Zipper Fracturing of Horizontal Cluster Wells: Game Changing Unconventional Fracturing in UAE

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Wu ◽  
Ole Sorensen ◽  
Nabila Lazreq ◽  
Yin Luo ◽  
Tomislav Bukovac ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Shale Gas ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Operational Efficiency ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Hydraulic Fractures ◽  
Fluid Viscosity ◽  
Fracture Width ◽  
Friction Reducer

Abstract Following the increase in demand for natural gas production in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), unconventional hydraulic fracturing in the country has grown exponentially and with it the demand for new technology and efficiency to fast-track the process from fracturing to production. Diyab field has historically been a challenging field for fracturing given the high-pressure/high-temperature (HP/HT) conditions, presence of H2S, and the strike-slip to thrust faulting conditions. Meanwhile, operational efficiency is necessary for economic development of this shale gas reservoir. Hence "zipper fracturing" was introduced in UAE with modern technologies to enable both operational efficiency and reservoir stimulation performance. The introduction of zipper fracturing in UAE is considered a game changer as it shifted the focus from single-well fracturing to multiple well pads that allow for fracturing to take place in one well while the adjacent well is undergoing a pumpdown plug-and-perf operation using wireline. The overall setup of the zipper surface manifold allowed for faster transitions between the two wells; hence, it also rendered using large storage tanks a viable option since the turnover between stages would be short. Thus, two large modular tanks were installed and utilised to allow 160,000 bbl of water storage on site. Similarly, the use of high-viscosity friction reducer (HVFR) has directly replaced the common friction reducer additive or guar-based gel for shale gas operation. HVFR provides higher viscosity to carry larger proppant concentrations without the reservoir damage, and the flexibility and simplicity of optimizing fluid viscosity on-the-fly to ensure adequate fracture width and balance near-wellbore fracture complexity. Fully utilizing dissolvable fracture plugs was also applied to mitigate the risk of casing deformation and the subsequent difficulty of milling plugs after the fracturing treatment. Furthermore, fracture and completion design based on geologic modelling helped reduce risk of interaction between the hydraulic fractures and geologic abnormalities. With the application of advanced logistical planning, personnel proficiency, the zipper operation field process, clustered fracture placement, and the pump-down plug-and-perforation operation, the speed of fracturing reached a maximum of 4.5 stages per day, completing 67 stages in total between two wells placing nearly 27 million lbm of proppant across Hanifa formation. The maximum proppant per stage achieved was 606,000 lbm. The novelty of this project lies in the first-time application of zipper fracturing, as well as the first application of dry HVFR fracturing fluid and dissolvable fracturing plugs in UAE. These introductions helped in improving the overall efficiency of hydraulic fracturing in one of UAE's most challenging unconventional basins in the country, which is quickly demanding quicker well turnovers from fracturing to production.

The effect of gravity on the shape and direction of vertical hydraulic fractures

2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 668
Author(s):  
Saeed Salimzadeh
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Shale Gas ◽  
Hydraulic Fracture ◽  
Hydraulic Fractures ◽  
Fluid Viscosity ◽  
Gas Reservoirs ◽  
Unconventional Gas Reservoirs ◽  
Fracture Fluid ◽  
Fracture Opening

Australia has great potential for shale gas development that can reshape the future of energy in the country. Hydraulic fracturing has been proven as an efficient method to improve recovery from unconventional gas reservoirs. Shale gas hydraulic fracturing is a very complex, multi-physics process, and numerical modelling to design and predict the growth of hydraulic fractures is gaining a lot of interest around the world. The initiation and propagation direction of hydraulic fractures are controlled by in-situ rock stresses, local natural fractures and larger faults. In the propagation of vertical hydraulic fractures, the fracture footprint may extend tens to hundreds of metres, over which the in-situ stresses vary due to gravity and the weight of the rock layers. Proppants, which are added to the hydraulic fracturing fluid to retain the fracture opening after depressurisation, add additional complexity to the propagation mechanics. Proppant distribution can affect the hydraulic fracture propagation by altering the hydraulic fracture fluid viscosity and by blocking the hydraulic fracture fluid flow. In this study, the effect of gravitational forces on proppant distribution and fracture footprint in vertically oriented hydraulic fractures are investigated using a robust finite element code and the results are discussed.

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 Economic Model-Based Controller Design Framework for Hydraulic Fracturing To Optimize Shale Gas Production and Water Usage

2019 ◽  
Vol 58 (27) ◽  
pp. 12097-12115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaiyu Cao ◽  
Prashanth Siddhamshetty ◽  
Yuchan Ahn ◽  
Rajib Mukherjee ◽  
Joseph Sang-Il Kwon
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Shale Gas ◽  
Economic Model ◽  
Controller Design ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Design Framework ◽  
Water Usage ◽  
Model Based

Laboratory Experiments in Fracture Propagation

1984 ◽  
Vol 24 (03) ◽  
pp. 256-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
W.L. Medlin ◽  
L. Masse
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Fracture Propagation ◽  
Fluid Viscosity ◽  
Confining Stress ◽  
Fracture Width ◽  
Metal Plates ◽  
Fracture Closure ◽  
Crack Volume ◽  
Aluminum Plates ◽  
Fracturing Experiments

Abstract This paper describes fracturing experiments in dry blocks of various rock materials. The results have application to evaluation of hydraulic fracturing theories. The block dimensions were 3 in.×4 in.×12 in. [7.6 cm×10.2 cm×30.5 cm] with metal plates epoxied to the 3-in.×12-in. [7.6-cm×30.5-cm] faces. Remaining faces were coated with soft epoxy to provide an impermeable jacket. The blocks were loaded in a pressure cell with an upper movable piston bearing on the 3-in.×4-in. [7.6-cm×10.2-cm] faces. A servo-controlled press applied constant stress to these faces higher than a lateral confining stress applied by oil pressure. Fractures were initiated by injection of various fluids into a small notch located on a center plane parallel to the 4-in.×12-in. [10.2-cm×30.5-cm] faces. Fracture growth along the same plane was assured by the stress conditions. Use of these experiments to test theories of fracture propagation required measurement of three variables, fracture width bi, and propagation pressure pi at the notch entrance, and fracture length, L. bi was determined by a capacitance method, and pi was measured directly by a pressure transducer. L was measured by two methods - either ultrasonic signals or pressure pulses generated in miniature cavities. The ultrasonic method confirmed the existence of a Barenblatt liquid-free crack ahead of the liquid front whose relative length decreased with confining stress. The metal plates bonded to the 3-in.×4-in. [7.6-cm×10.2-cm] faces prevented slip at the top and bottom of the fracture, giving a three-dimensional (3D) crack of constant height. However, the bi, pi, and L data followed trends predicted by two-dimensional (2D) (plane strain) elastic theory reasonably well. Fracture closure measurements after shut-in showed an initial period of leakoff-controlled closure and a final period of creep-controlled closure. A pi slope change at the transition is identified with the instantaneous shut-in pressure (ISIP) in field records and is higher than the true confining stress. Introduction Methods of predicting crack dimensions during fracturing operations are essential to proper design of field treatments. Many fracture-propagation theories have been advanced. Contributions have been made by Barenblatt,1 Khristianovitch and Zheltov,4,5 Howard and Fast,6 Perkins and Kern,7 LeTirant and Dupuy,8 Nordgren,9 Geertsma and de Klerk,10 Daneshy,11 and Cleary12,13 among others. However, practical methods of evaluating the theoretical work have been few. Mostly they have been. limited to indirect and generally inconclusive field evaluations. The Sandia mineback experiments14–16 have provided more direct evaluations. However, even here important fracturing parameters are uncontrolled or unknown. This paper describes laboratory-scale hydraulic fracturing experiments that provide critical data for evaluating crack propagation theories. In these experiments we measured the fundamental variables of crack growth under controlled conditions with known fracturing parameters. Experimental Methods All fracturing experiments were carried out in dry blocks 3 in.×4 in.×12 in. [7.6 cm×10.2 cm×30.5 cm] in size. Mesa Verde sandstone and Carthage and Lueders limestone were used as sample materials. Scaling considerations were important. It was necessary to scale down injection rate and leakoff to be consistent with fracture dimensions. The scaling factor of importance was taken to be fluid efficiency, the ratio of crack volume to injected volume. This factor was controlled through appropriate combinations of sample permeability and fracturing fluid viscosity. As fracturing fluids we used thick grease, hydraulic oils of various viscosities, and gelled kerosene (Dowell's YFGO™). Fluid efficiencies ranged from 3 to 70%. Most experiments were conducted at efficiencies between 30 and 50 %, a range typical of most field treatments. Fig. 1 shows the experimental arrangement. Shaped aluminum plates were bonded with Hysol clear epoxy to the 3-in.×12-in. [7.6-cm×30.5-cm] faces of the sample block as shown. The remaining faces were coated with a thin layer of the same epoxy to provide an impermeable jacket for confining pressure. One of the aluminum plates contained an injection port communicating with a 1.4-in. [0.64-cm] borehole as illustrated. A pair of brass plates with faces 0.2 in.×0.5 in. [0.5 cm×1.3 cm] was epoxied into the borehole at its center. These plates, separated by a gap of 0.01 in. [0.025 cm] served as a parallel plate capacitor. They were connected to a capacitance bridge that detected changes in gap width through changes in capacitance. This provided a direct, continuous measurement of fracture width at the borehole.

Geologic Controls on Gas Production and Hydraulic-Fracturing Flowback in Tight Gas Sandstones of the Late Jurassic Monteith Formation, Deep Basin, Alberta, Canada

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (01) ◽  
pp. 024-040 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liliana Zambrano ◽  
Per K. Pedersen ◽  
Roberto Aguilera
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Production Performance ◽  
Rock Properties ◽  
Hydraulic Fractures ◽  
Tight Gas ◽  
Deep Basin ◽  
Rock Types ◽  
Sandstone Reservoirs ◽  
Geologic Controls

Summary A comparison of rock properties integrated with production performance and hydraulic-fracturing flowback (FB) of the uppermost lithostratigraphic “Monteith A” and the lowermost portion “Monteith C” of the Monteith Formation in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) in Alberta is carried out with the use of existing producing gas wells. The analyses are targeted to understand the major geologic controls that differentiate the two tight gas sandstone reservoirs. This study consists of basic analytical tools available for geological characterization of tight gas reservoirs that is based on the identification and comparison of different rock types such as depositional, petrographic, and hydraulic for each lithostratigraphic unit of the Monteith Formation. As these low-matrix-permeability sandstone reservoirs were subjected to intense post-depositional diagenesis, a comparison of the various rock types allows the generation of more-accurate reservoir description, and a better understanding of the key geologic characteristics that control gas-production potential and possible impact on hydraulic-fracturing FB. Well performance and FB were the focus of many previous simulation and geochemical studies. In contrast, we find that an adequate understanding of the rocks hosting hydraulic fractures is a necessary complement to those studies for estimating FB times. This understanding was lacking in some previous studies. As a result, a new method is proposed on the basis of a crossplot of cumulative gas production vs. square root of time for estimating FB time. It is concluded that the “Monteith A” unit has better rock quality than the “Monteith C” unit because of less-heterogeneous reservoir geometry, less-complex mineralogical composition, and larger pore-throat apertures.

scholarly journals Investigation on Nonuniform Extension of Hydraulic Fracture in Shale Gas Formation

Geofluids ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Zhiheng Zhao ◽  
Youcheng Zheng ◽  
Yili Kang ◽  
Bo Zeng ◽  
Yi Song
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Shale Gas ◽  
Simulation Method ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Fractional Flow ◽  
Cluster Number ◽  
Treatment Technology ◽  
Average Width ◽  
Shadowing Effect

Hydraulic fracturing with multiple clusters has been a significant way to improve fracture complexity and achieve high utilization of shale formation. This technology has been widely applied in the main shale area of North America. In Changning shale block of China, it, as a promising treatment technology, is being used in horizontal well now. Due to the anisotropy of mechanical property and the stress shadowing effect between multiclusters, fractures would extend nonuniformly and even some clusters are invalid, leading to a poor treatment performance. In this work, based on the geology and engineering characteristics of Changning shale block, different cluster number, cluster spacing, perforation distribution, and flow rate were discussed by the numerical simulation method to clarify multifracture propagation. It is implied that with the reduction of cluster number and the growth of cluster spacing and flow rate, the length and average width of interior fractures are inclined to increase due to the mitigation of stress shadowing effect, contributing to the lower standard deviation (SD) of fracture length, but too small cluster number or too large cluster spacing is not recommended. Besides, the perforation distribution with more perforations in interior fractures can get larger length and average width of interior fractures compared with another two perforation distributions because of more fractional flow rates obtained, which results in more even fracture propagations. In Changning shale block, multicluster hydraulic fracturing with 4-6 clusters in a stage has been employed in 300-400 m well spacing, and diversion technology, limited-entry perforation (36-48 perforations per stage), high flow rate (16 m3/min), and small-sized ceramic proppant (100 mesh) are used to get better shale gas production. To promote the even propagation of fractures further, nonuniform perforation distribution should be introduced in the target shale area.

State Support and Assessment of the Feasibility of Shale Gas Production

2021 ◽  
pp. 225-236
Author(s):  
Mikhail I. Khoroshiltsev
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Economic Efficiency ◽  
Shale Gas ◽  
The United States ◽  
Industrial Sector ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Technological Breakthrough ◽  
Tight Reservoirs ◽  
Hydrocarbon Deposits

The article analyzes shale gas production in the United States and calculates its economic efficiency. The development of shale gas production became possible due to the combination of tight reservoirs in a single technological process of drilling and hydraulic fracturing. A technological breakthrough in gas production made it economically attractive for investors (considering the prices of that period) to develop unconventional hydrocarbon deposits. At the same time, like any new industrial sector, the development of shale gas is associated with significant costs at various levels.

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