Realistic Fracture Conductivities of Proppants as a Function of Reservoir Temperature
1987; Linguagem: Inglês
10.2523/16453-ms
Autores Tópico(s)Drilling and Well Engineering
ResumoRealistic Fracture Conductivities of Proppants as a Function of Reservoir Temperature B.W. McDaniel B.W. McDaniel Halliburton Services Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Paper presented at the SPE/DOE Joint Symposium on Low Permeability Reservoirs, Denver, Colorado, May 1987. Paper Number: SPE-16453-MS https://doi.org/10.2118/16453-MS Published: May 18 1987 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Get Permissions Search Site Citation McDaniel, B.W. "Realistic Fracture Conductivities of Proppants as a Function of Reservoir Temperature." Paper presented at the SPE/DOE Joint Symposium on Low Permeability Reservoirs, Denver, Colorado, May 1987. doi: https://doi.org/10.2118/16453-MS Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAll ProceedingsSociety of Petroleum Engineers (SPE)SPE Rocky Mountain Petroleum Technology Conference / Low Permeability Reservoirs Symposium Search Advanced Search AbstractThe steady-state conductivity of a propped fracture is significantly lower than has been reported in most of the data presently being used in fracture design calculations. When laboratory testing incorporates realistic parameters for temperature, and the tests are held for extended time periods, measured conductivity may only be a fraction of the previously reported value. Several authors have addressed this concern, each citing a very limited quantity of data. In some cases, only a few proppants were tested, while other authors addressed only one or two specific temperatures.This work is based on the results of more than one hundred tests where each stress level was held for extended times to create a complete family of data for a representative number of proppants. The data covers a formation temperature range of 70 degrees to 325 degrees F and a stress range of 2,000 to 13,000 psi for several of the most commonly used proppants. The data were then incorporated into various computerized frac design simulation programs and in reservoir production simulation models.IntroductionRealistic fracture conductivity data for propping agents are essential to both the design of a hydraulic fracturing treatment and to accurate prediction of the resultant fractured well production when using a computerized reservoir simulator to model post-frac production. Until now, the industry has not had a data base of fracture conductivity values that considered the combined effects of temperature and closure stress for extended time periods. Since Cooke first reported the drastic difference in long-term, high temperature data and short-time, ambient temperature conductivity values, no investigator has dedicated the manpower and equipment investment necessary to thoroughly define the needed data base. The major factors that have hindered most experimenters since Cooke's work (and how these problems can be handled) were reported by McDaniel in 1986.One of the major problems that complicates the generation of fracture conductivity data is the variation of sieve distributions that can be encountered for any given type of proppant. Tables 1, 2 and 3 present the typical sieve size distributions of proppants used in this work. For any given proppant type, the measured conductivity will be higher when the average particle size is larger, until proppant crushing becomes significant. When two samples of a "20/40" mesh size proppant have a different distribution of particle sizes within the nominal sieve range, measured fracture conductivity will shift accordingly. Short-time data will usually favor the proppant with the larger average particle size, but this is not always the case for long-term conductivity measurements. Figure I illustrates this point using 20/40 Jordan sand and a 20/35 Jordan sand obtained by sieving a sample of the 20/40 Jordan sand.When a proppant is held at closure stress for a significant time period (i.e., 150 to 300 hours) the crushing effect is more pronounced. Also, the temperature during this time period is very important since there is a stress-intensified corrosion that weakens the grains and increases the degree of crushing. As with most corrosion mechanisms, increased temperature environments result in the most stress-intensified corrosion effect.P. 515^ Keywords: conductivity value, proppant concentration, stress level, sieve distribution, reservoir temperature, concentration, proppant, hydraulic fracturing, time period, upstream oil & gas Subjects: Hydraulic Fracturing, Fracturing materials (fluids, proppant) This content is only available via PDF. 1987. Society of Petroleum Engineers You can access this article if you purchase or spend a download.
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