Prediction of Stimulation From Acid Fracturing Treatments Using Finite Fracture Conductivity

1977 ◽  
Vol 29 (09) ◽  
pp. 1186-1194
Author(s):  
E.J. Novotny
Keyword(s):  
Fracture Conductivity ◽  
Acid Fracturing

Modeling Acid Fracturing Treatments with Multi-Stage Alternating Injection of Pad and Acid Fluids

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rencheng Dong ◽  
Mary F. Wheeler ◽  
Hang Su ◽  
Kang Ma
Keyword(s):  
Viscous Fingering ◽  
High Viscosity ◽  
Carbonate Reservoirs ◽  
Acid Etching ◽  
Fracture Geometry ◽  
Fracture Conductivity ◽  
Acid Fracturing ◽  
Fracture Surfaces ◽  
Low Viscosity ◽  
Multi Stage

Abstract Acid fracturing technique is widely applied to stimulate the productivity of carbonate reservoirs. The acid-fracture conductivity is created by non-uniform acid etching on fracture surfaces. Heterogeneous mineral distribution of carbonate reservoirs can lead to non-uniform acid etching during acid fracturing treatments. In addition, the non-uniform acid etching can be enhanced by the viscous fingering mechanism. For low-perm carbonate reservoirs, by multi-stage alternating injection of a low-viscosity acid and a high-viscosity polymer pad fluid during acid fracturing, the acid tends to form viscous fingers and etch fracture surfaces non-uniformly. To accurately predict the acid-fracture conductivity, this paper developed a 3D acid fracturing model to compute the rough acid fracture geometry induced by multi-stage alternating injection of pad and acid fluids. Based on the developed numerical simulator, we investigated the effects of viscous fingering, perforation design and stage period on the acid etching process. Compared with single-stage acid injection, multi-stage alternating injection of pad and acid fluids leads to narrower and longer acid-etched channels.

Acid Fracture Conductivity Behavior of Tahe Carbonate: High Closure Stress, Long-Term Conductivity, and Composite Conductivity

2014 ◽  
Vol 1042 ◽  
pp. 44-51
Author(s):  
Jia Nye Mou ◽  
Mao Tang Yao ◽  
Ke Xiang Zheng
Keyword(s):  
Creep Deformation ◽  
Contact Time ◽  
Carbonate Reservoir ◽  
Fracture Conductivity ◽  
Acid Rock ◽  
Acid Fracturing ◽  
Closure Stress ◽  
Composite Conductivity ◽  
Conductivity Behavior

Acid fracture conductivity is a key parameter in acid fracturing designs and production performance prediction. It depends on the fracture surface etching pattern, rock mechanical properties, and closure stress. The fracture surfaces undergo creep deformation under closure stress during production. Preservation of fracture conductivity becomes a challenge at elevated closure stress. In this paper, we investigated acid fracture conductivity behavior of Tahe deep carbonate reservoir with high closure stress and high temperature. A series of acid fracture conductivity experiment was conducted in a laboratory facility designed to perform acid fracture conductivity. Gelled acid and cross linked acid with different acid-rock contact times were tested for analyzing the effect of acid type and acid-rock contact time on the resulting conductivity. Closure stress up to 100MPa was tested to verify the feasibility of acid fracturing for elevated closure stress. Long-term conductivity up to 7-day was tested to determine the capability of conductivity retaining after creep deformation. Composite conductivity of acid fracture with prop pant was also carried out. The study shows that the fracture retained enough conductivity even under effective closure stress of 70MPa. The gelled acid has a much higher conductivity than the cross linked acid for the same contact time. For the gelled acid, contact time above 60-minute does not lead to conductivity increase. Acid fracture with prop pant has a lower conductivity at low closure stress and a higher conductivity at high closure stress than the acid fracture, which shows composite conductivity is a feasible way to raise conductivity at high closure stress. The long-term conductivity tests show that the acid fracture conductivity decreases fast within the first 48-hour and then levels off. The conductivity keeps stable after 120-hour. An acid fracture conductivity correlation was also developed for this reservoir.

Integrated Acid Fracture Model with Reservoir Simulation Under Non-Isothermal Condition

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tohoko Tajima
Keyword(s):  
Reservoir Simulation ◽  
Isothermal Condition ◽  
Carbonate Reservoir ◽  
Temperature Sensitive ◽  
Reservoir Model ◽  
Coupled Modeling ◽  
Fracture Conductivity ◽  
Acid Fracturing ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Fracturing Process

Abstract Modeling of acid fracturing process is challenging because of the coupled complex effects of flow through porous media and fractures, chemical reaction in a geostatistical base, wormhole propagation, and reservoir heterogeneity. To avoid the complexity, decoupled approaches are commonly used; the reservoir effect is represented by leakoff with a constant leakoff coefficient, and analytical solutions for heat flux from a reservoir is used to avoid complexity. An acid fracturing numerical model is presented that is coupled with a single-phase black oil reservoir simulator for a vertical well in the carbonate reservoir. The coupled acid fracturing model considers fracture propagation, acid transport, and heat transfer. After simulating acid fracturing, the conductivity of the fracture is calculated using empirical correlations, and the productivity is computed by simulating the flow to the well. Non-isothermal condition is assumed to simulate the flow in both the fracture and reservoir because the acid reaction is temperature sensitive. Leakoff from fracture to reservoir is simulated with a reservoir flow model for pressure and leakoff velocity as functions of time and location. Wormhole propagation from the fracture is considered by using empirical equations for wormhole propagation based on leakoff velocity estimated from the reservoir simulation. The benefits of coupled modeling are evaluated by comparing the conventional acid fracturing model which uses a decoupled approach to the numerical acid fracturing model developed in this study. The results show that the coupling reservoir model improves the accuracy of estimated in fracture conductivity. It has been shown that the analytical equations for heat from a reservoir used in literature overestimates the final acid fracture conductivity. Thus, it is suggested to use fully numerically solve fluid flow and energy balance in a fracture and a reservoir. Complex leakoff due to pressure and temperature change with time and wormhole propagation was implemented in the simulator. The wormhole effect was added and the distribution of leakoff coefficient was reasonable. A comparison of simulation results with and without wormholes showed that the significant difference was not observed in acid concentration, but ideal width distribution was lower with wormholes. It is concluded based on the observation of the study that the leakoff from acid fracture represented by a reservoir model with wormhole propagation is important to correctly understand acid fracture efficiency. Simply using a constant leakoff coefficient can lead to significant error and misleading conclusions.

Modeling Multistage Acid Fracturing Treatments in Carbonate Reservoirs

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rencheng Dong ◽  
Mary F. Wheeler ◽  
Hang Su ◽  
Kang Ma
Keyword(s):  
Radial Flow ◽  
Viscous Fingering ◽  
Carbonate Reservoirs ◽  
Etching Process ◽  
Acid Etching ◽  
Fluid Viscosity ◽  
Vertical Wells ◽  
Fracture Conductivity ◽  
Acid Fracturing ◽  
Carbonate Formation

Abstract As our industry is tapping into tighter carbonate reservoirs than in the past, completion techniques need to be improved to stimulate the low-permeability carbonate formation. Multistage acid fracturing technique has been developed in recent years and proved to be successful in some carbonate reservoirs. A multistage acid fracturing job is to perform several stages of acid fracturing along a horizontal well. The goal of acid fracturing operations is to create enough fracture roughness through differential acid etching on fracture walls such that the acid fracture can keep open and sustain a high enough acid fracture conductivity under the closure stress. In multistage acid fracturing treatments, acid flow is in a radial flow scenario and the acid etching process can be different from acid fracturing in vertical wells. In order to accurately predict the acid-fracture conductivity, a detailed description of the rough acid-fracture surfaces is required. In this paper, we developed a 3D acid transport model to compute the geometry of acid fracture for multistage acid fracturing treatments. The developed model couples the acid fluid flow, reactive transport and rock dissolution in the fracture. We also included acid viscous fingering in our model since viscous fingering mechanism is commonly applied in multistage acid fracturing to achieve non-uniform acid etching. Our simulation results reproduced the acid viscous fingering phenomenon observed from experiments in the literature. During the process of acid viscous fingering, high-conductivity channels developed in the fingering regions. We modeled the acid etching process in multistage acid fracturing treatments and compared it with acid fracturing treatments in vertical wells. We found that due to the radial flow effect, it is more difficult to achieve non-uniform acid etching in multistage acid fracturing treatments than in vertical wells. We investigated the effects of perforation design and pad fluid viscosity on multistage acid fracturing treatments. We need to have an adequate number of perforations in order to develop non-uniform acid etching. We found that a higher viscosity pad fluid helps acid to penetrate deeper in the fracture and result in a longer and narrower etched channel.

Acid Fracturing Shales: Effect of Dilute Acid on Properties and Pore Structure of Shale

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weiwei Wu ◽  
Mukul M. Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Pore Structure ◽  
Core Sample ◽  
Petrophysical Properties ◽  
Acid Dissolution ◽  
Eagle Ford Shale ◽  
Fracture Conductivity ◽  
Acid Fracturing ◽  
Microstructure Changes ◽  
Fracture Surfaces ◽  
Closure Stress

Abstract Many microfractures created during hydraulic fracturing are too small to be filled with proppants and are likely closed during production. However, for some shales that are rich in calcite (calcareous mudstones), such as the Bakken and Eagle Ford shale, dilute acids can be used while fracturing to maintain the conductivity of these microfractures under closure stress by non-uniformly etching the fracture surfaces. The mineralogy and pore structure of the shale and their evolution during acid fracturing are critical factors on the surface surface etching profile and the fluid leakoff. Therefore, understanding how acid dissolution changes the microstructure, petrophysical properties and pore structures of shale is essential in the design and application of acid fracturing in shales. In this paper changes in shale properties and pore structure by acid fracturing were demonstrated and visually observed for the first time with a scanning electron microscope. Acidized sections of a shale core sample were carefully isolated, and its microstructure, pore structure and petrophysical properties were systematically studied and compared with non-acidized sections of the core. Microstructure changes were found to be strongly dependent on mineral distribution, and several patterns were identified: channels developed in carbonate-rich regions; cavities or grooves formed in carbonate-rich islands or carbonate rings; and surface roughness was created in mixed zones of scattered carbonate and inert minerals. Inert minerals such as clay, organic matter stay relatively undisturbed in the structure, while some mineral grains can be dislodged from their original locations by dissolution of the surrounding carbonates. Many macropores with size up to 120 µm were created and mesopores mostly associated with clay gained more accessibility. Significantly increased permeability and porosity was measured in an acidized shale matrix. Brinell hardness measurements show that, as expected, the hardness of the shale was reduced by acidizing. This means that for acidizing to work effectively, it is important to not etch the fracture surfaces uniformly. Doing so will result in a reduction in the fracture conductivity under stress. The microstructure changes introduced by acid fracturing demonstrated in this study will result in the formation of surface asperities which is likely to improve the fracture conductivity of induced unpropped fractures. The acidized shale matrix close to the fracture surface with increased abundance of macropores and accessibility to mesopores may serve as a preferred pathway for fluid flow as well.

Modeling Acid Fracturing Treatments in Heterogeneous Carbonate Reservoirs

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rencheng Dong ◽  
Mary F. Wheeler ◽  
Hang Su ◽  
Kang Ma
Keyword(s):  
Reactive Transport ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Viscous Fingering ◽  
Carbonate Reservoirs ◽  
Acid Etching ◽  
Fracture Conductivity ◽  
Acid Fracturing ◽  
Fracture Surfaces ◽  
Etching Pattern ◽  
Viscous Fingers

Abstract The goal of acid fracturing operations is to create enough fracture roughness through non-uniform acid etching on fracture surfaces such that the acid fracture can keep open and sustain a high enough acid fracture conductivity under the formation closure stress. A detailed description of the rough acid-fracture surfaces is required for accurately predicting the acid-fracture conductivity. In this paper, a 3D acid transport model was developed to compute the geometry of acid fracture for acid fracturing treatments. The developed model couples the acid fluid flow, reactive transport and rock dissolution in the fracture. We also included acid viscous fingering in our model since the viscous fingering mechanism is commonly applied in acid fracturing to achieve non-uniform acid etching. Carbonate reservoirs mainly consists of calcite and dolomite minerals but the mineral distribution can be quite heterogeneous. Based on the developed model, we analyzed the effect of mineral heterogeneity on the acid etching process. We compared the acid etching patterns in different carbonate reservoirs with different spatial distributions of calcite and dolomite minerals. We found that thin acid-etched channels can form in carbonate reservoirs with interbedded dolomite layers. When the reservoir heterogeneity does not favor growing thin acid-etched channels, we investigated how to utilize the acid viscous fingering technique to achieve the channeling etching pattern in such reservoirs. Through numerical simulations, we found that thin acid-etched channels can form inside acid viscous fingers. The regions between viscous fingers are left less etched and act as barriers to separate acid-etched channels. In acid fracturing treatments with viscous fingering, the etching pattern is largely dependent on the perforation spacing. With a proper perforation design, we can still achieve the channeling etching pattern even when the reservoir does not have interbedded dolomite layers.

Optimization of Acid Fracturing Design in Yubei Fractured Reservoir

2014 ◽  
Vol 580-583 ◽  
pp. 2495-2501 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Yang Song ◽  
Xiao Ru He ◽  
Ji Cheng Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Simulation ◽  
Horizontal Wells ◽  
Simulation Method ◽  
Injection Rate ◽  
Acid System ◽  
Fractured Reservoir ◽  
Fracture Conductivity ◽  
Acid Fracturing ◽  
Numerical Simulation Method ◽  
Half Length

This paper recommends the application of acidic fracturing technology for horizontal wells in Yubei region basing on its fractured reservoir’s characteristics, and the numerical simulation method is used to optimize the parameters of acidic fracturing. According to the results of optimization, the proper acid system is selected, and the construction parameters of acidic fracturing are optimized. According to the results of numerical simulation, we recommend the fracture half-length to be 120m, the fracture conductivity to be 30D.cm, and the fracture number to be 5. According to the properties of reservoir in Yubei region and the optimization results of fracture half-length and fracture conductivity, the alternative injection of crosslinked acid and ordinary gelled acid is recommend. The injection rate of crosslinked acid is 5m3/min, with volume 300m3. The injection rate of ordinary gelled acid is 6m3/min, with volume 300m3.

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