Hydraulic Fracturing

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• Unconventional Resource Triangle
• History of Hydraulic Fracturing
• What is Hydraulic Fracturing
• Candidate Selections
• High Permeability Vs Low Permeability Fracturing
• Transvers Fracture & Longitudinal Fractures
• Dimensionless Fracture Conductivity
• Exercises

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Unconventional Resource Triangle

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 History of Hydraulic Fracturing
• The first attempt as fracturing formation for the purpose of improving
production were not hydraulic fracturing. (They involved the use of
high explosives to break the formation apart, as early as 1890)

• In the late 1950s and early 1960s nuclear devices were used in
shallow low-permeability

• By 1930 acidizing had become an accepted well development

technique

• The first intentional hydraulic fracturing process for stimulation was

performed in Hugoton gas field in western Kansas, in 1947

• The Klepper Gas Unit No 1 well was completed with four gas-
producing limestone intervals
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 History of Hydraulic Fracturing

• The first intentional hydraulic

fracturing process for stimulation
was performed in Hugoton gas
field in western Kansas, in 1947

• The Klepper Gas Unit No 1 well

was completed with four gas-
producing limestone intervals

The very first frac job, Hugoton, USA

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 History of Hydraulic Fracturing
• The fluid use for treatment was water-surplus napalm- very
hazardous material 3000 gals of fluid were pumped in each
formation

• Overall recovery of well was not good, indicating fracturing is not

appropriate method to replace acidizing in limestone formation

• However, by the mid 1960s, propped hydraulic fracturing had

replaced acidizing as the preferred stimulation method in the
Hugoton Field

• Early treatments were pumped at 1 to 2 bpm with sand

concentrations of 1 to 2 ppga.

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Pressure

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Pressure

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 Pressure

𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝐹 𝐹.𝑑 𝑊 𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦

𝑃= = = = =
𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝐴 𝐴.𝑑 𝑉 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒

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 What is Hydraulic Fracturing

• Energy is what hydraulic fracturing is all about

• In order to create and propagate a fracture, we have to transfer

energy to the formation

• Producing width and tearing the rock at the fracture tip both
require energy

• The key to understanding the hydraulic fracturing process is to

understand pressure, source of energy gain and loss (use)

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 What is Hydraulic Fracturing

Understanding the source of energy gain and energy loss or use is

fundamental to understanding the fracture pressure

Sources of Energy Gain and Energy Use During Hydraulic

Fracturing

Energy gain Energy use

Conversion of mechanical energy into Wellbore friction
pressure and rate by frac pumps, Perforation friction
Hydrostatic pressure Tortuosity
Overcoming in-situ stress
Fluid leakoff
Producing fracture width
Splitting rock at the fracture tip

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Basic Concept

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 What is Hydraulic Fracturing

 Hydraulic fracturing is complicated by the fact that it is multi-

disciplinary and demands a broad science base

• Fluid mechanics: ( Control fluid flow and proppant placement )

• Rock mechanic: (Control fracture geometry )

• Chemistry: ( Control fracture fluid material quality)

• Reservoir Engineering: (Control reservoir behavior and

performance)

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Hydraulic Fracturing Technique

The concept of production and recovery acceleration, high permeability

reservoirs. (After Holditch, 2006.) 16
Hydraulic Fracturing Technique

Production and reserves enhancement from hydraulic

fracturing, low-permeability reservoirs. (After Holditch, 2006.) 17
 Hydraulic Fracturing Technique
• Propped hydraulic fracturing consists of pumping fluid at a sufficiently high
pressure into the completion interval so that a two winged hydraulic fracture is
formed.
• This fracture is then filled with high conductivity proppant which holds the
fracture open, maintain a high conductivity path to the wellbore, after the treatment is
finished.
• The fracture can have width between 5mm and 35mm and length of 100 m or more
(depending the design technique and size of treatment).

Fracturing Concepts
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Hydraulic Fracturing Technique

Propped Hydraulic Fracturing Geometry

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 Hydraulic Fracturing Stimulation
• Propped hydraulic fracturing is aimed at raising the well productivity by
increasing the effective wellbore radius for wells completed in low permeability
carbonate or clastic formation

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 Hydraulic Fracture
• Hydraulic fracturing stimulation is required for the economic development of low
permeability reservoir

• This is due to highly conductive fracture results in a negative skin with wellbore
flowing pressure (P1) having been increased at a given flowrate, compared with
unimpaired (P2) or impaired (P3) well

The Production System 21

Hydraulic Fracture

The Production System 22

 Hydraulic Fracture Treatment Selection
• The hydraulic fracture well with negative skin will have the greater
production rate

• Propped hydraulic fracture well stimulation should only be

considered when the:

❖ Well is connected to adequate production reserves

❖ Reservoir pressure is high enough to maintain flow when

producing these reserves (or economically justifiable to install
artificial lift)

❖ Production system can process the extra production

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Basic Fracture Design

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 Fracture Characteristics
▪ Propped Fracture Conductivity:

• The flow capacity of the fracture (Cf):

• Equal to the proppant permeability x the average propped

width
• The higher the conductivity, the higher the productivity - up to
a point

▪ Propped Fracture Length( Xf):

• The greater the length, the greater the productivity, provided

there is sufficient conductivity

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 Radial vs Linear Flow

▪ Hydraulic fracturing reduces the energy lost as the fluid moves through the
formation by both providing a more conductive flow path AND by changing
the flow geometry to a more efficient pattern
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Flow Regime

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 High Permeability Fracturing

▪ Generally Soft Formations

▪ Often Weak or Unconsolidated

▪ Relatively High Skin Factors

▪ Often Difficult to Place a Fracture which is More

Conductive than the Formation

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 High Permeability Fracturing

▪ Production Increase is Generally Limited by

Conductivity of Fracture

▪ Ability of the Formation to Conduct Fluids to the

Fracture is High

▪ Therefore Fractures are Designed with Maximum

Possible Conductivity

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 Low Permeability (Tight) Fracturing

▪ Generally Hard, Easy to Fracture Formations

▪ Relatively Low Skin Factors

▪ Very Easy to Place a Fracture which is Many Times

More Conductive than the Formation

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 Ultra-Low Permeability Fracturing
 Low Permeability (Tight) Formations Require Long, Thin
Fractures
◦ Productivity limited by the ability of the formation to deliver
hydrocarbons to the fracture
◦ Easy to make fracture significantly more conductive than the
formation
◦ Fractures designed for maximum inflow area (i.e. maximum length)

 In Ultra Low Permeability Formations (Shale), Fractures by

Themselves do Not Provide Enough Inflow Area
◦ Hydraulic fractures must connect with natural fractures

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 High k Medium k

In high permeability formations, fractures are designed to be short

and highly conductive
 Low k Very Low k

In low permeability formations, fractures are designed to

maximise contact between the fracture and the reservoir
 Very Low k Ultra Low k

Low Permeability Tight Gas Shale Gas

In shale formations, the matrix permeability is so low that we need

to exploit natural fracture networks, concept referred to as
Stimulated Reservoir Volume (SRV)
 High Permeability vs Low Permeability

 High Permeability Formations

◦ Conductive path through skin damage
◦ Re-stressing of weak formations
◦ Reduction in turbulence in gas formations
◦ Increased effective wellbore radius

 Low Permeability Formations

◦ Increased inflow area/reservoir contact
◦ Change from radial flow to linear flow within reservoir
◦ Massive reduction in drawdown
◦ Increased drainage

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 Low Perm vs High Perm
• The relative increase in production achievable by placement of a hydraulic
fracture is much greater in the case of low permeability formations

Production increase due to 150 ft long hydraulic fracture

with a flow conductivity of 8000 mD ft.
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 Low Permeability Reservoir Cases
Low permeability reservoir (0.1mD)

• High value of FOI possible

• FOI is related to fracture Length, while fracture conductivity has a limited effect,
providing its value greater than a certain minimum
• The low formation permeability is controlling the well inflow and increased
fracture conductivity does not improve well inflow performance

Well productivity response to hydraulic fracturing 38

Hydraulic Fracture Treatment Selection

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Hydraulic Fracturing- Stress Around Wellbore

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Anderson Classification of Relative Stress
Magnitudes

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Anderson Classification of Relative Stress
Magnitudes

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 Transverse Fracture (Vertical Well)
• Bypass damage original
❖ skin disappears

• Change streamlines
❖ Radial flow disappears
❖ Wellbore radius is not a factor anymore

• Increase PI

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Longitudinal Fracture -
(Horizontal well)

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Multistage-Fracturing

sH,min
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Longitudinal Fracture -
Horizontal well

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Hydraulic Fracturing

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Fold of Increase (FOI)

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Fold of Increase (FOI)

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Hydraulic Fracturing Technique

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Dimensionless Fracture Conductivity
(Cfd)

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Fracture Conductivity

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 Fracture Conductivity

Fracture Conductivity is a Measure

of How Conductive the Fracture is.

It is Analogous to the kh Produced

by Well Testing

Fracture Conductivity Defines How

Much can be Produced by the Fracture

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Dimensioned Fracture Conductivity

Cf = w kp

where w = average propped width

kp = proppant permeability

Remember that kp is Not Constant

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 Cinco_Ley and Samaniego

• The has been several studies of the composite effect of fracture, length,
fracture conductivity and formation permeability on the well inflow
performance.( Cinco Ley ,SPE 1004,1982 for a review)

• A widely used correlation is that published by Cinco-Ley and

Samaniego (JPT, 1981)

• Pseudo-skin values began to change at Cfd less than 10 (finite

conductivity)

• For a given Cfd and corresponding Xf, a pseudo-skin can be determined

and used in productivity index formula

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 Effective Wellbore Radius (r’w)
• Figure illustrates (r’w/Lf) or effective wellbore radius divided by conductive
fracture length, is plotted against dimensionless fracture conductivity (Cfd)

• This figure shows that a Cfd value of 15 is require to ensure that the well inflow is
not being limited by the fracture conductivity.

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 Skin Effect
• An alternative perception allows the negative skin effect due to propped
hydraulic fracture (Sf) to be calculated from dimensionless fracture
conductivity.

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 Videos

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjP-K1VaI1k
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyYGf8vpt-w

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Determining Skin

r’w=rwe-sf

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 Exercise 1
1. Assuming that Kf w=2000md-ft, k=1md, Xf=1000ft, and rw=0.328 ft,
calculate the equivalent skin effect and folds of well productivity increase
(steady state flow) for a reservoir with drainage radius, re=1490ft and no
permanent damage.
What should be the fold of increase for the same fracture lengths and Kfw if
k=0.1md, k=10 md?
𝑟𝑒
𝐽 𝑙𝑛(𝑟𝑤)
= 𝑟𝑒
𝐽𝑜 𝑙 𝑛 𝑟𝑤 +𝑆𝑓

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 Exercise 1
Answers
Cfd=Kf.w/(K.Xf)
2000/(1x1000)=2

r’w=280 ft using equation 2

S=-ln(re/rw)
S=-ln280/0.328 =-6.75
j/jo=5

This is a five times increase in productivity results from treatment

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Exercise 2

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Solution

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Exercise 3

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Solution

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Exercise 4

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Exercise 4

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