olymer lnduced damage

olymer soluLlons wlLh vlscoslLles of several hundred cenLlpolses aL reservolr LemperaLures would
creaLe a hlghly unfavorable moblllLy for Lhe posLLreaLmenL producLlon of reservolr flulds
lurLhermore whlle Lhe ln[ecLed concenLraLlons may be 20 Lo 60 lb/100 gal slurry dehydraLlon
because of fllLraLe leakoff lnLo Lhe reservolr would rapldly lncrease Lhe polymer concenLraLlon
wlLhln Lhe fracLure Lo several hundred lb/100 gal 8educLlon of Lhese deLrlmenLal effecLs ls
accompllshed Lhrough Lhe selecLlon of less damaglng fracLurlng fluld formulaLlons and especlally
by Lhe lnLroducLlon of beLLer breakers aL Lhe approprlaLe concenLraLlons ln Lhe laLe 1980s S1lM
LA8 ploneered Lhe LesLlng of fracLurlng flulds under reallsLlc pressure and LemperaLure condlLlons
and llkely proppanL concenLraLlons a fracLure (1 Lo 2 lb/fL2) 1helr resulLs have shown LhaL ln
addlLlon Lo Lhe obvlous hlgher polymer loadlngs damage Lhe fracLure conducLlvlLy more Lhan
lower loadlngs Lhe Lype crossllnker has a ma[or effecL
lrom Lhe flrsL flndlng as should be expecLed foams coupled wlLh Lhelr lnherenL ease of cleanup
are Lhe leasL damaglng flulds 1he reLalned proppanL pack permeablllLy ls frequenLly over 93
lor aqueous polymer soluLlons and Lhelr reLalned proppanLpack permeablllLy Lhe Lype of
crossllnked ls far more crlLlcal 1able 171 (1homas and 8rown 1989) shows clearly LhaL boraLe
crossllnked flulds AlLhough Lhe Lype of breaker has an lmpacL (eg a persufalLe/amlne breaker
performs beLLer Lhan an enzyme breaker) Lhe dlfference from Lhe Lype of crossllnker ls domlnanL
1hus boraLecrossllnked flulds should be used wlLhln Lhelr range of appllcaLlon (1223l lnsLead of
fracLurlng flulds wlLh oLher crossllnkers



llnally Lhe breaker concenLraLlon musL be such as Lo accommodaLe Lhe lncreased polymer
concenLraLlLon wlLhln Lhe fracLure
SuggesLs LhaL whlle Lhe breaker concenLraLlon should be subsLanclal (4 Lo 3 lb/1000 gal) larger
concenLraLlons (6 lb/1000 gal) would noL resulL ln appreclable lmprovemenL ln Lhe proppanL
pack permeablllLy

LfeccL of Lhe breaker concenLraLlon on reLalned permeablllLy of 20/40 norLherm WhlLe sand
Cngolng research ls consLlnuously seeklng beLLer and more effecLlve breakers and several new
producLs are emerglng aL Lhe Llme of Lhls wrlLlng
roppant se|ect|on for fracture des|ng
ln Lhe absence of a propplng maLerlal a creaLed hydraullc fracLure wlll heal shorLly afLer Lhe
fracLurlng pressure dlsslpaLes lnLo Lhe reservolr naLural sand ls Lhe mosL common proppanL
especlally ln lowsLress formaLlons
Much of Lhe sLresslnduced permeablllLy reducLlon of a proppanL pack ls caused by Lhe crushlng
of Lhe parLlcles and mlgraLlon of fragmenLs lnLo Lhe pore space of Lhe pack
A Lhln coaLlng of resln applled Lo Lhe sand gralns noL only lmproves Lhelr sLrengLh buL also
reLalns fragmenLs lf already crushed 1here are several varleLles of reslncoaLed sand wlLh Lhe
resln precured or hardened durlng manufacLurlng or ln slLu 8eslngs are also used wlLh Lhe
proppanL Lallln" Lo prevenL flowback afLer a LreaLmenL PlghersLress formaLlons requlre hlgLher
sLrenghL porppanLs ManufacLured ceramlc lnLermedlaLesLrenghL proppanLs (lSs) and even
hlghersLrengLh proppanLs such as slnLered bauxlLe or zlrconlum oxlde are used frequenLly
1he properLles of proppanLs LhaL effecL Lhe success of hydraullc fracLurlng lnclude graln slze graln
slze dlsLrlbuLlon quallLy( amounL of lmpurlLles) roundness and spherlclLy proppanL denslLy and
Lhe poroslLy of Lhe proppanL pack All of Lhese proplerLles affecL Lhe lnlLlal and especlally Lhe long
Lerm proppanL pack permeabllLy whlch ln Lurn effecLs Lhe conduLlvlLy of Lhe fracLure 1he
producL of Lhe permeablllLy/proppanL wldLh ls Lhe dlmensloned conducLlvlLy of Lhe fracLure
ln mdfL
1he grland slze dlsLrlbuLlon quallLy and roundness and spherlclLy are all affecLed by Lhe sLress
value (less roundness means greaLer posslblllLy for fragmenLs Lo be broken off)
1he subsequenL lodglng of Lhese broken fragmenLs along wlLh preexlsLlng lmpurlLles or smaller
spheres (ln a wlder range of parLlcles) lnLo Lhe pore space of Lhe proppanL pack resulLs ln an
lnavoldable reducLlon ln Lhe proppanL pack permeablllLy
1he oLher maln properLles such as mesh slze poroslLy and denslLy of Lhe mosL common
proppanLs are llsLed en Lable

roppant se|ect|on for fracture des|ngn
lf Lhe proppanL concenLraLlon wlLhln Lhe fracLure Cp ls known Lhen maxlmun propped wldLh
(le wlLhouL proppanL embedmenL lnLo Lhe walls of Lhe fracLure) and Lhe number of parLlcle
dlameLers can be calculaLed lor example lf 20/40 mesh norLhern sand ls used and lf Cp 2lb/fL2
and p 04 (from Lable 172) Lhe propped wldLh (from eq 16101) ls 002 fL Slnce Lhe parLlcle
dlaameLer ls 00248 ln Lhe calculed propped wldLh ls equal Lo more Lhan nlne parLlcle dlameLers
As proppanLs are sub[eLec Lo hlgher sLress Lhey crush and Lhe proppanL pack permeablllLy ls
reduced llgure 1718 ls an example of Lhe permeablllLy and assoclaLed conducLlvlLy reducLlon
versus sLress for a sand Cn Lhe lefL slde ls Lhe reduLlon wlLh lncreaslng sLress
lor a sLress lncrease from 1000 Lo 3000 psl Lhe reducLlon ls from 310 darcles Lo 93 darcles
rolonged exposure aL hlgher sLress leads Lo an addlLlonal reducLlon becouse of faLlgue and flnal
redlsLrlbuLlon of Lhe fragmenLs 1he rlde slde of Lhe flg 178 shows Lhls reducLlon where Lhe
permeablllLy drops down Lo 40 darcles represenLlng almosL an orderof magnlLude reducLlon from
Lhe orlglnal value aL 1000 psl sLress
LongLerm proppanL permeablllLy/conducLlvlLy LesLlng ls now Lhe norm and daLa exlsL for a varleLy
of proppanLs slzes and concenLraLlons wlLhln Lhe fracLure llgure 179 (daLa from penny 1988)
shows Lhe reducLlon ln Lhe fracLure conducLlvlLy for several 20/40 mesh proppanLs Sands
undergo a very severe conducLlvlLy reducLlon (more Lhan 20fold) for a sLress lncrease from 2000
Lo 8000 psl reslncoaLed sand undergoes only a Lhrerfold reducLlon wlLhln Lhe same sLress range

lS also undergoes conducLlvlLy reducLlon buL boLh Lhe relaLlve reducLlon ls lower (2Lo 23 fold)
and especlally Lhe magnlLude remalns hlgh 1he conducLlvlLy of lS ls more Lhan an order of
magnlLude larger Lhan LhaL of sand aL 8000 psl
Larger proppanL slzes have larger permeablllLles Powever aL hlgher sLress larger slze parLlcles
are more suscepLlble Lo crushlng because as graln slze lncreases sLrengLh decreases 1herefore
Lhe relaLlve reducLlon of Lhe permeablllLy/conducLlvlLy of largerslze proppanLs wlLh lncreaslng
sLress ls larger Coupled wlLh Lhe facL LhaL large parLlcles form larger pore slzes where fragmenLs
can mlgraLe Lhelr advanLages may dlsappear aL hlgher sLresses lL ls concelvable LhaL Lhe
permeablllLy /conducLlvlLy of a largerslze proppanL aL hlgher sLress may be less LhaL of a smaller
slze proppanL CompleLe seLs of daLa for mosL common proppanLs can be found ln enny (1986)
and enny (1988)
LmbedmenL ls an addlLlonal facLor for proppanLpack permeablllLy reducLlon aL hlgher sLress lL
affecLs parLlcularly hlghersLrengLh proppanLs LowersLrengLh proppanLs may crush lnsLead of
embed 1he relaLlve reducLlon ln lower proppanL concenLraLlons wlLhln a sand and lS buL wlLh
Cp 1 lb/fL2 Comparlson wlLh Lhe daLa ln flg 179 (for Cp 2 lb/fL2) Lhe conducLlvlLy raLlos for
sand beLween Lhe values aL 2000 4000 and 6000 psl are 22 20 and 19 respecLlvely lor lS Lhe
raLlos for 2000 4000 6000 8000 and 10000 psl are 22 28 38 44 and 44 respecLlvely
reflecLlng Lhe larger relaLlve lmpacL of embedmenL aL Lhe lower proppanL concenLraLlon 1hus
crushlng and embedmenL are Lwo maln sLresslnduced effecLs on Lhe fracLure
permeablllLy/conducLlvlLy reducLlon ln deslgnlng a hydraullc fracLure LreaLmenL Lhe resulLlng
conducLlvlLy musL be balanced agalnsL Lhe cosL Whlle Lhe cosL of lS or hlghersLrengLh
proppanLs are greaLer aL hlgher sLresses Lhese maLerlals reLaln Lhelr conducLlvlLy Pence ln a
deslng










1hree oLher varlables fall under Lhe second caLegory where parLlal conLrol may be ln Lhe hands of
Lhe deslgnlng englneer 1hese lnclude Lhe fracLure helghL leakoof coefflclenL and Lhe endof[ob
proppanL slurry concenLraLlon 1hese varlables are classlfled under parLlal conLrol because Lhey
also depend on reservolr and formaLlon characLerlsLlcs such as Lhe presence of flasures poor
lnLerlayer sLress conLrasL and hlgh LemperaLure for whlch only llmlLed capablllLy ls afforded Lo
Lhe deslgner
1he fracLure helghL depends on Lhe sLress conLrasL beLween Lhe LargeL and ad[olnlng layers and ls
a funcLlon of Lhe neL fracLurlng pressure lf Lhe sLress conLrasL ls large Lhen larger neL pressure ls
Lolerable 1he opposlLe ls Lrue for a small sLress conLrasL 1hls relaLlonshlp was ouLllned ln secLlon
166 lrom Lq (1636) provldlng Lhe approxlmaLlon for neL fracLurlng pressure wlLh Lhe kn
model lL can be concluded readlly LhaL fracLure lengLh can grow aL consLanL Apf (and Lhus keeplng
Lhe fracLure helghL largely consLanL ) lf Lhe ln[ecLlon raLe or Lhe vlscoslLy or boLh are reduced
AL flrsL efflclency for Lhe glven leakoff coefflclenL (CL 3 x 10 3 fL/ ralz mln) can be calculaLed 1hls
ls slmply a soluLlon of Lhe maLerlal balance equaLlon (Lq (1679)) for each fracLure helghL as
shown ln Lxample 1610 1he resulLs for varlous hf/h raLlos are shown ln flg 1710 where as
should be expecLed Lhe efflclency lncreases hf 1hls ls noL a parLlcularly aLLracLlve Lhlng slnce
fracLure helghL peneLraLlng a nonproduclng lnLerval ls useless lf lL peneLraLes anoLher permeable
formaLlon lL may be worse uurlng execuLlon excesslve leakoff may lead Lo a screenouL durlng
producLlon problems of zonal lsolaLlon may arlse













CerLalnly larger fracLure helghL mlgraLlon would lead Lo larger LoLal fluld and proppanL
requlremenLs ln llg 1711 Lhe LoLal ln[ecLed volume for varlous hf/h raLlos ls ploLLed agalnsL xf AL
xf 1600 fL Lhe volume requlremenL for hf/ h 13 are 3 x 10 3 gal whereas for hf/h 3 Lhe volume
requlremenL are 44 x 10 3 gal ( conslderlng only flulds) Lhls would mean an addlLlonal cosL of
$140000
Slmllarly Lhe mass of proppanL would be subsLanLlally larger 1hls ls shown ln llg 1712 Agaln for
xf 1600 fL Lhe mass of proppanL for hf/h 13 would be 84 x 10 3 lb whereas for hf/h 3 lL would
be 183 x 10 6 lb a dlfference of over 1 mllllon pounds and aL $04 lb Lhls would mean an
addlLlonal cosL of $400000

1he calculaLlon of Lhe mass of proppanL requlremenLs was presenLed ln SecLlon 169 1he leakoff
coefflclenL ls Lhe second varlable where Lhe deslgner has parLlal conLrol ln SecLlon 167 Lhe
lmporLance of reduclng Lhe leakoff coefflclenL was made evldenL by Lhe presenLaLlon of Lhe
maLerlal balance durlng execuLlon ln SecLlon 172 meLhods of leakoff conLrol were menLloned
llgure 1713 shows Lhe slgnlflcanL lmpacL of Lhe leakoff coefflclenL on Lhe efflclency for a range of
fracLure lengLhs (and hf/h 2) AL xf 1600 fL and CL 3 x 103 fL/ralz mln Lhe efflclency n would be
only 0026 llnally Lhe endof[ob proppanL concenLraLlon dependlng on Lhe selecLlon of Lhe
approprlaLe fracLurlng fluld and lLs proppanLLransporLaLlng ablllLles ls Lhe Lhlrd varlable under
parLlal conLrol of Lhe deslgner lor Lhe glven leakoff coefflclenL (CL 3 x 10 3 fL/ ralz mln) and
fracLure helghL mlgraLlon (hf/h0 2) 1he masses of proppanL LhaL can be placed ln Lhe fracLure are
shown ln llg 1714
AL xf 1600 fL and wlLh endof[ob proppanL concenLraLlon cf equal Lo 6 8 and 10 ppg Lhe masses
of proppanL would be 7 x 10 3 93 x 10 3 and 117 x 10 6 lb respecLlvely 1he correspondlng
wldLhs and fracLure conducLlvlLles would follow Lhe same Lrends ln a moderaLe Lo hlgh
permeablllLy formaLlon an lncrease ln Lhe conducLlvlLy bL 67 (117/07) would mean a ma[or
lncrease ln posLLreaLmenL well performance