp. 1740007 ◽  
Author(s):  
GUANGLONG SHENG ◽  
YULIANG SU ◽  
WENDONG WANG ◽  
FARZAM JAVADPOUR ◽  
MEIRONG TANG
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Shale Gas ◽  
Fractal Geometry ◽  
Fracture Network ◽  
Gas Reservoirs ◽  
Stimulated Reservoir Volume ◽  
Reservoir Volume ◽  
Adsorbed Gas ◽  
Shale Gas Reservoirs ◽  
Shale Reservoirs

According to hydraulic-fracturing practices conducted in shale reservoirs, effective stimulated reservoir volume (ESRV) significantly affects the production of hydraulic fractured well. Therefore, estimating ESRV is an important prerequisite for confirming the success of hydraulic fracturing and predicting the production of hydraulic fracturing wells in shale reservoirs. However, ESRV calculation remains a longstanding challenge in hydraulic-fracturing operation. In considering fractal characteristics of the fracture network in stimulated reservoir volume (SRV), this paper introduces a fractal random-fracture-network algorithm for converting the microseismic data into fractal geometry. Five key parameters, including bifurcation direction, generating length ([Formula: see text]), deviation angle ([Formula: see text]), iteration times ([Formula: see text]) and generating rules, are proposed to quantitatively characterize fracture geometry. Furthermore, we introduce an orthogonal-fractures coupled dual-porosity-media representation elementary volume (REV) flow model to predict the volumetric flux of gas in shale reservoirs. On the basis of the migration of adsorbed gas in porous kerogen of REV with different fracture spaces, an ESRV criterion for shale reservoirs with SRV is proposed. Eventually, combining the ESRV criterion and fractal characteristic of a fracture network, we propose a new approach for evaluating ESRV in shale reservoirs. The approach has been used in the Eagle Ford shale gas reservoir, and results show that the fracture space has a measurable influence on migration of adsorbed gas. The fracture network can contribute to enhancement of the absorbed gas recovery ratio when the fracture space is less than 0.2 m. ESRV is evaluated in this paper, and results indicate that the ESRV accounts for 27.87% of the total SRV in shale gas reservoirs. This work is important and timely for evaluating fracturing effect and predicting production of hydraulic fracturing wells in shale reservoirs.

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