Case Study Channel Fracturing for High Production Improvement in a Tight Conglomeratic Sandstone Reservoir

Abstract

Channel fracturing becomes more popular as novel method of hydraulic fracturing, with increasingly successful in its implementation. This new method of fracturing, is pulsing proppant into formation instead of just continous pumping as in conventional fracturing. The proppant is mixed with fibrous material, which enables formation to sustain the closing pressure, even with the conductive channel within the fracture; it functions as the pillars of the fracture. The stimulated well is penetrated and producing from poorly sorting conglomeratic reservoir with secondary porosity and muddy micro-porosity; hinderes hydrocarbon flow to reservoir. A well was selected as a pilot well candidate, after reviewing the well test, it reached 230 BOPD. The permeability of the well is 1.78 mD with reservoir pressure of 1188 Psi. Recently, the well produces intermittently 9 to 20 BOPD, assisted by sucker rod pump artificial lift. Initial step is to evaluate the well by using Candidate Selective Factor (CSF), which is based on rock mechanics parameters and stresses within the formation. Afterward, initial design is constructed based on well parameter and its surrounding wells. After the pre-fracturing treatment, which consists of breakdown test, step rate test, and minifrac test, the fracuring operation is re-designed. The re-design includes the special pulsing pumping technique, and then followed by the mainfrac operation. In the actual operation, the proppant was pulsing into formation for eleven times. After channel fracturing, the productivity index of the well increased significantly by 10.3 times with an oil rate of 155 BOPD. Channel Fracturing; a novel technology of hydraulic fracturing; is not only increasingly succesful in its application for giving well production increase, but it also it uses materials that will give less probable of screen out. This method will be implemented in the whole field.