Insights on Potential Formation Damage Mechanisms Associated with Hydraulic Fracturing

Almubarak, Tariq; AlKhaldi, Mohammed; Panda, Saroj K.; Almubarak, Majed

doi:10.2523/iptc-18401-ms

Cited by 16 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 15 publications

(13 reference statements)

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“…In another study conducted on the same fracturing fluids used in this experiment, has shown that during the breaker treatment, the degradation of polymer increases with time. This shows that the breaker used in fracturing fluid was effective in breaking the polymer of the raw samples as per the laboratory test (Almubarak et al 2015). This needed to be confirmed with field fracturing fluid samples.…”

Section: Laboratory Analysis Resultsmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…Further to the flowback fluids analyses, an investigation of the factors that affect the cleanup performance was performed with the aid of PBU and a recently published laboratory work on the fracturing fluids used in the three treatments here (Almubarak et al 2015). It is found that the main factor greatly affecting fracture cleanup effectiveness is reservoir properties.…”

Section: Factors Affecting Cleanup Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…This effort has been made and published in a recent experimental study on samples of the raw fracturing fluids used for the three wells in this study. Almubarak et al (2015) proved that the effectiveness of the enzymes as breaking agents surpassed the other types.…”

Section: Well-cmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Optimization of Post-Hydraulic Fracturing Flowback Cleanup Utilizing Polymer Content Determination in Flowback Liquid Samples

Alali

Al-Anazi

Aziz

et al. 2016

SPE Europec Featured at 78th EAGE Conference and Exhibition

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Cross-linked gel hydraulic fracturing fluid can induce high damage in the fracture when left for a long period of time. Any residual gel not produced back reduces the conductivity of the fracture and the well productivity, leading to an extended flowback for cleanup operation, which is not cost-effective.The objective of this study is to assess cleanup operation effectiveness by conducting laboratory testing on the flowback fluid samples from hydraulically fractured wells. These development wells are located in a clastic gas field in Saudi Arabia. This Devonian age reservoir has a range of permeability varying tight rocks of 0.1 md that require stimulation to highly prolific rocks with more than a Darcy that produce naturally. The laboratory analysis technique that was used for assessing the cleanup effectiveness is based on determination of the polymer content in the flowback fracturing fluid with a size exclusion chromatography (SEC). This laboratory technique provides the polymer concentration in the return fluid in a series of samples collected throughout the cleanup operation, and based on its results coupled with the production performance, the polymer strength of the residual fracturing fluids can be inferred. This study shows that the SEC technique is effective in qualitatively determining the polymer concentration trend with the flowback time, to assess the residual polymer content. The results are useful in establishing trends for the effective flowback practices based on different reservoir and fracture characteristics, even if fracturing fluids contain breaking agents. Using the laboratory results to optimize these parameters, formation damage can be minimized and well productivity will be ultimately enhanced.This paper summarizes results from the chemical analyses of the flowback fluids from three gas wells that help establish the basis for the flowback cleanup behavior, matched with the reservoir characteristics, fracturing design, fracturing fluid formulations; and concludes with operational recommendations. This study was conducted for the first time in this field with the goal of optimizing flowback duration and cost, and minimizing formation damage; and thereby enhancing well productivity.

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Section: Laboratory Analysis Resultsmentioning

confidence: 81%

Section: Factors Affecting Cleanup Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Optimization of Post-Hydraulic Fracturing Flowback Cleanup Utilizing Polymer Content Determination in Flowback Liquid Samples

Alali

Al-Anazi

Aziz

et al. 2016

SPE Europec Featured at 78th EAGE Conference and Exhibition

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…To create long cracks, the fracturing fluid must settle gradually enough to carry the proppant. Low fluid loss, minimal pressure losses during transport via the tubing and fractures, and the ability to continue the flow after proppant placement are all necessary. , In addition, it needs to be suitable for use with formation fluids . In order to prevent any screenout during the treatment, it is also crucial that the fluid is resistant to shear and heat .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seawater-Based Fracturing Fluid: A Review

Budiman,

Alajmei

2023

ACS Omega

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Hydraulic fracturing uses a large amount of fresh water for its operation; conventional wells can consume up to 200 000 gallons of water, while unconventional wells could consume up to 16 million gallons. However, the world's fresh water supply is rapidly depleting, making this a critical and growing problem. Freshwater shortages during large-scale hydraulic fracturing in regions that lack water, such as the Arabian Peninsula and offshore operations, need to be addressed. One of the ways to address this problem is to substitute fresh water with seawater, which is a sustainable, cheap, and technically sufficient fluid that can be utilized as a fracturing fluid. However, its high salinity caused by the multitude of ions in it could induce several problems, such as scaling and precipitation. This, in turn, could potentially affect the viscosity and rheology of the fluid. There are a variety of additives that can be used to lessen the effects of the various ions found in seawater. This review explains the mechanisms of different additives (e.g., polymers, surfactants, chelating agents, cross-linkers, scale inhibitors, gel stabilizers, and foams), how they interact with seawater, and the related implications in order to address the above challenges and develop a sustainable and compatible seawater-based fracturing fluid. This review also describes several previous technologies and works that have treated seawater in order to produce a fluid that is stable at higher temperatures, that has a considerably reduced scaling propensity, and that has utilized a stable polymer network to efficiently carry proppant downhole. In addition, some of these previous works included field testing to evaluate the performance of the seawater-based fracturing fluid.

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“…Reservoir formation damage can result in substantial production capacity and economic loss; hence, understanding the underlying mechanisms of damages and then implementing corresponding protective measures on the target reservoir formation layer with low permeability so as to minimize the formation damage have very important significance for the construction of productivity and the discovery of target formations. − …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantitative Investigation of Water Sensitivity and Water Locking Damages on a Low-Permeability Reservoir Using the Core Flooding Experiment and NMR Test

Jiang

et al. 2022

ACS Omega

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Production of oil and gas energy is often greatly hindered by reservoir formation damage, particularly the occurrences of water sensitivity and water locking damages on a low-permeability reservoir. For the purpose of this paper, a formation damage assessment methodology combining core flooding experiment and NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) T 2 relaxation tests is performed and applied to quantitatively determine water sensitivity/water locking damage on sandstone oil formation. XRD tests are used to analyze the mineral composition of cores. Core flooding experiments are designed to simulate the two damages and determine the permeability reduction. NMR tests are introduced to compare water saturation before and after flooding through rock cores, calculate the porosity damage and changes of the pore size, and analyze the mechanism of water sensitivity and water locking damages. Also, SEM experiments are used to determine the pore morphology before and after damage. Low-permeability sandstone rock cores cored from the Jilantai reservoir are assessed through this whole set of experiments. The results demonstrate that the permeability and porosity of core samples strongly decrease with the occurrence of water sensitivity/water locking damage, reflecting that the Jilantai reservoir has strong water sensitivity and is prone to be damaged by water locking. Compared with the previous formation damage assessment ideas, much attention is given to the microchanges of cores after damage, and using fluorinated oil instead of kerosene can help observe the distribution of water in rock core samples after each flooding by the NMR T 2 spectra.

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Insights on Potential Formation Damage Mechanisms Associated with Hydraulic Fracturing

Cited by 16 publications

References 15 publications

Optimization of Post-Hydraulic Fracturing Flowback Cleanup Utilizing Polymer Content Determination in Flowback Liquid Samples

Optimization of Post-Hydraulic Fracturing Flowback Cleanup Utilizing Polymer Content Determination in Flowback Liquid Samples

Seawater-Based Fracturing Fluid: A Review

Quantitative Investigation of Water Sensitivity and Water Locking Damages on a Low-Permeability Reservoir Using the Core Flooding Experiment and NMR Test

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