Hydraulic Fracturing

• The hydraulic fracturing process has been employed to enhance the production
of oil and gas from underground reservoirs.
• In the process, the frac-fluid is pumped at a high pressure into a selected
section of wellbore.
• This fluid pressure creates a fracture extending into the porous medium (oil or
gas).
• Wells drilled in low to moderate-permeability reservoirs are candidates for
hydraulic fracturing as a means of stimulating their performance.
• Injection of fluids at a pressure sufficiently high to cause tensile failure of the
rock.
• At fracture initiation pressure, rock opens and as additional fluids are injected
the opening is extended and fracture propagates.
• To increase the rate or productivity and/or to improve ultimate recovery
• In HF fluid is injected into a well to create tensile stresses in a formation
exposed to the fluid pressure, causing local stresses in the formation to exceed
the tensile strength of the rock.
• This creates a crack or fracture propagating into the formation from the
wellbore as fluid continues to be injected at high rate.
• Proppant such as sand may be injected with the fluid to maintain conductivity
pathway for fluids to flow from reservoir to wellbore.
• Acid may be used to etch the face of the crack in some formations and process
is referred as acid fracturing.
• A hydraulic fracturing job is divided into two stages:
 Pad stage: Only fracturing fluid is injected into the well to break down the
formation and create a pad.
 Slurry stage: After the pad grows to a desirable size, the slurry stage is started.
During the slurry stage, the fracturing fluid is mixed with sand/proppant in a
blender and the mixture is injected into the pad/fracture.
• After filling the fracture with sand/proppant, the fracturing job is over and the
pump is shut down.
• Apparently, to reduce the injection rate requirement, a low leaf-off fracturing
fluid is essential.
• Also, to prop the fracture, the sand/proppant should have a compressive
strength that is high enough to resist the stress from the formation.
tulsaworld
Breakdown Pressure: The pressure required to
break down the formation and initiate fracture.
Propagation pressure: Pressure required to
continually enlarge the fracture.
Instantaneous Shut-in-Pressure: Pressure
required to just hold the fracture open

Idealized pressure behaviour during fracturing

• The instantaneous shut-in pressure measured by stopping the flow will depend on the width of the
fracture at this point and pore pressure surrounding the fracture.
• After shut-in, stresses in the earth squeeze the fluid in the fracture until the fracture walls
close in the proppant or on the etched walls on an acid fracture.
• When the walls close and support the earth’s stresses, the pressure will decrease rapidly as more fluid
leaks off into the formation.
• The shown pressure behavior is highly idealistic, rarely all the pressures will be observed in treatment.
The principle apparently governing the orientation of
a fracture is that the crack opens and widens in an
orientation requiring the least work.
In the figure, crack is shown to be perpendicular to σx
smaller of the 3 principal stresses.
Fractures should occur along planes normal to least
principal stress.
The state of stress in the subsurface is a complex
function of the depth and the tectonic activity in the
region.

Some of the fluid is lost to the formation since the fluid pressure in the fracture is higher
than the pressure of the fluid in the pores. This fluid loss is sometimes called as leak-off.
• Selection of fluid capable of transporting and
holding proppant particles in suspension until the
fracture has closed is important design
consideration.

• Materials such as glass beads, walnut shells, plastic

beads and aluminum pellets have been used earlier
to prop hydraulic fractures.

• With the improvement of fracture fluids, sand and

bauxite are commonly used.

• Sand: for all types of reservoirs, less expensive than

other types of proppant, should not contain more
than 5wt% fines (excess quantities may reduce
fracture conductivity).

• Sintered bauxite: high strength proppant

(compressive strength in very high), doesn’t crush
as readily as sand under high closure stresses,
denser than sand, designed fracture fluid should be
more viscous to transport bauxite.
Figure depicting various modes of
proppant arrangements
 In-situ Stresses

The most readily understood stress is the vertical stress, which corresponds
to the weight of the overburden.

Formation depth
vertical stress

Density of formation
σv in psi
average density of overburden formation, lb/ft3

In porous medium, weight of overburden will be carries by both grains and fluid present in
pore space, an effective stress is given by:
Poisson’s ratio
Effective horizontal stress

pore pressure, psi.

Biot’s proelastic constant, minimum horizontal stress
approx. 0.7
 Maximum horizontal stress:

tectonic stress contribution

• Three principal stresses can be identified in a formation
• The fracture direction will be normal to the smallest of the three.

Breakdown pressure has been given by Terzaghi (1923) and for a vertical well:

where σH,min and σH,max are the minimum and maximum horizontal stresses, respectively,
To is the tensile stress of the rock, and p is the reservoir pressure

Fracture geometry:
Radial Fracture Model
• Simple radial (penny-shaped) crack/fracture was first presented by Sneddon and Elliot
(1946)

• This occurs when there are no barriers constraining height growth or when a horizontal
fracture is created.
 Assuming the fracture width drops linearly in
the radial direction, the average fracture
width may be expressed as:

The KGD Model

Geertsma and de Klerk (1969)
The average width of the KGD fracture is
expressed as:

Reasonable approximation for a fracture with height

much greater than its length. Applicable to approximate
the geometry of fractures where hf >> xf. Thus, it should
not be used in cases where long fracture lengths are
generated The KGD fracture geometry
The PKN model
• Perkins and Kern (1961) also derived a solution for a fixed
height vertical fracture.
• Nordgren (1972) added leakoff and storage within the
fracture (due to increasing width) to the Perkins and Kern model.
• The average width of the PKN fracture is expressed as:

PKN solution is only valid when the fracture length is

at least three times the height.
Rock properties have a much larger impact on the fracture width

“The three models discussed in this section all assume that the fracture is planar, that is, fracture
propagates in a particular direction (perpendicular to the minimum stress),
fluid flow is one-dimensional along the length (or radius) of the fracture, and leakoff behavior is
governed by a simple expression derived from filtration theory. The
rock in which the fracture propagates is assumed to be a continuous, homogeneous, isotropic linear
elastic solid, and the fracture is considered to be of fixed height (PKN
and KGD) or completely confined in a given layer (radial). The KGD and PKN models assume respectively
that the fracture height is large or small relative to length, while the
radial model assumes a circular shape. Since these models were developed, numerous extensions have
been made, which have relaxed these assumptions.”
Productivity of Fractured Wells

Apparently, the productivity of fractured wells depends on two steps:

 receiving fluids from formation

 transporting the received fluid to the wellbore

When fracture dimension is much less than the drainage area of the well, the long-term
productivity of the fractured well can be estimated assuming pseudo-radial flow in the
reservoir.
where Sf is the equivalent skin factor.
 Relationship
between fracture
conductivity and
equivalent skin
factor
(Cinco-Ley and
Samaniego, 1981).
A hydraulic fracturing design should follow the following procedure:
1. Select a fracturing fluid
• Fluid loss is a major fracture design variable characterized by a fluid-loss coefficient CL
and a spurt-loss coefficient Sp.
• Excessive fluid loss prevents fracture propagation because of insufficient fluid volume
accumulation in the fracture.
• Therefore, a fracture fluid with the lowest possible value of fluid-loss (leak-off)
coefficient CL should be selected.
• Viscosity affects transporting, suspending, and deposition of proppants, as well as back-
flowing after treatment. It should be controlled in a range suitable for the treatment.
• Compatibility with reservoir fluids and rock, compatibility with other materials
(e.g.,resin-coated proppant), compatibility with operating pressure and temperature, and
safety and environmental concerns.

A material balance between total fluid injected, created fracture volume Vf, and fluid leakoff
VL can be written: where q is the injection rate, t is the injection time, Af is the
i i
fracture area, CL is the leakoff coefficient, and rp, is the ratio
of the net to fracture height (h/hf). The variable KL is related
to the fluid efficiency
Additives:
• Bactericide: As Bacteria attacks the organic polymers, destroying the bonds and,
unavoidably, reducing the viscosity.
• Buffers: In batch-mixed systems, powdered polymers must be first dispersed and then
hydrated. A higher pH is necessary for proper dispersion. This can be accomplished with
a base. For hydration, though, the pH must be lowered. Materials such as weak organic
acids are the preferred buffers.
• Stabilizers. In addition to the inherent viscosity thinning caused by the elevated reservoir
temperature, free oxygen attacks the polymers and, as should be expected, this
degradation reaction increases with increasing temperature. Additives such as sodium
thiosulfate or methanol are used as free oxygen "scavengers," trapping the oxygen and
removing it from the reaction path.
• Fluid loss additives. Fluid loss and its control are critical to a successful fracture
execution. Usually, in largely homogeneous formations, a filter cake deposited on the
walls of the fracture is an adequate means of leakoff control. In fissured or naturally
fractured formations, particulates such as silica flour or oil-soluble but water-insoluble
resins can be used for additional leakoff control.
• Surfactants. Wettability changes may result at the fracture face or in the associated
invaded zone. Surfactants are added to facilitate the post treatment clean up.
• Breakers. Unsuccessful degradation of the polymer chains, following the treatment
execution, is highly detrimental to the well performance. Thermally activated breakers
are used at times in wells with temperatures over 225°F. Chemical breakers are added in
cooler wells.
2. Proppant selection

• A thin coating of resin, applied to the sand

grains, improves their strength and also
retains fragments if already crushed.
• There are several varieties of resin-coated
sand with the resin precured or hardened
during manufacturing or in situ.
• The grain size distribution, quality, and
roundness and sphericity are all affected
by the stress value (less roundness means
greater possibility for fragments to be
broken off.).
• The subsequent lodging of these broken
fragments, along with pre-existing
impurities or smaller spheres (in a wider
range of particles) into the pore space of
the proppant pack results in an
unavoidable reduction in the proppant
pack permeability.
3. Maximum allowable treatment pressure

Psi = surface injection pressure, psia

Pbd = formation breakdown pressure, psia
∆Ph = hydrostatic pressure drop, psia
∆Pf = frictional pressure drop, psia

4. Fracture propagation model

An appropriate fracture propagation model is selected for the formation characteristics and
pressure behaviour on the basis of in situ stresses and laboratory tests.

5. Treatment size
Fluid and proppant volumes are controlled by fracture length, injection rate, and leak-off
properties (Guo et al).

6. Perform production forecast and NPV analyses

The hydraulic fracturing design is finalized on the basis of production forecast and NPV
analyses.
 In addition to the pressure-matching and pressure buildup data analyses, other
techniques can be used to verify the fracture profile created during a fracpack operation.
These techniques include (1) pumping radioactive materials in the proppant stages and
running tracer logs to verify the fracture heights, (2) running production logging tools to
determine the production profiles, and (3) conducting back-pressure and performing
Nodal analysis to verify the well deliverability.
Flow regimes that can occur in hydraulically fractured reservoirs

For more information refer text books:

• Guo et al., 2007. Petroleum
Production Engineering, A computer
Assisted approach. Elsevier Science &
Technology Books.
• Economides et al. Petroleum
Production Systems. Prentice Hall.
FRAC JOB EVALUATION TECHNIQUES

Production tests and decline curves are one of the most important methods of measuring the
effectiveness of a frac job, and modifying treatment technique for subsequent jobs.
Insufficient Initial Response may be related to:
-Fracture conductivity
-Damage mechanisms restricting flow even though adequate fracture geometry was obtained.
Damage may be related to the treatment fluids-or to damage occurring as the well is returned
to production after the treatment.
- Insufficient coverage in multi or thick zones.
-Fracturing out of zone .
Rapid Production Decline may be related to:
-Limited reservoir which is quickly exhausted.
-Reduction of fracture conductivity with time due to movement of fines from the face of the
matrix.
 Assignment-3
Prepare a presentation. You may choose any topic from the list given below:
• Sandstone acidizing
• Carbonate acidizing
• Hydraulic fracturing
• Formation damage
• Hydraulic fracturing in shale gas formation
• Intermittent Gas Lift
• Gas lift valves
• Application of ESP in CBM wells
• Progressive cavity pump
• Well completion for artificial lift
• Coiled Tubing Unit
• Sand Production

Note:
• Maximum 10 slides.
• Copying from others is strictly prohibited.
• First slide should contain your name, title and roll number.
• Last slide should focus mainly on conclusions.
• For figures include source link/reference etc.

Submit your presentation to peassignments2020@gmail.com on or before May 1, 2020