US20190249527A1 - Simultaneous Fracturing Process - Google Patents
Simultaneous Fracturing Process Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20190249527A1 US20190249527A1 US15/893,363 US201815893363A US2019249527A1 US 20190249527 A1 US20190249527 A1 US 20190249527A1 US 201815893363 A US201815893363 A US 201815893363A US 2019249527 A1 US2019249527 A1 US 2019249527A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- well bore
- fractures
- target formation
- well
- formation
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 47
- 230000008569 process Effects 0.000 title description 7
- 230000015572 biosynthetic process Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 145
- 239000007788 liquid Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 23
- 229930195733 hydrocarbon Natural products 0.000 claims description 11
- 150000002430 hydrocarbons Chemical class 0.000 claims description 11
- 239000004215 Carbon black (E152) Substances 0.000 claims description 10
- 239000004058 oil shale Substances 0.000 claims description 4
- 206010017076 Fracture Diseases 0.000 description 175
- 238000005755 formation reaction Methods 0.000 description 124
- 208000010392 Bone Fractures Diseases 0.000 description 80
- 239000012530 fluid Substances 0.000 description 36
- 239000011435 rock Substances 0.000 description 24
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 description 11
- VYPSYNLAJGMNEJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N Silicium dioxide Chemical compound O=[Si]=O VYPSYNLAJGMNEJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 10
- LYCAIKOWRPUZTN-UHFFFAOYSA-N Ethylene glycol Chemical compound OCCO LYCAIKOWRPUZTN-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 6
- VNWKTOKETHGBQD-UHFFFAOYSA-N methane Chemical compound C VNWKTOKETHGBQD-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 6
- 239000003921 oil Substances 0.000 description 6
- 239000004576 sand Substances 0.000 description 6
- KFZMGEQAYNKOFK-UHFFFAOYSA-N Isopropanol Chemical compound CC(C)O KFZMGEQAYNKOFK-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 5
- 238000005553 drilling Methods 0.000 description 5
- 230000035699 permeability Effects 0.000 description 5
- 238000011065 in-situ storage Methods 0.000 description 4
- QTBSBXVTEAMEQO-UHFFFAOYSA-N Acetic acid Chemical compound CC(O)=O QTBSBXVTEAMEQO-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 3
- OKKJLVBELUTLKV-UHFFFAOYSA-N Methanol Chemical compound OC OKKJLVBELUTLKV-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 3
- 239000000654 additive Substances 0.000 description 3
- 239000000919 ceramic Substances 0.000 description 3
- KRKNYBCHXYNGOX-UHFFFAOYSA-N citric acid Chemical compound OC(=O)CC(O)(C(O)=O)CC(O)=O KRKNYBCHXYNGOX-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 3
- 239000007789 gas Substances 0.000 description 3
- 239000000499 gel Substances 0.000 description 3
- 239000003345 natural gas Substances 0.000 description 3
- 239000000126 substance Substances 0.000 description 3
- CURLTUGMZLYLDI-UHFFFAOYSA-N Carbon dioxide Chemical compound O=C=O CURLTUGMZLYLDI-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- VEXZGXHMUGYJMC-UHFFFAOYSA-N Hydrochloric acid Chemical compound Cl VEXZGXHMUGYJMC-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- FAPWRFPIFSIZLT-UHFFFAOYSA-M Sodium chloride Chemical compound [Na+].[Cl-] FAPWRFPIFSIZLT-UHFFFAOYSA-M 0.000 description 2
- 229910001570 bauxite Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 239000006260 foam Substances 0.000 description 2
- 239000003208 petroleum Substances 0.000 description 2
- 239000011148 porous material Substances 0.000 description 2
- BWHMMNNQKKPAPP-UHFFFAOYSA-L potassium carbonate Substances [K+].[K+].[O-]C([O-])=O BWHMMNNQKKPAPP-UHFFFAOYSA-L 0.000 description 2
- 238000011084 recovery Methods 0.000 description 2
- 239000000377 silicon dioxide Substances 0.000 description 2
- 239000002002 slurry Substances 0.000 description 2
- CDBYLPFSWZWCQE-UHFFFAOYSA-L sodium carbonate Substances [Na+].[Na+].[O-]C([O-])=O CDBYLPFSWZWCQE-UHFFFAOYSA-L 0.000 description 2
- 230000002123 temporal effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000011282 treatment Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000001960 triggered effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N water Substances O XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- POAOYUHQDCAZBD-UHFFFAOYSA-N 2-butoxyethanol Chemical compound CCCCOCCO POAOYUHQDCAZBD-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- IJGRMHOSHXDMSA-UHFFFAOYSA-N Atomic nitrogen Chemical compound N#N IJGRMHOSHXDMSA-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- SXRSQZLOMIGNAQ-UHFFFAOYSA-N Glutaraldehyde Chemical compound O=CCCCC=O SXRSQZLOMIGNAQ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 229920002907 Guar gum Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 235000019738 Limestone Nutrition 0.000 description 1
- 208000006670 Multiple fractures Diseases 0.000 description 1
- 208000002565 Open Fractures Diseases 0.000 description 1
- 244000166071 Shorea robusta Species 0.000 description 1
- 235000015076 Shorea robusta Nutrition 0.000 description 1
- 230000000996 additive effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- ILRRQNADMUWWFW-UHFFFAOYSA-K aluminium phosphate Chemical compound O1[Al]2OP1(=O)O2 ILRRQNADMUWWFW-UHFFFAOYSA-K 0.000 description 1
- 150000001462 antimony Chemical class 0.000 description 1
- 230000008901 benefit Effects 0.000 description 1
- 150000001642 boronic acid derivatives Chemical class 0.000 description 1
- 239000001569 carbon dioxide Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910002092 carbon dioxide Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 150000001844 chromium Chemical class 0.000 description 1
- 239000003245 coal Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000004891 communication Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000001186 cumulative effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000001066 destructive effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000003467 diminishing effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000010459 dolomite Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910000514 dolomite Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000010696 ester oil Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000000835 fiber Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000008187 granular material Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000003673 groundwater Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000000665 guar gum Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229960002154 guar gum Drugs 0.000 description 1
- 235000010417 guar gum Nutrition 0.000 description 1
- 238000002347 injection Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000007924 injection Substances 0.000 description 1
- PNDPGZBMCMUPRI-UHFFFAOYSA-N iodine Chemical compound II PNDPGZBMCMUPRI-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 229910052741 iridium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- GKOZUEZYRPOHIO-UHFFFAOYSA-N iridium atom Chemical compound [Ir] GKOZUEZYRPOHIO-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000007246 mechanism Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000012544 monitoring process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000037361 pathway Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000012466 permeate Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229920002401 polyacrylamide Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 235000011181 potassium carbonates Nutrition 0.000 description 1
- 230000001902 propagating effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- -1 proppant Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000005086 pumping Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000002285 radioactive effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000000700 radioactive tracer Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000011347 resin Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229920005989 resin Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 150000003839 salts Chemical class 0.000 description 1
- 229910052709 silver Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000004332 silver Substances 0.000 description 1
- 235000011182 sodium carbonates Nutrition 0.000 description 1
- 239000011780 sodium chloride Substances 0.000 description 1
- 235000002639 sodium chloride Nutrition 0.000 description 1
- 238000003860 storage Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000000725 suspension Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229920002994 synthetic fiber Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 229910052713 technetium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- GKLVYJBZJHMRIY-UHFFFAOYSA-N technetium atom Chemical compound [Tc] GKLVYJBZJHMRIY-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 150000003608 titanium Chemical class 0.000 description 1
- 150000003754 zirconium Chemical class 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E21—EARTH DRILLING; MINING
- E21B—EARTH DRILLING, e.g. DEEP DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
- E21B43/00—Methods or apparatus for obtaining oil, gas, water, soluble or meltable materials or a slurry of minerals from wells
- E21B43/16—Enhanced recovery methods for obtaining hydrocarbons
- E21B43/17—Interconnecting two or more wells by fracturing or otherwise attacking the formation
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E21—EARTH DRILLING; MINING
- E21B—EARTH DRILLING, e.g. DEEP DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
- E21B43/00—Methods or apparatus for obtaining oil, gas, water, soluble or meltable materials or a slurry of minerals from wells
- E21B43/25—Methods for stimulating production
- E21B43/26—Methods for stimulating production by forming crevices or fractures
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E21—EARTH DRILLING; MINING
- E21B—EARTH DRILLING, e.g. DEEP DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
- E21B43/00—Methods or apparatus for obtaining oil, gas, water, soluble or meltable materials or a slurry of minerals from wells
- E21B43/25—Methods for stimulating production
- E21B43/26—Methods for stimulating production by forming crevices or fractures
- E21B43/267—Methods for stimulating production by forming crevices or fractures reinforcing fractures by propping
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E21—EARTH DRILLING; MINING
- E21B—EARTH DRILLING, e.g. DEEP DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
- E21B47/00—Survey of boreholes or wells
- E21B47/06—Measuring temperature or pressure
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E21—EARTH DRILLING; MINING
- E21B—EARTH DRILLING, e.g. DEEP DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
- E21B47/00—Survey of boreholes or wells
- E21B47/06—Measuring temperature or pressure
- E21B47/07—Temperature
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E21—EARTH DRILLING; MINING
- E21B—EARTH DRILLING, e.g. DEEP DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
- E21B49/00—Testing the nature of borehole walls; Formation testing; Methods or apparatus for obtaining samples of soil or well fluids, specially adapted to earth drilling or wells
Definitions
- Hydraulic fracturing is a technique for fracturing a subterranean formation with a pressurized liquid. The process involves injecting fluid under high pressure into a wellbore to fracture the rock of the subterranean formation. The liquid propagates throughout the fractures. When the liquid is removed, the fractures stay open because sand or other types of proppants suspended in the fracturing fluid remain in the fractures and keep the fractures from closing.
- the open fractures provide greater access to natural resources such as natural gas and liquid petroleum and allow these natural resources to flow easier within the subterranean formation to the well bore for recovery.
- a method for extracting a natural resource includes creating a fracture network in a target formation by simultaneously pressurizing the target formation on opposing sides with hydraulic fracturing liquid through different wells creating a series of fractures from each of the different wells with effective fracture lengths that overlap with each other.
- the effective fracture lengths may be 300 feet or less from each of the wells.
- the effective fracture lengths may be 200 feet or less from each of the wells.
- the different wells may be spaced apart from each other at a distance of less than 600 feet.
- the different wells may be spaced apart from each other at a distance of less than 400 feet.
- Each of the different wells may be horizontal wells.
- the target formation may include a known hydrocarbon deposit.
- the target formation may be in an oil shale formation.
- the natural resource may be a liquid hydrocarbon.
- the target formation may be between the different wells.
- a method for extracting a natural resource includes creating a first series of fractures from a first well bore section by pressurizing a target formation with a first hydraulic fracturing liquid from a first well bore section where the first series of fractures includes a first effective fracture length that protrudes into the target formation, and simultaneously creating a second series of fractures by pressurizing the target formation with a second hydraulic fracturing liquid from a second well bore section that is spaced apart from the first well bore section at a distance and the target formation is located between the first and the second well bore section where the first series of fractures includes a second effective fracture length that protrudes into the target formation and overlaps with the first effective length.
- At least one of the first effective fracture length and the second effective fracture length may be 300 feet or less.
- At least one of the first effective fracture length and the second effective fracture length may be 200 feet or less.
- the first well bore section may be spaced apart from the second well bore section at a distance of less than 600 feet.
- the first well bore section may be spaced apart from the second well bore section at a distance of less than 400 feet.
- Each of the first well bore section and the second well bore section may be horizontal well bore sections.
- the target formation may include a known hydrocarbon deposit.
- the target formation may be in an oil shale formation.
- the natural resource may be a liquid hydrocarbon.
- a method for extracting a natural resource includes creating a first series of fractures from a first horizontal well bore section by pressurizing a target formation with a first hydraulic fracturing liquid from a first horizontal well bore section where the first series of fractures includes a first fracture length that protrudes into the target formation, and simultaneously creating a second series of fractures by pressurizing the target formation with a second hydraulic fracturing liquid from a second horizontal well bore section that is spaced apart from the first horizontal well bore section that is spaced away from the first horizontal well bore section less than 800 feet away and the target formation is located between the first and the second horizontal well bore section where the first series of fractures includes a second fracture length that protrudes into the target formation.
- the second horizontal well bore section may be spaced less than 400 feet apart from the first horizontal well bore section.
- FIG. 1 depicts an example of fracturing a target formation simultaneously from a first well bore and a second well bore in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.
- FIG. 2 depicts a cross sectional view of an example of a first well bore and a second well bore in an underground strata in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.
- FIG. 3 depicts a cross sectional view of an example of simultaneously hydraulically fracturing a target formation with a first vertical well and a second vertical well in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.
- FIG. 4 depicts a top down, cross sectional view of an example of a fractured subterranean formation in a vertical well in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.
- FIG. 5 depicts a top down, cross sectional view of an example of a fractured subterranean formation in a horizontal well in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.
- FIG. 6 depicts an example of hydraulically fracturing a target formation in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.
- FIG. 7 depicts an example of hydraulically fracturing a target formation with a first well and a second well in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.
- the term “aligned” means parallel, substantially parallel, or forming an angle of less than 35.0 degrees.
- the term “transverse” means perpendicular, substantially perpendicular, or forming an angle between 55.0 and 125.0 degrees.
- the term “length” means the longest dimension of an object.
- the term “width” means the dimension of an object from side to side. Often, the width of an object is transverse the object's length.
- the “effective fracture length” generally refers to just the portion of the fracture that corresponds having 90.0% of the cumulative gas flow rate from the formation to the well bore.
- the term “horizontal well bore section” generally involves wellbores with a section of the well bore aligned with the rock layer containing the natural resource to be extracted.
- the horizontal section is a terminal section of the well bore and may be referred to as a “lateral.”
- more than one horizontal lateral may be drilled from the same well site and share a common vertical section with other laterals.
- each of the horizontal wells do not share the same vertical section, but are drilled at different surface locations.
- a horizontal well bore may extend nearly 2,000 feet or longer.
- a vertical well is generally much shorter. Horizontal drilling reduces the surface footprint as fewer wells are involved to access the same volume of rock.
- horizontal wells make contact with more of the rock bearing the natural resource and may have greater production rates over a longer period of time.
- Hydraulic fracturing may be used to increase the production of natural resources to be extracted through a well bore, such as petroleum, water, or natural gas. In some cases, hydraulic fracturing can optimize the economic production of the well by maintaining the same productions rates at a lower cost. Hydraulic fracturing may increase the initial production, the estimated ultimate recovery from the well, or increase another aspect of the well's production.
- Hydraulic fracturing may also be used in making a first completion, such as in the zone of interest; recompleting a well, such making a completion in another part of the well; refracturing the well, such as when re-stimulating a primary completion or a recompletion; deepening the well, such as when drilling the well deeper and completing that portion of well with a smaller diameter; re-drilling the well, such as when drilling another well next to an existing well, another drilling or completion task, or combinations thereof.
- the natural resources may be located in different types of rocks, such as sandstones, limestones, dolomite rocks, shale rock, coal beds, other types of formations, or combinations thereof. Hydraulic fracturing can be applied in rock formations below the earth's groundwater reservoir levels. At these depths, there may be insufficient permeability in the reservoir to allow natural gas and oil to flow from the rock into the wellbore at desirable returns. By fracturing the rock, the permeability of the formation increases thereby improving the production of the natural resource.
- rocks such as sandstones, limestones, dolomite rocks, shale rock, coal beds, other types of formations, or combinations thereof. Hydraulic fracturing can be applied in rock formations below the earth's groundwater reservoir levels. At these depths, there may be insufficient permeability in the reservoir to allow natural gas and oil to flow from the rock into the wellbore at desirable returns. By fracturing the rock, the permeability of the formation increases thereby improving the production
- the placement of one or more fractures along the length of the borehole can be determined by different methods.
- One type of method includes using a perforating gun to create holes in the well bore's casing.
- a hydraulic fracture may be formed by injecting a fracturing fluid into a wellbore with a high enough pressure through the well bore's perforations.
- This pressurized fluid increases the subterranean formation's pressure to a level where the rock fractures.
- the hydraulic fluid may include a proppant (e.g. grains of sand, ceramic, or other particulate) that remain in the fractures after the hydraulic fluid has drained out of the formation and prevent the fractures from closing.
- the propped fracture maintains an increased permeability to allow the flow of the natural resource to the well.
- Equipment that may be used in hydraulic fracturing may include a slurry blender, one or more high-pressure, high-volume fracturing pumps, a monitoring unit, units for storage and handling of proppant, a chemical additive unit, low-pressure flexible hoses, and gauges and meters for flow rate, fluid density, and treating pressure.
- the fracturing fluid includes a slurry of water, proppant, and chemical additives.
- the fracturing fluid may also include gels, foams, and compressed nitrogen, compressed carbon dioxide, compressed air, another type of compressed gas, hydrochloric acid, acetic acid, sodium chloride, polyacrylamide, ethylene glycol, borate salts, zirconium salts, chromium salts, antimony salts, titanium salts, other types of salts, sodium carbonates, potassium carbonates, glutaraldehyde, guar gum, citric acid, isopropanol, methanol, isopropyl alcohol, 2-butoxyethanol, and ethylene glycol, aluminum phosphate and ester oils or combinations thereof.
- the fracturing fluid may be between 85.0 percent to 95.0 liquid or gas, between 5.5 percent and 9.5 percent proppant, and 1.0 to 0.25 percent chemical additives.
- the fracturing fluid may be a gel, a foam, or be slickwater-based. Gels may be useful in situations where it would otherwise be difficult to keep the proppant in suspension. Slickwater, which is less viscous and has a lower friction, may allow fluid to be pumped at higher rates which allows fractures to be created farther out from the wellbore.
- the proppant may be a granular material, such as sand or a synthetic material that prevents the fractures from closing after the target formation is pressurized.
- Types of proppant may include silica sand, resin-coated sand, bauxite, man-made ceramics, another type of proppant, or combinations thereof. Bauxite or ceramics may be used in situations where the formation pressure is high enough to crush natural silica sand.
- the subterranean pressure and fracture growth rate may be measured during the hydraulic fracturing process. Additionally, known geological features can be used to model the fractures by length and width.
- Radioactive tracers can be used to determine the injection profile and location of created fractures. Any suitable radiotracers may be used in accordance with the principles described in the present disclosure. Suitable radioactive isotopes chemically bonded to at least some of the proppant may also be injected into the formation with the hydraulic fluid to track fractures. In some examples, some of the proppant may be coated with isotopes of silver, isotopes of iridium, isotopes of technetium, isotopes of iodine, another appropriate type of isotope, or combinations thereof to track the fracture profiles and/or flow rates of the hydraulic fluid.
- the temperature of the well may be monitored at different lengths, which assists in determining where the fracturing fluid is located and the associated volumes.
- Fiber optic cable, wired pipe, or other types of communication systems may be used to transmit this data to the surface in real time.
- the data may be retrieved after the fracturing procedure and analyzed at a later time.
- Horizontal wellbores can be useful in shale formations where horizontal wellbores tend to produce more economically than with a vertical well.
- Shales may be fractured by the plug and perforation method in the well bore either in a cemented or uncemented well bore.
- a wireline tool may be lowered into the well bore at a first stage location to perforate the well bore. With the well bore perforated, the fracturing fluid is pumped into the formation. Next, another plug is set in the well to temporarily seal off the previously pressurized section of the well bore so the next section of the wellbore can be perforated and then pressurized with the hydraulic fracturing fluid. The process is repeated along the horizontal length of the wellbore. Fracturing creates pathways in the rock, allowing for hydrocarbons to flow from the rock to the wellbore for production. The low permeability in the shale reservoirs results in hydrocarbon molecules that are relatively immobile in the reservoir.
- sliding sleeves are used to sequentially fracture the formation at different locations along the length of the well bore. Once one stage has finished the pressurizing the formation, the next sleeve is opened, concurrently isolating the previous stage, and the process repeats.
- the number of stages used to hydraulically fracture the formation may vary from target formation to target formation.
- a hydraulic fracturing method may have a single hydraulic fracturing stage to greater than thirty hydraulic fracturing stages. But, any appropriate number of fracturing stages may be used in accordance with the present disclosure.
- the fracture When the subterranean formation is pressurized, the fracture is created along the path of least resistance.
- the fracture may radiate out from the well bore in a single direction or in multiple directions when a single well bore is hydraulically fractured at a time.
- the entire fracture length may stretch a substantial distance, but the proppant may not travel as far as the entire length of the fracture. Further, the entire length of the fracture may not cause the formation to separate a meaningful amount to increase the permeability of the target formation.
- just a sub-portion of the fracture length results in increasing contact with the formation to yield an increase in production. That portion of the fracture length that contributes to 90.0 percent of the increased flow through the target formation may be referred to as an effective fracture length and is generally under 300 feet long.
- Fractures Propagation of fractures during hydraulic fracturing treatments is governed by in-situ stresses in the rock. Fractures will generally propagate in a direction perpendicular to the least principal stress. Close to the well, multiple fractures may emanate outward in multiple directions when a single well bore is hydraulically fractured at a time, but those fractures tend to converge together as the fractures progress outward away from the well bore. Fractures propagating in one direction tend to be long, but do not necessarily contact high volumes of rock.
- the principles described herein include simultaneously pumping a fracturing treatment into two or more adjacent wellbores with fracturing stages lined up along a fracture azimuth to artificially increase the pressure of the target formation at a localized area, resulting in a growth of fracture complexity, further resulting in higher stimulated reservoir volume and a more productive well.
- the increase in pressure from the simultaneous fracturing operation would not need to overcome both minimum and maximum stresses. Rather, the increase in pressure just needs to exceed minimum stress by some percentage to start growing complex fractures away from the initial fracture. In other words, with the simultaneous fracturing on multiple sides of the target formation and with the first and second well bores in close enough proximity to each other, the fractures diverge from each other rather than converging to a single dominant fracture.
- the perforation fractures develop a complex network of fractures that spread outward rather than having the fractures converge to a single dominant fracture that occurs with just a single well bore that is fractured at a time.
- the increased complexity of the fracture network can result in greater well production.
- Simultaneously fracturing the target formation between the wells may be fractured more intensely with additional complex fractures exposing more rock for production.
- the simultaneous hydraulic fractures are from well bores that are close to the target formation such that the effective fracture lengths from each of the well bores may spatially overlap.
- the pressure generated from the first well affects the fracture from the second well, and the pressure generated from the second well affects the fracture from the first well.
- the pressure from the first well prevents the fractures from the second well from converging to a single dominant fracture
- the pressure from the second well prevents the fractures from the first well to converge to a single dominant fracture.
- the fractures spreads creating a larger and more complex fracture network that increases the contact with more of the target formation.
- FIG. 1 depicts an example of hydraulically fracturing a target formation 100 from a first well bore 102 and hydraulically fracturing the target formation 100 from a second well bore 104 simultaneously.
- the first well bore 102 includes a first well bore section 106 that extends horizontally from a first vertical section 108 .
- the second well bore 104 includes a second well bore section 110 that extends horizontally from a second vertical section 112 .
- the target formation 100 is between the first well bore section 106 and the second well bore section 110 .
- a first subset 114 of fractures emanate from the first well bore 102
- a second subset 116 of fractures emanate from the second well bore 104 .
- the fractures from the first subset 114 and the second subset 116 overlap with each other. In some cases, the fractures from the first subset and the fractures from the second subset interconnect.
- the fractures of the first subset 114 propagate towards the second well bore 104
- fractures of the second subset 116 propagate forward towards the first well bore 102 within the target formation 100 .
- Fractures of the first and second subsets within the target formation may propagate without converging into a dominant fracture direction. However, those fractures that emanate out from the far sides 118 of the first and second well bores 102 , 104 may include fractures that converge into a single dominant fracture. On the other hand, at least some of the fractures within the target formation 100 may even diverge from each other. It is believed that the pressure increase from the first well bore 102 and the pressure increase from the second well bore 104 create more destructive damage to the target formation when released simultaneously than would otherwise occur if each of the well bores were used to hydraulically fracture the formation at separate times.
- Each of the first and second well bores 102 , 104 may be perforated with a perforation gun or with another appropriate mechanism.
- the perforated clusters formed by the perforation guns of the first well bore 102 may be aligned with the perforation clusters of the second well bore 104 .
- the fracturing stage 120 may be the area along the length of the well bores that is pressurized during a hydraulic fracturing event and may encompass the perforated clusters.
- the fracturing stage 120 of the first well bore 102 may be aligned with the fracturing stage 120 of the second well bore 104 .
- first and second well bores 102 , 104 may include multiple fracturing stages to be pressurized, just one of the stages may be pressurized at a time within the same well bore.
- the stages within a single well bore may be fractured sequentially along the length of the well bore while still being fractured simultaneously with the aligned stages of the other well bore.
- the fracturing stage 120 of the first well bore 102 that is aligned with the fracturing stage 120 of the second well bore 104 may be triggered simultaneously.
- the pressure between the aligned stages forces the pressures released from the first well bore 102 to interact with the pressures released from the second well bore 104 due to the proximity of the hydraulic fracturing stages.
- the stage lengths may be any appropriate length. In some examples, at least one of the stage lengths is less than 150 feet, less than 200 feet, less than 250 feet, less than 300 feet, less than 400 feet, or less than another appropriate distance.
- the first well bore section and the second well bore section are horizontal sections that are located at different heights.
- the first well bore section is located deeper within the earth than the second well bore section.
- the target formation is located between the varying heights of the first and second well bore sections.
- the first well bore section and the second well bore section may be located within the same strata, such as a layer of porous oil bearing rock. In other examples, the first well bore section and the second well bore section may be located in different strata or even different types of strata.
- FIG. 2 depicts an example of a first horizontal well bore section 200 and a second horizontal well bore section 202 within the same strata 204 .
- the first and second well bore sections 200 , 202 are generally at the same depth of earth.
- the first and second well bore sections 200 , 202 may be at different depths, but still spaced apart horizontally within the same strata 204 .
- the first well bore section 200 and the second well bore section 202 may be spaced apart at any appropriate distance that allows the pressures from the simultaneous fracturing of the different well bores to prevent the convergence of the fractures to a dominant fracture and/or direction.
- the first well bore section is spaced at a distance of less than 800 feet from the second well bore section. In some cases, the first well bore section is spaced at a distance of less than 600 feet from the second well bore section. Further, the first well bore section may be spaced at a distance of less than 400 feet from the second well bore section.
- the proppant in the hydraulic fracturing liquid remains behind keeping the fractures open.
- the natural resources within the formation may move towards either the first well bore section 200 or the second well bore section 202 .
- the strata 204 containing the natural resource is a shale material that contains oil within the pores of the shale.
- the downhole pressure may cause the oil in the pores to move towards areas lower pressure, such as in the fractures towards the well bores. This pressure differential may cause the oil to move from the subterranean formation into the well bore and move towards the surface where the oil can be collected.
- the fractures formed on the target side 206 of the well bores may be included in those fractures that synergistically crack more rock while those fractures that are on the far side 208 of the well bores may converge into a single dominant fracture 210 .
- FIG. 3 depicts an example of a first vertical well bore 300 and a second vertical well bore 302 where a first stage 304 of the first well bore 300 is fractured simultaneously with a second stage 306 of the second well bore 302 .
- the first stage 304 and the second stage 306 are aligned with each other along the dominant direction of the target formation.
- the first stage 304 and the second stage 306 that are fractured simultaneously are at the same depth, substantially the same depth, or within 5.0 percent of the same depth.
- the first and second stages 304 , 306 are in the same pay bearing strata.
- the first well bore may be a vertical well bore and the second well bore may be a horizontal well bore.
- the first stage of the first well bore may still be aligned with the second stage of the second well bore.
- the collective pressurization may cause the fractures to spread rather than allow the fractures to converge into a congregate towards a single fracture.
- One advantage to fracturing the rock with stages that are aligned along the fracture azimuth is that a web or network of fractures in both the directions of maximum principle stress and perpendicular to that stress are created. Whereas when the stages fracture the formation simultaneously, but are misaligned, it is believed that the pressure from first well will cause the fractures from the second well to be angled away from the hydraulic fracturing stage of the first well. Such a misdirected fracture may not form the network of fractures and increase the surface area of the rock accessible to the either the first well or the second well. Rather, misaligning the stages that are activated simultaneously may be used to direct a fracture, but may not have the result of creating an increased fracture network.
- FIG. 4 depicts a cross sectional example of a first vertical well 400 and a second vertical well 402 viewed from the earths' surface.
- the fractures between first vertical well 400 and the second vertical well 402 form a network 404 of fractures.
- those fractures that formed on the far side 406 of the first and second wells 400 , 402 are fewer and converge together to form a single dominant fracture.
- FIG. 5 depicts a cross sectional example of a horizontal vertical well 500 and a second horizontal well 502 viewed from the earths' surface.
- the fractures between first horizontal well 500 and the second horizontal well 502 form a network 504 of fractures.
- those fractures that formed on the far side of the first and second wells 500 , 502 are fewer and converge together to form a single dominant fracture.
- FIG. 6 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 600 of simultaneously fracturing a target formation.
- the operations of method 600 may be implemented by any of the hydraulic fracturing systems described in FIGS. 1-5 or their components as described herein.
- the method 600 includes creating 602 a fracture network in a target formation by simultaneously pressurizing the target formation on opposing sides with hydraulic fracturing liquid through different wells creating a series of fractures from each of the different wells with effective fracture lengths that overlap with each other.
- a target formation is fractured by simultaneously pressurizing the target formation from two directions.
- the pressurization from both sources is close enough to each other that the target formation is compressed in tension in some directions and pulled in tension in other directions such that the induced fractures are caused to spread out rather than converge together.
- the effective fracture lengths of the series of fractures from the first well and the series of fractures from the second well travel deep enough into the target formation that the effective fracture lengths may cross each.
- FIG. 7 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 700 of simultaneously fracturing a target formation.
- the operations of method 700 may be implemented by any of the hydraulic fracturing systems described in FIGS. 1-5 or their components as described herein.
- the method 700 includes creating 702 a first series of fractures from a first well by pressurizing a target formation with a first hydraulic fracturing liquid from a first well where the first series of fractures includes a first effective fracture length that protrudes into the target formation, and simultaneously creating 704 a second series of fractures by pressurizing the target formation with a second hydraulic fracturing liquid from a second well that is spaced apart from the first well at a distance and the target formation is located between the first and the second well where the first series of fractures includes a second effective fracture length that protrudes into the target formation and overlaps with the first effective length.
- a first series of fractures from a first well are formed in a target formation by pressurizing the formation with a first hydraulic fracturing fluid.
- This series of fractures includes at least one effective fracture length that protrudes into the target formation.
- the effective fracture length may be that portion of a fracture that corresponds to 90 percent of the flow for that particular fracture.
- a second series of fractures from a second well are formed in a target formation simultaneously pressurizing the target formation with a second hydraulic fluid.
- These fractures include effective fracture lengths that also protrude into the target formation.
- the effective fracture lengths of the first series of fractures and the effective fracture lengths of the second series of fractures may spatially overlap each other in the target formation.
- first hydraulic fluid and the second hydraulic fluid are the same type of fluid, substantially the same type of hydraulic fluid, or different types of hydraulic fluid.
- volume of the first hydraulic fluid is same as, substantially the same as, or different than the volume of the second hydraulic fluid.
- the pressure induced with the first hydraulic fluid may be the same as, substantially the same as, or different than the amount of pressure induced with the second hydraulic fluid.
- simultaneously creating fractures from the first well and the second well may include triggering the hydraulic fracturing events in both wells at exactly the same time. In some cases, simultaneously creating fractures from the first well and the second well may include triggering the hydraulic fracturing events in both wells within one minute of each other, within five minutes of each other, within ten minutes of each other, within 15 minutes of each other, within 25 minutes of each other, within another appropriate time period, or combinations thereof.
- simultaneously creating fractures from the first well and the second well include different triggering start time, but that at least some period of time exists where the pressure from the first well and the pressure from the second well are increasing at the same time.
- pressurizing a target formation from a first well from a base formation pressure to a peak formation pressure may occur over a period of time. This period of time may be referred to as a first pressurization time period.
- pressurizing the target formation from the second well from the base formation pressure to the peak formation pressure may also occur over a period of time. This second period of time may be referred to as a second pressurization time period.
- simultaneously creating fractures in the target formation from the first well and creating fractures in the target formation from the second well may include having at least some temporal overlap between the first pressurization time period and the second pressurization time period.
- simultaneously creating fractures from the first well and the second well include having at least some period of time that exists where the pressure from the first well and the pressure from the second well are increased at the same time.
- the target formation remains in an increased pressurized state even after reaching a peak pressure. After reaching the peak pressure, the pressure in the target formation may diminish, but still have an elevated pressure above the base formation pressure resulting the hydraulic fluid from either the first well or the second well. Fractures may be created even after the formation pressure is diminishing. After some point, the formation pressure may return to the base formation pressure or drop below the base formation pressure.
- the time period in which the target formation initially increases pressure from the base formation pressure and returns to at least 50 percent of the base pressure from the hydraulic fluid from the first well may be referred to as the first elevated pressure time period.
- the time period in which the target formation initially increases pressure from the base formation pressure and returns to at least 50 percent of the base pressure from the hydraulic fluid from the second well may be referred to as the second elevated pressure time period.
- simultaneously creating fractures from the first well and the second well may include having a temporal overlap between the first elevated pressure time period and the second elevated pressure time period.
- simultaneously creating fractures from a first well and a second well may refer to a time period in which fractures are still forming in the target formation as a result of the hydraulic fracturing.
- the stresses in the target formation cause the formation to move creating the fractures, but as the formation depressurizes the target formation may still move resulting in additional fractures.
Abstract
Description
- Hydraulic fracturing is a technique for fracturing a subterranean formation with a pressurized liquid. The process involves injecting fluid under high pressure into a wellbore to fracture the rock of the subterranean formation. The liquid propagates throughout the fractures. When the liquid is removed, the fractures stay open because sand or other types of proppants suspended in the fracturing fluid remain in the fractures and keep the fractures from closing. The open fractures provide greater access to natural resources such as natural gas and liquid petroleum and allow these natural resources to flow easier within the subterranean formation to the well bore for recovery.
- One method of hydraulic fracturing is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,724,905 issued to Duane C. Uhri, et al. In this reference, a process for sequential hydraulic fracturing of a hydrocarbon fluid-bearing formation. A fracture is induced in said formation by hydraulically fracturing via one wellbore. Thereafter, while the formation remains pressurized from the first induced-fracture operation, a second hydraulic fracturing operation is conducted via another wellbore substantially within the pressurized formation area of the first fracturing operation which causes a fracture trajectory to form contrary to the far-field in-situ stresses. This second hydraulic fracture will tend to curve away from the first hydraulic fracture and has the potential of intersecting natural hydrocarbon fluid-bearing fractures in said formation.
- One method of hydraulic fracturing is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,830,106 issued to Duane C. Uhri, et al. A process and apparatus for simultaneous hydraulic fracturing of a hydrocarbonaceous fluid-bearing formation. Fractures are induced in said formation by hydraulically fracturing at least two wellbores simultaneously. While the formation remains pressurized curved fractures propagate from each wellbore forming fracture trajectories contrary to the far-field in-situ stresses. By applying simultaneous hydraulic pressure to both wellbores, at least one curved fracture trajectory will be caused to be transmitted from each wellbore and intersect a natural hydrocarbonaceous fracture contrary to the far-field in-situ stresses. Each of these references may be incorporated by reference for all that they teach.
- In one embodiment, a method for extracting a natural resource includes creating a fracture network in a target formation by simultaneously pressurizing the target formation on opposing sides with hydraulic fracturing liquid through different wells creating a series of fractures from each of the different wells with effective fracture lengths that overlap with each other.
- The effective fracture lengths may be 300 feet or less from each of the wells.
- The effective fracture lengths may be 200 feet or less from each of the wells.
- The different wells may be spaced apart from each other at a distance of less than 600 feet.
- The different wells may be spaced apart from each other at a distance of less than 400 feet.
- Each of the different wells may be horizontal wells.
- The target formation may include a known hydrocarbon deposit.
- The target formation may be in an oil shale formation.
- The natural resource may be a liquid hydrocarbon.
- The target formation may be between the different wells.
- In some embodiments, a method for extracting a natural resource includes creating a first series of fractures from a first well bore section by pressurizing a target formation with a first hydraulic fracturing liquid from a first well bore section where the first series of fractures includes a first effective fracture length that protrudes into the target formation, and simultaneously creating a second series of fractures by pressurizing the target formation with a second hydraulic fracturing liquid from a second well bore section that is spaced apart from the first well bore section at a distance and the target formation is located between the first and the second well bore section where the first series of fractures includes a second effective fracture length that protrudes into the target formation and overlaps with the first effective length.
- At least one of the first effective fracture length and the second effective fracture length may be 300 feet or less.
- At least one of the first effective fracture length and the second effective fracture length may be 200 feet or less.
- The first well bore section may be spaced apart from the second well bore section at a distance of less than 600 feet.
- The first well bore section may be spaced apart from the second well bore section at a distance of less than 400 feet.
- Each of the first well bore section and the second well bore section may be horizontal well bore sections.
- The target formation may include a known hydrocarbon deposit.
- The target formation may be in an oil shale formation.
- The natural resource may be a liquid hydrocarbon.
- In one embodiment, a method for extracting a natural resource includes creating a first series of fractures from a first horizontal well bore section by pressurizing a target formation with a first hydraulic fracturing liquid from a first horizontal well bore section where the first series of fractures includes a first fracture length that protrudes into the target formation, and simultaneously creating a second series of fractures by pressurizing the target formation with a second hydraulic fracturing liquid from a second horizontal well bore section that is spaced apart from the first horizontal well bore section that is spaced away from the first horizontal well bore section less than 800 feet away and the target formation is located between the first and the second horizontal well bore section where the first series of fractures includes a second fracture length that protrudes into the target formation.
- The second horizontal well bore section may be spaced less than 400 feet apart from the first horizontal well bore section.
-
FIG. 1 depicts an example of fracturing a target formation simultaneously from a first well bore and a second well bore in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. -
FIG. 2 depicts a cross sectional view of an example of a first well bore and a second well bore in an underground strata in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. -
FIG. 3 depicts a cross sectional view of an example of simultaneously hydraulically fracturing a target formation with a first vertical well and a second vertical well in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. -
FIG. 4 depicts a top down, cross sectional view of an example of a fractured subterranean formation in a vertical well in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. -
FIG. 5 depicts a top down, cross sectional view of an example of a fractured subterranean formation in a horizontal well in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. -
FIG. 6 depicts an example of hydraulically fracturing a target formation in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. -
FIG. 7 depicts an example of hydraulically fracturing a target formation with a first well and a second well in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. - For purposes of this disclosure, the term “aligned” means parallel, substantially parallel, or forming an angle of less than 35.0 degrees. For purposes of this disclosure, the term “transverse” means perpendicular, substantially perpendicular, or forming an angle between 55.0 and 125.0 degrees. Also, for purposes of this disclosure, the term “length” means the longest dimension of an object. Also, for purposes of this disclosure, the term “width” means the dimension of an object from side to side. Often, the width of an object is transverse the object's length. For the purposes of this disclosure, the “effective fracture length” generally refers to just the portion of the fracture that corresponds having 90.0% of the cumulative gas flow rate from the formation to the well bore.
- For the purposes of this disclosure, the term “horizontal well bore section” generally involves wellbores with a section of the well bore aligned with the rock layer containing the natural resource to be extracted. Generally, the horizontal section is a terminal section of the well bore and may be referred to as a “lateral.” In some cases, more than one horizontal lateral may be drilled from the same well site and share a common vertical section with other laterals. In other cases, each of the horizontal wells do not share the same vertical section, but are drilled at different surface locations. In some examples, a horizontal well bore may extend nearly 2,000 feet or longer. In contrast, a vertical well is generally much shorter. Horizontal drilling reduces the surface footprint as fewer wells are involved to access the same volume of rock. Generally, horizontal wells make contact with more of the rock bearing the natural resource and may have greater production rates over a longer period of time.
- Hydraulic fracturing may be used to increase the production of natural resources to be extracted through a well bore, such as petroleum, water, or natural gas. In some cases, hydraulic fracturing can optimize the economic production of the well by maintaining the same productions rates at a lower cost. Hydraulic fracturing may increase the initial production, the estimated ultimate recovery from the well, or increase another aspect of the well's production. Hydraulic fracturing may also be used in making a first completion, such as in the zone of interest; recompleting a well, such making a completion in another part of the well; refracturing the well, such as when re-stimulating a primary completion or a recompletion; deepening the well, such as when drilling the well deeper and completing that portion of well with a smaller diameter; re-drilling the well, such as when drilling another well next to an existing well, another drilling or completion task, or combinations thereof.
- The natural resources may be located in different types of rocks, such as sandstones, limestones, dolomite rocks, shale rock, coal beds, other types of formations, or combinations thereof. Hydraulic fracturing can be applied in rock formations below the earth's groundwater reservoir levels. At these depths, there may be insufficient permeability in the reservoir to allow natural gas and oil to flow from the rock into the wellbore at desirable returns. By fracturing the rock, the permeability of the formation increases thereby improving the production of the natural resource.
- The placement of one or more fractures along the length of the borehole can be determined by different methods. One type of method includes using a perforating gun to create holes in the well bore's casing.
- A hydraulic fracture may be formed by injecting a fracturing fluid into a wellbore with a high enough pressure through the well bore's perforations. This pressurized fluid increases the subterranean formation's pressure to a level where the rock fractures. As the rock cracks, fissures are created that allows the fracture fluid to permeate deeper into the rock and thereby increasing the formation pressure deeper and deeper into the formation thereby extending the cracks further. The hydraulic fluid may include a proppant (e.g. grains of sand, ceramic, or other particulate) that remain in the fractures after the hydraulic fluid has drained out of the formation and prevent the fractures from closing. The propped fracture maintains an increased permeability to allow the flow of the natural resource to the well.
- Equipment that may be used in hydraulic fracturing may include a slurry blender, one or more high-pressure, high-volume fracturing pumps, a monitoring unit, units for storage and handling of proppant, a chemical additive unit, low-pressure flexible hoses, and gauges and meters for flow rate, fluid density, and treating pressure.
- Any appropriate type of fracturing fluid may be used in accordance with the principles described in the present disclosure. In some examples, the fracturing fluid includes a slurry of water, proppant, and chemical additives. In some cases, the fracturing fluid may also include gels, foams, and compressed nitrogen, compressed carbon dioxide, compressed air, another type of compressed gas, hydrochloric acid, acetic acid, sodium chloride, polyacrylamide, ethylene glycol, borate salts, zirconium salts, chromium salts, antimony salts, titanium salts, other types of salts, sodium carbonates, potassium carbonates, glutaraldehyde, guar gum, citric acid, isopropanol, methanol, isopropyl alcohol, 2-butoxyethanol, and ethylene glycol, aluminum phosphate and ester oils or combinations thereof. The fracturing fluid may be between 85.0 percent to 95.0 liquid or gas, between 5.5 percent and 9.5 percent proppant, and 1.0 to 0.25 percent chemical additives.
- In other examples, the fracturing fluid may be a gel, a foam, or be slickwater-based. Gels may be useful in situations where it would otherwise be difficult to keep the proppant in suspension. Slickwater, which is less viscous and has a lower friction, may allow fluid to be pumped at higher rates which allows fractures to be created farther out from the wellbore.
- Any appropriate proppant may be used in accordance with the principles of described in the present disclosure. In some cases, the proppant may be a granular material, such as sand or a synthetic material that prevents the fractures from closing after the target formation is pressurized. Types of proppant may include silica sand, resin-coated sand, bauxite, man-made ceramics, another type of proppant, or combinations thereof. Bauxite or ceramics may be used in situations where the formation pressure is high enough to crush natural silica sand.
- The subterranean pressure and fracture growth rate may be measured during the hydraulic fracturing process. Additionally, known geological features can be used to model the fractures by length and width.
- Radioactive tracers can be used to determine the injection profile and location of created fractures. Any suitable radiotracers may be used in accordance with the principles described in the present disclosure. Suitable radioactive isotopes chemically bonded to at least some of the proppant may also be injected into the formation with the hydraulic fluid to track fractures. In some examples, some of the proppant may be coated with isotopes of silver, isotopes of iridium, isotopes of technetium, isotopes of iodine, another appropriate type of isotope, or combinations thereof to track the fracture profiles and/or flow rates of the hydraulic fluid.
- The temperature of the well may be monitored at different lengths, which assists in determining where the fracturing fluid is located and the associated volumes. Fiber optic cable, wired pipe, or other types of communication systems may be used to transmit this data to the surface in real time. In other examples, the data may be retrieved after the fracturing procedure and analyzed at a later time.
- Horizontal wellbores can be useful in shale formations where horizontal wellbores tend to produce more economically than with a vertical well. Shales may be fractured by the plug and perforation method in the well bore either in a cemented or uncemented well bore. A wireline tool may be lowered into the well bore at a first stage location to perforate the well bore. With the well bore perforated, the fracturing fluid is pumped into the formation. Next, another plug is set in the well to temporarily seal off the previously pressurized section of the well bore so the next section of the wellbore can be perforated and then pressurized with the hydraulic fracturing fluid. The process is repeated along the horizontal length of the wellbore. Fracturing creates pathways in the rock, allowing for hydrocarbons to flow from the rock to the wellbore for production. The low permeability in the shale reservoirs results in hydrocarbon molecules that are relatively immobile in the reservoir.
- In other examples, sliding sleeves are used to sequentially fracture the formation at different locations along the length of the well bore. Once one stage has finished the pressurizing the formation, the next sleeve is opened, concurrently isolating the previous stage, and the process repeats.
- The number of stages used to hydraulically fracture the formation may vary from target formation to target formation. In some cases, a hydraulic fracturing method may have a single hydraulic fracturing stage to greater than thirty hydraulic fracturing stages. But, any appropriate number of fracturing stages may be used in accordance with the present disclosure.
- When the subterranean formation is pressurized, the fracture is created along the path of least resistance. The fracture may radiate out from the well bore in a single direction or in multiple directions when a single well bore is hydraulically fractured at a time. The entire fracture length may stretch a substantial distance, but the proppant may not travel as far as the entire length of the fracture. Further, the entire length of the fracture may not cause the formation to separate a meaningful amount to increase the permeability of the target formation. Generally, just a sub-portion of the fracture length results in increasing contact with the formation to yield an increase in production. That portion of the fracture length that contributes to 90.0 percent of the increased flow through the target formation may be referred to as an effective fracture length and is generally under 300 feet long.
- Propagation of fractures during hydraulic fracturing treatments is governed by in-situ stresses in the rock. Fractures will generally propagate in a direction perpendicular to the least principal stress. Close to the well, multiple fractures may emanate outward in multiple directions when a single well bore is hydraulically fractured at a time, but those fractures tend to converge together as the fractures progress outward away from the well bore. Fractures propagating in one direction tend to be long, but do not necessarily contact high volumes of rock.
- Maximizing fracture density, sometimes called stimulated reservoir volume (SRV), can be a difficult task because rock resists being fractured in a complex pattern. Fracture behavior is governed by stresses in the earth. Rock tends to fracture in the direction of maximum principal stress.
- The principles described herein include simultaneously pumping a fracturing treatment into two or more adjacent wellbores with fracturing stages lined up along a fracture azimuth to artificially increase the pressure of the target formation at a localized area, resulting in a growth of fracture complexity, further resulting in higher stimulated reservoir volume and a more productive well.
- The increase in pressure from the simultaneous fracturing operation would not need to overcome both minimum and maximum stresses. Rather, the increase in pressure just needs to exceed minimum stress by some percentage to start growing complex fractures away from the initial fracture. In other words, with the simultaneous fracturing on multiple sides of the target formation and with the first and second well bores in close enough proximity to each other, the fractures diverge from each other rather than converging to a single dominant fracture.
- By simultaneously fracturing the target formation along the azimuth fracture direction to localize the pressure, the perforation fractures develop a complex network of fractures that spread outward rather than having the fractures converge to a single dominant fracture that occurs with just a single well bore that is fractured at a time. The increased complexity of the fracture network can result in greater well production.
- Simultaneously fracturing the target formation between the wells may be fractured more intensely with additional complex fractures exposing more rock for production. The simultaneous hydraulic fractures are from well bores that are close to the target formation such that the effective fracture lengths from each of the well bores may spatially overlap. The pressure generated from the first well affects the fracture from the second well, and the pressure generated from the second well affects the fracture from the first well. Thus, the pressure from the first well prevents the fractures from the second well from converging to a single dominant fracture, and the pressure from the second well prevents the fractures from the first well to converge to a single dominant fracture. As a result, the fractures spreads creating a larger and more complex fracture network that increases the contact with more of the target formation.
- Now referring to specific examples with the figures,
FIG. 1 depicts an example of hydraulically fracturing atarget formation 100 from afirst well bore 102 and hydraulically fracturing thetarget formation 100 from a second well bore 104 simultaneously. In this example, thefirst well bore 102 includes a firstwell bore section 106 that extends horizontally from a firstvertical section 108. Also, in this example, the second well bore 104 includes a secondwell bore section 110 that extends horizontally from a secondvertical section 112. Thetarget formation 100 is between the firstwell bore section 106 and the secondwell bore section 110. Afirst subset 114 of fractures emanate from thefirst well bore 102, and asecond subset 116 of fractures emanate from thesecond well bore 104. As depicted in the example ofFIG. 1 , the fractures from thefirst subset 114 and thesecond subset 116 overlap with each other. In some cases, the fractures from the first subset and the fractures from the second subset interconnect. - Further, the fractures of the
first subset 114 propagate towards thesecond well bore 104, and fractures of thesecond subset 116 propagate forward towards thefirst well bore 102 within thetarget formation 100. Fractures of the first and second subsets within the target formation may propagate without converging into a dominant fracture direction. However, those fractures that emanate out from the far sides 118 of the first and second well bores 102, 104 may include fractures that converge into a single dominant fracture. On the other hand, at least some of the fractures within thetarget formation 100 may even diverge from each other. It is believed that the pressure increase from thefirst well bore 102 and the pressure increase from the second well bore 104 create more destructive damage to the target formation when released simultaneously than would otherwise occur if each of the well bores were used to hydraulically fracture the formation at separate times. - Each of the first and second well bores 102, 104 may be perforated with a perforation gun or with another appropriate mechanism. The perforated clusters formed by the perforation guns of the
first well bore 102 may be aligned with the perforation clusters of thesecond well bore 104. The fracturingstage 120 may be the area along the length of the well bores that is pressurized during a hydraulic fracturing event and may encompass the perforated clusters. The fracturingstage 120 of thefirst well bore 102 may be aligned with the fracturingstage 120 of thesecond well bore 104. In some examples, while the first and second well bores 102, 104 may include multiple fracturing stages to be pressurized, just one of the stages may be pressurized at a time within the same well bore. In some cases, the stages within a single well bore may be fractured sequentially along the length of the well bore while still being fractured simultaneously with the aligned stages of the other well bore. - However, the fracturing
stage 120 of the first well bore 102 that is aligned with the fracturingstage 120 of the second well bore 104 may be triggered simultaneously. With the aligned fracturing stages being triggered at the same time, the pressure between the aligned stages forces the pressures released from the first well bore 102 to interact with the pressures released from the second well bore 104 due to the proximity of the hydraulic fracturing stages. - The stage lengths may be any appropriate length. In some examples, at least one of the stage lengths is less than 150 feet, less than 200 feet, less than 250 feet, less than 300 feet, less than 400 feet, or less than another appropriate distance.
- In the example of
FIG. 1 , the first well bore section and the second well bore section are horizontal sections that are located at different heights. In this example, the first well bore section is located deeper within the earth than the second well bore section. The target formation is located between the varying heights of the first and second well bore sections. In this example, the first well bore section and the second well bore section may be located within the same strata, such as a layer of porous oil bearing rock. In other examples, the first well bore section and the second well bore section may be located in different strata or even different types of strata. -
FIG. 2 depicts an example of a first horizontalwell bore section 200 and a second horizontalwell bore section 202 within thesame strata 204. In this example, the first and second well boresections sections same strata 204. - The first
well bore section 200 and the secondwell bore section 202 may be spaced apart at any appropriate distance that allows the pressures from the simultaneous fracturing of the different well bores to prevent the convergence of the fractures to a dominant fracture and/or direction. In some examples, the first well bore section is spaced at a distance of less than 800 feet from the second well bore section. In some cases, the first well bore section is spaced at a distance of less than 600 feet from the second well bore section. Further, the first well bore section may be spaced at a distance of less than 400 feet from the second well bore section. - As the pressure recedes in the formation after pressurization, the proppant in the hydraulic fracturing liquid remains behind keeping the fractures open. With the fractures remaining open, the natural resources within the formation may move towards either the first
well bore section 200 or the secondwell bore section 202. In some cases, thestrata 204 containing the natural resource is a shale material that contains oil within the pores of the shale. The downhole pressure may cause the oil in the pores to move towards areas lower pressure, such as in the fractures towards the well bores. This pressure differential may cause the oil to move from the subterranean formation into the well bore and move towards the surface where the oil can be collected. - The fractures formed on the
target side 206 of the well bores may be included in those fractures that synergistically crack more rock while those fractures that are on thefar side 208 of the well bores may converge into a singledominant fracture 210. -
FIG. 3 depicts an example of a firstvertical well bore 300 and a second vertical well bore 302 where afirst stage 304 of thefirst well bore 300 is fractured simultaneously with asecond stage 306 of thesecond well bore 302. Thefirst stage 304 and thesecond stage 306 are aligned with each other along the dominant direction of the target formation. In some examples, thefirst stage 304 and thesecond stage 306 that are fractured simultaneously are at the same depth, substantially the same depth, or within 5.0 percent of the same depth. In some cases, the first andsecond stages - In other examples, the first well bore may be a vertical well bore and the second well bore may be a horizontal well bore. In such an example, the first stage of the first well bore may still be aligned with the second stage of the second well bore. When they are fractured simultaneously, the collective pressurization may cause the fractures to spread rather than allow the fractures to converge into a congregate towards a single fracture.
- One advantage to fracturing the rock with stages that are aligned along the fracture azimuth is that a web or network of fractures in both the directions of maximum principle stress and perpendicular to that stress are created. Whereas when the stages fracture the formation simultaneously, but are misaligned, it is believed that the pressure from first well will cause the fractures from the second well to be angled away from the hydraulic fracturing stage of the first well. Such a misdirected fracture may not form the network of fractures and increase the surface area of the rock accessible to the either the first well or the second well. Rather, misaligning the stages that are activated simultaneously may be used to direct a fracture, but may not have the result of creating an increased fracture network.
-
FIG. 4 depicts a cross sectional example of a firstvertical well 400 and a secondvertical well 402 viewed from the earths' surface. In this example, the fractures between firstvertical well 400 and the secondvertical well 402 form anetwork 404 of fractures. On the other hand, those fractures that formed on thefar side 406 of the first andsecond wells -
FIG. 5 depicts a cross sectional example of a horizontalvertical well 500 and a second horizontal well 502 viewed from the earths' surface. In this example, the fractures between firsthorizontal well 500 and the secondhorizontal well 502 form anetwork 504 of fractures. On the other hand, those fractures that formed on the far side of the first andsecond wells -
FIG. 6 shows a flowchart illustrating amethod 600 of simultaneously fracturing a target formation. The operations ofmethod 600 may be implemented by any of the hydraulic fracturing systems described inFIGS. 1-5 or their components as described herein. In this example, themethod 600 includes creating 602 a fracture network in a target formation by simultaneously pressurizing the target formation on opposing sides with hydraulic fracturing liquid through different wells creating a series of fractures from each of the different wells with effective fracture lengths that overlap with each other. - At
block 602, a target formation is fractured by simultaneously pressurizing the target formation from two directions. The pressurization from both sources is close enough to each other that the target formation is compressed in tension in some directions and pulled in tension in other directions such that the induced fractures are caused to spread out rather than converge together. The effective fracture lengths of the series of fractures from the first well and the series of fractures from the second well travel deep enough into the target formation that the effective fracture lengths may cross each. -
FIG. 7 shows a flowchart illustrating amethod 700 of simultaneously fracturing a target formation. The operations ofmethod 700 may be implemented by any of the hydraulic fracturing systems described inFIGS. 1-5 or their components as described herein. In this example, themethod 700 includes creating 702 a first series of fractures from a first well by pressurizing a target formation with a first hydraulic fracturing liquid from a first well where the first series of fractures includes a first effective fracture length that protrudes into the target formation, and simultaneously creating 704 a second series of fractures by pressurizing the target formation with a second hydraulic fracturing liquid from a second well that is spaced apart from the first well at a distance and the target formation is located between the first and the second well where the first series of fractures includes a second effective fracture length that protrudes into the target formation and overlaps with the first effective length. - At
block 702, a first series of fractures from a first well are formed in a target formation by pressurizing the formation with a first hydraulic fracturing fluid. This series of fractures includes at least one effective fracture length that protrudes into the target formation. The effective fracture length may be that portion of a fracture that corresponds to 90 percent of the flow for that particular fracture. - At
block 704, a second series of fractures from a second well are formed in a target formation simultaneously pressurizing the target formation with a second hydraulic fluid. These fractures include effective fracture lengths that also protrude into the target formation. The effective fracture lengths of the first series of fractures and the effective fracture lengths of the second series of fractures may spatially overlap each other in the target formation. - In some cases, the first hydraulic fluid and the second hydraulic fluid are the same type of fluid, substantially the same type of hydraulic fluid, or different types of hydraulic fluid. Further, in some cases, the volume of the first hydraulic fluid is same as, substantially the same as, or different than the volume of the second hydraulic fluid. Additionally, the pressure induced with the first hydraulic fluid may be the same as, substantially the same as, or different than the amount of pressure induced with the second hydraulic fluid.
- In some examples, simultaneously creating fractures from the first well and the second well may include triggering the hydraulic fracturing events in both wells at exactly the same time. In some cases, simultaneously creating fractures from the first well and the second well may include triggering the hydraulic fracturing events in both wells within one minute of each other, within five minutes of each other, within ten minutes of each other, within 15 minutes of each other, within 25 minutes of each other, within another appropriate time period, or combinations thereof.
- In other examples, simultaneously creating fractures from the first well and the second well include different triggering start time, but that at least some period of time exists where the pressure from the first well and the pressure from the second well are increasing at the same time. For example, in some cases, pressurizing a target formation from a first well from a base formation pressure to a peak formation pressure may occur over a period of time. This period of time may be referred to as a first pressurization time period. Likewise, pressurizing the target formation from the second well from the base formation pressure to the peak formation pressure may also occur over a period of time. This second period of time may be referred to as a second pressurization time period. Thus, for the purposes of this disclosure, simultaneously creating fractures in the target formation from the first well and creating fractures in the target formation from the second well may include having at least some temporal overlap between the first pressurization time period and the second pressurization time period.
- In another example, simultaneously creating fractures from the first well and the second well include having at least some period of time that exists where the pressure from the first well and the pressure from the second well are increased at the same time. In this example, the target formation remains in an increased pressurized state even after reaching a peak pressure. After reaching the peak pressure, the pressure in the target formation may diminish, but still have an elevated pressure above the base formation pressure resulting the hydraulic fluid from either the first well or the second well. Fractures may be created even after the formation pressure is diminishing. After some point, the formation pressure may return to the base formation pressure or drop below the base formation pressure. The time period in which the target formation initially increases pressure from the base formation pressure and returns to at least 50 percent of the base pressure from the hydraulic fluid from the first well may be referred to as the first elevated pressure time period. Similarly, the time period in which the target formation initially increases pressure from the base formation pressure and returns to at least 50 percent of the base pressure from the hydraulic fluid from the second well may be referred to as the second elevated pressure time period. In some examples, simultaneously creating fractures from the first well and the second well may include having a temporal overlap between the first elevated pressure time period and the second elevated pressure time period.
- In another example, simultaneously creating fractures from a first well and a second well may refer to a time period in which fractures are still forming in the target formation as a result of the hydraulic fracturing. In some cases, as the target formation is pressurized, the stresses in the target formation cause the formation to move creating the fractures, but as the formation depressurizes the target formation may still move resulting in additional fractures.
- It should be noted that the methods described above describe possible implementations, and that the operations and the steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified and that other implementations are possible. Furthermore, aspects from two or more of the methods may be combined.
- The description herein is provided to enable a person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not limited to the examples described herein, but is to be accorded the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.
Claims (20)
Priority Applications (6)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US15/893,363 US20190249527A1 (en) | 2018-02-09 | 2018-02-09 | Simultaneous Fracturing Process |
PCT/US2019/017288 WO2019157336A1 (en) | 2018-02-09 | 2019-02-08 | Simultaneous fracturing process |
AU2019216755A AU2019216755A1 (en) | 2018-02-09 | 2019-02-08 | Simultaneous fracturing process |
MX2020008338A MX2020008338A (en) | 2018-02-09 | 2019-02-08 | Simultaneous fracturing process. |
CA3090690A CA3090690A1 (en) | 2018-02-09 | 2019-02-08 | Simultaneous fracturing process |
CN201980020308.3A CN112041539A (en) | 2018-02-09 | 2019-02-08 | Simultaneous fracturing process |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US15/893,363 US20190249527A1 (en) | 2018-02-09 | 2018-02-09 | Simultaneous Fracturing Process |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20190249527A1 true US20190249527A1 (en) | 2019-08-15 |
Family
ID=67540455
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US15/893,363 Abandoned US20190249527A1 (en) | 2018-02-09 | 2018-02-09 | Simultaneous Fracturing Process |
Country Status (6)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US20190249527A1 (en) |
CN (1) | CN112041539A (en) |
AU (1) | AU2019216755A1 (en) |
CA (1) | CA3090690A1 (en) |
MX (1) | MX2020008338A (en) |
WO (1) | WO2019157336A1 (en) |
Cited By (37)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
CN112360420A (en) * | 2020-11-20 | 2021-02-12 | 中国石油天然气股份有限公司 | System and method for realizing balanced expansion of horizontal well subsection multi-cluster fracturing multi-crack |
US11009162B1 (en) | 2019-12-27 | 2021-05-18 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | System and method for integrated flow supply line |
US11035207B2 (en) | 2018-04-16 | 2021-06-15 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Hybrid hydraulic fracturing fleet |
US11067481B2 (en) | 2017-10-05 | 2021-07-20 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Instrumented fracturing slurry flow system and method |
US11066912B2 (en) | 2012-11-16 | 2021-07-20 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Torsional coupling for electric hydraulic fracturing fluid pumps |
US11091992B2 (en) | 2012-11-16 | 2021-08-17 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | System for centralized monitoring and control of electric powered hydraulic fracturing fleet |
US11114857B2 (en) | 2018-02-05 | 2021-09-07 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Microgrid electrical load management |
US11136870B2 (en) | 2012-11-16 | 2021-10-05 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | System for pumping hydraulic fracturing fluid using electric pumps |
US11181107B2 (en) | 2016-12-02 | 2021-11-23 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Constant voltage power distribution system for use with an electric hydraulic fracturing system |
US11181879B2 (en) | 2012-11-16 | 2021-11-23 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Monitoring and control of proppant storage from a datavan |
US11203924B2 (en) | 2017-10-13 | 2021-12-21 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Automated fracturing system and method |
US11211801B2 (en) | 2018-06-15 | 2021-12-28 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Integrated mobile power unit for hydraulic fracturing |
US11208878B2 (en) | 2018-10-09 | 2021-12-28 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Modular switchgear system and power distribution for electric oilfield equipment |
US11434737B2 (en) | 2017-12-05 | 2022-09-06 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | High horsepower pumping configuration for an electric hydraulic fracturing system |
US11449018B2 (en) | 2012-11-16 | 2022-09-20 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | System and method for parallel power and blackout protection for electric powered hydraulic fracturing |
US11451016B2 (en) | 2012-11-16 | 2022-09-20 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Switchgear load sharing for oil field equipment |
US11454170B2 (en) | 2012-11-16 | 2022-09-27 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Turbine chilling for oil field power generation |
US11454079B2 (en) | 2018-09-14 | 2022-09-27 | U.S. Well Services Llc | Riser assist for wellsites |
US11459863B2 (en) | 2019-10-03 | 2022-10-04 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Electric powered hydraulic fracturing pump system with single electric powered multi-plunger fracturing pump |
US11476781B2 (en) | 2012-11-16 | 2022-10-18 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Wireline power supply during electric powered fracturing operations |
US11492886B2 (en) | 2019-12-31 | 2022-11-08 | U.S. Wells Services, LLC | Self-regulating FRAC pump suction stabilizer/dampener |
US11506126B2 (en) | 2019-06-10 | 2022-11-22 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Integrated fuel gas heater for mobile fuel conditioning equipment |
US11542786B2 (en) | 2019-08-01 | 2023-01-03 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | High capacity power storage system for electric hydraulic fracturing |
US11560887B2 (en) | 2019-12-31 | 2023-01-24 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Segmented fluid end plunger pump |
US11578577B2 (en) | 2019-03-20 | 2023-02-14 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Oversized switchgear trailer for electric hydraulic fracturing |
US11578580B2 (en) | 2018-10-09 | 2023-02-14 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Electric powered hydraulic fracturing pump system with single electric powered multi-plunger pump fracturing trailers, filtration units, and slide out platform |
US11674484B2 (en) | 2012-11-16 | 2023-06-13 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | System for fueling electric powered hydraulic fracturing equipment with multiple fuel sources |
US11674352B2 (en) | 2012-11-16 | 2023-06-13 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Slide out pump stand for hydraulic fracturing equipment |
US11713661B2 (en) * | 2012-11-16 | 2023-08-01 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Electric powered pump down |
US11728709B2 (en) | 2019-05-13 | 2023-08-15 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Encoderless vector control for VFD in hydraulic fracturing applications |
US11808125B2 (en) | 2017-10-25 | 2023-11-07 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Smart fracturing system and method |
US11846167B2 (en) | 2019-12-30 | 2023-12-19 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Blender tub overflow catch |
US11850563B2 (en) | 2012-11-16 | 2023-12-26 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Independent control of auger and hopper assembly in electric blender system |
US11885206B2 (en) | 2019-12-30 | 2024-01-30 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Electric motor driven transportation mechanisms for fracturing blenders |
US11959371B2 (en) | 2012-11-16 | 2024-04-16 | Us Well Services, Llc | Suction and discharge lines for a dual hydraulic fracturing unit |
US11960305B2 (en) | 2019-12-31 | 2024-04-16 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Automated blender bucket testing and calibration |
US11959533B2 (en) | 2017-12-05 | 2024-04-16 | U.S. Well Services Holdings, Llc | Multi-plunger pumps and associated drive systems |
Citations (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20160090823A1 (en) * | 2014-09-26 | 2016-03-31 | Texas Tech University System | Fracturability index maps for fracture placement and design of shale reservoirs |
Family Cites Families (11)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4305463A (en) * | 1979-10-31 | 1981-12-15 | Oil Trieval Corporation | Oil recovery method and apparatus |
CA2663823C (en) * | 2006-10-13 | 2014-09-30 | Exxonmobil Upstream Research Company | Enhanced shale oil production by in situ heating using hydraulically fractured producing wells |
CA2814750A1 (en) * | 2010-10-20 | 2012-04-26 | Exxonmobil Upstream Research Company | Methods for establishing a subsurface fracture network |
US20140144623A1 (en) * | 2012-11-28 | 2014-05-29 | Nexen Energy Ulc | Method for increasing product recovery in fractures proximate fracture treated wellbores |
US20160003020A1 (en) * | 2013-02-04 | 2016-01-07 | Board Of Regents, The University Of Texas System | Methods for time-delayed fracturing in hydrocarbon formations |
US20140352968A1 (en) * | 2013-06-03 | 2014-12-04 | Cameron International Corporation | Multi-well simultaneous fracturing system |
CA2820742A1 (en) * | 2013-07-04 | 2013-09-20 | IOR Canada Ltd. | Improved hydrocarbon recovery process exploiting multiple induced fractures |
PL418239A1 (en) * | 2013-11-06 | 2017-06-19 | Schlumberger Technology B.V. | Modeling interactions of hydraulic fracturing in the complex fracturing networks |
US10030497B2 (en) * | 2015-02-10 | 2018-07-24 | Statoil Gulf Services LLC | Method of acquiring information of hydraulic fracture geometry for evaluating and optimizing well spacing for multi-well pad |
MX2019013507A (en) * | 2015-07-28 | 2020-01-20 | Devon Canada Corp | Well injection and production methods, apparatus and systems. |
CN105604534A (en) * | 2016-01-24 | 2016-05-25 | 廊坊开发区中油化油气技术服务有限公司 | Hydraulically affected fracturing process method for increasing production of coal-bed gas reservoir |
-
2018
- 2018-02-09 US US15/893,363 patent/US20190249527A1/en not_active Abandoned
-
2019
- 2019-02-08 CA CA3090690A patent/CA3090690A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2019-02-08 AU AU2019216755A patent/AU2019216755A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2019-02-08 CN CN201980020308.3A patent/CN112041539A/en active Pending
- 2019-02-08 WO PCT/US2019/017288 patent/WO2019157336A1/en active Application Filing
- 2019-02-08 MX MX2020008338A patent/MX2020008338A/en unknown
Patent Citations (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20160090823A1 (en) * | 2014-09-26 | 2016-03-31 | Texas Tech University System | Fracturability index maps for fracture placement and design of shale reservoirs |
Cited By (39)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US11674352B2 (en) | 2012-11-16 | 2023-06-13 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Slide out pump stand for hydraulic fracturing equipment |
US11136870B2 (en) | 2012-11-16 | 2021-10-05 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | System for pumping hydraulic fracturing fluid using electric pumps |
US11959371B2 (en) | 2012-11-16 | 2024-04-16 | Us Well Services, Llc | Suction and discharge lines for a dual hydraulic fracturing unit |
US11451016B2 (en) | 2012-11-16 | 2022-09-20 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Switchgear load sharing for oil field equipment |
US11066912B2 (en) | 2012-11-16 | 2021-07-20 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Torsional coupling for electric hydraulic fracturing fluid pumps |
US11091992B2 (en) | 2012-11-16 | 2021-08-17 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | System for centralized monitoring and control of electric powered hydraulic fracturing fleet |
US11449018B2 (en) | 2012-11-16 | 2022-09-20 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | System and method for parallel power and blackout protection for electric powered hydraulic fracturing |
US11454170B2 (en) | 2012-11-16 | 2022-09-27 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Turbine chilling for oil field power generation |
US11674484B2 (en) | 2012-11-16 | 2023-06-13 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | System for fueling electric powered hydraulic fracturing equipment with multiple fuel sources |
US11181879B2 (en) | 2012-11-16 | 2021-11-23 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Monitoring and control of proppant storage from a datavan |
US11476781B2 (en) | 2012-11-16 | 2022-10-18 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Wireline power supply during electric powered fracturing operations |
US11850563B2 (en) | 2012-11-16 | 2023-12-26 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Independent control of auger and hopper assembly in electric blender system |
US11713661B2 (en) * | 2012-11-16 | 2023-08-01 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Electric powered pump down |
US11181107B2 (en) | 2016-12-02 | 2021-11-23 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Constant voltage power distribution system for use with an electric hydraulic fracturing system |
US11952996B2 (en) | 2016-12-02 | 2024-04-09 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Constant voltage power distribution system for use with an electric hydraulic fracturing system |
US11067481B2 (en) | 2017-10-05 | 2021-07-20 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Instrumented fracturing slurry flow system and method |
US11203924B2 (en) | 2017-10-13 | 2021-12-21 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Automated fracturing system and method |
US11808125B2 (en) | 2017-10-25 | 2023-11-07 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Smart fracturing system and method |
US11959533B2 (en) | 2017-12-05 | 2024-04-16 | U.S. Well Services Holdings, Llc | Multi-plunger pumps and associated drive systems |
US11434737B2 (en) | 2017-12-05 | 2022-09-06 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | High horsepower pumping configuration for an electric hydraulic fracturing system |
US11114857B2 (en) | 2018-02-05 | 2021-09-07 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Microgrid electrical load management |
US11035207B2 (en) | 2018-04-16 | 2021-06-15 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Hybrid hydraulic fracturing fleet |
US11211801B2 (en) | 2018-06-15 | 2021-12-28 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Integrated mobile power unit for hydraulic fracturing |
US11454079B2 (en) | 2018-09-14 | 2022-09-27 | U.S. Well Services Llc | Riser assist for wellsites |
US11578580B2 (en) | 2018-10-09 | 2023-02-14 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Electric powered hydraulic fracturing pump system with single electric powered multi-plunger pump fracturing trailers, filtration units, and slide out platform |
US11208878B2 (en) | 2018-10-09 | 2021-12-28 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Modular switchgear system and power distribution for electric oilfield equipment |
US11578577B2 (en) | 2019-03-20 | 2023-02-14 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Oversized switchgear trailer for electric hydraulic fracturing |
US11728709B2 (en) | 2019-05-13 | 2023-08-15 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Encoderless vector control for VFD in hydraulic fracturing applications |
US11506126B2 (en) | 2019-06-10 | 2022-11-22 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Integrated fuel gas heater for mobile fuel conditioning equipment |
US11542786B2 (en) | 2019-08-01 | 2023-01-03 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | High capacity power storage system for electric hydraulic fracturing |
US11905806B2 (en) | 2019-10-03 | 2024-02-20 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Electric powered hydraulic fracturing pump system with single electric powered multi-plunger fracturing pump |
US11459863B2 (en) | 2019-10-03 | 2022-10-04 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Electric powered hydraulic fracturing pump system with single electric powered multi-plunger fracturing pump |
US11009162B1 (en) | 2019-12-27 | 2021-05-18 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | System and method for integrated flow supply line |
US11846167B2 (en) | 2019-12-30 | 2023-12-19 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Blender tub overflow catch |
US11885206B2 (en) | 2019-12-30 | 2024-01-30 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Electric motor driven transportation mechanisms for fracturing blenders |
US11492886B2 (en) | 2019-12-31 | 2022-11-08 | U.S. Wells Services, LLC | Self-regulating FRAC pump suction stabilizer/dampener |
US11560887B2 (en) | 2019-12-31 | 2023-01-24 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Segmented fluid end plunger pump |
US11960305B2 (en) | 2019-12-31 | 2024-04-16 | U.S. Well Services, LLC | Automated blender bucket testing and calibration |
CN112360420A (en) * | 2020-11-20 | 2021-02-12 | 中国石油天然气股份有限公司 | System and method for realizing balanced expansion of horizontal well subsection multi-cluster fracturing multi-crack |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
WO2019157336A1 (en) | 2019-08-15 |
AU2019216755A1 (en) | 2020-08-27 |
CN112041539A (en) | 2020-12-04 |
CA3090690A1 (en) | 2019-08-15 |
MX2020008338A (en) | 2020-12-07 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
US20190249527A1 (en) | Simultaneous Fracturing Process | |
US11808121B2 (en) | Methods and systems to control flow and heat transfer between subsurface wellbores connected hydraulically by fractures | |
US7237612B2 (en) | Methods of initiating a fracture tip screenout | |
EP2864442B1 (en) | Methods of improving hydraulic fracture network | |
RU2587197C2 (en) | Method for well treatment of (versions) | |
US6446727B1 (en) | Process for hydraulically fracturing oil and gas wells | |
US9121272B2 (en) | Method of fracturing multiple zones within a well | |
US20160326853A1 (en) | Multiple wellbore perforation and stimulation | |
US7404441B2 (en) | Hydraulic feature initiation and propagation control in unconsolidated and weakly cemented sediments | |
Soliman et al. | Fracturing unconventional formations to enhance productivity | |
CN109958424B (en) | Method for effectively plugging end part of hydraulic fracture | |
US20070199695A1 (en) | Hydraulic Fracture Initiation and Propagation Control in Unconsolidated and Weakly Cemented Sediments | |
Furui et al. | A Comprehensive Model of High-Rate Matrix-Acid Stimulation for Long Horizontal Wells in Carbonate Reservoirs: Part II—Wellbore/Reservoir Coupled-Flow Modeling and Field Application | |
WO2020172074A1 (en) | Flow management in existing wells during adjacent well hydraulic fracturing | |
Pandey et al. | New fracture-stimulation designs and completion techniques result in better performance of shallow Chittim Ranch wells | |
Parshall | Barnett Shale showcases tight-gas development | |
US3674089A (en) | Method for stimulating hydrocarbon-bearing formations | |
US20140262239A1 (en) | Preparing a Wellbore for Improved Recovery | |
RU2743478C1 (en) | Difficult turonian gas production method | |
Jakobsen et al. | Pinpoint hydrajet fracturing in multilayered sandstone formation completed with slotted liners | |
CA2707209A1 (en) | Methods for maximum shock stimulation with minimum volume, minimum rate and controlled fracture growth | |
Gao et al. | An Overview of Hydraulic Fracturing Stimulation Practices of a Joint Cooperation Shale Gas Project in Sichuan Basin | |
Malhotra et al. | Horizontal-Well Fracturing by Use of Coiled Tubing in the Belridge Diatomite: A Case History | |
CA1156550A (en) | Method for improving the effective permeability of formations | |
Istayev et al. | Hydraulic Fracturing in a Devonian Age Carbonate Reservoir: A Case Study |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: CRESTONE PEAK RESOURCES, COLORADO Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:KRAYNEK, MICHAEL;REEL/FRAME:044904/0874 Effective date: 20180209 |
|
STPP | Information on status: patent application and granting procedure in general |
Free format text: NON FINAL ACTION MAILED |
|
STPP | Information on status: patent application and granting procedure in general |
Free format text: RESPONSE TO NON-FINAL OFFICE ACTION ENTERED AND FORWARDED TO EXAMINER |
|
STPP | Information on status: patent application and granting procedure in general |
Free format text: FINAL REJECTION MAILED |
|
STPP | Information on status: patent application and granting procedure in general |
Free format text: RESPONSE TO NON-FINAL OFFICE ACTION ENTERED AND FORWARDED TO EXAMINER |
|
STPP | Information on status: patent application and granting procedure in general |
Free format text: NON FINAL ACTION MAILED |
|
STPP | Information on status: patent application and granting procedure in general |
Free format text: RESPONSE TO NON-FINAL OFFICE ACTION ENTERED AND FORWARDED TO EXAMINER |
|
STPP | Information on status: patent application and granting procedure in general |
Free format text: NON FINAL ACTION MAILED |
|
STCB | Information on status: application discontinuation |
Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION |