102 Hydraulic Fracturing

is to isolate the previous interval with a proppant ‘plug’ inside the wellbore.
Although proppant is highly permeable, sufficient length combined with the small
internal area of the wellbore creates an effective barrier that can be pressure tested
(see Section 3.7.3 and Eq. (3.26) of Chapter 3 for a calculation of the pressure drop
through the linear plug). If leakage through the proppant is too high (risking
dehydration of the next treatment), loss circulation material (LCM) can be placed
on top of the proppant plug. The general sequence of events for multiple fracturing
is shown in Figure 2.79.
For a land or platform well, all of these operations can be performed
independently of the rig. For a subsea well, these operations require the rig or
possibly a well-intervention vessel capable of running coiled tubing. It is possible to
speed up the operation by combining the clean-out trip with perforating. This
becomes more critical for high-angle wells. There is a risk that the second treatment
accidentally fractures into the lower interval. Although this likelihood may seem
remote and two parallel fractures could develop, a number of case histories
demonstrate that a fracture can ‘steer’ into a previous fracture or the fracture stays
close to the wellbore vertically above or below the perforations.

(a) (b)

Lowest interval perforated and Coiled tubing used to reverse

stimulated, leaving proppant out excess proppant down to
in the wellbore. next perforating interval.

(c) (d)

Possible lost
circulation material
(LCM) to
hydraulically
isolate previous
interval.

Lowest interval pressure tested. Upper Stimulation complete. Coiled tubing

interval perforated and stimulated. clean out of all proppant down to
base of well.

Figure 2.79 Typical sequence for generating multiple fractures in a vertical well.
Reservoir Completion 103

Given that hydraulic isolation is required between intervals, it is also critical that
the cement bond is adequate to prevent fracture migration up or down the annulus.
A micro-annulus is unlikely to have any influence except to confuse the cement
bond evaluation.

2.4.3.2. Pumping through the completion, casing, coiled tubing or test string
It is possible to stimulate through a permanent completion, a temporary string (frac
string) or by using coiled tubing. Most permanent completions fall into two
categories with respect to stimulation:
1. Offshore wells involving large tubing sizes, but with the casing isolated from
production fluids by a packer or equivalent. The large tubing size is beneficial
with respect to pumping operations at high rates. The packer could be
considered beneficial for keeping pressure off the casing. Nevertheless, if the
tubing leaks, high loads on the casing are hard to mitigate. Some companies use
annular pressure relief valves and annulus pressure-operated shut-downs, but
these are invariably not fast enough to protect fully against high casing pressures.
The packer also prevents a simple method of measuring bottom hole treating
pressures via annulus pressure. Many offshore wells (especially subsea) are now
equipped with permanent surface read out downhole gauges, which with a bit of
forethought, can be routed to give real-time bottom hole pressure information in
the stimulation control room.
2. Onshore or low rates wells will often use a smaller tubing size, with less
likelihood of a packer. The open annulus can be used for pressure monitoring,
but the smaller tubing sizes may preclude adequate stimulation rates even with
the inherent friction-reduction properties of stimulation fluids. In these
circumstances, the treatment may be pumped directly down the casing, down
the tubing and casing simultaneously or through a dedicated fracture string.
Clearly, stimulation involves high pressures and cold fluids, so tubing stress
analysis is critical [see Section 9.9.12 (Chapter 9) for stress analysis considerations
and possible pressure loads during a stimulation]. Some of the considerations for
pumping through a permanent completion are shown in Figure 2.80.
Where concern exists regarding pumping high-rate slurries through completion
components, the mitigation methods have often proven more troublesome than the
original risk. For example, it is possible to isolate downhole safety valves and gas lift
mandrels via straddles or sleeves. These introduce restrictions, opportunities for
proppant bridging and difficulties in retrieving the devices post treatment. So long
as the completion component is nearly flush with the tubing and is designed for the
treatment pressure, few problems should be expected. Note that some components
need to be designed to withstand high absolute pressures as well as high differential
pressures. A common problem with tubing retrievable downhole safety valves is not
applying enough control line pressure during the treatment. This will lead to the
flow tube moving up. The flapper is then pushed into the flow stream by the spring.
Flow through the valve will not be stopped and there will be no remote indications
of problems, but the flapper will rattle around creating a high potential for damage