HydraulicFracturingInTightGasReservoir

Barba Alberto M., Liu Xixi, Peytavin Pierre, Pfeiffer Ben S. TPG4140Naturgass

 Abstract
Thisprojectbrieflyintroducesthehydraulicfracturingintightgasreservoir. Sincetightgasiscapturedinlowpermeabilitysandstonesreservoir,mandatory stimulationisthemethodtoexploittightgas.Recently,hydraulicfracturingisthe predominantappliedstimulationprocess.Firstly,thegeneralprocedureofhydraulic fracturingandthepropertiesofatightgasreservoirandchemicaladditivesare explained,followingbydataanalysisandenvironmentalriskassessment.Withthe acquiredknowledgethereaderwillbeintroducedacaseexampleinNorthSea.In conclusionashortfutureoutlookandsummaryispresented.

 Contents
CONTENTS.......................................................................................................................................3 1. 2. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................4 HYDRAULICFRACTURING .......................................................................................................5 2.1 MECHANICS................................................................................................................................ 5 2.2 CHEMICALPROPERTIES .................................................................................................................. 8 2.3 DATACOLLECTION,ANALYSISANDMONITORING ............................................................................... 10 2.4 ENVIRONMENTALRISKS ............................................................................................................... 11 3. 4. EXAMPLEINNORTHSEA.......................................................................................................13 CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................16

REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................................17

1. Introduction
Naturalgasshowsworldwideanincreasingdemandandisprobablygoingto takethepositionoftheoilwhichiscurrentlythemostdominantusedprimary energycarrier.Thereareseveralgoodreasonsforthisdevelopment.Naturalgas whichinformertimeswastreatedlikeanundesiredbyproductoftheoilproduction isarelativelycheapenergycarrierwhichisavailableinbigquantities.Itfeatures someimportantadvantagesincomparisonwithitsfossilrivalsduetoitschemical compositionwhichleadtolowergreenhousegas(GHG)emissions.Incombination withC02taxesthisrevealsanothereconomicadvantage.Inadditiontothatnatural gaspowerplantsareabletosupportthebuildupofrenewableenergypowerplants duetotheirflexibilityinawidepowerrange,whichoffsetsthevolatileelectricity productionofrenewableenergyplants.Consequentlynaturalgaswillplayakeyrole inthecomingdecades.Howevertocovertheincreasingsharetogetherwitharapid increaseinoverallworldwideenergyrequirement,itisnecessarytoexploitsocalled unconventionalgasreservoirs.Withinthesereservoirsconventionalextraction methodsfailandcustomizedextractionmethodsarerequired.Tightgascapturedin lowpermeabilitysandstonesbelongstotheunconventionalgasfields.Inorderto exploittightgasreservoirsspecialreservoirstimulationismandatory.Hydraulic fracturingisthepredominantappliedstimulationprocess. Measuredintermsofits growingimportancethisprocessisrelativelyunknown. Thereforethisprojectworkaimstoshedfurtherlightonthehydraulicfracturing processanditscomprisingstagesintightgasfields.Inordertoachievethisgoal, firstlythegeneralprocedureofhydraulicfracturingandthepropertiesofatightgas reservoirandchemicaladditivesareexplained,followingbydataanalysisand environmentalriskassessment.Withtheacquiredknowledgethereaderwillbe introducedacaseexampleinNorthSea.Inconclusionashortfutureoutlookand summaryispresented.
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2. Hydraulicfracturing
Hydraulicfracturingisanoperationtoimprovefluidflowtowardthewellbore fromthehydrocarbonbearingformation.Itconsistsincreatingapermeabledrain extendingasfaraspossibleintotheformationafterfracturingtherock.Thisprocess isusedwhenthewellflowrateisinsufficientbecauseoflownaturalmatrix permeabilityandnotbecauseplugginghasoccurred.Theaimistogetenough conductivitycontrastbetweenthefractureandtheformation. Hydraulicfracturingissuitableonlyforproperlyconsolidatedformation, includingsandstoneandcarbonates.Inaddition,itisahighlyunadvisableprocessif itmightallowtheunwantedinflowofanearbyfluid. Therearemainlytwodrillingmethodsforhydraulicfracturing,verticalwellsand horizontalwellsrespectively.Whilehydraulicfracturingismanytimesperformed inverticalwells,todayitismoreoftenperformedinhorizontalwells.Thedrilling methodsdependonthedepthandlithologyofreservoir.

2.1 Mechanics
Inordertoachieveacommercialproductionintightgassand,awellhasto contactasmuchaspossiblealargedrainagearea. Thereforewellswhichare drilledinthesereservoirshavetobehydraulicallyfractured.Inordertoaccomplish thischallengeitisessentialtounderstandtheuniquecharacteristicsoftightgas sandreservoir. 1. Characterizationoftightgassandreservoir Tightgassandsbelongtothegroupoftightgasinwhichtheytakeaplacenext tocoalbedmethane,lowpermeabilitycarbonategasandshalegas.Anoverviewof hydraulicfracturingisgiveninfigure1. Adefinitionofatightgasreservoiris: reservoirsthatcannotbeproducedateconomicflowratesorrecovereconomic
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volumesofnaturalgasunlessthewellisstimulatedbyalargehydraulicfracture treatmentorproducedbyuseofahorizontalwellboreormultilateralwell bores.(Holditch2006) Oftentightgasreservoirshavesomenaturalfractures.Thesefracturesareable tocauseproblemsduringthehydraulictreatment.Theseproblemsarecausedbythe naturalfracturesabilitytoopenandpermitfluidleakoffduringthepressureprocess. Consequentlythefluidpressuredecreasesandcreatedfracturesareshorterthan desired.Moreovertectonicactivityduringdepositioncanhaveaninfluenceonthe reservoircontinuityandmorphology.Themainconcernsaretheeffectsoflocal tectonicsonhydraulicfracturing. Asintightgasreservoirsthepressuretransientsarehardlyaffectedbyreservoir boundariesorwelltowellinterferenceisverydifficulttoestimatethedrainagearea andshape.

Figure1 Overviewofhydraulicfracturingprocesses.

2. Roleofperforationsinhydraulicfracturing Aperforationisaholecreatedfromtheinsideofthecasingintothereservoir. Thisholeenablesthegastoenterthecasing.Itsparameterslikeshotphasing, chargesize,shotdensity,length,etc.playanimportantroleinthecorrect conductionofahydraulicfracturingoperation.Adesiredoptimumfracture

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perforationallowsminimuminjectionpressure,initiatingonlyonefracturewhich propagateswithminimumtortuosityintothereservoir.Forverticalwells180 phasedperforationswhichareorientedwithin30ofthepreferredfractureplane deliveranaccuratecommunicationbetweentheperforationandthefractureIfthe guncannotaccomplishtoorientatewithin30theuseofa60phasedgunshouldbe consideredforagoodfractureconnection.Inthecaseofahorizontalordeviated wellusuallymoreshotsareplacedusing60or120gun.Notalltheperforationswill beconnectedtothefracture.(KellerE.2011) 3. Fracturingofawellbore Intheprocessafracfluidispumpedathighpressureintoawellbore.Thisfluid pressurecausesatensilestressonthewholesurfacewhenitovercomesthe reservoirpressure.Afractureisinitiatedwhenthissurfacestressreachesthetensile failurestressofthesurroundingrockmedium.Theinducedfracturingoccur perpendiculartotheminimumcompressiveinsitustressdirection.Usuallythetight gasreservoirsoccuringreatdepthssothattheminimumstressisinthehorizontal direction.Consequentlytheinducedfractureisintheverticaldirection.Inaddition tothatthefractureplaneisperpendiculartotheminimumhorizontalinsitustress orientated.Thehydraulicalinducedfracturepropagatesfurtherintothereservoiras thepumpingcontinues.Therebyfracfluidleaksoffcausingapressuredrop.The maximumpressureistheinitialbreakdownpressure.Afterbreakdownthepressure mainsnearlyconstantatalowerleveldesignatedaspropagationpressure.Turning ofthepumpsresultsinrapidpressuredrop.Insteadoffallingbackdirectlytothe reservoirpressurethepressuredropstoacertainvalueatwhichitdecreasesslowly tothereservoirpressureduetofluidleakage.Thetransitionpointisdesignatedas shutinpressure.Attheshutinpressurefluidflowstopswhichisaccompaniedbya frictionlessstate.Neverthelessfluidleakoffgoesonandthereforepressuresdrops further.(Yew1997) 4. ProppantSelectionandTransport
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Thehydraulicwidth,whichiscreatedbymeansofthehighpressures,decreases withlowerpressures.Thiscouldgountilthetotalclosureoftheopening. Consequentlythewholeeffortwouldbepointlessandtheenergyputinthe fracturingprocesswouldbewasted.Inordertomaintaintheopeningaproppantis injected.Theproppingmaterialhastobestrongenoughtowithstandtheclosure stressandreservoirpressure. Proppantswithunsufficientstrengthwillcrushand leadtosignificantlowerpermeability.Moreoverproppantpackconductivity,which iseffectedbyitssize,shapeandcomposition,hastobeconsidered.Nowadays injectedproppantscanbecategorizedintotwomaingroupswhicharenaturally occurringsandsandmanmadeproppants.Theapplicationofsandislimitedto lowerstresssituationswhichdontexceed5000psi(approximately6000ft). Manmadeproppantsareusedforhighstresssituations,whicharedeeperthan8000 ft.betweenthesetwodepthsthemagnitudeofstressisthedecidingfactor.(2009)

2.2 Chemicalproperties
Despiteofthedesignationwaterfrac,thefracturingfluiddoesntonlyconsist outofwater.Besideswatersand,asmallpartofchemicaladditiveshavetobe addedtothefracfluid,asshownfigure2.Waterandsandrepresentaround 9899.5%ofthefluidusedinhydraulicfracturing. Additivesandchemicalspermittoimprovetheefficiencyoffracturesbecause theyenhancethereturnandtheyincreasetheproductionofgasfromthereservoir. Furthermore,thenumberandthecompositionofchemicalsmayvaryfromreservoir toreservoir.Buttherearealwaysmoreorlesssameproperties. Firstly,thereareacidcomponents,suchashydrochloricormuriaticacid.These acidcomponentsareusedtoclearcementdebrisandimprovecirculationofother fracturingfluids.Thesechemicalsservetoopenfracturesnearthewellbore. Secondly,inthewatertherearefrictionreducingagents,suchaspotassium chlorideorpolyacrylamide.Asthenameindicates,theseagentshaveeffectin
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reducingturbulentfrictionallosses.Andlinearpolymersarethemosteffectiveto reducingfrictionallosses.Theseadditivesmayreducetubularfrictioninthewellbore by5060%. Then,thereareinjectionsofwatermixedwithproppantmaterial.Thisaction permittokeeptheopeningmadepreviously.Theproppantmaterialisformedby particlesofsandorceramicmaterial.Particlescanvaryfromafinerparticlesizetoa coarserparticlesize.Afterwardsthereisaninjectionoffreshwatertoremovethe excessproppantfromthewellbore. Tofinish,biocides,suchasbrominebasedsolutionsorglutaraldehyde,areused tostopthewidespreadofbacteriathatmayinterferewiththefracturingoperation andtoreducebiofoulingofthefractures.Furthermorescaleinhibitor,suchas ethyleneglycol,isusedtoinhibitprecipitationofsulphatemineralsandcarbonate. Andironcontrolagentshavethesameeffectwithironcomponents.Lastly,oxygen scavengersandcorrosioninhibitors,suchasN,ndimethylformamide,areused againstthedegradationofwellcasing. Topreserveenvironmentofpollution,somechartswerewritten.Becausethe compositionoffracturingfluidvariesfromreservoirtoreservoir,thereisno onesizefitsallruleforthevolumesforeachchemical.Thechartsjustlimitthe numberofadditivesusedandthevolume.Thevolumeofadditivesinfracturingfluid isabout0.52%.

Figure2:Proportionsofadditivesinfracturingwater.

2.3 Datacollection,analysisandmonitoring
Inordertoevaluatethesuccessofaproceededhydraulicfracturingoperationdata hastobecollected,analysedandmonitored.Theresultsarethencomparedwith predictedvaluesofutilizedcomputermodels.Thusanenhancementofthe computermodelsforfurtheroperationscanbeachieved.Thedataarecollected before,duringandafterthehydraulicfracturingtreatmentandcanbedividedin: Baselineassessment Minifractreatment Monitoringduringhydraulicfracturingoperation Posthydraulicfracturingmonitoringtechniques Aboveallareexplainedinshortinthefollowingsection. Baselineassessment BeforeHydraulicfracturingisconductedprobesfromany

sourceofnearbywateraretakenandtested.Theresultsestablishthebaseline conditions.Thesebaselineconditionsarecomparedwiththesampleswhichare takenduringthehydraulicfracturingoperation.Ifhydraulicfracturingcompounds arefoundduringthetreatmentthehydraulictreatment,thesourcemaybe retraced.(2009) Minifractreatmentandanalysis Priorthehydraulicfracturingoperationa

smallscalehydraulictreatmentisexecutedwhoseresultsareanalysedandmaylead toadjustmentsforthemainprocess.(2009) Monitoringduringhydraulicfracturingoperation Duringhydraulicfracturing treatmentitisessentialtomonitorandcontroltheprogressioninrealtimeinorder topreventundesiredevents.Monitoredparamentersare:injectionpressure(psi), slurryrate(bpm),proppantconcentration(ppa),proppantrate(ib/min)andfluid

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rate.Withintheseparametersparticularattentionhastobegiventothepressure development.Anydeviationcouldindicatesomeprobleminthehydraulicfracturing processlikealeakinthecasingandshouldbeinstantlydetectedandanalysed. Sometimestechnologiesliketiltmetersurveyormicroseismicmonitoringareapplied. Thelatterneedsanearbyobservationwellinwhichanarrayofgeophonesis installed.Datacollectedfromthesegeophonesduringthehydraulicfracturing operationdeliversthecriticalparametersaslateralandverticalextent,azimuthand fracturecomplexity. Besidesmicroseismicmonitoringthesurveywithtiltmetersis alsopossible.Atiltmeterisadevicethatmeasuresthechangeintheinclinationin theearthssurface.Therebyitscapableofmeasuringchangesassmallasa nanoradian.(2009) Posthydraulicfracturingmonitoringtechnique Proppantistaggedwithatracer

beforebotharepumpedintotheformation.Acasedholelogdetectsthetracerand allowsconfirmationwhethertheproppantisplacedright.Theradiusofthis investigationisrelativelysmall.(2009)

2.4 Environmentalrisks
1. Groundwater Geologicalmaterial,suchasshaleandrock,canactasnaturalbarriersthat provideprotectiontogroundwaterzonesfromhydraulicfracturing.Sincethe differentphysicalcharacters,itisbeneficialtohaveazonewithdifferingphysical propertiesoutsidethetargetzoneastheinterfaceofthetargetandbonding formationcanactasatransitionzonewherethedirectionoffracturepropagation canbealtered.(Airhart2008) BeforeoperationsanApplicationforPermittoDrill(APD)shouldbefilled,to ensurethatdrillingandconstructionofagaswellprotectspotentialsourcesof drinkingwater.APDincludesthesize,weight,andpressureratingofeachtypeof
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steelcasingthatwillbeinstalled,andhowsteelcasingsarecementedintoplaceto furtherpreventunintendedflowofinjectedorproducedfluidsformoccurring outsideofthecasingstring.(J.DanielArthur2008) Analysisoftheprotectionprovidedbycasingandcementsarebasedonthe levelofcorrosionthatoccurredinclassinjectionwell,whichareusedfortheroutine injectionofwaterassociatedwithoilandgasproduction.Theresearchresultedin thedevelopmentofamethodofcalculatingtheriskthatfluidsinjectedintoclass injectionwellscouldresultinadischargeoffluidsthatcouldreachanUnderground SourceofDrinkingWater(USDW).BasedonUSDWs,theproperinjection parameters,suchasdepth,canbecalculated.Therehavetheminimumeffectson groundwaterwhereparametervaluesarelocatedin. 2. Surfacewater Inordertoeliminatetheeffectsonsurfacewater,thecompositionofhydraulic fracturingfluidsshouldbeconsidered.Nowadays,operatorsorservicecompanies havereducedthenumberandconcentrationofadditivesusedinfracturing fluids.(Resources1992) Inadditional,operatorsorservicecompaniesshouldmaintainthewholeprocess toavoidspilloccurrences.Otherwise,thatwillincreasethecostofhydraulic fracturingtreatment.Firstly,thefluidslosttospillsmustbereplaced.Meanwhile, theyhavetoremediatethespillsincludingtheremovalandremediationof contaminatedsoil.Lastbutnotleast,accordingtooilandgasregulations,operators haveresponsibilitiestoreportallspillsofadditivesorproducedwatertoagencies,in ordertofulfiltheemergencyenvironmentaltreatmentandriskassessment.(J.Daniel Arthur2008) 3. Disposal Disposalofproducedwatersfromthedrillingandhydraulicfracturingshouldbe safelyandeconomicallytreated.Flowbackandproducedwaterarebeingcontained
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inenclosedfluidcapturesystemstoreducetheirexposuretotheenvironmentand thepotentialforspillstooccur.Operatorsshoulduseavarietyofcontainmenttanks andstoragetruckstoreducethepotentialforexposureoffluidstotheenvironment duringthetransportofchemicalstodisposallocationawayfromthewellpad.(J. DanielArthur2008)

3. ExampleinNorthSea
OneofwealthinthesouthernNorthSea,itisoilandgasreservoirs.Andthere aresometightgasfields.Eachreservoirhasparticularitiesandtohaveagood productionallparametersarestudied.Theaim,duringtheproduction,isto maximizetheNetPresentValue(NPV).TomaximizetheNPV,itisimportanttostudy differentparametersofhydraulicfractures:fracturespacing,fractureorientation (longitudinalortransverse).TheoptimalfracturedevelopmentstrategyforNorth Seatightgaswellisafunctionofthepermeability,welllength,drainagearea, drainageshapeandeconomy. Forexample,fortheRotliegendreservoir,whichisatightgasreservoir,some surveysweremade.TheRotliegendreservoirisfoundatadepthof25003000m,as shownfigure3,andhasatemperatureofmorethan100C.Thisreservoircomprises sandstonesandmudstones.Paradoxically,themudstonesappeartobestrongerand stifferthanthesandstones.

Figure3 CrosssectionofRotliegendfieldwithwelltrajectories

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Furthermore,thetectonicevolutionofthebasinanditssurroundingscanbe dividedintofourmainphases:(1)TriassicMiddleJurassic,(2)LateJurassicEarly Cretaceous,(3)LateCretaceousEarlyTertiaryand(4)LateTertiary. Afterthestudyofgeologystartstheexaminationofthenaturalfractures.This studyfocusesondifferentparameterslikemechanicalfractureorigin,fracturetype withrespecttotheeffectonfluidflow,timingoffracturedevelopment,fracture orientation,sizeoffractureandfracturespacing. Tobegin,themechanicaloriginoffracturesisanimportantparameterinorder tounderstandtheimpactoffracturesformedonthereservoirbehaviour.Four mechanicaloriginsareidentified.Firstly,tensionfracturesaredefinedbymovement perpendiculartothefractureplanecontrarytoshearfractureswhichare characterizedbymovementinit.Tensionfracturesareknowntoimprovereservoir permeabilityandconnectivitywhereasshearfracturesreducepermeability.Then, therearedilatationalshearfractureswhichhavemovementcomponentsin,and perpendicularto,thefractureplanesandimprovereservoirpermeabilityand connectivity.Tofinish,coringinducedfracturesarerejectedfromtheanalysis becausetheyarenotproducedinthesubsurface. Forfractureorientations,therearetwotypes:longitudinalandtransverse,as shownfigure4and5.

Figure4

Longitudinalfractures Figure5 Transversefractures

Tocalculateafractureorientation,theorientationofaknownfeatureisused. Theparametersofitwereenteredin3Dgoniometricanditcalculatedthefracture orientations.Theaccuracyofcalculationsisapproximately10.Thereisacorrection

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method,whichconsistsofmeasureeachdirectionasafunctionofthecosinesofthe anglebetweenthecoreaxisandthefracturevector.Thismethodwasproposedby Terzaghi.Furthermore,withahighpermeabilityitisbettertouselongitudinal fractureswhereaswithalowerpermeabilityrecoverycanbeincreasedwith transversefracturesifthefracturespacingisreduced. Itisverydifficulttoestimatethesizeofthefracture.Howeveritispossibleto getarelativesize,asshownthefigure6.Thisrelativesizeoffracturehastobe assessedobjectively.

Figure6 Approximationofthesizeoffractures

Finallytherearethefracturespacingcalculations.Fracturespacingcorresponds tothedistancebetweenthefracturesplanes.Fortensionfractures,themost importantparameteristhebedthickness.Whenthebedthicknessincreases,the tensionfracturespacingalsoincreases.Butthereisalimitfromwhichthebed thicknesscanincreasetherewillnotbeinfluenceonfracturespacing.Nomorethan sixlongitudinalfracturesoreighttransversefracturescanbeplacedinthe3000feet horizontalwell.

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4. Conclusion
Thisprojectindicatesthattheapplicationofhydraulicfracturingdependsonthe characteristicsofreservoir.Therefore,inordertoreachthemaximumpotential fracture,itisessentialtoinvestigatethereservoirproperties,suchasporosity, permeability,lithology. Withtheutilizationsofsimulationsoftware,thecomplexity ofhydraulicfracturingiseliminated.Unconventionalreservoirshavebeenfocused oncurrentlysinceoverexploitationofunconventionalreservoirs.Accordingtothe principlesofhydraulicfracturing,itcontainspotentialbenefitsapplicationsin unconventionalreservoirs.However,fracfluidcontainschemicaladditivesexcept highwaterconsumption.Inthefuture,theenvironmentalcontaminationsshouldbe concerned,andtheenvironmentalrisksshouldbeeliminated.
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References
ChinhH.Yew,MechanicsofHyfraulicFracturing,GulfPublishingCompany,1997. (2009).APIGuidanceDocumentHF1. Airhart,M.(2008)TheBarnettShaleGasBoom:IgnitingaHuntfroUnconventional NaturalGasResources. Holditch,S.A.(2006).TightGasSands,SPE. J.DanielArthur,P.E.(2008).HydraulicFracturingConsiderationsforNaturalGas Wells.TheGroundWaterProtectionCouncil,2008AnnualForum.Cincinnati,Ohio. KellerE.,M.(2011)."LeveragingExperiencetoMaketheExtraordinaryOrdinary: HydraulicFracutringTightGasunderHPHTConditions."SPE. Resources,N.D.D.o.M.(1992).FinalGenericEnvironmentalImpactStatementon theOil,GasandSolutionMiningRegulatoryProgram. Yew,C.H.(1997).MechanicsofHydraulicFracturing,GulfPublishingCompany.

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