EXAMPLE PROBLEMS

1. What type of frac fluid system is used in formations with high Young’s
modulus and low Poisson’s ratio? Why?
2. What type of frac fluid system is used in formations with low
Young’s modulus and high Poisson’s ratio? Why?
3. What type of frac fluid system is ideal for underpressured and
depleted reservoirs? Why?
4. Why is foam fracturing ideal for water-sensitive formations with
high percentage of clay?
5. What is the most common foam quality (FQ) used in coalbed meth-
ane (CBM) wells?
6. Why is a foam frac fluid system considered to have a better fluid effi-
ciency and lower fluid-loss feature? Give an example.
7. You are treating a frac stage in the field using slick water fluid sys-
tem. The stage treats very well at lower sand concentrations of up to
1.5 ppg. However, as soon as a higher sand concentration of 2 ppg
reaches the perforations, surface-treating pressure starts rising without
any relief. What would you do to solve the problem and be able to
place the remaining sand into the formation? Explain in detail.
8. Is a slick water frac fluid system considered to have a laminar flow
pattern or turbulent? Why?
9. What kind of flow pattern is expected from a cross-linked fluid sys-
tem? Why?
10. What is the main essence of slick water hydraulic frac?
11. What is the purpose of the acidization stage in slick water frac?
What kind of reaction will typically be observed in the surface-
treating pressure when acid hits the perforations?
12. What is the reaction of surface-treating pressure if the formation is
known to be very limy (limestone)?
13. How much acid and water volume will be needed given 28% hydro-
chloric acid in order to obtain 1500 gallons of 15% acid?
14. Is it possible to pump 6 ppg sand concentrations with slick water
frac? Why?
15. You are a completions engineer in the field responsible for treating a
frac stage located in the Barnett Shale in Texas. Calculate the flush
volume if 51/2”, 20 lb/ft, P-110 (ID 5 4.778”) production casing is
used. The bottom perforation MD of the stage is 15,640’.

393
394 Example Problems

16. Why do many companies overflush (by 10
40 barrels) on top of the
calculated volume per stage?
17. What is the main purpose of proppant in hydraulic frac jobs?
18. The closure pressure from a shale formation is calculated to be
5432 psi from the DFIT (G function analysis). What type of prop-
pant would you design for your job?
19. What is the importance of specific gravity of proppant in hydraulic
fracturing? What happens to proppant in the fractures as SG
increases?
20. What type of sand is famous for encapsulating fines?
21. Part (a) You have been notified via the production engineer that a
lot of sand (frac sand and not formation sand) is being produced
with the flowback water in a particular area. As a completions engi-
neer, what type of proppant will you use to prevent this problem on
an upcoming pad?
Part (b) What if not enough capital (Capex) is available to pump this
type of proppant? What other approach will you take to prevent
excessive proppant flowback during production? Explain why.
22. Name the three main categories of proppant from lowest conductiv-
ity to highest conductivity.
23. What are the main applications of 100 mesh sand?
24. What could be the reasons why so many E&P companies have seen
great production success with pumping large percentages of 100
mesh in some areas?
25. What kind of sand size is highly recommended in highly naturally
fractured formations? Why?
26. Based on Stokes’ law, 40/70 mesh creates more surface area com-
pared to 30/50. Why?
27. What type of analysis is used on a daily basis in the field to ensure
proper sand size and is reported on each frac ticket?
28. Define conductivity. What is dimensionless frac conductivity?
29. What happens to conductivity as closure pressure increases? Explain
why.
30. Why is it highly recommended to test bigger sand sizes in liquid-
rich areas (high BTU)?
31. Explain in detail the characteristics that ISO conductivity test does
not account for.
32. Define proppant stress. When is the most sensitive time during flow-
back in relation to proppant crushing?
Example Problems 395

33. Part (a) Calculate proppant stress during the following two periods:
Period (1)
Closure pressure 5 5450 psi
Net pressure 5 500 psi
Pwf (flowing bottom-hole pressure) 5 3000 psi
Period (2)
Closure pressure 5 5450 psi
Net pressure 5 500 psi
Pwf (flowing bottom-hole pressure) 5 2500 psi.
Part (b) What is the most recommended practice when lowering
flowing bottom-hole pressure?
34. Calculate dimensionless frac conductivity with the following reser-
voir and completions properties (assume the conductivity is reduced
to 1 lb/ft2 and 80% reduction of conductivity due to time
degradation):
Frac conductivity 5 800 md-ft @ 2 lb/ft2
K 5 0.003 md
Xf 5 500 ft
35. What is the main purpose of friction reducer during hydraulic
fracturing?
36. You are treating a live frac stage at 84 bpm and 8500 psi surface-
treating pressure. Suddenly, due to FR pump malfunctioning, FR is
completely lost. What happens to surface-treating pressure? What
would you do? Explain the steps.
37. Part (a) Calculate the estimated pipe friction pressure (assuming no
FR) using the following parameters:
Total MD (measured depth of the well) 5 14,000’
Fluid density 5 8.5 ppg
Designed rate (flow rate) 5 85 bpm
ID of the production casing 5 4.778”
Fluid viscosity 5 1.1 cp.
Part (b) Can you pump this job without the use of FR? Why?
Part (c) Recalculate your pipe friction pressure assuming 20,000’ of
pipe instead of 14,000’.
Part (d) What is the biggest challenge with long lateral-length wells
in any formation from a completions perspective?
Part (e) What will happen to the pipe friction pressure if the decision
is made to use a smaller size production casing (with smaller ID)?
396 Example Problems

38. Calculate the expected surface-treating pressure for each of the fol-
lowing measured depths (MD) and assuming the following
parameters:

TVD (ft) MD (ft) Pipe Friction Pressure, Estimated

Lab Test Surface-Treating Pressure
12,500 20,000 7080 ?
12,500 19,500 6931 ?
12,500 19,000 6782 ?
12,500 18,500 6633 ?
12,500 18,000 6484 ?
12,500 17,500 6335 ?
12,500 17,000 6186 ?
12,500 16,500 6037 ?
12,500 16,000 5888 ?
12,500 15,500 5739 ?
12,500 15,000 5590 ?
12,500 14,500 5441 ?
12,500 14,000 5292 ?
12,500 13,500 5143 ?
12,500 13,000 4994 ?
12,500 12,500 4845 ?

ISIP 5 9258 psi (from DFIT test), TVD 5 12,500’, Water

density 5 8.65 ppg, Designed rate 5 90 bpm, Casing ID 5 5 1/2”,
23 #/ft (ID 5 4.670”), Dp 5 0.42”, N 5 40 perforations (holes)/
stage, Cd 5 0.8, ΔPnet 5 200 psi
39. The total amounts of water and sand have both been optimized for a
Barnett Shale slick water frac schedule using production data and
rate transient analysis. Calculate the remaining schedule and show
step-by-step work in the frac design schedule table shown below.
40. Part (a) Calculate slurry density and hydrostatic pressure of 2.75 ppg
sand stage using sintered bauxite (SG 5 3.0) mixed with produced water
(density 5 8.85 ppg). The TVD of this particular frac stage 13,001’.
Part (b) Calculate the surface-treating pressure increase when
sand is cut and the well is being flushed.
 90 bpm Frac Design Schedule

Stage Name Pump Rate Fluid Name Stage Stage % of Total Prop Stage % of Total Cumulative Stage
(bpm) Fluid Fluid Slurry Clean Conc. Proppant Prop % Prop (lbs) Time
Clean Vol Vol (BBLs) Vol (BBLs) (ppg) (lbs) (min)
(BBLs)

Pump ball 15 Slickwater 24 0

5% HCl acid 90 Acid 60 0
Pad 90 Slickwater 410 0
100 mesh 90 Slickwater 450 0.25
100 mesh 90 Slickwater 500 0.5
100 mesh 90 Slickwater 475 0.75
100 mesh 90 Slickwater 450 1
100 mesh 90 Slickwater 450 1.25
100 mesh 90 Slickwater 450 1.5
40/70 mesh 90 Slickwater 400 0.25
40/70 mesh 90 Slickwater 375 0.5
40/70 mesh 90 Slickwater 450 0.75
40/70 mesh 90 Slickwater 475 1
40/70 mesh 90 Slickwater 485 1.25
40/70 mesh 90 Slickwater 490 1.5
40/70 mesh 90 Slickwater 495 1.75
40/70 mesh 90 Slickwater 480 2
40/70 mesh 90 Slickwater 470 2.25
40/70 mesh 90 Slickwater 453 2.5
40/70 mesh 90 Slickwater 450 3
Flush 90 Slickwater 300 0
Total clean volume BBLs
Sand/water ratio Total stage time (min)
Pad percentage % 0.0
100 mesh (lbs) OR % Stage length (ft.) 200
40/70 mesh (lbs) OR % Water/ft. 0 BBL/ft.
Total (lbs) Sand/ft. 0 lb/ft.
398 Example Problems

41. From the G-function plot below, answer the following questions:
a. What is the bottom-hole (BH) closure pressure?
b. How did you determine BH closure pressure? Explain the steps
and show on the plot.
c. What is the minimum horizontal stress from this plot? Explain
the steps and show on the plot.
d. What is the pressure-dependent leak-off (PDL) pressure (if any)
from this plot? Explain the steps and show on the plot.
e. Define anisotropy. What is the anisotropy in this figure?
f. Knowing your closure and PDL pressures, do you expect to get a
complex fracture network system or biwing fracture system from
this plot? Why? Explain in detail.
g. Do you expect to see a higher breakdown pressure from frac jobs
or lower? Why?
h. Do you see PDL? Explain how you determined that there is
PDL?
i. What strategies will you take to design the frac job based on this
figure? What type and size of proppant will you design just from
a completions perspective? (Discard the economic perspective.)
Explain why.
j. What is the fluid efficiency from this plot?
Example Problems 399

42. There are three unique leak-off regimes that can be noted on the
G-function plot. Explain each leak-off regime in detail based on
your understanding of the concept.
43. What are the first and the second derivatives in DFIT analysis used
for?
44. Explain in detail the type of gauge that is used to record pressure
fall-off (surface-pressure fall-off) after the injection test. How do you
calculate bottom-hole pressure from surface pressure gauge?
45. Instantaneous shut-in pressure (ISIP) from DFIT is determined to be
4155 psi. If 8.9 ppg fluid density was used to pump the DFIT at
6900’ TVD, calculate the bottom-hole ISIP.
46. Why is it not recommended to pump large fluid volume during
DFIT jobs in unconventional shale reservoirs with low or very low
permeability?
47. In before-closure analysis (BCA), what kind of flow regimes do 1/2
and 1/4 slope represent?
48. What does 21 slope of the second derivative of the log
log plot
represent?
49. What if pseudoradial flow is not observed from a log
log plot.
What other technique can be used to get an approximate measure of
pore pressure?
50. Estimate the effective permeability and fluid efficiency from the
G-function plot provided with the following properties. Once the
frac job starts, will the frac fluid be effective in creating hydraulic
fractures based on the calculated fluid efficiency? Why?
μ 5 1 cp, ISIP 5 4225 psi, TVD 5 7340’, Fluid density 5 8.5 ppg,
Pc 5 6100 psi, Ct 5 0.0000254 1/psi, Gc 5 3.7, E 5 5 MMpsi, rp 5 1
(since PDL exists), Porosity 5 20%
51. Your boss asks you to determine whether 200’ stage spacing is
economically better than 300’ stage spacing. As a completions engi-
neer, you are trying to determine whether the additional production
gain from 200’ stage spacing offsets the additional Capex. You are
given two sets of cash flows by the reservoir engineer. Calculate
NPV and IRR given the tables below and determine whether 200’
stage spacing is economically better or 300’. Explain why. Cash flows
below are yearly. Assume 12% weighted average cost of capital
(WACC).
400 Example Problems

Year 2000 Stage Spacing CF (M$) 3000 Stage Spacing CF (M$)

0 (Capex) 210,000 29000
1 5000 4500
2 4200 4150
3 3400 3500
4 2500 2500
5 2000 2000

52. What makes the determination of various fracture parameters very

difficult in unconventional shale reservoirs?
53. How many quantiplex pumps would you design for your job if the
calculated surface-treating pressure is around 10,500 psi at the
designed rate of 80 bpm assuming each pump has 2250 HHP?