Article
A New Method for Measuring the Effective Length of
Acid-Fracturing Fractures
Wenjun Xu 1,2,3,*, Shengxiang Li 1,3, Jianpeng Zhang 1,3, Lei Wang 1,3, Yan Feng 1,3 and Yuanai Liao 1,3
Citation: Xu, W.; Li, S.; Zhang, J.;
Wang, L.; Feng, Y.; Liao, Y. A New
Method for Measuring the Effective
Length of Acid-Fracturing Fractures.
Processes 2023, 11, 3084. https://
doi.org/10.3390/pr11113084
Academic Editors: Carlos Sierra
Fernández and Blaž Likozar
Received: 5 October 2023
Revised: 21 October 2023
Accepted: 25 October 2023
Published: 26 October 2023
Copyright: © 2023 by the authors. Li-
censee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and con-
ditions of the Creative Commons At-
tribution (CC BY) license (https://cre-
ativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Processes 2023, 11, 3084. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11113084
1 Hubei Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Drilling and Production Engineering, Yangtze University,
Wuhan 430100, China; shengxiangli00@163.com (S.L.); 17801191054@163.com (J.Z.);
wang-lei@yangtzeu.edu.cn (L.W.); fengyan20010614@163.com (Y.F.); 15307193824@163.com (Y.L.)
2 Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Advanced Stimulation Technology for Oil & Gas Reservoirs, Xi’an Shiyou University,
Xi’an 710065, China
3 School of Petroleum Engineering, Yangtze University, Wuhan 430100, China
* Correspondence: xuwenjun@yangtzeu.edu.cn
Abstract: Acid fracturing as an important stimulation technique, provides strong technical support
for the exploration breakthrough and efficient development of carbonate oil and gas reservoirs. Ac-
curately predicting the effective length of acid-fracturing fractures is of great significance for guid-
ing the acid-fracturing design and improving the stimulation effect of acid fracturing. This article
fully considers the essential requirement that the long-term conductivity of acid-fracturing fractures
is not zero within the effective length segment. Based on the principle of the same acid concentration
and acid dissolution amount, the long-term conductivity testing experiment of acid-fracturing frac-
tures under different residual acid concentrations was designed and carried out with the consider-
ation of the common ion effect. The critical acid concentration with long-term conductivity of 0 was
obtained. This method overcomes the shortcomings of the existing methods that result in the over-
estimation of the effective length of acid-fracturing fractures due to inaccurate values of residual
acid concentration or short-term conductivity as the determining criterion. The experimental results
show that the higher the acid concentration, the deeper the acid etching groove, and the higher the
initial conductivity of acid-fracturing fractures. The long-term conductivity decline rate of different
acid concentrations is above 80%, which means that using short-term conductivity as an evaluation
indicator alone will overestimate the effective length of acid-fracturing fracture and the yield-in-
creasing effect of acid-fracturing treatment. In the case presented in this paper, the critical acid
concentration for acid-fracturing fracture with long-term conductivity of 0 is 4%, and the effective
length of acid-fracturing fractures is 120 m.
Keywords: carbonate reservoir; acid fracturing; effective length; long-term conductivity; common
ion effect
1. Introduction
China is rich in carbonate oil and gas resources. In recent years, large–medium-sized
marine carbonate oil and gas fields have been discovered in Sichuan Basin, Ordos Basin,
and Tarim Basin, which show great exploration and development prospects [1,2]. Acid
fracturing, as a major production enhancement measure, provides strong technical sup-
port for the exploration breakthrough and efficient development of carbonate reservoirs.
The accurate prediction of the effective length and conductivity of acid-fracturing fracture
is of great significance in guiding the design of acid fracturing and improving the produc-
tion enhancement effect [3,4].
The conductivity of the acid-fracturing fracture is the product of the fracture width
and permeability, which can be measured by laboratory experiments. The effective length
of the acid-fracturing fracture refers to the length of the fracture segment that still has
www.mdpi.com/journal/processes
Processes 2023, 11, 3084 2 of 11

conductivity after the acid-fracturing treatment is completed and the fracture is closed.
Due to the high-temperature and high-pressure environment of the reservoir, the conduc-
tivity of acid-fracturing fracture will decrease rapidly in the initial stage of fracture closure
[5]. Therefore, the above conductivity should be the long-term conductivity. During field
construction, micro seismic monitoring data are usually used for rough estimation, but
the micro seismic monitoring can only obtain the dynamic fracture length during the acid
fracturing process, resulting in an overestimation of the effective length of acid-fracturing
fracture [6–10]. Based on the hydraulic fracture propagation model, some scholars have
introduced the acid-rock reaction model to establish several numerical models for predict-
ing the effective length of acid-fracture fractures [6,11,12]. However, the accuracy of the
numerical model predictions depends on the acid-rock reaction parameters measured by
laboratory experiments. Therefore, some scholars directly adopt experimental methods to
test the effective length of acid-fracturing fracture [13–15]. Liu Fei et al. [13] measured the
effective consumption time of acid from fresh acid to residual acid by using the rock slab
flow experiment. The effective length of acid-fracturing fracture was calculated by the
product of the effective consumption time and the acid flow rate. The effective consump-
tion time refers to the time experienced from the fresh acid concentration to the residual
acid concentration. The residual acid concentration was taken as 10% of the fresh acid
concentration according to the engineering experience, and the value of residual acid con-
centration of the same acid is bound to be different in different reservoirs, which indicates
that the traditional calculation method of the effective length of acid-fracturing fracture is
not accurate enough. Gu et al. [14] measured the conductivity of the gelled acid fracture
by using the acid fracture conductivity device according to API industry standards and
calculated the dissolution rate to deduce the acid rock reaction rate and residual acid con-
centration, which improved the accuracy of residual acid concentration value. However,
this method believes that if the acid has a corrosion effect on the fracture wall, the acid-
fracturing fracture will certainly have conductivity after the acid-fracturing treatment is
completed and the fracture is closed. In fact, at the end of acid consumption, the ability to
etch rocks is very limited. Under the continuous action of high closing stress, these frac-
ture walls with insufficient etch degree will be flattened and lose conductivity. This
method will also overestimate the effective length of acid-fracturing fractures.
In summary, the existing methods for predicting the effective length of acid-fractur-
ing fractures in carbonate reservoirs do not accurately consider the essential requirement
that the long-term conductivity within the effective length of acid-fracturing fracture is
greater than zero. For this reason, firstly the calculation model of acid concentration dis-
tribution in acid-fracturing fracture is established. Secondly, based on the principle of
equal acid concentration and acid dissolution amount, the common-ion effect was de-
signed and carried out to test the long-term conductivity of acid-fracturing fractures un-
der different residual acid concentrations, and the critical acid concentration with a long-
term conductivity of 0 was obtained. Finally, the effective length of the acid-fracturing
fracture is determined by combining the prediction results of the acid concentration dis-
tribution in fracture and the critical acid concentration value.

2. Calculation Model of Acid Concentration Distribution in Acid-Fracturing Fracture

As shown in Figure 1, the acid-fracturing fracture is assumed to be an ideal vertical
fracture of equal width and height. Under the conditions of constant temperature and
pressure, the acid flows stably between two rock plates, and the acid is incompressible
and of uniform density. Neglecting the leak-off of acid in the vertical wall direction, the
velocity component of acid in the vertical wall direction is 0, and the flow rate in the par-
allel fracture wall direction is u0, and the flow rate of the whole section of the fracture is
constant. The initial acid concentration at the entrance of the fracture is C0, and the acid
concentration decreases gradually as the acid flows in the fracture.
Processes 2023, 11, 3084 3 of 11

ROCK
y
C0 , u0 x Cx , u0 u0

ROCK

Figure 1. Acid concentration distribution model in fractures.

According to the law of mass conservation, we can establish a convection–diffusion

partial differential equation to describe the flow and reaction of the acid solution along
the fracture, as follows [6,16,17]:
∂C ∂ 2C
u0 = DH + (1)
∂x ∂y

The boundary conditions for the reaction of the acid with the chert are:


C ( x , y )
x = 0 = C0


C ( x , y ) w = 0 (2)
 y±
2
 ∂C
 y =0 = 0
 ∂y

The acid convection–diffusion equation was solved by the separated variable method
and Fourier series to obtain the formula for acid concentration at any x point in the direc-
tion of the fracture length of the acid fracture [6,16,17]:
∞
8C0 1
Cx =
π 2  (2n + 1）e
n =0
2
−（2 n +1）2 ⋅ S
(3)

Among these:

2π 2 Lx h
S= DH + (4)
Qf w

In the equation, Cx is the concentration of acid at point x in the direction of the fracture
length, %; C0 is the concentration of fresh acid, %; S is a dimensionless frequency group;
Lx is the distance flowed by acid from the mouth of the fracture to point x, m; h is the
height of the dynamic fracture, m; Qf is the discharge volume of acid injection in the field
construction, m3 /min; w is the average fracture width of the dynamic fracture, m; DH +
is the mass-transfer coefficient of H+, m2 /min. DH + is selected according to the real res-
ervoir temperature, which can be measured by the acid rock reaction kinetics experiment. Gen-
erally, the higher the temperature, the greater the value of DH + .

3. Experimental Design
3.1. Experimental Setup
In this experiment, the HXDL-2C long-term conductivity evaluation device (Figure
2) was used, with a maximum closure pressure of 130 MPa, a maximum experimental
temperature of 150 °C, and a maximum injection flow rate of 500 mL/min.
Processes 2023, 11, 3084 4 of 11

The HXThe HXDL-2C long-term conductivity

(a) (b)
Figure 2. Control panel (a) and infusion chamber (b) of the HXDL-2C long-term conductivity eval-
uation device.

3.2. Experimental Materials

The materials used in this experiment include an acid solution and a rock slab. The
acid formula and concentration used in acid fracturing construction in oilfield was se-
lected as an experimental acid solution.
Experimental rock slab size is selected based on the oil and gas industry standard
“Test Method for Fracturing Proppant Flow Conductivity SY/T6302-2019”. The dimension
of the experimental slab is 38 mm × 178 mm × 20 mm (Figure 3), which can be cut from
full-diameter downhole cores of the target well. Two rock slabs are required for each set
of experiments.

Figure 3. API standard rock slab dimensions.

3.3. Test Methods

Acid corrosion experiments are carried out first, and the rock plate is put into the
infusion chamber before the test, and several rubber particles (chloro-fluoro rubber mate-
rial, high temperature and acid resistance, made of 2 mm diameter rubber ring cut) of 2
mm diameter are uniformly placed between the upper and lower rock plates, and a set
fracture width is reserved, and the rock plate is not subjected to the closure pressure. Due
to the small number of rubber particles, the contact area with the rock plate is small, and
the effect on the acid-rock reaction face volume ratio is negligible. After the rock slab and
the acid are heated to a specified temperature, the acid flows through the rock slab gap
for a certain time at a set flow rate. After acid etching, the gel particles are removed, and
the long-term inflow experiment is carried out under the real formation temperature and
closure pressure conditions, and the test method is referred to the oil and gas industry
standard “Test Method for Fracturing Proppant Flow Conductivity SY/T6302-2019”. The
difference with the above industry standard is that there is no need to add proppant when
the rock slab is put into the inflow chamber, and the conductivity is tested directly after
the upper and lower rock slabs are affixed to the acid-etched fracture surface to record the
conductivity every 1 h.
Processes 2023, 11, 3084 5 of 11

3.4. Experimental Parameter Design

In the process of acid fracturing, due to the non-homogeneity of the mineral distri-
bution in the reservoir and the change of acid concentration in the fracture, which resulted
in the formation of uneven grooves by the non-uniform etching of the fracture wall by the
acid, the acid fracture still has a high flow-conducting capacity after the end of the con-
struction. Therefore, the flow-conducting capacity of the acid fracture depends on the
amount of acid dissolution in the formation of rock minerals and the degree of non-uni-
form etching. To ensure that the measured conductivity of acid-fracturing fracture is con-
sistent with that of the formation, the parameter design of acid fracture experiments is
carried out based on the principle that the acid concentration is the same as the amount of
dissolution and corrosion. The amount of acid erosion on rock is equal to the product of
acid rock reaction rate and acid erosion time, and the expression of acid rock reaction rate
is [6]:
∂C S C
− = DH +   (5)
∂t V δ
∂C
In the equation, C is the instantaneous reaction acid concentration, mol/L; is the
∂t
acid-rock reaction rate, mol/(L·s); is the reaction surface-to-volume ratio, cm−1; δ is the
reaction boundary layer thickness, cm.
According to Equation (5), the reaction rate of acid rock mainly depends on H+ mass
transfer coefficient, reaction facies ratio and reaction boundary layer thickness. The
boundary layer thickness is related to the acid viscosity and flow rate, the acid etching
experiment simulates the real formation temperature and pressure conditions and keeps
the experimental acid flow rate the same as the on-site construction flow rate, which can
ensure that the acid viscosity and boundary layer thickness of the experiment and the site
are equal. Based on the principle of the same flow rate, the formula for calculating the acid
injection flow rate of the acid etching experiment is derived as follows:
Q f we he
Q = 5 ×105 (6)
wh
In the equation, Q is the experimental acid injection flow rate, mL/min; we is the ex-
perimental slit width, m; he is the experimental slit height, m.
Under conditions of identical temperature, pressure, and acid concentration, the
mass transfer coefficient of H+ is significantly affected by the common ion effect. Therefore,
when conducting acid corrosion experiments, an appropriate amount of calcium chloride
or an equivalent substance should be added to the acid solution to simulate the ion pairing
effect. The concentration of acid flowing in the fracture gradually decreases, and the mass
of calcium chloride produced by the reaction with the rock is half of the mass of hydro-
chloric acid consumed. So, the calculation formula of calcium chloride mass addition is as
follows.

111( C0 − Cdc )
m= ρV (7)
73
In the equation, m is the mass of calcium chloride to be added, g; Cdc is the concentra-
tion of the acid to be tested, %; ρ is the density of the acid, g/cm3.
When acid pressure construction occurs on site, the amount of acid is basically more
than one hundred cubic meters. In the experimental process, by reducing the width of the
fracture and increasing the face-to-face ratio, the acid rock reaction rate is enhanced, the
experimental over-acid time is reduced, and then the acid dosage is reduced to reduce the
cost of the experiment. Based on the principle of the same amount of acid erosion, the
formula for calculating the amount of acid required for the experiment is deduced as:
Processes 2023, 11, 3084 6 of 11

we
V = Q ( t − tx ) (8)
w
Among these:
2
 2π hLcx CL 
tx =   (9)
 Qf
 
where V is the amount of experimental acid, mL; t is the total construction time, min; tx is
the time required for the acid to reach point x in the fracture, min; Lcx is the fracture dis-
tance flowed by the acid from the fresh acid concentration down to the concentration of
the acid to be tested, which can be obtained from Equations (3) and (4), m; and CL is the
acid’s filtration loss coefficient in the formation, m/min0.5.
Acid concentration to be tested based on engineering experience from the fresh acid
concentration of 50% to start testing, if the long-term conductivity is not zero, reduce the
acid concentration to continue testing, until a certain concentration of acid corrosion long-
term conductivity of 0 when the test is stopped. (There is a lower limit for the flow capacity
tested by the experimental equipment, and if the flow capacity is lower than 0.01 D·cm, it
defaults to 0. At the same time, according to engineering experience, if the flow capacity
is lower than this value, it also loses production significance.)

4. Case Studies
Carbonate rock oil well THX in Tahe Oilfield was selected to carry out an example
study. The closure pressure of the reservoir section of this well is 50 MPa, the temperature
is 120 °C, and 20% concentration of ground crosslinking acid is used for acid pressure
reforming, and the specific construction parameters are shown in Table 1. The formula for
ground cross-linking acid is as follows: hydrochloric acid (according to the experimental
design to determine the mass fraction of acid) + 0.8% ground gelling agent DMJ-A + 2.0%
high-temperature acidification corrosion inhibitor + 1.0% iron ion stabilizer + 1.0% auxil-
iary discharging agent + 1.0% emulsion breaker + 0.3% ground crosslinking conditioner
DMJ-B2.

Table 1. The THX well acid-fracturing parameters.

Parameter Class Value

Fresh acid concentration 20%
Hydrogen ion mass transfer coefficient 6.532 × 10−9 m2/min
Experimental fracture width 0.002 m
Experimental fracture height 0.0365 m
Dynamic fracture height 50 m
Average fracture width of dynamic fracture 0.008 m
Construction capacity 5 m3/min
Construction time 60 min
Acid density 1.136 g/cm3
Combined filtration coefficient 1.3 × 10−3 m/min1/2

4.1. Experimental Parameters

In the initial experiment, the acid solution concentration is set at 10%, which is half
of the fresh acid concentration. If the long-term conductivity of the acid-fractured fissure
is not zero at this concentration, the acid concentration is incrementally reduced in 2%
intervals for further testing until the long-term conductivity of the acid-fractured fissure
becomes zero. Based on the data in Table 1, parameters such as the required acid injection
rate, the amount of acid solution used, and the quantity of calcium chloride added under
Processes 2023, 11, 3084 7 of 11

different acid concentration conditions are calculated using Equations (6)–(9). The specific
results are shown in Table 2.

Table 2. Experimental parameters of acid etching fracture.

Acid concentration (%) 10 8 6 4 2

Acid injection flow (mL/min) 456 456 456 456 456
Acid dosage (mL) 6539 6158 5469 4104 211
Calcium chloride mass (g) 1130 1277 1323 1134 680

4.2. Experimental Results

As can be seen from Figures 4 and 5, the higher the acid concentration, the deeper
the acid etching groove, the higher the flow conductivity of the acid fracture at the begin-
ning of the acid fracture, with the increase in the time of the closed stress effect, the flow
conductivity decreases. After 0–8 h, the contact area between the fractures smaller bumps
under the action of the closed stress is extremely unstable, deformation and fragmentation
caused by the acid etching fracture grooves become shallower, some debris moves with
the fluid to block the channel, and the flow capacity declines rapidly [18–21]; after 8–40 h,
the weak contact between the fractures bumps Basic broken, high strength contact bumps
in the high temperature and high-pressure conditions of creep, the average fracture width
gradually reduced, and the conductivity slowly decreased [18]; after 40 h, the contact be-
tween the fractures tends to stabilize, the conductivity basically no longer change. Fit the
data of different acid concentration conductivity changes over time, and the fitting formu-
las for 10%, 8%, 6%, and 4% concentration acid solutions are y = 10.744 x−0.552, y = 9.741
x−0.737, y = 7.9428 x−1.02, and y = 6.419 x−1.424, respectively. As time increases, the conductivity
decreases rapidly in the initial stage, and then the decline rate gradually decreases, and
almost no changes occur in the later stage [22]. Overall, 10%, 8%, 6%, and 4% concentra-
tions of acid fracture conductivity resulted from the initial 7.3 D·cm, 5.2 D·cm, 3.8 D·cm,
and 3.3 D·cm, and eventually decreased to 1.2 D·cm, 0.5 D·cm, 0.2 D·cm, and 0, with the
decrease rate above 80%. This suggests that taking short-term conductivity as an evalua-
tion index will overestimate the effect of acid pressure on increasing production.

(a) (b)

(c) (d)
Figure 4. Lower rock plate after acid etching with different concentrations of acid: (a) 10% acid con-
centration; (b) 8% acid concentration; (c) 6% acid concentration; (d) 4% acid concentration.
Processes 2023, 11, 3084 8 of 11

Figure 5. Comparison of long-term conductivity of different acid concentrations.

The experimental results show that the critical acid concentration for the acid fracture
long-term conductivity of 0 is between 4% and 6%. To further determine the critical acid
concentration, the test results of long-term conductivity of 10%, 8%, and 6% acid concen-
tration were used to fit the power function relationship equation between acid concentra-
tion and long-term conductivity of acid fracture using the least squares method. As shown
in Figure 6, the long-term conductivity of acid-fracturing fracture corresponding to 4%
acid concentration is about 0.02 D·cm, which is basically consistent with the experimental
test results. In summary, the critical acid concentration for the long-term conductivity of
acid-fracturing fracture in the target block to be reduced to 0 is about 4%.

Figure 6. Plot of acid concentration versus long-term conductivity.

According to the parameters in Table 1 and Equation (3), the values of acid concen-
tration at each point in the fracture during the acid pressure construction were calculated
(Figure 7). As shown in Figure 7, the acid flowed from the mouth of the fracture to the
deeper part of the fracture, and the acid concentration gradually decreased, and under the
influence of the common ion effect, the acid-rock reaction rate was reduced, and the rate
of acid concentration decrease was also gradually slowed down. Taking the critical acid
concentration of 4% as the vertical coordinate, a horizontal line is drawn in Figure 7, and
Processes 2023, 11, 3084 9 of 11

the value of the fracture distance corresponding to the intersection of the horizontal line
and the curve (60 m) is the effective half-length of the acid fracture of the present embod-
iment, so the effective length of the acid fracture of the present embodiment is 120 m.

Figure 7. Acid flow distance in fractures corresponding to acid concentration curve.

5. Discussion
To verify the accuracy of the new method presented in this paper, it is compared with
two existing methods established in the literature [13,14]. In the literature [13], the effec-
tive length of acid-fracturing fractures is determined by residual acid concentration which
is equivalent to a critical acid concentration with a conductivity of 0. Based on the engi-
neering experience, the residual acid concentration was usually taken as 10% of the fresh
acid concentration. Namely, the residual acid concentration is 2% for the case shown in
Section 4. It can be seen from Figure 7 that the effective length of the acid-fracturing frac-
ture is about 180 m (90 m × 2). In the literature [14], the residual acid concentration was
defined as the critical concentration at which acid loses its ability to dissolve rock. Obvi-
ously, the effective length of acid-fracturing fractures is greater than 120 m for the case
shown in Section 4. Experimental results show that the ground cross-linking acid still has
the ability to dissolve rocks when the concentration is reduced to 4%. In summary, the
new method can more accurately determine the effective length of acid-fracturing frac-
tures in carbonate reservoirs.
Combining the definition of the effective length of acid fracture and the essential re-
quirement of non-zero long-term hydraulic conductivity within the effective length of acid
fracture, this paper establishes a more accurate method for determining the effective
length of acid fracture in carbonate reservoirs, which overcomes the shortcomings of the
existing methods that the effective length of acid fracture is overestimated due to the in-
accurate value of the residual acid concentration or short-term hydraulic conductivity as
the criterion of determination. Furthermore, based on the fundamental principles that the
long-term conductivity of acid-fractured fissures depends on the dissolution volume of
the acid solution on the reservoir rock minerals and the degree of uneven etching, an ex-
perimental parameter design method considering the ion pairing effect was proposed. The
experiments were conducted using target reservoir rock samples under simulated reser-
voir temperature and pressure conditions. In the experimental process, the reaction rate
of acid rock is enhanced, and the experimental time of over-acid is reduced by decreasing
the width of the slit and increasing the face-to-face ratio, which realizes the effect of re-
ducing the dosage of acid and lowering the cost of the experiment without affecting the
accuracy of the test results. Compared with existing methods for testing the effective con-
sumption time and flow rate of the acid solution, as well as using a 10% fresh acid con-
centration as the residual acid concentration to calculate the effective action distance of
acid-fracturing fractures, this method’s experimental testing is closer to the construction
Processes 2023, 11, 3084 10 of 11

environment of the formation, and the measured critical acid concentration is more accu-
rate. However, there are some shortcomings in this method. The main problem is that the
model for calculating the distribution of acid concentration in the fracture assumes that
the loss of acid filtration is zero, which makes the model only applicable to the denser
carbonate reservoirs, but not for the fracture-hole carbonate reservoirs, which will be the
focus of our future research work.

6. Conclusions
(1) A new method for measuring the effective length of acid-fracturing fracture in
carbonate reservoirs was proposed by considering the essential requirement that the long-
term conductivity within the effective length segment of acid-fracturing fracture is not
zero. Based on the principle of the same acid concentration and acid dissolution amount,
the long-term conductivity experiment of acid-fracturing fractures under different resid-
ual acid concentrations was designed and carried out with consideration of the common
ion effect. The critical acid concentration with long-term conductivity of 0 was obtained.
The effective length of the acid-fracturing fracture is determined by combining the pre-
diction results of the acid concentration distribution in fracture and the critical acid con-
centration value. The new method overcomes the shortcomings of the existing methods
that result in the overestimation of the effective length of acid-fracturing fractures due to
inaccurate values of residual acid concentration or short-term conductivity as the deter-
mining criterion.
(2) The higher the acid concentration, the deeper the etching groove of the acid solu-
tion, and the higher the initial conductivity of the acid-fracturing fracture. As the time of
closure stress increases, the conductivity of acid-fracturing fractures first rapidly de-
creases, then slowly decreases, and finally, stabilizes. The long-term conductivity decline
rate of acid-fracturing fractures in the example well is above 80%, and using short-term
conductivity as an evaluation indicator alone will overestimate the effectiveness of acid-
fracturing stimulation.
(3) The critical acid concentration of the acid-fracturing fracture of the example well
with a long-term conductivity of 0 is 4%, and the effective length of the acid-fracturing
fracture is determined to be 120 m by combining the prediction results of the acid concen-
tration distribution in fracture and the critical acid concentration value.

Author Contributions: Investigation, W.X. and S.L.; methodology, J.Z.; Project administration, L.W.;
Writing—original draft, S.L., Y.F. and Y.L.; Revising—original draft, W.X. All authors have read and
agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the Open Fund (KFJJ-TZ-2022-1) of
Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Advanced Stimulation Technology for Oil & Gas Reservoirs (Xi’an
Shiyou University), the Open Fund (YQZC202302) of Hubei Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Drilling
and Production Engineering (Yangtze University).
Data Availability Statement: Not applicable.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References
1. Qun, L.E.; Yun, X.U.; Zhanwei, Y.A.; Bo, C.A.; Xin, W.A.; Lang, Z.H.; Huifeng, L.I.; Minjie, X.U.; Liwei, W.A.; Li, S. Progress and
development directions of stimulation techniques for ultra-deep oil and gas reservoirs. Pet. Explor. Dev. 2021, 48, 221–231.
2. Yini, L.I.U.; Mingyi, H.U.; Zhang, S. Types, structural evolution difference and petroleum geological significance of Cambrian–
Ordovician carbonate platforms in Gucheng–Xiaotang area, Tarim Basin, NW China. Pet. Explor. Dev. 2022, 49, 1019–1032.
3. Li, Q.; Wang, F.; Wang, Y.; Forson, K.; Cao, L.; Zhang, C.; Zhou, C.; Zhao, B.; Chen, J. Experimental investigation on the high-
pressure sand suspension and adsorption capacity of guar gum fracturing fluid in low-permeability shale reservoirs: factor
analysis and mechanism disclosure. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 2022, 29, 53050–53062.
4. Li, Q.; Han, Y.; Liu, X.; Ansari, U.; Cheng, Y.; Yan, C. Hydrate as a by-product in CO2 leakage during the long-term sub-seabed
sequestration and its role in preventing further leakage. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 2022, 29, 77737–77754.
Processes 2023, 11, 3084 11 of 11

5. Zhang, L.; Zhou, F.; Mou, J.; Xu, G.; Zhang, S.; Li, Z. A new method to improve long-term fracture conductivity in acid fracturing
under high closure stress. J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 2018, 171, 760–770.
6. Aljawad, M.S.; Aljulaih, H.; Mahmoud, M.; Desouky, M. Integration of field, laboratory, and modeling aspects of acid fracturing:
A comprehensive review. J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 2019, 181, 106158.
7. Li, X.; He, Y.; Yang, Z.; Zhu, J.; Li, F.; Song, R. Fully coupled model for calculating the effective acid penetration distance during
acid fracturing. J. Nat. Gas Sci. Eng. 2020, 77, 103267.
8. Basu, S.; Ali, M.Y.; Farid, A.; Berteussen, K.A.; Mercado, G. A microseismic experiment in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates:
implications for carbonate reservoir monitoring. Arab. J. Geosci. 2014, 7, 3815–3827.
9. Solovyov, Y.V.; Alekseev, B.G.; Abramov, A.A.; Shalaginov, S.L.; Toksubayeva, A.S.; Mayorova, E.S.; Shestakov, A.G.; Serkerov,
B.; Ishberdina, G.; Rylov, R.; et al. Microseismic monitoring of non-proppant acid hydraulic fracturing in horizontal well. In
Horizontal Wells. Problems and Prospects 2015; European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers: Moscow, Russia, 2015; Volume
2015, pp. 1–5.
10. Zhang, N.; Liu, B.; Fa, W.; Dai, X.M. Research on Application of Microseismic Monitoring and Interpretation Technology. In
International Field Exploration and Development Conference; Springer Nature: Singapore, 2021; pp. 3084–3091.
11. Zhang, N.L.; Zhao, L.; Luo, Z. Simulation of acid fracturing effective distance in fissured carbonate reservoir. Electron. J. Geotech.
Eng. 2017, 22, 4317–4331.
12. Zhang, R.; Hou, B.; Zhou, B.; Liu, Y.; Xiao, Y.; Zhang, K. Effect of acid fracturing on carbonate formation in southwest China
based on experimental investigations. J. Nat. Gas Sci. Eng. 2020, 73, 103057.
13. Liu, F.; Li, L.; Zhou, C.; Ma, Y; Chen, W; Zeng, R; Fu, Y; Hu, Q; He, T; Guan, W. An Experimental Test Method for Effective
Length of Acid-Etched Fractures. CN112983372A, 18 June 2021.
14. Gu, Y.; Yi, X.; Dai, Y.; Zhang, Y.; Zhou, C. A new method to determine the effective distance of acid-rock reaction. Sci. Technol.
Eng. 2015, 15, 34–37.
15. Luo, Z.; Chen, X.; Zhao, L.; Xiao, Y.; Lu, X.; Miao, W.; Liu, H. Large-scale acid fracturing based on a large-scale conductivity
apparatus. ACS Omega 2021, 6, 6559–6570.
16. Ren, S.; Li, L. Calculation of effective flow distance of acid in fractures. Pet. Explor. Dev. 1981, 65–75.
17. Al-Ameri, A.; Gamadi, T. Optimization of acid fracturing for a tight carbonate reservoir. Petroleum 2020, 6, 70–79.
18. Aljawad, M.S.; Desouky, M.; Sølling, T.I.; Amao, A.O.; Al-Ramadan, K. Improving carbonate rock hardness by consolidating
additives to sustain long term fracture conductivity. J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 2020, 195, 107897.
19. Desouky, M.; Aljawad, M.S.; Solling, T.; Abduljamiu, A.; Norrman, K.; Alshehri, D. Improving long-term hydraulic fracture
conductivity by alteration of rock minerals. J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 2021, 196, 108046.
20. Samarkin, Y.; Amao, A.; Aljawad, M.S.; Solling, T.; Al-Ramadan, K.; AlTammar, M.J.; Alruwaili, K.M. Conductivity Enhance-
ment of Fractured Carbonates through High-Temperature Diammonium Hydrogen Phosphate Consolidation: A Preliminary
Study. SPE J. 2023, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.2118/214657-PA.
21. Kozhevnikov, E.V.; Turbakov, M.S.; Gladkikh, E.A.; Riabokon, E.P.; Poplygin, V.V.; Guzev, M.A.; Qi, C.; Kunitskikh, A.A.
Colloid migration as a reason for porous sandstone permeability degradation during coreflooding. Energies 2022, 15, 2845.
22. Turbakov, M.S.; Kozhevnikov, E.V.; Riabokon, E.P.; Gladkikh, E.A.; Poplygin, V.V.; Guzev, M.A.; Jing, H. Permeability
Evolution of Porous Sandstone in the Initial Period of Oil Production: Comparison of Well Test and Coreflooding Data. Energies
2022, 15, 6137.

Disclaimer/Publisher’s Note: The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual au-
thor(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to
people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.