Near Wellbore Hydraulic Fracture Propagation from Perforations in Tight Rocks: The Roles of Fracturing Fluid Viscosity and Injection Rate
Hydraulic fracture initiation and near wellbore propagation is governed by complex failure mechanisms, especially in cased perforated wellbores. Various parameters affect such mechanisms, including fracturing fluid viscosity and injection rate. In this study, three different fracturing fluids with v...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2017-03-01
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| Series: | Energies |
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| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/10/3/359 |
| _version_ | 1818035571951403008 |
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| author | Seyed Hassan Fallahzadeh Md Mofazzal Hossain Ashton James Cornwell Vamegh Rasouli |
| author_facet | Seyed Hassan Fallahzadeh Md Mofazzal Hossain Ashton James Cornwell Vamegh Rasouli |
| author_sort | Seyed Hassan Fallahzadeh |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Hydraulic fracture initiation and near wellbore propagation is governed by complex failure mechanisms, especially in cased perforated wellbores. Various parameters affect such mechanisms, including fracturing fluid viscosity and injection rate. In this study, three different fracturing fluids with viscosities ranging from 20 to 600 Pa.s were used to investigate the effects of varying fracturing fluid viscosities and fluid injection rates on the fracturing mechanisms. Hydraulic fracturing tests were conducted in cased perforated boreholes made in tight 150 mm synthetic cubic samples. A true tri-axial stress cell was used to simulate real far field stress conditions. In addition, dimensional analyses were performed to correspond the results of lab experiments to field-scale operations. The results indicated that by increasing the fracturing fluid viscosity and injection rate, the fracturing energy increased, and consequently, higher fracturing pressures were observed. However, when the fracturing energy was transferred to a borehole at a faster rate, the fracture initiation angle also increased. This resulted in more curved fracture planes. Accordingly, a new parameter, called fracturing power, was introduced to relate fracture geometry to fluid viscosity and injection rate. Furthermore, it was observed that the presence of casing in the wellbore impacted the stress distribution around the casing in such a way that the fracture propagation deviated from the wellbore vicinity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T06:57:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0d46dee88db9483fb0950d273accd7ac |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T06:57:11Z |
| publishDate | 2017-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj.art-0d46dee88db9483fb0950d273accd7ac2022-12-22T01:58:24ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732017-03-0110335910.3390/en10030359en10030359Near Wellbore Hydraulic Fracture Propagation from Perforations in Tight Rocks: The Roles of Fracturing Fluid Viscosity and Injection RateSeyed Hassan Fallahzadeh0Md Mofazzal Hossain1Ashton James Cornwell2Vamegh Rasouli3Petroleum Engineering Department, Curtin University, Perth, WA 6151, AustraliaPetroleum Engineering Department, Curtin University, Perth, WA 6151, AustraliaPetroleum Engineering Department, Curtin University, Perth, WA 6151, AustraliaPetroleum Engineering Department, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND 58202-6116, USAHydraulic fracture initiation and near wellbore propagation is governed by complex failure mechanisms, especially in cased perforated wellbores. Various parameters affect such mechanisms, including fracturing fluid viscosity and injection rate. In this study, three different fracturing fluids with viscosities ranging from 20 to 600 Pa.s were used to investigate the effects of varying fracturing fluid viscosities and fluid injection rates on the fracturing mechanisms. Hydraulic fracturing tests were conducted in cased perforated boreholes made in tight 150 mm synthetic cubic samples. A true tri-axial stress cell was used to simulate real far field stress conditions. In addition, dimensional analyses were performed to correspond the results of lab experiments to field-scale operations. The results indicated that by increasing the fracturing fluid viscosity and injection rate, the fracturing energy increased, and consequently, higher fracturing pressures were observed. However, when the fracturing energy was transferred to a borehole at a faster rate, the fracture initiation angle also increased. This resulted in more curved fracture planes. Accordingly, a new parameter, called fracturing power, was introduced to relate fracture geometry to fluid viscosity and injection rate. Furthermore, it was observed that the presence of casing in the wellbore impacted the stress distribution around the casing in such a way that the fracture propagation deviated from the wellbore vicinity.http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/10/3/359hydraulic fracturingfracturing fluid viscosityinjection ratecased wellboreperforationfracture initiationnear wellbore fracture geometry |
| spellingShingle | Seyed Hassan Fallahzadeh Md Mofazzal Hossain Ashton James Cornwell Vamegh Rasouli Near Wellbore Hydraulic Fracture Propagation from Perforations in Tight Rocks: The Roles of Fracturing Fluid Viscosity and Injection Rate Energies hydraulic fracturing fracturing fluid viscosity injection rate cased wellbore perforation fracture initiation near wellbore fracture geometry |
| title | Near Wellbore Hydraulic Fracture Propagation from Perforations in Tight Rocks: The Roles of Fracturing Fluid Viscosity and Injection Rate |
| title_full | Near Wellbore Hydraulic Fracture Propagation from Perforations in Tight Rocks: The Roles of Fracturing Fluid Viscosity and Injection Rate |
| title_fullStr | Near Wellbore Hydraulic Fracture Propagation from Perforations in Tight Rocks: The Roles of Fracturing Fluid Viscosity and Injection Rate |
| title_full_unstemmed | Near Wellbore Hydraulic Fracture Propagation from Perforations in Tight Rocks: The Roles of Fracturing Fluid Viscosity and Injection Rate |
| title_short | Near Wellbore Hydraulic Fracture Propagation from Perforations in Tight Rocks: The Roles of Fracturing Fluid Viscosity and Injection Rate |
| title_sort | near wellbore hydraulic fracture propagation from perforations in tight rocks the roles of fracturing fluid viscosity and injection rate |
| topic | hydraulic fracturing fracturing fluid viscosity injection rate cased wellbore perforation fracture initiation near wellbore fracture geometry |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/10/3/359 |
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