WELL STIMULATION TECHNIQUES

PDB4323 / PDB4323Z
HYDRAULIC FRACTURING - PART 5
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WELL STIMULATION TECHNIQUES

By

IR. HAIZATUL HAFIZAH HUSSAIN

haizatulhafizah.hus@utp.edu.my

Office Ext. : 7373

Office : L-1-22

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LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this lecture, students should be able to:

Understand the importance of

fracturing fluid and its relationship
with the propped fracture
conductivity

Understand the process during tips

screen out and its application

Identify different types of propping

agents

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LECTURE CONTENTS
Fracturing Fluid and Fracture Conductivity

Tips Screen Out

Types of Propping Agents

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 Photo Courtesy of Hydraulics & Pneumatics

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FRACTURING FLUID
▪ Fracturing Fluid Functions
1. Initiate and propagate the fracture
2. Develop fracture width
3. Transport proppant throughout the length of the fracture
4. Easily produced back to the surface after the fracture treatment is finished, leaving a fracture with the maximum
permeability.

▪ Characteristics (Required to achieve the above)

1. Stable, predictable rheology under surface and downhole treating conditions and treatment duration
2. Low friction pressures drop at high pump rates in tubing and flow lines
3. Provide fluid loss control
4. Clean and easily degradable to minimize formation damage to propped fracture
5. Compatible with reservoir formation and fluids
6. Economical / low cost

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FRACTURING FLUID AND FRACTURE
CONDUCTIVITY
❑ There is another process that reduces the fracture conductivity. Most modern fracturing fluid consist
of a low concentration of a polymer dissolved in brine. The dilute polymer solution’s viscosity is
increased by joining the polymer molecules together with a crosslinking agent.

❑ During the fracture treatment this dilute polymer solution is pumped into the fracture at a pressure
much greater than the reservoir pressure – resulting in a high percentage of the base brine “leaking
off” into the formation.

❑ The large polymer molecules are too large to be able to flow through the pore throat and hence
form an external filter cake on the fracture surface. This is particularly true for the low permeability
formations where fracturing is often applied. The chemical breaker is normally dissolved in the
fracturing fluid.

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FRACTURING FLUID AND FRACTURE
CONDUCTIVITY

Figure 1 : Actual hydraulic

fracture conductivity

❑ There is sufficient chemical breaker present in fracturing fluid within the closed fracture to degrade the
fluid viscosity. However it is not capable of destroying the filter cake, which remains in the fracture and
degrades the fracture conductivity (Figure 1). 8
FRACTURING FLUID AND FRACTURE
CONDUCTIVITY

Figure 1 : Actual hydraulic

fracture conductivity

❑ The efficiency of the removal of the remnants of the fracturing fluid from the proppant pack itself is
measured by the retained fracture conductivity :
(𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒍𝒖𝒊𝒅 × 𝟏𝟎𝟎%)
𝑹𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒚 = 9
𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒍𝒖𝒊𝒅
FRACTURING FLUID AND FRACTURE
CONDUCTIVITY

Figure 2 : Typical values for

fluid type and retained
fracture conductivity

❑ The type and concentration of polymer used to prepare the fracturing fluid effects the fracture
conductivity. This figure illustrates a number of different fracturing fluids – retained fracture
conductivities of between 50% and 100% are observed. 10
FRACTURING FLUID AND FRACTURE
CONDUCTIVITY

Figure 2 : Typical values for

fluid type and retained
fracture conductivity

❑ The skin effect due to the filter cake or fracturing fluid – reservoir rock incompatibility has little
effect on the reservoir inflow performance providing the permeability damage is not excessive.
This is due to the large inflow area of the hydraulic fracture surface. The effective fracture width open
to flow and the proppant permeability are the key parameters controlling the fracture flow capacity. 11
FRACTURING FLUID AND FRACTURE
CONDUCTIVITY

Figure 3 : Typical values for

proppant concentration and
retained fracture conductivity

❑ It can be inferred from the figure that the values measured for this retained conductivity are dependent on the fracture
width or the number of layers of proppant (there are three proppant layers in the figure). This is because embedment of
the proppant layers in the fracturing fluid filter cake and in the fracture face itself becomes progressively more important
to the final fracture conductivity as the number of layers of proppant grains decreases. The number of proppant layers can
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also be expressed as a proppant loading (weight of proppant per unit fracture area).
FRACTURING FLUID AND FRACTURE
CONDUCTIVITY

Figure 4 : Chemical breaker

concentration and retained
fracture conductivity

❑ The chemical breaker added to degrade the fluid viscosity is capable of partially destroying the filter cake. This is
made clearer in the figure where an increase in the breaker concentration, in this case ammonium persulphate,
results in greatly increased retained fracture conductivity.

❑ However, addition of large concentrations of breaker to the fracturing fluid is not a viable approach since this will
result in the fluid viscosity being degraded during, rather than after, the hydraulic fracturing treatment. 13
FRACTURING FLUID AND FRACTURE
CONDUCTIVITY

Figure 4 : Chemical breaker

concentration and retained
fracture conductivity

❑ This early decrease in fracturing fluid viscosity will prevent the (denser) proppant being transported to the tip of the
fracture. Instead, the proppant will sink to the bottom of the fracture under the influence of gravity and a premature
screen out can result.

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FRACTURING FLUID AND FRACTURE
CONDUCTIVITY

Figure 5 : A summary of factors

affecting proppant conductivity

𝑭𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒚 = 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 × (𝑭𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝑾𝒊𝒅𝒕𝒉) × (𝑺𝒍𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏) × 𝑲𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒑

Where 𝐾𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑝 is the permeability of the proppant. Larger proppant grains will have a greater permeability. 15
FRACTURING FLUID AND FRACTURE
CONDUCTIVITY
❑ Reduced effective permeability is due to :

1. High rate (non-Darcy or turbulent), flow effects. These can be particularly important when
stimulating gas wells.

2. Multiphase flow effects (as observed during oil production).

3. Greater activity from the chemical breaker at higher bottom hole temperatures leading to greater
retained fracture conductivity or early loss of fracture fluid viscosity leading to premature proppant
settling.

❑ Gradual “clean up” (reduction in water saturation from the fracturing fluid in the near-fracture
formation). This leads to a long term increase in the effective permeability of this formation situated
next to the hydraulic fracture. This process can take many months after hydraulically fracturing a low
permeability formation. 16
FRACTURING FLUID AND FRACTURE
CONDUCTIVITY

Figure 6 : Fluid loss coefficient

controls the created fracture length

𝑭𝒍𝒖𝒊𝒅 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒚

𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅

=
𝒕𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒍𝒖𝒊𝒅 𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒎𝒆 𝒑𝒖𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒅

❑ Figure 6 illustrates the effect of fluid loss coefficient on the created fracture length as a function of fluid volume
pumped. This fluid loss coefficient determines the fluid efficiency. The best estimate of the fluid efficiency when
designing a specific well hydraulic fracturing candidate is to measure the fluid efficiency during a mini frac treatment.
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TIPS SCREEN OUT
❑ Tip Screen Out (TSO) is a process which involves the pumping of the proppant slurry early during
the fracturing treatment. When the first proppant arrives at the fracture tip it forms a “bridge”, or
proppant plug at the tip (the TSO).

❑ The proppant plug has a relatively high pressure drop across it compared to the fracture.
This reduces the fluid pressure acting on the fracture tip, so that further fracture length growth is
halted and fracture width growth can begin to provide the extra fracture volume to accommodate
any further volumes of proppant slurry injected into the fracture.

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TIPS SCREEN OUT

Figure 7 : Fracture width inflation with the tip-screen out technique

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 Photo Courtesy of rigzone.com

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TYPES OF PROPPING AGENT
▪ Commonly used proppants :

❑ Naturally occurring proppant (sand varieties)

❑ Northern White (Ottawa)

❑ Brown (Brady)

❑ Commercial proppants (ceramics)

❑ Combination of both naturally occurring and commercial (resin-coated sands)

❑ North America – sand

❑ Outside America – bauxite & ceramic

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TYPES OF PROPPING AGENT

Photo credit to :
http://www.carboceramics.com/products-and-services/fracture-technologies/high-conductivity-sand-proppant 22
OTTAWA SANDS

❑ Ottawa sands are smooth, uniform, and generally white

❑ High roundness and sphericity and lack of dust
❑ Monocrystalline (single crystal phase) 23
BRADY SANDS
❑ Slightly darker in color than Ottawa sands.
❑ These sands are characterized by their
impurities, color, and angularity.
❑ Brady sands are polycrystalline - each
whole grain is composed of one quartz
crystal bonded together.
❑ The deposits contain impurities such as
feldspars and clays.
❑ In general, fracture sands are used at net
closure stresses below 6,000 psig.
Brady sands are course, faceted, and generally dark

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SINTERED BAUXITE
❑ Sintered bauxite is an inert, high-strength
ceramic proppant made from aluminum
ore.

❑ Useful in high-closure-stress wells where

high crush resistance is necessary to allow
good fracture conductivity.

❑ A drawback to this type of proppant is

the high density that reduces its ability to
be transported long distances.
Sintered bauxite resists stress but can be
transported over only short distances into the formation
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RESIN COATED PROPPANTS

Resin-coated sands resist stress and are easier to control 26

RESIN COATED PROPPANTS
❑ To increase the strength of a proppant and to keep the proppant in place, the propping agent can
be coated or encapsulated with resin.

❑ Coating or encapsulating a proppant generally improves its overall downhole stability.

❑ Resin-coated proppants improve well stimulation results by preventing flowback, or fracture

evacuation, near the wellbore.

❑ The deformable coating protects the resin-coated proppants from crushing and helps resist
embedment in softer formations.

❑ The tough coating is chemically inert in crude oils, brines, and most acids.

❑ The resin-coated materials work best under actual downhole conditions since the closure stress and
temperature help lock the materials in the fracture for the life of the well.
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CURABLE RESIN COATED SAND &
PRE-CURED RESIN COATED SAND
CURABLE RESIN COATED SAND
❑ This type of proppant uses the application where
the curable coating bonds the sand grains together
after they are placed in the fracture.
❑ This application is very useful in preventing
flowback.
❑ Curable resin coating is not limited to sand; other
proppants such as sintered bauxite and intermediate
density proppants can be used.
PRE-CURED RESIN COATED SAND
❑ Similar to cured resin-coated sand.
❑ However, the resin coating is now cured by heating
the coating during the manufacturing process.
❑ The resin coating is helpful in prevention of fines
migration of crushed fines during manufacture.
❑ It is very resistive to destruction from hot formation
brines and crude oils up to 1500F.
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SUMMARY

Fracturing Fluid Types of

and Fracture Propping
Conductivity Agents

Tips
Screen Out

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Have you achieved
the learning
outcomes today?

Any thoughts?
 THANK YOU

© 2017 INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY PETRONAS SDN BHD 31

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