Recovery rates of fracturing fluids and provenance of produced water from hydraulic fracturing of Silurian Qusaiba hot shale, northern Saudi Arabia, with implications on fracture network

Birkle, Peter

doi:10.1306/02101615120

Cited by 13 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 41 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…6), and 0.70859 for groundwater from the Jilh Formation (green triangle in Fig. 6) confirm the dominance of Jilh supply water on the ultimate day of postfracturing cleanout, calculated to be 80% of the total return flow volume (Birkle 2016). In contrast, 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios of 0.71576 and 0.71651 from produced water on January 3, 2013, and February 8, 2013 (blue and violet circles in Fig.…”

Section: Environmental Isotopesmentioning

confidence: 60%

“…Significant differences in 87 Sr/ 86 Sr between representative formation water from Qusaiba Hot Shale (0.71576 ± 0.00002 to 0.71651 ± 0.00003) and Jilh Formation (0.70842 ± 0.00002) suggest the lacking of hydraulic connectivity between Qusaiba Hot Shale and the Triassic Jilh aquifer in the Northern Arabian Exploration Area, as both are isolated by a more than 3000 ft (910 m) thick lithological column of impermeable mudstone from the Qusaiba Member. Isotopic‐chemical fingerprinting reconfirms the provenance of produced water from the Qusaiba Hot Shale or from the underlying Sarah sandstone, which were recovered during the postfracturing period in Well A (Birkle ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 71%

“…Depleted δ 37 Cl ratios of −0.49‰ and −0.62‰ for produced water from December 30, 2012, and January 3, 2013, respectively, suggest the partially flowback of injected KCl brine with potentially depleted δ 37 Cl concentrations. Approximately 4890 bbls of 5% KCl brine were used during the postfrac cleanout of proppant (frac plugs) by coiled tubing from December 23, 2012, to December 30, 2012 (Birkle ). Potassium concentrations and δ 37 Cl ratios are found to be inversely related.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…demonstrates the mixing trend from slickwater‐dominated flowback samples (fracturing fluid) toward increased contributions of primary formation water. The presence of a complex fracture system is suggested by the irregular flowback of fracturing fluids, as evidenced by a peak volume of recovered KCl brine on January 5, 2013, and January 29, 2013 (Birkle ). An interpretation on the provenance of formation water and potential mechanism for water–rock interaction processes is given later in this study.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This study presents a specific case study on hydraulic fracturing of the Silurian Qusaiba Hot Shale in the Northern Exploration Area in Saudi Arabia, where sampling of produced water during the postfracturing period of a hydraulically fractured well (Well A) was performed on a daily basis for their respective geochemical analysis on major ions, selected trace elements (B, Ba, Br, Fe, Li, Sr), environmental (δ 2 H, δ 13 C, δ 18 O H2O , δ 18 O SO4 , δ 34 S SO4 , δ 37 Cl, 87 Sr/ 86 Sr), and cosmogenic isotopes ( 3 H, 14 C, 36 Cl) on selected samples. A mass balance of flowback recovery rates and potential mechanism for flow migration with implications on fracture geometry in Well A are presented in Birkle (). Within this article, water geochemistry of produced water from Qusaiba Hot Shale in Well A is compared with reference samples of fracturing‐related fluids (fracturing fluid, completion brine, mud filtrate, and supply water from Jilh Formation) and with groundwater prototypes from Paleozoic formations (Jubah, Qusaiba, Sarah, Quwarah, Raan, Kahfah) in Northern Saudi Arabia (Well C to Well G), Arabian Gulf (Well H) and Southern Ghawar Production Area (Well I).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Geochemical fingerprinting of hydraulic fracturing fluids from Qusaiba Hot Shale and formation water from Paleozoic petroleum systems, Saudi Arabia

Birkle

2016

Geofluids

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Provenance studies of produced water are essential to trace flow dynamics and reservoir compartmentalization in petroleum systems and to quantify fluid recovery rates from unconventional fracturing. Produced water from a hydraulically fractured well in the Qusaiba Hot Shale in the Northern Exploration Area, Saudi Arabia, was daily monitored and analyzed for water chemistry, and environmental (δ2H, δ13C, δ18OH2O, δ18OSO4, δ34SSO4, δ37Cl, 87Sr/86Sr) and cosmogenic isotopes (3H, 14C, 36Cl), to differentiate from reference fluids of supply water, fracturing fluids, and formation water from adjacent Paleozoic units. Initially, recovered water is composed of fracturing fluids and subsequently replaced by a homogeneous cut of pristine formation water. Formation water is composed of dominant meteoric water (approximately 84 vol%) and minor fossil evaporated seawater. The young 14C‐apparent age between 6000 and 6700 years BP and depleted δ18O/δ2H values for the meteoric component confirm the infiltration of surface water into the Qusaiba Hot Shale interval or adjacent units during the Early Holocene Pluvial Period under cooler and wetter climatic conditions than present, which suggest the presence of a very recent, dynamic hydraulic flow system. 36Cl/Cl ratios between 102 × 10−15 and 31 × 10−15 are ambiguous and can be attributed to atmospheric recharge close to the coast, mixing of 36Cl‐enriched Quaternary meteoric recharge with 36Cl‐depleted fossil seawater, and/or hypogene production by U‐Th‐enriched host rock. Produced waters from Qusaiba Hot Shale are within the compositional range of Na‐Cl‐type formation water from Paleozoic reservoir units in northern Saudi Arabia with salinities from 30 000 to 130 000 mg l−1. As a novel technological approach for exploration wells in Northern Saudi Arabia, multi‐isotopic methods were successfully implemented to quantify flowback volumes from hydraulic fracturing, and to fingerprint pristine formation water or pore water in Paleozoic systems on their provenance, residence time, migration pathways, and secondary alteration processes.

show abstract

Section: Environmental Isotopesmentioning

confidence: 60%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 71%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Geochemical fingerprinting of hydraulic fracturing fluids from Qusaiba Hot Shale and formation water from Paleozoic petroleum systems, Saudi Arabia

Birkle

2016

Geofluids

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Fracture closure modes during flowback from hydraulic fractures

Taleghani

Cai

Pouya

2020

Num Anal Meth Geomechanics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

SummaryFlowback analysis recently has been considered as a potential tool for assessing induced fractures through corresponding pressure analyses and rate transient analysis. In this paper, we study fracture closure mechanisms during the flowback of fracturing fluid after hydraulic fracturing treatments. Although it is known that flowback can be significantly affected by the geometry of the fractures and closure stress, there has not been any effort to understand the problem from the geomechanical point of view; rather, available studies assume that a fracture closes uniformly with constant fracture compressibility. The coupled geomechanics and fluid flow model presented in this paper help to elucidate how geostresses may affect fracturing fluid recovery under different conditions. We perform a scaling analysis to formulate the occurrence of different fracture closure modes and then use numerical analyses to verify our scaling parameters. The factors governing the flowback process include the mechanical and petrophysical properties of the rock as well as preexisting discontinuities such as natural fractures. Three different closure modes for fracture networks are described and numerically verified. The occurrence of each mode can dramatically affect fracturing fluid recovery. The role of fluid leakoff into the formation, fractures conductivity, and drawdown strategy are examined for each fracture closure scenario.

show abstract

How Quickly Do Oil and Gas Wells “Water Out”? Quantifying and Contrasting Water Production Trends

Haines,

Varela,

Tennyson

et al. 2024

Nat Resour Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Water production from petroleum (oil and natural gas) wells is a topic of increasing environmental and economic importance, yet quantification efforts have been limited to date, and patterns between and within petroleum plays are largely unscrutinized. Additionally, classification of reservoirs as “unconventional” (also known as “continuous”) carries scientific and regulatory importance, but in some cases the distinction from "conventional" wells is unclear. Using water, oil, and gas production data, we calculated a set of quantitative metrics that elucidate trends in the water-to-petroleum ratio over the life of each producing well. The percent growth of the water-to-petroleum ratio quantifies the degree to which a well “waters out” over time; values calculated for 153,900 wells in 18 oil and gas plays show generally much higher values for conventional wells than for continuous/unconventional wells. Analysis of the percent growth along with the slope and median metrics reveals greater variation between conventional plays and between continuous (unconventional) plays than previously recognized. Further, an example from the Bakken Formation in the Williston Basin, USA, illustrates that, within a single play, the metrics provide insight into spatial variation of water production trends, as influenced by geology and reservoir characteristics. By quantifying the variability of water production trends within individual plays and between plays, including differences between conventional and continuous (unconventional) plays, these results provide a more nuanced view of water production from oil and gas wells than has previously been possible and they illustrate the degree to which water management considerations vary spatially and temporally.

show abstract

Recovery rates of fracturing fluids and provenance of produced water from hydraulic fracturing of Silurian Qusaiba hot shale, northern Saudi Arabia, with implications on fracture network

Cited by 13 publications

References 41 publications

Geochemical fingerprinting of hydraulic fracturing fluids from Qusaiba Hot Shale and formation water from Paleozoic petroleum systems, Saudi Arabia

Geochemical fingerprinting of hydraulic fracturing fluids from Qusaiba Hot Shale and formation water from Paleozoic petroleum systems, Saudi Arabia

Fracture closure modes during flowback from hydraulic fractures

How Quickly Do Oil and Gas Wells “Water Out”? Quantifying and Contrasting Water Production Trends

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About