Three-dimensional lattice simulation of hydraulic fracture interaction with natural fractures

Fu, Wei; Savitski, Alexei A.; Damjanac, Branko; Bunger, Andrew P.

doi:10.1016/j.compgeo.2018.11.023

Cited by 41 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…They found that fracture deformation is utterly dependent on the rock pressure diffusion and elastic continuum limit to determine appropriate macroscopic factors [17]. The problem of hydraulic rupture is a three-dimensional problem, which is used to determine the opening (width), length and height of the fracture [16,[18][19][20]. Rupture is known as one of the immediate failure processes along a fault that can eliminate seismic waves which should be taken into consideration in recent decades in geological Symmetry 2020, 12, 1122 2 of 15 structures.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

RETRACTED: Application of Symmetry Law in Numerical Modeling of Hydraulic Fracturing by Finite Element Method

Sun

Zhou

Lu³

et al. 2020

Symmetry

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In this paper, influential parameters on the hydraulic fracturing processes in porous media were investigated. Besides, the simultaneous stimulation of solids, fluids and fractures geomechanical equations were numerically analyzed as a developed 3D model. To do this, the Abacus software was used as a multi-objective program to solve the physical-mechanical symmetry law governing equations, according to the finite element method. Two different layers, A (3104–2984 m) and B (4216–4326 m), are considered in the model. According to the result of this study, the maximum fracture opening length in the connection of the wall surface is 10 and 9 mm for layer B and layer A, respectively. Moreover, the internal fracture fluid pressure for layer B and layer A is 65 and 53 Mpa. It is indicated that fracture fluid pressure reduced with the increase in fracture propagation length. Consequently, the results of this study would be of benefit for petroleum industries to consider several crucial geomechanical characteristics in hydraulic fractures simultaneously as a developed numerical model for different formation layers to compare a comprehensive analysis between each layer.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

RETRACTED: Application of Symmetry Law in Numerical Modeling of Hydraulic Fracturing by Finite Element Method

Sun

Zhou

Lu³

et al. 2020

Symmetry

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“…In an Eagle Ford field test located in DeWitt County, Texas, the number of broadly parallel hydraulic fractures observed far exceeds the number of perforation clusters (Raterman et al 2018). At the HFTS located in the eastern part of the Midland Basin, Texas, fracture swarms with densely spaced hydraulic fractures are observed over the 600 ft of retrieved cores (Gale et al 2018). The striking hydraulic fracture swarms observed at multiple sites indicate that fracture swarming could be more frequent than people thought.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Two sets of natural fractures were observed in the core samples at the HFTS. Most of the natural fractures are intact and filled with calcite cement, and only two of them were open in the subsurface before the stimulation (Gale et al 2018). While the cementation ratio of natural fractures can influence the hydraulic fracture propagation, well-cemented natural fractures tend to show less impact on fracture trajectories (Fu et al 2018;Fu et al 2019b).…”

Section: Demonstration Of Upscaling Approach In Field-scale Simulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The cores provide a rare opportunity for direct observation of hydraulic fracture distributions away from the wellbore at a significant depth (Courtier et al 2017;Campbell et al 2018). Clusters of densely spaced hydraulic fractures were found both by computed tomography scan of cores within the core tubes and by direct observation after removal from the core tubes (Gale et al 2018). It was found that the number of identified hydraulic fractures far exceeds the number of perforation clusters.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Developing Upscaling Approach for Swarming Hydraulic Fractures Observed at Hydraulic Fracturing Test Site through Multiscale Simulations

Morris

et al. 2021

SPE Journal

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Summary This work aims to address a challenge posed by recent observations of tightly spaced hydraulic fractures in core samples from the hydraulic fracturing test site (HFTS) in the Middle Wolfcamp Formation. Many fractures in retrieved cores have subfoot spacing, which is at odds with conventional models in which usually one hydraulic fracture is initiated per cluster. Models assuming a single fracture at each cluster, although a common practice, often predict excessive fracture propagation that is inconsistent with microseismic observation. Here, we aim to develop a numerical approach to effectively account for densely spaced hydraulic fractures in field-scale simulations. Because it is impractical to explicitly model all aforementioned fractures, we develop a new upscaling law that enables existing simulation tools to predict reservoir response to fracture swarms. The upscaling law is derived based on an energy equivalence argument and validated through multiscale simulations using a high-fidelity code, GEOS. The swarming fractures are first modeled with a spacing that is much smaller than the cluster spacing; these fractures are then approximated by an upscaled, single fracture based on the proposed upscaling law. The upscaled fracture is shown to successfully match the energy input rate and produce the total fracture aperture and average propagation length of the explicitly simulated swarm. Afterward, the upscaling approach is further implemented in 3D field-scale simulations and validated against the HFTS microseismic data of a horizontal well. Our results show that hydraulic fracture swarming can significantly affect fracture propagation behaviors compared with the propagation of single fractures as assumed by conventional modeling approaches. Under the considered situations, the conventional treatment yields fast propagation speed that far exceeds that indicated by the microseismic data. We also illustrate that this discrepancy can be reduced readily through the implementation of the upscaling law. Our results demonstrate the importance of accounting for the fracture swarming effect in field-scale simulations and the efficacy of this approach to enable realistic predictions of reservoir responses to fracture swarms, without the need to model tightly spaced fractures individually.

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“…Synthetic micro-seismicity can be produced during the simulation. Extensive numerical cases for hydraulic fracturing simulation with Xsite can be found in [107,387]. 5.12 @Frac TM @Frac TM is a powerful hydraulic fracturing simulator developed by Advantek International Corporation founded by Ahmed Abou-Sayed in 1999.…”

Section: Xsitementioning

confidence: 99%

A Review of Hydraulic Fracturing Simulation

Chen

Dias

Sun

et al. 2021

Arch Computat Methods Eng

121

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Along with horizontal drilling techniques, multi-stage hydraulic fracturing has improved shale gas production significantly in past decades. In order to understand the mechanism of hydraulic fracturing and improve treatment designs, it is critical to conduct modelling to predict stimulated fractures. In this paper, related physical processes in hydraulic fracturing are firstly discussed and their effects on hydraulic fracturing processes are analysed. Then historical and state of the art numerical models for hydraulic fracturing are reviewed, to highlight the pros and cons of different numerical methods. Next, commercially available software for hydraulic fracturing design are discussed and key features are summarised. Finally, we draw conclusions from the previous discussions in relation to physics, method and applications and provide recommendations for further research.

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Three-dimensional lattice simulation of hydraulic fracture interaction with natural fractures

Cited by 41 publications

References 52 publications

RETRACTED: Application of Symmetry Law in Numerical Modeling of Hydraulic Fracturing by Finite Element Method

RETRACTED: Application of Symmetry Law in Numerical Modeling of Hydraulic Fracturing by Finite Element Method

Developing Upscaling Approach for Swarming Hydraulic Fractures Observed at Hydraulic Fracturing Test Site through Multiscale Simulations

A Review of Hydraulic Fracturing Simulation

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