Recent Advances in Hydraulic Fracturing for Enhanced Well Productivity: State of the Art Report

Abstract

Hydraulic fracturing of horizontal wells is considered as the main reason for the phenomenal increase in production of oil and gas from marginal and unconventional reservoirs in North America. The process evolution started more than a decade ago and has resulted in ultra-low permeability reservoirs producing at close to the same rates as some of the very prolific reservoirs in the Middle East, North Sea, and elsewhere.<br /> Major changes in the technology include the following;<br /> <br /> Creation of numerous (often more than 100) fractures in a single horizontal well, using tens of thousand cubic meters of fluid mixed with tens of thousand tons of proppant.<br /> Development of new completion systems that allow successful execution of these treatments at reasonable times and at affordable costs.<br /> Development of new tools that are required for successful utilization of the new completion systems. Examples of these include new developments in coil tubing, wellbore isolation, downhole tools, and the technologies that are required for their use.<br /> Changes in fracturing fluid types and mixtures to keep costs within affordable limits while also satisfying some of the social concerns of the general public that have resulted from extensive use of hydraulic fracturing.<br /> New fracturing monitoring systems that allow optimum application of hydraulic fracturing for increased well productivity. These have included new tracer technology, microseismic mapping, fiber optic sensors, etc.<br /> New management systems that coordinate and integrate operations of multiple contractors each responsible for a different aspect of the operation.<br /> <br /> Paper will briefly discuss each of these topics and demonstrates their application with examples with actual data.