Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Maurice Dusseault
MBDCI
medium k sand
medium k sand
shales
medium k sand
Problem Solution
Concept developed by Statoil Arthur Bale
MBDCI
Equipment issues
HF Modeling
growth
4-C Hydraulic Fracture Geomechanics
Stress assumptions
for analysis Pressures vs time
Courtesy Natchiq Corp
MBDCI
Conventional Assumptions
sulphur
Fractures reflect the local stress field,
salt
saltdome and tend to elongate asymmetrically
dome
gas
4-C Hydraulic Fracture Geomechanics
fracture oil
Close
wells
salt
A A
Impact of Assumptions
In soft, weak sandstones, the various
assumptions made in fracture modeling lead
to a number of problems
Length in SWR greatly over-predicted
4-C Hydraulic Fracture Geomechanics
So What Do We Do??
We behave as responsible engineers:
Recognize that models are simplifications
Learn more about stresses, geomechanics
Behavior of Hydraulically
Induced Fractures
4-C Hydraulic Fracture Geomechanics
MBDCI
?
Upward ? Twisting
Pay
fracture fractures
growth Pay
? ?
Perfect
fracture
Multiple fractures T-shaped
dipping from vertical fractures
Pinnacle Tech. Ltd.
MBDCI
Locally, fracture 3
follows fabric;
globally, fractures
Local stress field around
follow stress fields the borehole (10 D max)
4-C Hydraulic Fracture Geomechanics
Or Or
4-C Hydraulic Fracture Geomechanics
500 ft
1200 ft
Pay
zone
Pay zone
4-C Hydraulic Fracture Geomechanics
Pay zone
Pay zone
pressure
deficiency
MBDCI
injection
wellbore
4-C Hydraulic Fracture Geomechanics
shale t4
overburden
t3
reservoir
t2
t1
perforations
MBDCI
Horizontal Fractures
At shallow depth, heated or large V cases,
tectonic stress cases (3 = v, thrust regime)
Tend to climb away from injection point
Tend to be highly asymmetric in shape
4-C Hydraulic Fracture Geomechanics
fracture
pans-out
3 under shale
Fracture grows in
the zone of lower
hmin
Key!!
depth
sandstone
shale
limestone
shale
depth depth
Pore pressure distribution
GoM Case
In the GoM, it is typical that the shales have
higher lateral stresses than the sands
In other words, PF (shales) > PF (sands)
This provides a stress barrier to upward
4-C Hydraulic Fracture Geomechanics
stress
Preferential
hmin v propagation in the
zone of lower hmin
4-C Hydraulic Fracture Geomechanics
Initial
Fracture fracture
Normal
retreat growth
case
phase
depth
MBDCI
increase as well
p
secondary fracture
3 +3 dilated zone
fracture tip
to the fracture
Near the well, it now becomes easiest to
propagate in a different direction
This is done deliberately in Fracn Pack
Also, the injection plane may flip back and
forth between the two directions
This has been measured in real frac jobs
4-C Hydraulic Fracture Geomechanics Spanish Peaks
MBDCI
4-C Hydraulic Fracture Geomechanics Spanish Peaks
MBDCI
MBDCI
vertical frac
4-C Hydraulic Fracture Geomechanics
horizontal frac
initial
production
hmin injection
Increase in 3 Orientation
Sudden propagation
Bottom Hole Pressure
3
3
Non-Linear Response
propagation
bottomhole pressure
breakthrough
4-C Hydraulic Fracture Geomechanics
po
virgin reservoir pore pressure
non-linear response
time (constant pumping rate)
Fracture is initiated and grows well before it breaks through and extends
Permeability Effects
High k stratum generates massive blunting
Propagation potential reduced if a new high-
k stratum encountered (loss of hydraulic E)
In extremely low-k strata (shales), no bleed-
4-C Hydraulic Fracture Geomechanics
Low k
stratum
Blunting through
High k
high k zone effect
4-C Hydraulic Fracture Geomechanics
stratum
Low k
stratum
flow
l u id
F
Locally, fracture 3
follows fabric;
globally, fractures The strength of the intact rock
is not relevant in this case
follow stress
4-C Hydraulic Fracture Geomechanics
Cooling-Induced Fractures
To Water
displacement
To front
T
4-C Hydraulic Fracture Geomechanics
T
front
T
HMAX
hmin
T
MBDCI
Geothermal Fracturing
Daughter fractures
propagate at 90 to the
mother fracture, heat
exchange becomes better.
MBDCI
*Step-Rate Test
pressure
before injection
pfrac after injection
4-C Hydraulic Fracture Geomechanics
pfrac
rate
MBDCI
Monitoring Fractures
Dip = 0
Characteristic Maximum Displacement:
0.0020 inches
deformation pattern
makes it easy to Dip =90 Dip = 80
distinguish fracture Maximum Displacement: Maximum Displacement:
0.00045 inches
dip, horizontal and 0.00026 inches
4-C Hydraulic Fracture Geomechanics
vertical fractures
Gradual bulging of
earths surface for
horizontal fractures
Trough along
fracture azimuth for
vertical fractures
Dipping fracture
yields very
asymmetrical bulges
MBDCI
offset well
quite difficult
Depth
One solution is use
of borehole Fracture
tiltmeters
Mapping has
recently been Courtesy Pinnacle Technologies
Vertical Azimuth
4-C Hydraulic Fracture Geomechanics
Horizontal
Lessons Learned
HF behavior is complex, but understandable
Stress fields dominate fracture propagation
behavior, strength is almost irrelevant
Almost all fractures rise from buoyancy,
4-C Hydraulic Fracture Geomechanics