The fracture volume is gradually changed with the depletion of fracture pressure during the production process.However,there are few flowback models available so far that can estimate the fracture volume loss using pr...The fracture volume is gradually changed with the depletion of fracture pressure during the production process.However,there are few flowback models available so far that can estimate the fracture volume loss using pressure transient and rate transient data.The initial flowback involves producing back the fracturing fuid after hydraulic fracturing,while the second flowback involves producing back the preloading fluid injected into the parent wells before fracturing of child wells.The main objective of this research is to compare the initial and second flowback data to capture the changes in fracture volume after production and preload processes.Such a comparison is useful for evaluating well performance and optimizing frac-turing operations.We construct rate-normalized pressure(RNP)versus material balance time(MBT)diagnostic plots using both initial and second flowback data(FB;and FBs,respectively)of six multi-fractured horizontal wells completed in Niobrara and Codell formations in DJ Basin.In general,the slope of RNP plot during the FB,period is higher than that during the FB;period,indicating a potential loss of fracture volume from the FB;to the FB,period.We estimate the changes in effective fracture volume(Ver)by analyzing the changes in the RNP slope and total compressibility between these two flowback periods.Ver during FB,is in general 3%-45%lower than that during FB:.We also compare the drive mechanisms for the two flowback periods by calculating the compaction-drive index(CDI),hydrocarbon-drive index(HDI),and water-drive index(WDI).The dominant drive mechanism during both flowback periods is CDI,but its contribution is reduced by 16%in the FB,period.This drop is generally compensated by a relatively higher HDI during this period.The loss of effective fracture volume might be attributed to the pressure depletion in fractures,which occurs during the production period and can extend 800 days.展开更多
In the context of post-stimulation shale gas wells,the terms“shut-in”and“flowback”refer to two critical phases that occur after hydraulic fracturing(fracking)has been completed.These stages play a crucial role in ...In the context of post-stimulation shale gas wells,the terms“shut-in”and“flowback”refer to two critical phases that occur after hydraulic fracturing(fracking)has been completed.These stages play a crucial role in determining both the well’s initial production performance and its long-term hydrocarbon recovery.By establishing a comprehensive big data analysis platform,the flowback dynamics of over 1000 shale gas wells were analyzed in this work,leading to the development of an index system for evaluating flowback production capacity.Additionally,a shut-in chart was created for wells with different types of post-stimulation fracture networks,providing a structured approach to optimizing production strategies.A dynamic analysis method for flowback was also developed,using daily pressure drop and artificial fracture conductivity as key indicators.This method offers a systematic and effective approach to managing the shut-in and flowback processes for gas wells.Field trials demonstrated significant improvements:the probability of sand production was reduced,gas breakthrough time was extended,artificial fracture conductivity was enhanced,and the average estimated ultimate recovery(EUR)per well increased.展开更多
The field data of shale fracturing demonstrate that the flowback performance of fracturing fluid is different from that of conventional reservoirs,where the flowback rate of shale fracturing fluid is lower than that o...The field data of shale fracturing demonstrate that the flowback performance of fracturing fluid is different from that of conventional reservoirs,where the flowback rate of shale fracturing fluid is lower than that of conventional reservoirs.At the early stage of flowback,there is no single-phase flow of the liquid phase in shale,but rather a gas-water two-phase flow,such that the single-phase flow model for tight oil and gas reservoirs is not applicable.In this study,pores and microfractures are extracted based on the experimental results of computed tomography(CT)scanning,and a spatial model of microfractures is established.Then,the influence of rough microfracture surfaces on the flow is corrected using the modified cubic law,which was modified by introducing the average deviation of the microfracture height as a roughness factor to consider the influence of microfracture surface roughness.The flow in the fracture network is simulated using the modified cubic law and the lattice Boltzmann method(LBM).The results obtained demonstrate that most of the fracturing fluid is retained in the shale microfractures,which explains the low fracturing fluid flowback rate in shale hydraulic fracturing.展开更多
The stability and mobility of proppant packs in hydraulic fractures during hydrocarbon production are numerically investigated by the lattice Boltzmann-discrete element coupling method(LB-DEM).This study starts with a...The stability and mobility of proppant packs in hydraulic fractures during hydrocarbon production are numerically investigated by the lattice Boltzmann-discrete element coupling method(LB-DEM).This study starts with a preliminary proppant settling test,from which a solid volume fraction of 0.575 is calibrated for the proppant pack in the fracture.In the established workflow to investigate proppant flowback,a displacement is applied to the fracture surfaces to compact the generated proppant pack as well as further mimicking proppant embedment under closure stress.When a pressure gradient is applied to drive the fluid-particle flow,a critical aperture-to-diameter ratio of 4 is observed,above which the proppant pack would collapse.The results also show that the volumetric proppant flowback rate increases quadratically with the fracture aperture,while a linear variation between the particle flux and the pressure gradient is exhibited for a fixed fracture aperture.The research outcome contributes towards an improved understanding of proppant flowback in hydraulic fractures,which also supports an optimised proppant size selection for hydraulic fracturing operations.展开更多
The pivotal areas for the extensive and effective exploitation of shale gas in the Southern Sichuan Basin have recently transitioned from mid-deep layers to deep layers.Given challenges such as intricate data analysis...The pivotal areas for the extensive and effective exploitation of shale gas in the Southern Sichuan Basin have recently transitioned from mid-deep layers to deep layers.Given challenges such as intricate data analysis,absence of effective assessment methodologies,real-time control strategies,and scarce knowledge of the factors influencing deep gas wells in the so-called flowback stage,a comprehensive study was undertaken on over 160 deep gas wells in Luzhou block utilizing linear flow models and advanced big data analytics techniques.The research results show that:(1)The flowback stage of a deep gas well presents the characteristics of late gas channeling,high flowback rate after gas channeling,low 30-day flowback rate,and high flowback rate corresponding to peak production;(2)The comprehensive parameter AcmKm1/2 in the flowback stage exhibits a strong correlation with the Estimated Ultimate Recovery(EUR),allowing for the establishment of a standardized chart to evaluate EUR classification in typical shale gas wells during this stage.This enables quantitative assessment of gas well EUR,providing valuable insights into production potential and performance;(3)The spacing range and the initial productivity of gas wells have a significant impact on the overall effectiveness of gas wells.Therefore,it is crucial to further explore rational well patterns and spacing,as well as optimize initial drainage and production technical strategies in order to improve their performance.展开更多
A deep understanding of the geometric impacts of fracture on fracturing fluid flowback efficiency is essential for unconventional oil development. Using nuclear magnetic resonance and 2.5-dimensional matrix-fracture v...A deep understanding of the geometric impacts of fracture on fracturing fluid flowback efficiency is essential for unconventional oil development. Using nuclear magnetic resonance and 2.5-dimensional matrix-fracture visualization microfluidic models, qualitative and quantitative descriptions of the influences of connectivity between primary fracture and secondary fracture on flowback were given from core scale to pore network scale. The flow patterns of oil-gel breaking fluid two-phase flow during flowback under different fracture connectivity were analyzed. We found some counterintuitive results that non-connected secondary fracture (NCSF, not connect with artificial primary fracture and embedded in the matrix) is detrimental to flowbackefficiency. The NCSF accelerates the formation of oil channeling during flowback, resulting in a large amount of fracturing fluid trapped in the matrix, which is not beneficial for flowback. Whereas the connected secondary fracture (CSF, connected with the artificial primary fracture) is conducive to flowback. The walls of CSF become part of primary fracture, which expands the drainage area with low resistance, and delays the formation of the oil flow channel. Thus, CSF increases the high-speed flowback stage duration, thereby enhancing the flowback efficiency. The fracturing fluid flowback efficiency investigated here follows the sequence of the connected secondary fracture model (72%) > the matrix model (66%) > the non-connected secondary fracture model (38%). Our results contribute to hydraulic fracturing design and the prediction of flowback efficiency.展开更多
To address proppant flowback issues during post-fracturing treatments and production,self-healing elastomer modified proppants(SMPs)are proposed.Owing to their inherent self-aggregation behavior,the SMPs can aggregate...To address proppant flowback issues during post-fracturing treatments and production,self-healing elastomer modified proppants(SMPs)are proposed.Owing to their inherent self-aggregation behavior,the SMPs can aggregate together spontaneously to prevent proppant flowback and increase the pack porosity.It is noteworthy that the SMPs have a firm and dry self-healing elastomer(SE)coating,making their storage,transport and use as conventional proppants possible.The SE synthesized through polymerization is rich in amidogens and carbonyl groups as characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and the proton nuclear magnetic resonance.Thermal and thermomechanical properties of the SE coating are revealed by the thermogravimetric analysis,the differential scanning calorimetry and the rheological tests.The self-aggregation behavior of the SMPs is demonstrated by the adhesion force tests.The reversible hydrogen bonding interactions in SE coating contribute to the self-aggregation behavior of the SMPs,which is revealed by the thixotropy test and the FTIR analysis at different temperatures.With the self-aggregation behavior,the crushed proppants can aggregate in situ to form a stable structure again and therefore reduce the threat of narrowing down the fracture and proppant flowback,which has an important practical significance during oil and gas production.展开更多
We aim at the development of a general modelling workflow for design and optimization of the well flowback and startup operation on hydraulically fractured wells.Fracture flowback model developed earlier by the author...We aim at the development of a general modelling workflow for design and optimization of the well flowback and startup operation on hydraulically fractured wells.Fracture flowback model developed earlier by the authors is extended to take into account several new fluid mechanics factors accompanying flowback,namely,viscoplastic rheology of unbroken cross-linked gel and coupled“fracture-reservoir”numerical submodel for influx from rock formation.We also developed models and implemented new geomechanical factors,namely,(i)fracture closure in gaps between proppant pillars and in proppant-free cavity in the vicinity of the well taking into account formation creep;(ii)propagation of plastic deformations due to tensile rock failure from the fracture face into the fluid-saturated reservoir.We carried out parametric calculations to study the dynamics of fracture conductivity during flowback and its effect on well production for the set of parameters typical of oil wells in Achimov formation of Western Siberia,Russia.The first set of calculations is carried out using the flowback model in the reservoir linear flow regime.It is obtained that the typical length of hydraulic fracture zone,in which tensile rock failure at the fracture walls occurs,is insignificant.In the range of rock permeability in between 0.01 mD and 1 D,we studied the effect of non-dimensional governing parameters as well as bottomhole pressure drop dynamics on oil production.We obtained a map of pressure drop regimes(fast,moderate or slow)leading to maximum cumulative oil production.The second set of parametric calculations is carried out using integrated well production modelling workflow,in which the flowback model acts as a missing link in between hydraulic fracturing and reservoir commercial simulators.We evaluated quantitatively effects of initial fracture aperture,proppant diameter,yield stress of fracturing fluid,pressure drop rate and proppant material type(ceramic and sand)on long-term well production beyond formation linear regime.The third set of parametric calculations is carried out using the flowback model history-matched to field data related to production of four multistage hydraulically fractured oil wells in Achimov formation of Western Siberia,Russia.On the basis of the matched model we evaluated geomechanics effects on fracture conductivity degradation.We also performed sensitivity analysis in the framework of the history-matched model to study the impact of geomechanics and fluid rheology parameters on flowback efficiency.展开更多
In this paper,the Lower Silurian Longmaxi shale samples and the backflow fracturing fluid in the Changning Block of the Sichuan Basin were selected to investigate the damage mechanism of retained fracturing fluid to f...In this paper,the Lower Silurian Longmaxi shale samples and the backflow fracturing fluid in the Changning Block of the Sichuan Basin were selected to investigate the damage mechanism of retained fracturing fluid to fractures in shale gas reservoirs.Thus,experiments were conducted on fracturing fluid backflow and gas-driving fracturing fluids.The changes of liquid permeability of shale samples,solid particle size distribution and turbidity of the backflow fracturing fluid were monitored.The gas permeability before and after fracturing fluid gas drive was compared,and the damage degree and mechanism of the backflow fracturing fluid to the fractures in shale samples were analyzed.And the following research results were obtained.First,the damage rate of shale permeability after the fracturing fluid backflow is between 53.1%and 97.6%,and the range of the solid particle size of the flowback fluid is significantly reduced.The main reservoir damage modes include phase trapping damage caused by liquid phase retention,blockage caused by the solid phase residue,particle migration induced by gas-carrying liquid and salt precipitation.Second,in the stage of gas phase flow,the damage rate of permeability drops to 23.1-80.2%,and the damage caused by liquid phase retention is relieved,but the damage caused by the blockage of solid phase residue and the salt precipitation of flowback on the facture surface is inevitable.Third,based on the damage mechanism of fracturing fluid backflow in shale gas wells to fractures,considering the treatment difficulty of the flowback and its damage to reservoir fractures,it is recommended to give a full play to the fracturing capacity of fracturing fluid and optimize the properties and dosages of fracturing fluid so as to reduce the flowback of fracturing fluid as much as possible.展开更多
Shale gas reservoirs generally need to be fractured massively to reach the industrial production, however, the flowback ratio of fractured shalegas wells is low. In view of this issue, the effects of natural fracture ...Shale gas reservoirs generally need to be fractured massively to reach the industrial production, however, the flowback ratio of fractured shalegas wells is low. In view of this issue, the effects of natural fracture spacing, fracture conductivity, fracturing scale, pressure coefficient and shutintime on the flowback ratio were examined by means of numerical simulation and experiments jointly, and the causes of flowback difficulty ofshale gas wells were analyzed. The results show that the flowback ratio increases with the increase of natural fracture spacing, fracture conductivityand pressure coefficient and decreases with the increase of fracturing scale and shut-in time. From the perspective of microscopicmechanism, when water enters micro-cracks of the matrix through the capillary self-absorbing effect, the original hydrogen bonds between theparticles are replaced by the hydroxyl group, namely, hydration effect, giving rise to the growth of new micro-cracks and propagation of mainfractures, and complex fracture networks, so a large proportion of water cannot flow back, resulting in a low flowback ratio. For shale gas wellfracturing generally has small fracture space, low fracture conductivity and big fracturing volume, a large proportion of the injected water will beheld in the very complex fracture network with a big specific area, and unable to flow back. It is concluded that the flowback ratio of fracturedshale gas wells is affected by several factors, so it is not necessary to seek high flowback ratio deliberately, and shale gas wells with low flowbackratio, instead, usually have high production.展开更多
Multiple fractured horizontal wells (MFHWs) currently are the only possible means of commercial production from the low and ultra-low permeability unconventional gas reservoirs. In early production time, flowback flui...Multiple fractured horizontal wells (MFHWs) currently are the only possible means of commercial production from the low and ultra-low permeability unconventional gas reservoirs. In early production time, flowback fluid, which constitutes of hydraulic water and gas flow within fractures, is collected and analyzed. Flowback analysis has been shown to be a useful tool to estimate key properties of the hydraulic fracture such as conductivity and pore volume. Until date, most tools of flowback analysis rely on empirical and approximate methods. This study presents an improved Green-function-based semi-analytical solution for performance analysis of horizontal gas wells during flowback and early production periods. The proposed solution is derived based on coupling the solutions of two domains: a rigorously derived Green’s function-based integral solution for single-phase gas flow in matrix, and a finite-difference, multiphase solution for gas–water two-phase flow in the fracture. The validity of proposed semi-analytical solution is verified by finely gridded numerical models built in a commercial simulator for a series of synthetic cases considering a variety of fluid and reservoir property combinations, as well as various different production constraints. Comparisons against available empirical and approximate methods are also provided for these cases.展开更多
CO_(2) dry fracturing is a promising alternative method to water fracturing in tight gas reservoirs,especially in water-scarce areas such as the Loess Plateau.The CO_(2) flowback efficiency is a critical factor that a...CO_(2) dry fracturing is a promising alternative method to water fracturing in tight gas reservoirs,especially in water-scarce areas such as the Loess Plateau.The CO_(2) flowback efficiency is a critical factor that affects the final gas production effect.However,there have been few studies focusing on the flowback characteristics after CO_(2) dry fracturing.In this study,an extensive core-to-field scale study was conducted to investigate CO_(2) flowback characteristics and CH_(4) production behavior.Firstly,to investigate the impact of core properties and production conditions on CO_(2) flowback,a series of laboratory experiments at the core scale were conducted.Then,the key factors affecting the flowback were analyzed using the grey correlation method based on field data.Finally,taking the construction parameters of Well S60 as an example,a dual-permeability model was used to characterize the different seepage fields in the matrix and fracture for tight gas reservoirs.The production parameters after CO_(2) dry fracturing were then optimized.Experimental results demonstrate that CO_(2) dry fracturing is more effective than slickwater fracturing,with a 9.2%increase in CH_(4) recovery.The increase in core permeability plays a positive role in improving CH_(4) production and CO_(2) flowback.The soaking process is mainly affected by CO_(2) diffusion,and the soaking time should be controlled within 12 h.Increasing the flowback pressure gradient results in a significant increase in both CH_(4) recovery and CO_(2) flowback efficiency.While,an increase in CO_(2) injection is not conducive to CH_(4) production and CO_(2) flowback.Based on the experimental and field data,the important factors affecting flowback and production were comprehensively and effectively discussed.The results show that permeability is the most important factor,followed by porosity and effective thickness.Considering flowback efficiency and the influence of proppant reflux,the injection volume should be the minimum volume that meets the requirements for generating fractures.The soaking time should be short which is 1 day in this study,and the optimal bottom hole flowback pressure should be set at 10 MPa.This study aims to improve the understanding of CO_(2) dry fracturing in tight gas reservoirs and provide valuable insights for optimizing the process parameters.展开更多
Hydraulic fracturing facilitates the development and exploitation of unconventional reservoirs.In this study,the injected hydraulic fracturing fluid(HFF)and flowback and produced water(FPW)in tight oil reservoirs of t...Hydraulic fracturing facilitates the development and exploitation of unconventional reservoirs.In this study,the injected hydraulic fracturing fluid(HFF)and flowback and produced water(FPW)in tight oil reservoirs of the Lucaogou Formation in the Junggar Basin are temporally sampled from day 1 to day 64.Freshwater is used for fracturing,and HFF is obtained.The chemical and isotopic parameters(including the water type,total salinity,total dissolved solids(TDS),pH,concentrations of Na^(+),Cl^(-),Ba^(+),K^(+),Fe^(2+)+Fe^(3+),and CO_(3)^(2-),dD,and δ^(18)O)are experimentally obtained,and their variations with time are systematically analyzed based on the flowback water.The results show that the water type,Na/Cl ratio,total salinity,and TDS of the FPW change periodically primarily due to the HFF mixing with formation water,thus causing δD and δ^(18)O to deviate from the meteoric water line of Xinjiang.Because of watererock interaction(WRI),the concentrations of Fe^(2+)+Fe^(3+)and CO_(3)^(2-)of the FPW increase over time,with the solution pH becoming more alkaline.Furthermore,based on the significant changes observed in the geochemistry of the FPW,three separate time intervals of flowback time are identified:Stage Ⅰ(<10 days),where the FPW is dominated by the HFF and the changes in ions and isotopes are mainly caused by the WRI;Stage Ⅱ(10-37 days),where the FPW is dominated by the addition of formation water to the HFF and the WRI is weakened;and finally,Stage Ⅲ(>37 days),where the FPW is dominated by the chemistry of the formation water.The methodology implemented in this study can provide critical support for the source identification of formation water.展开更多
In this paper, the methods developed by?[1] are used to analyze flowback data, which involves modeling flow both before and after the breakthrough of formation fluids. Despite the versatility of these techniques, achi...In this paper, the methods developed by?[1] are used to analyze flowback data, which involves modeling flow both before and after the breakthrough of formation fluids. Despite the versatility of these techniques, achieving an optimal combination of parameters is often difficult with a single deterministic analysis. Because of the uncertainty in key model parameters, this problem is an ideal candidate for uncertainty quantification and advanced assisted history-matching techniques, including Monte Carlo (MC) simulation and genetic algorithms (GAs) amongst others. MC simulation, for example, can be used for both the purpose of assisted history-matching and uncertainty quantification of key fracture parameters. In this work, several techniques are tested including both single-objective (SO) and multi-objective (MO) algorithms for history-matching and uncertainty quantification, using a light tight oil (LTO) field case. The results of this analysis suggest that many different algorithms can be used to achieve similar optimization results, making these viable methods for developing an optimal set of key uncertain fracture parameters. An indication of uncertainty can also be achieved, which assists in understanding the range of parameters which can be used to successfully match the flowback data.展开更多
Hydrogeochemical processes that would occur in polluted groundwater and aquifer system,may reduce the sensitivity of Sr isotope being the indicator of hydraulic fracturing flowback fluids(HFFF)in groundwater.In this p...Hydrogeochemical processes that would occur in polluted groundwater and aquifer system,may reduce the sensitivity of Sr isotope being the indicator of hydraulic fracturing flowback fluids(HFFF)in groundwater.In this paper,the Dameigou shale gas field in the northern Qaidam Basin was taken as the study area,where the hydrogeochemical processes affecting Sr isotope was analysed.Then,the model for Sr isotope in HFFF-polluted groundwater was constructed to assess the sensitivity of Sr isotope as HFFF indicator.The results show that the dissolution can release little Sr to polluted groundwater and cannot affect the εSr(the deviation of the 87Sr/86Sr ratio)of polluted groundwater.In the meantime,cation exchange can considerably affect Sr composition in the polluted groundwater.The Sr with low εSr is constantly released to groundwater from the solid phase of aquifer media by cation exchange with pollution of Quaternary groundwater by the HFFF and it accounts for 4.6% and 11.0% of Sr in polluted groundwater when the HFFF flux reaches 10% and 30% of the polluted groundwater,respectively.However,the Sr from cation exchange has limited impact on Sr isotope in polluted groundwater.Addition of Sr from cation exchange would only cause a 0.2%and 1.2% decrease in εSr of the polluted groundwater when the HFFF flux reaches 10% and 30% of the polluted groundwater,respectively.These results demonstrate that hydrogeochemical processes have little effect on the sensitivity of Sr isotope being the HFFF indicator in groundwater of the study area.For the scenario of groundwater pollution by HFFF,when the HFFF accounts for 5%(in volume percentage)of the polluted groundwater,the HFFF can result in detectable shifts of εSr(Δ_(εSr)=0.86)in natural groundwater.Therefore,after consideration of hydrogeochemical processes occurred in aquifer with input of the HFFF,Sr isotope is still a sensitive indicator of the Quaternary groundwater pollution by the HFFF produced in the Dameigou shale of Qaidam Basin.展开更多
New developments in lab technologies help us to explore problems that were less understood in the past due to the limitations and technological constraints. One such problem of assessing the formation damage created b...New developments in lab technologies help us to explore problems that were less understood in the past due to the limitations and technological constraints. One such problem of assessing the formation damage created by the invasion of fracture fluid into the matrix at lab scale is the visualization of fluid saturation distributions inside the matrix. According to the current understanding, the high capillarity contrast between the fracture and the matrix creates a non-uniform saturation distribution of invaded fluid phase during flowback, with the saturations mostly concentrated at the fracture face. With the advent of microfluidics, their application has become more feasible to visually analyze the effectiveness of surfactants to mitigate the invasion-created formation damage and understand the impact of depth of invasion on the characteristics of flowback and oil productivity. Through our previous work, we have successfully demonstrated the capability of this new visualization tool in studying the factors of the presence of surfactant in the fracture fluid and its depth of invasion, to understand the flowback efficiencies and later oil productivities in oil-wet fractured formations. Since the substrate for flooding was a proxy model of an actual rock, the chip flooding results need to be validated with conventional core flooding experiments. In contemporary times, when the new advancements in technology are driving the research progress in all industries, it is mandatory to take a well informed decision by imposing a comparative check on the results with accessible conventional means, wherever possible. The success of validation of chip flooding approach with the core flooding approach in this work instates a strong belief over the application of microfluidics to pursue more research in related fields of oil recovery.展开更多
In this paper,marine shale cores taken from Zhaotong,Changning and Weiyuan Blocks in South China were used as samples to investigate the interaction between fracturing fluids and shale and the retention mechanisms.Fir...In this paper,marine shale cores taken from Zhaotong,Changning and Weiyuan Blocks in South China were used as samples to investigate the interaction between fracturing fluids and shale and the retention mechanisms.Firstly,adsorption,swelling,dissolution pore,dissolution fluid mineralization degree and ionic composition were experimentally studied to reveal the occurrence of water in shale and the reason for a high mineralization degree.Then,the mechanisms of water retention and mineralization degree increase were simulated and calculated.The scanning electron microscopy(SEM)analysis shows that there are a large number of micro fractures originated from clay minerals in the shale.Mineral dissolution rates of shale immersed in ultrasonic is around 0.5-0.7%.The ionic composition is in accordance with that of formation water.The clay minerals in core samples are mainly composed of chlorites and illites with a small amount of illites/smectites,but no montmorillonites(SS),and its content is between 18%and 20%.It is verified by XRD and infrared spectroscopy that the fracturing fluid doesn't flow into the space between clay mineral layers,so it can't lead to shale swelling.Thus,the retention of fracturing fluids is mainly caused by the adsorption at the surface of the newly fractured micro fractures in shale in a mode of successive permeation,and its adsorptive saturation rates is proportional to the pore diameters.It is concluded that the step-by-step extraction of fracturing fluids to shale and the repulsion of nano-cracks to ion are the main reasons for the abrupt increase of mineralization degree in the late stage of flowing back.In addition,the liquid carrying effect of methane during the formation of a gas reservoir is also a possible reason.Based on the experimental and field data,fracturing fluid flowback rates and gas production rates of 9 wells were analyzed.It is indicated that the same block follows an overall trend,namely,the lower the flowback rates,the more developed the micro fractures,the better the volume simulation effect and the higher the gas production rates.展开更多
Centralized and group well deployment and factory-like fracturing techniques are adopted for low-permeability tight sandstone reservoirs in the Sulige Gasfield,Ordos Basin,so as to realize its efficient and economic d...Centralized and group well deployment and factory-like fracturing techniques are adopted for low-permeability tight sandstone reservoirs in the Sulige Gasfield,Ordos Basin,so as to realize its efficient and economic development.However,environmental protection is faced with grim situations because fluid delivery rises abruptly on site in a short time due to centralized fracturing of the well group.Based on the characteristics of gas testing after fracturing in this gas field,a fracturing flowback fluid recovery and treatment method suitable for the Sulige Gasfield has been developed with the landform features of this area taken into account.Firstly,a high-efficiency well-to-well fracturing flowback fluid recovery and reutilization technique was developed with multi-effect surfactant polymer recoverable fracturing fluid system as the core,and in virtue of this technique,the treatment efficiency of conventional guar gum fracturing fluid system is increased.Secondly,for recovering and treating the end fluids on the well sites,a fine fracturing flowback fluid recovery and treatment technique has been worked out with“coagulation and precipitation,filtration and disinfection,and sludge dewatering”as the main part.Owing to the application of this method,the on-site water resource utilization ratio has been increased and environmental protection pressure concerned with fracturing operation has been relieved.In 2014,field tests were performed in 62 wells of 10 well groups,with 32980 m3 cumulative treated flowback fluid,17160 m3 reutilization volume and reutilization ratio over 70%.Obviously,remarkable social and economical benefits are thus realized.展开更多
Reutilizing flowback fluid and produced water to prepare fracturing fluid is still an urgent problem that needs to be solved and is not well solved.In this work,an anti-salt associative thickener(AAT)was synthesized b...Reutilizing flowback fluid and produced water to prepare fracturing fluid is still an urgent problem that needs to be solved and is not well solved.In this work,an anti-salt associative thickener(AAT)was synthesized by free radical copolymerization,and the molecular structure of AAT was demonstrated by FTIR and 1H-NMR.Furthermore,compared with a common anti-salt thickener(HAT),the comprehensive performances of AAT were systematically investigated under the conditions of fresh water,flowback fluid and produced water in Sulige Gasfield.The results show that under the conditions of an average salinity of 34,428 mg/L and an average high-valent ion content of 4967 mg/L,AAT can present good thickening capacity,temperature and shear resistance,drag reduction efficiency,sand-carrying ability,gel-breaking property and high-effective crosslinking capacity with organic zirconium crosslinker at high salinity,which implicates the great potential and feasibility to prepare fracturing fluid by reutilizing high-salinity f lowbackfluid and produced water without further treatment.Moreover,the possible mechanisms of the associative thickener to achieve high-effective drag reduction and sand-carrying might be the existence of reversible supramolecular structures and the significant increase of viscoelasticity by shear stretching in turbulent state.At the same time,both physical and chemical interaction can make a significant contribution to high-effective crosslinking capacity of associative thickener.All results and findings can provide an important reference for the design of novel fracturing fluid and the reutilization of high salinity water in stimulation applications.展开更多
Proppant flowback in the post-fracturing flowback period not only reduces the fracture conductivity but also damages equipment.Due to the current lack of experimental or numerical simulation methods for proppant flowb...Proppant flowback in the post-fracturing flowback period not only reduces the fracture conductivity but also damages equipment.Due to the current lack of experimental or numerical simulation methods for proppant flowback in partial closure fracture,the mechanisms and patterns of proppant flowback remain unclear.This makes it difficult to predict the risks of proppant flowback,leaving flowback program design without theoretical guidance and resulting in high uncertainty in prevention effectiveness.This paper has further modified the CFD-DEM(Computational Fluid Dynamics-Discrete Element Method)coupling interface by introducing fracture closure pressure into the particle motion equation.Based on the dynamic mesh,the fracture width in the CFD model is adjusted in real time to establish a numerical simulation method that considers fracture closure and synchronous changes in the flow field.By establishing flow similarity at the perforations,a near-wellbore flow field is created in the scaled model that is representative of field conditions,ensuring the practical value of the experimental results.Based on proppant particle force analysis during flowback,we investigated the impact of closure pressure,friction coefficient,perforation parameters,fracture dip angle,proppant particle size combination on proppant flowback.The research indicates that the existence of a threshold closure pressure arises from the competition between the lateral force(driving flowback)exerted by fracture closure on particles and the frictional force(resisting flowback)acting on particles.Below this threshold,increasing closure pressure enhances near-wellbore proppant flowback;above this threshold,increased closure pressure reduces proppant flowback.This threshold value is determined to be 1 MPa under the simulation conditions of this paper.The friction coefficient between particles and the fracture wall has greater impact on particle flowback than the friction coefficient between particles.In the vertical direction of the fracture,flowback is more probable for particles above the perforation.There is higher risk of particle flowback in horizontal fractures.The lateral distribution of large and small particles is more effective in preventing flowback than the vertical distribution.In the horizontal direction,particles nearer to the perforation have a higher probability of flowback.Strategies for proppant flowback control:the flow rate should be kept low initially,and then increased after the bottomhole pressure has been appropriately reduced;perforations should be placed in the upper part of the reservoir(vertical well);the sand concentration should not be increased in the later stages of fracturing to reduce the accumulation of proppant above the perforations;different size proppants should be injected in smaller sizes followed by larger sizes,with a slug of clean fluid in between to achieve a side-by-side placement of larger and smaller proppant,thereby mitigating proppant flowback.展开更多
文摘The fracture volume is gradually changed with the depletion of fracture pressure during the production process.However,there are few flowback models available so far that can estimate the fracture volume loss using pressure transient and rate transient data.The initial flowback involves producing back the fracturing fuid after hydraulic fracturing,while the second flowback involves producing back the preloading fluid injected into the parent wells before fracturing of child wells.The main objective of this research is to compare the initial and second flowback data to capture the changes in fracture volume after production and preload processes.Such a comparison is useful for evaluating well performance and optimizing frac-turing operations.We construct rate-normalized pressure(RNP)versus material balance time(MBT)diagnostic plots using both initial and second flowback data(FB;and FBs,respectively)of six multi-fractured horizontal wells completed in Niobrara and Codell formations in DJ Basin.In general,the slope of RNP plot during the FB,period is higher than that during the FB;period,indicating a potential loss of fracture volume from the FB;to the FB,period.We estimate the changes in effective fracture volume(Ver)by analyzing the changes in the RNP slope and total compressibility between these two flowback periods.Ver during FB,is in general 3%-45%lower than that during FB:.We also compare the drive mechanisms for the two flowback periods by calculating the compaction-drive index(CDI),hydrocarbon-drive index(HDI),and water-drive index(WDI).The dominant drive mechanism during both flowback periods is CDI,but its contribution is reduced by 16%in the FB,period.This drop is generally compensated by a relatively higher HDI during this period.The loss of effective fracture volume might be attributed to the pressure depletion in fractures,which occurs during the production period and can extend 800 days.
基金PetroChina Research Applied Science and Technology Project,“Shale Gas Scale Increase Production and Exploration andDevelopment Technology-Research and Application of Key Technology of Deep Shale Gas Scale Production”(No.2023ZZ21YJ01).
文摘In the context of post-stimulation shale gas wells,the terms“shut-in”and“flowback”refer to two critical phases that occur after hydraulic fracturing(fracking)has been completed.These stages play a crucial role in determining both the well’s initial production performance and its long-term hydrocarbon recovery.By establishing a comprehensive big data analysis platform,the flowback dynamics of over 1000 shale gas wells were analyzed in this work,leading to the development of an index system for evaluating flowback production capacity.Additionally,a shut-in chart was created for wells with different types of post-stimulation fracture networks,providing a structured approach to optimizing production strategies.A dynamic analysis method for flowback was also developed,using daily pressure drop and artificial fracture conductivity as key indicators.This method offers a systematic and effective approach to managing the shut-in and flowback processes for gas wells.Field trials demonstrated significant improvements:the probability of sand production was reduced,gas breakthrough time was extended,artificial fracture conductivity was enhanced,and the average estimated ultimate recovery(EUR)per well increased.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.52022087).
文摘The field data of shale fracturing demonstrate that the flowback performance of fracturing fluid is different from that of conventional reservoirs,where the flowback rate of shale fracturing fluid is lower than that of conventional reservoirs.At the early stage of flowback,there is no single-phase flow of the liquid phase in shale,but rather a gas-water two-phase flow,such that the single-phase flow model for tight oil and gas reservoirs is not applicable.In this study,pores and microfractures are extracted based on the experimental results of computed tomography(CT)scanning,and a spatial model of microfractures is established.Then,the influence of rough microfracture surfaces on the flow is corrected using the modified cubic law,which was modified by introducing the average deviation of the microfracture height as a roughness factor to consider the influence of microfracture surface roughness.The flow in the fracture network is simulated using the modified cubic law and the lattice Boltzmann method(LBM).The results obtained demonstrate that most of the fracturing fluid is retained in the shale microfractures,which explains the low fracturing fluid flowback rate in shale hydraulic fracturing.
基金Funding support from Heilongjiang"Open Competition"project(Grant No.DQYT2022-JS-758)is greatly acknowledgedFinancial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.52304025 and 52174025)is acknowledged+1 种基金supports from Northeast Petroleum University and Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundationsupport from the Heilongjiang Touyan Innovation Team Program.
文摘The stability and mobility of proppant packs in hydraulic fractures during hydrocarbon production are numerically investigated by the lattice Boltzmann-discrete element coupling method(LB-DEM).This study starts with a preliminary proppant settling test,from which a solid volume fraction of 0.575 is calibrated for the proppant pack in the fracture.In the established workflow to investigate proppant flowback,a displacement is applied to the fracture surfaces to compact the generated proppant pack as well as further mimicking proppant embedment under closure stress.When a pressure gradient is applied to drive the fluid-particle flow,a critical aperture-to-diameter ratio of 4 is observed,above which the proppant pack would collapse.The results also show that the volumetric proppant flowback rate increases quadratically with the fracture aperture,while a linear variation between the particle flux and the pressure gradient is exhibited for a fixed fracture aperture.The research outcome contributes towards an improved understanding of proppant flowback in hydraulic fractures,which also supports an optimised proppant size selection for hydraulic fracturing operations.
文摘The pivotal areas for the extensive and effective exploitation of shale gas in the Southern Sichuan Basin have recently transitioned from mid-deep layers to deep layers.Given challenges such as intricate data analysis,absence of effective assessment methodologies,real-time control strategies,and scarce knowledge of the factors influencing deep gas wells in the so-called flowback stage,a comprehensive study was undertaken on over 160 deep gas wells in Luzhou block utilizing linear flow models and advanced big data analytics techniques.The research results show that:(1)The flowback stage of a deep gas well presents the characteristics of late gas channeling,high flowback rate after gas channeling,low 30-day flowback rate,and high flowback rate corresponding to peak production;(2)The comprehensive parameter AcmKm1/2 in the flowback stage exhibits a strong correlation with the Estimated Ultimate Recovery(EUR),allowing for the establishment of a standardized chart to evaluate EUR classification in typical shale gas wells during this stage.This enables quantitative assessment of gas well EUR,providing valuable insights into production potential and performance;(3)The spacing range and the initial productivity of gas wells have a significant impact on the overall effectiveness of gas wells.Therefore,it is crucial to further explore rational well patterns and spacing,as well as optimize initial drainage and production technical strategies in order to improve their performance.
基金supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China(Grant No.2019YFA0708700).
文摘A deep understanding of the geometric impacts of fracture on fracturing fluid flowback efficiency is essential for unconventional oil development. Using nuclear magnetic resonance and 2.5-dimensional matrix-fracture visualization microfluidic models, qualitative and quantitative descriptions of the influences of connectivity between primary fracture and secondary fracture on flowback were given from core scale to pore network scale. The flow patterns of oil-gel breaking fluid two-phase flow during flowback under different fracture connectivity were analyzed. We found some counterintuitive results that non-connected secondary fracture (NCSF, not connect with artificial primary fracture and embedded in the matrix) is detrimental to flowbackefficiency. The NCSF accelerates the formation of oil channeling during flowback, resulting in a large amount of fracturing fluid trapped in the matrix, which is not beneficial for flowback. Whereas the connected secondary fracture (CSF, connected with the artificial primary fracture) is conducive to flowback. The walls of CSF become part of primary fracture, which expands the drainage area with low resistance, and delays the formation of the oil flow channel. Thus, CSF increases the high-speed flowback stage duration, thereby enhancing the flowback efficiency. The fracturing fluid flowback efficiency investigated here follows the sequence of the connected secondary fracture model (72%) > the matrix model (66%) > the non-connected secondary fracture model (38%). Our results contribute to hydraulic fracturing design and the prediction of flowback efficiency.
基金the support from the National Key R&D Program of China(grant number 2018YFA0702400)the Major Scientific and Technological Projects of CNPC(grant number ZD2019-183-007)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(grant number No.19CX02017A)。
文摘To address proppant flowback issues during post-fracturing treatments and production,self-healing elastomer modified proppants(SMPs)are proposed.Owing to their inherent self-aggregation behavior,the SMPs can aggregate together spontaneously to prevent proppant flowback and increase the pack porosity.It is noteworthy that the SMPs have a firm and dry self-healing elastomer(SE)coating,making their storage,transport and use as conventional proppants possible.The SE synthesized through polymerization is rich in amidogens and carbonyl groups as characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and the proton nuclear magnetic resonance.Thermal and thermomechanical properties of the SE coating are revealed by the thermogravimetric analysis,the differential scanning calorimetry and the rheological tests.The self-aggregation behavior of the SMPs is demonstrated by the adhesion force tests.The reversible hydrogen bonding interactions in SE coating contribute to the self-aggregation behavior of the SMPs,which is revealed by the thixotropy test and the FTIR analysis at different temperatures.With the self-aggregation behavior,the crushed proppants can aggregate in situ to form a stable structure again and therefore reduce the threat of narrowing down the fracture and proppant flowback,which has an important practical significance during oil and gas production.
文摘We aim at the development of a general modelling workflow for design and optimization of the well flowback and startup operation on hydraulically fractured wells.Fracture flowback model developed earlier by the authors is extended to take into account several new fluid mechanics factors accompanying flowback,namely,viscoplastic rheology of unbroken cross-linked gel and coupled“fracture-reservoir”numerical submodel for influx from rock formation.We also developed models and implemented new geomechanical factors,namely,(i)fracture closure in gaps between proppant pillars and in proppant-free cavity in the vicinity of the well taking into account formation creep;(ii)propagation of plastic deformations due to tensile rock failure from the fracture face into the fluid-saturated reservoir.We carried out parametric calculations to study the dynamics of fracture conductivity during flowback and its effect on well production for the set of parameters typical of oil wells in Achimov formation of Western Siberia,Russia.The first set of calculations is carried out using the flowback model in the reservoir linear flow regime.It is obtained that the typical length of hydraulic fracture zone,in which tensile rock failure at the fracture walls occurs,is insignificant.In the range of rock permeability in between 0.01 mD and 1 D,we studied the effect of non-dimensional governing parameters as well as bottomhole pressure drop dynamics on oil production.We obtained a map of pressure drop regimes(fast,moderate or slow)leading to maximum cumulative oil production.The second set of parametric calculations is carried out using integrated well production modelling workflow,in which the flowback model acts as a missing link in between hydraulic fracturing and reservoir commercial simulators.We evaluated quantitatively effects of initial fracture aperture,proppant diameter,yield stress of fracturing fluid,pressure drop rate and proppant material type(ceramic and sand)on long-term well production beyond formation linear regime.The third set of parametric calculations is carried out using the flowback model history-matched to field data related to production of four multistage hydraulically fractured oil wells in Achimov formation of Western Siberia,Russia.On the basis of the matched model we evaluated geomechanics effects on fracture conductivity degradation.We also performed sensitivity analysis in the framework of the history-matched model to study the impact of geomechanics and fluid rheology parameters on flowback efficiency.
基金supported by General Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China"Study on the gas transmission mechanism for permeability improvement and acceleration through oxidation-assisted cracking in organic matter-enriched shale"(No.:51674209)Major Breeding Project of Sichuan Provincial Colleges,Universities for Conversion of Scientific&Technological Achievements"Method of improving gas recovery of organic matter-enriched shale gas reservoirs"(No.:17CZ0040)2017 Science&Technology Project of PetroChina Southwest Oil&Gasfield Company"Study on the interaction mechanism of shale and fracturing fluids and flowback rules in the Changning Block"(No.20170302-03).
文摘In this paper,the Lower Silurian Longmaxi shale samples and the backflow fracturing fluid in the Changning Block of the Sichuan Basin were selected to investigate the damage mechanism of retained fracturing fluid to fractures in shale gas reservoirs.Thus,experiments were conducted on fracturing fluid backflow and gas-driving fracturing fluids.The changes of liquid permeability of shale samples,solid particle size distribution and turbidity of the backflow fracturing fluid were monitored.The gas permeability before and after fracturing fluid gas drive was compared,and the damage degree and mechanism of the backflow fracturing fluid to the fractures in shale samples were analyzed.And the following research results were obtained.First,the damage rate of shale permeability after the fracturing fluid backflow is between 53.1%and 97.6%,and the range of the solid particle size of the flowback fluid is significantly reduced.The main reservoir damage modes include phase trapping damage caused by liquid phase retention,blockage caused by the solid phase residue,particle migration induced by gas-carrying liquid and salt precipitation.Second,in the stage of gas phase flow,the damage rate of permeability drops to 23.1-80.2%,and the damage caused by liquid phase retention is relieved,but the damage caused by the blockage of solid phase residue and the salt precipitation of flowback on the facture surface is inevitable.Third,based on the damage mechanism of fracturing fluid backflow in shale gas wells to fractures,considering the treatment difficulty of the flowback and its damage to reservoir fractures,it is recommended to give a full play to the fracturing capacity of fracturing fluid and optimize the properties and dosages of fracturing fluid so as to reduce the flowback of fracturing fluid as much as possible.
基金Extending result of Major Project of National Science and Technology“Study on the mechanism of fracture propagation and productivity prediction of shale gas reservoirs”(No.2012ZX05018-004).
文摘Shale gas reservoirs generally need to be fractured massively to reach the industrial production, however, the flowback ratio of fractured shalegas wells is low. In view of this issue, the effects of natural fracture spacing, fracture conductivity, fracturing scale, pressure coefficient and shutintime on the flowback ratio were examined by means of numerical simulation and experiments jointly, and the causes of flowback difficulty ofshale gas wells were analyzed. The results show that the flowback ratio increases with the increase of natural fracture spacing, fracture conductivityand pressure coefficient and decreases with the increase of fracturing scale and shut-in time. From the perspective of microscopicmechanism, when water enters micro-cracks of the matrix through the capillary self-absorbing effect, the original hydrogen bonds between theparticles are replaced by the hydroxyl group, namely, hydration effect, giving rise to the growth of new micro-cracks and propagation of mainfractures, and complex fracture networks, so a large proportion of water cannot flow back, resulting in a low flowback ratio. For shale gas wellfracturing generally has small fracture space, low fracture conductivity and big fracturing volume, a large proportion of the injected water will beheld in the very complex fracture network with a big specific area, and unable to flow back. It is concluded that the flowback ratio of fracturedshale gas wells is affected by several factors, so it is not necessary to seek high flowback ratio deliberately, and shale gas wells with low flowbackratio, instead, usually have high production.
基金support from National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.52174042)China University of Petroleum Beijing(No.2462021YXZZ011,No.PRP/indep-4-2113)for the completion of this study.
文摘Multiple fractured horizontal wells (MFHWs) currently are the only possible means of commercial production from the low and ultra-low permeability unconventional gas reservoirs. In early production time, flowback fluid, which constitutes of hydraulic water and gas flow within fractures, is collected and analyzed. Flowback analysis has been shown to be a useful tool to estimate key properties of the hydraulic fracture such as conductivity and pore volume. Until date, most tools of flowback analysis rely on empirical and approximate methods. This study presents an improved Green-function-based semi-analytical solution for performance analysis of horizontal gas wells during flowback and early production periods. The proposed solution is derived based on coupling the solutions of two domains: a rigorously derived Green’s function-based integral solution for single-phase gas flow in matrix, and a finite-difference, multiphase solution for gas–water two-phase flow in the fracture. The validity of proposed semi-analytical solution is verified by finely gridded numerical models built in a commercial simulator for a series of synthetic cases considering a variety of fluid and reservoir property combinations, as well as various different production constraints. Comparisons against available empirical and approximate methods are also provided for these cases.
基金support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.51904324,No.51974348)the Prospective Basic Major Science and Technology Projects for the 14th Five Year Plan(No.2021DJ2202).
文摘CO_(2) dry fracturing is a promising alternative method to water fracturing in tight gas reservoirs,especially in water-scarce areas such as the Loess Plateau.The CO_(2) flowback efficiency is a critical factor that affects the final gas production effect.However,there have been few studies focusing on the flowback characteristics after CO_(2) dry fracturing.In this study,an extensive core-to-field scale study was conducted to investigate CO_(2) flowback characteristics and CH_(4) production behavior.Firstly,to investigate the impact of core properties and production conditions on CO_(2) flowback,a series of laboratory experiments at the core scale were conducted.Then,the key factors affecting the flowback were analyzed using the grey correlation method based on field data.Finally,taking the construction parameters of Well S60 as an example,a dual-permeability model was used to characterize the different seepage fields in the matrix and fracture for tight gas reservoirs.The production parameters after CO_(2) dry fracturing were then optimized.Experimental results demonstrate that CO_(2) dry fracturing is more effective than slickwater fracturing,with a 9.2%increase in CH_(4) recovery.The increase in core permeability plays a positive role in improving CH_(4) production and CO_(2) flowback.The soaking process is mainly affected by CO_(2) diffusion,and the soaking time should be controlled within 12 h.Increasing the flowback pressure gradient results in a significant increase in both CH_(4) recovery and CO_(2) flowback efficiency.While,an increase in CO_(2) injection is not conducive to CH_(4) production and CO_(2) flowback.Based on the experimental and field data,the important factors affecting flowback and production were comprehensively and effectively discussed.The results show that permeability is the most important factor,followed by porosity and effective thickness.Considering flowback efficiency and the influence of proppant reflux,the injection volume should be the minimum volume that meets the requirements for generating fractures.The soaking time should be short which is 1 day in this study,and the optimal bottom hole flowback pressure should be set at 10 MPa.This study aims to improve the understanding of CO_(2) dry fracturing in tight gas reservoirs and provide valuable insights for optimizing the process parameters.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.U2003102).
文摘Hydraulic fracturing facilitates the development and exploitation of unconventional reservoirs.In this study,the injected hydraulic fracturing fluid(HFF)and flowback and produced water(FPW)in tight oil reservoirs of the Lucaogou Formation in the Junggar Basin are temporally sampled from day 1 to day 64.Freshwater is used for fracturing,and HFF is obtained.The chemical and isotopic parameters(including the water type,total salinity,total dissolved solids(TDS),pH,concentrations of Na^(+),Cl^(-),Ba^(+),K^(+),Fe^(2+)+Fe^(3+),and CO_(3)^(2-),dD,and δ^(18)O)are experimentally obtained,and their variations with time are systematically analyzed based on the flowback water.The results show that the water type,Na/Cl ratio,total salinity,and TDS of the FPW change periodically primarily due to the HFF mixing with formation water,thus causing δD and δ^(18)O to deviate from the meteoric water line of Xinjiang.Because of watererock interaction(WRI),the concentrations of Fe^(2+)+Fe^(3+)and CO_(3)^(2-)of the FPW increase over time,with the solution pH becoming more alkaline.Furthermore,based on the significant changes observed in the geochemistry of the FPW,three separate time intervals of flowback time are identified:Stage Ⅰ(<10 days),where the FPW is dominated by the HFF and the changes in ions and isotopes are mainly caused by the WRI;Stage Ⅱ(10-37 days),where the FPW is dominated by the addition of formation water to the HFF and the WRI is weakened;and finally,Stage Ⅲ(>37 days),where the FPW is dominated by the chemistry of the formation water.The methodology implemented in this study can provide critical support for the source identification of formation water.
文摘In this paper, the methods developed by?[1] are used to analyze flowback data, which involves modeling flow both before and after the breakthrough of formation fluids. Despite the versatility of these techniques, achieving an optimal combination of parameters is often difficult with a single deterministic analysis. Because of the uncertainty in key model parameters, this problem is an ideal candidate for uncertainty quantification and advanced assisted history-matching techniques, including Monte Carlo (MC) simulation and genetic algorithms (GAs) amongst others. MC simulation, for example, can be used for both the purpose of assisted history-matching and uncertainty quantification of key fracture parameters. In this work, several techniques are tested including both single-objective (SO) and multi-objective (MO) algorithms for history-matching and uncertainty quantification, using a light tight oil (LTO) field case. The results of this analysis suggest that many different algorithms can be used to achieve similar optimization results, making these viable methods for developing an optimal set of key uncertain fracture parameters. An indication of uncertainty can also be achieved, which assists in understanding the range of parameters which can be used to successfully match the flowback data.
基金This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.41302192)Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province of China(No.D2018504011)+1 种基金China Geological Survey(No.DD20190555)the Ministry of land and resources of the People’s Republic of China(No.201411052).
文摘Hydrogeochemical processes that would occur in polluted groundwater and aquifer system,may reduce the sensitivity of Sr isotope being the indicator of hydraulic fracturing flowback fluids(HFFF)in groundwater.In this paper,the Dameigou shale gas field in the northern Qaidam Basin was taken as the study area,where the hydrogeochemical processes affecting Sr isotope was analysed.Then,the model for Sr isotope in HFFF-polluted groundwater was constructed to assess the sensitivity of Sr isotope as HFFF indicator.The results show that the dissolution can release little Sr to polluted groundwater and cannot affect the εSr(the deviation of the 87Sr/86Sr ratio)of polluted groundwater.In the meantime,cation exchange can considerably affect Sr composition in the polluted groundwater.The Sr with low εSr is constantly released to groundwater from the solid phase of aquifer media by cation exchange with pollution of Quaternary groundwater by the HFFF and it accounts for 4.6% and 11.0% of Sr in polluted groundwater when the HFFF flux reaches 10% and 30% of the polluted groundwater,respectively.However,the Sr from cation exchange has limited impact on Sr isotope in polluted groundwater.Addition of Sr from cation exchange would only cause a 0.2%and 1.2% decrease in εSr of the polluted groundwater when the HFFF flux reaches 10% and 30% of the polluted groundwater,respectively.These results demonstrate that hydrogeochemical processes have little effect on the sensitivity of Sr isotope being the HFFF indicator in groundwater of the study area.For the scenario of groundwater pollution by HFFF,when the HFFF accounts for 5%(in volume percentage)of the polluted groundwater,the HFFF can result in detectable shifts of εSr(Δ_(εSr)=0.86)in natural groundwater.Therefore,after consideration of hydrogeochemical processes occurred in aquifer with input of the HFFF,Sr isotope is still a sensitive indicator of the Quaternary groundwater pollution by the HFFF produced in the Dameigou shale of Qaidam Basin.
文摘New developments in lab technologies help us to explore problems that were less understood in the past due to the limitations and technological constraints. One such problem of assessing the formation damage created by the invasion of fracture fluid into the matrix at lab scale is the visualization of fluid saturation distributions inside the matrix. According to the current understanding, the high capillarity contrast between the fracture and the matrix creates a non-uniform saturation distribution of invaded fluid phase during flowback, with the saturations mostly concentrated at the fracture face. With the advent of microfluidics, their application has become more feasible to visually analyze the effectiveness of surfactants to mitigate the invasion-created formation damage and understand the impact of depth of invasion on the characteristics of flowback and oil productivity. Through our previous work, we have successfully demonstrated the capability of this new visualization tool in studying the factors of the presence of surfactant in the fracture fluid and its depth of invasion, to understand the flowback efficiencies and later oil productivities in oil-wet fractured formations. Since the substrate for flooding was a proxy model of an actual rock, the chip flooding results need to be validated with conventional core flooding experiments. In contemporary times, when the new advancements in technology are driving the research progress in all industries, it is mandatory to take a well informed decision by imposing a comparative check on the results with accessible conventional means, wherever possible. The success of validation of chip flooding approach with the core flooding approach in this work instates a strong belief over the application of microfluidics to pursue more research in related fields of oil recovery.
基金Project supported by National Key Basic Research Program of China(937 program)“Basic research of high-efficiency marine shale gas development in South China”(No.2013CB228000).
文摘In this paper,marine shale cores taken from Zhaotong,Changning and Weiyuan Blocks in South China were used as samples to investigate the interaction between fracturing fluids and shale and the retention mechanisms.Firstly,adsorption,swelling,dissolution pore,dissolution fluid mineralization degree and ionic composition were experimentally studied to reveal the occurrence of water in shale and the reason for a high mineralization degree.Then,the mechanisms of water retention and mineralization degree increase were simulated and calculated.The scanning electron microscopy(SEM)analysis shows that there are a large number of micro fractures originated from clay minerals in the shale.Mineral dissolution rates of shale immersed in ultrasonic is around 0.5-0.7%.The ionic composition is in accordance with that of formation water.The clay minerals in core samples are mainly composed of chlorites and illites with a small amount of illites/smectites,but no montmorillonites(SS),and its content is between 18%and 20%.It is verified by XRD and infrared spectroscopy that the fracturing fluid doesn't flow into the space between clay mineral layers,so it can't lead to shale swelling.Thus,the retention of fracturing fluids is mainly caused by the adsorption at the surface of the newly fractured micro fractures in shale in a mode of successive permeation,and its adsorptive saturation rates is proportional to the pore diameters.It is concluded that the step-by-step extraction of fracturing fluids to shale and the repulsion of nano-cracks to ion are the main reasons for the abrupt increase of mineralization degree in the late stage of flowing back.In addition,the liquid carrying effect of methane during the formation of a gas reservoir is also a possible reason.Based on the experimental and field data,fracturing fluid flowback rates and gas production rates of 9 wells were analyzed.It is indicated that the same block follows an overall trend,namely,the lower the flowback rates,the more developed the micro fractures,the better the volume simulation effect and the higher the gas production rates.
文摘Centralized and group well deployment and factory-like fracturing techniques are adopted for low-permeability tight sandstone reservoirs in the Sulige Gasfield,Ordos Basin,so as to realize its efficient and economic development.However,environmental protection is faced with grim situations because fluid delivery rises abruptly on site in a short time due to centralized fracturing of the well group.Based on the characteristics of gas testing after fracturing in this gas field,a fracturing flowback fluid recovery and treatment method suitable for the Sulige Gasfield has been developed with the landform features of this area taken into account.Firstly,a high-efficiency well-to-well fracturing flowback fluid recovery and reutilization technique was developed with multi-effect surfactant polymer recoverable fracturing fluid system as the core,and in virtue of this technique,the treatment efficiency of conventional guar gum fracturing fluid system is increased.Secondly,for recovering and treating the end fluids on the well sites,a fine fracturing flowback fluid recovery and treatment technique has been worked out with“coagulation and precipitation,filtration and disinfection,and sludge dewatering”as the main part.Owing to the application of this method,the on-site water resource utilization ratio has been increased and environmental protection pressure concerned with fracturing operation has been relieved.In 2014,field tests were performed in 62 wells of 10 well groups,with 32980 m3 cumulative treated flowback fluid,17160 m3 reutilization volume and reutilization ratio over 70%.Obviously,remarkable social and economical benefits are thus realized.
基金supported financially by the Introduction Pro gram of Tianchi Talent on Young Doctor in Xinjiang(grant No.2023TCXZGCY01)the Science and Technology Project of CNPC Western Drilling Engineering Co.,LTD(grant No.2023XZ201).
文摘Reutilizing flowback fluid and produced water to prepare fracturing fluid is still an urgent problem that needs to be solved and is not well solved.In this work,an anti-salt associative thickener(AAT)was synthesized by free radical copolymerization,and the molecular structure of AAT was demonstrated by FTIR and 1H-NMR.Furthermore,compared with a common anti-salt thickener(HAT),the comprehensive performances of AAT were systematically investigated under the conditions of fresh water,flowback fluid and produced water in Sulige Gasfield.The results show that under the conditions of an average salinity of 34,428 mg/L and an average high-valent ion content of 4967 mg/L,AAT can present good thickening capacity,temperature and shear resistance,drag reduction efficiency,sand-carrying ability,gel-breaking property and high-effective crosslinking capacity with organic zirconium crosslinker at high salinity,which implicates the great potential and feasibility to prepare fracturing fluid by reutilizing high-salinity f lowbackfluid and produced water without further treatment.Moreover,the possible mechanisms of the associative thickener to achieve high-effective drag reduction and sand-carrying might be the existence of reversible supramolecular structures and the significant increase of viscoelasticity by shear stretching in turbulent state.At the same time,both physical and chemical interaction can make a significant contribution to high-effective crosslinking capacity of associative thickener.All results and findings can provide an important reference for the design of novel fracturing fluid and the reutilization of high salinity water in stimulation applications.
基金support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.52474069)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.52104060).
文摘Proppant flowback in the post-fracturing flowback period not only reduces the fracture conductivity but also damages equipment.Due to the current lack of experimental or numerical simulation methods for proppant flowback in partial closure fracture,the mechanisms and patterns of proppant flowback remain unclear.This makes it difficult to predict the risks of proppant flowback,leaving flowback program design without theoretical guidance and resulting in high uncertainty in prevention effectiveness.This paper has further modified the CFD-DEM(Computational Fluid Dynamics-Discrete Element Method)coupling interface by introducing fracture closure pressure into the particle motion equation.Based on the dynamic mesh,the fracture width in the CFD model is adjusted in real time to establish a numerical simulation method that considers fracture closure and synchronous changes in the flow field.By establishing flow similarity at the perforations,a near-wellbore flow field is created in the scaled model that is representative of field conditions,ensuring the practical value of the experimental results.Based on proppant particle force analysis during flowback,we investigated the impact of closure pressure,friction coefficient,perforation parameters,fracture dip angle,proppant particle size combination on proppant flowback.The research indicates that the existence of a threshold closure pressure arises from the competition between the lateral force(driving flowback)exerted by fracture closure on particles and the frictional force(resisting flowback)acting on particles.Below this threshold,increasing closure pressure enhances near-wellbore proppant flowback;above this threshold,increased closure pressure reduces proppant flowback.This threshold value is determined to be 1 MPa under the simulation conditions of this paper.The friction coefficient between particles and the fracture wall has greater impact on particle flowback than the friction coefficient between particles.In the vertical direction of the fracture,flowback is more probable for particles above the perforation.There is higher risk of particle flowback in horizontal fractures.The lateral distribution of large and small particles is more effective in preventing flowback than the vertical distribution.In the horizontal direction,particles nearer to the perforation have a higher probability of flowback.Strategies for proppant flowback control:the flow rate should be kept low initially,and then increased after the bottomhole pressure has been appropriately reduced;perforations should be placed in the upper part of the reservoir(vertical well);the sand concentration should not be increased in the later stages of fracturing to reduce the accumulation of proppant above the perforations;different size proppants should be injected in smaller sizes followed by larger sizes,with a slug of clean fluid in between to achieve a side-by-side placement of larger and smaller proppant,thereby mitigating proppant flowback.
