• Glover, M.
• Nitters, G.
• Turk, G.
• Ayoub, J. A.
• Marino, S.
• Bas, F. Van Der
• Norman, D.
• Emiliani, C. N.
• Cobianco, S.

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>It is well documented in the literature that hydraulic fracture treatments, although successful, often underperform: Frac and Pack completions exhibit positive skin values, and traditional hydraulic fracture completions show discrepancies between the placed propped length and the effective production fracture length. Ineffective fracture clean-up is often cited as a likely culprit.</jats:p><jats:p>This paper presents some of the results of an investigation of fracture clean-up mechanisms. This investigation was undertaken under a Joint Industry Project (JIP) active since the year 2002. The data discussed builds on the initial results published in early 2006, which indicated that the polymer concentrates only in the filter cake and that flow along the fracture encounters significant yield stress when the filter cake cumulative thickness dominates the width of the fracture.</jats:p><jats:p>The new results presented here demonstrate successful strategies that mitigate the effects of excessive filter cake thickness. Experimental data demonstrate that flow along the fracture would encounter lower yield stress when the breaker is delivered directly to the filter cake as opposed to randomly distributed. The data also indicate that a smaller breaker amount delivered directly into the filter cake is more effective at reducing the yield stress effects than a larger breaker amount delivered randomly in the slurry. Alternative breaker materials are explored and additional data are also presented to estimate the yield stress effect for fluid flow across the filter cake from the reservoir into the fracture.</jats:p>

Topics

• impedance spectroscopy
• polymer