Stress-sensitivity of fracture conductivity of Tuscaloosa Marine Shale cores

Shaibu, Rashid; Guo, Boyun; Wortman, Philip B.; Lee, Jim

doi:10.1016/j.petrol.2021.110042

Stress-sensitivity of fracture conductivity of Tuscaloosa Marine Shale cores

Journal Article · Wed Dec 15 00:00:00 EST 2021 · Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2021.110042· OSTI ID:1977542

^[1]; Guo, Boyun ^[2]; Wortman, Philip B. ^[2]; Lee, Jim ^[2]

Univ. of Louisiana, Lafayette, LA (United States); OSTI
Univ. of Louisiana, Lafayette, LA (United States)

Production decline from wells producing from shale rocks is typically quite rapid. One possible factor responsible for such decline is loss in fracture conductivity. This is true in the case of the Tuscaloosa Marine shale reservoir. In this work, the stress-dependent fracture conductivity of TMS core samples is investigated using five propped cores under varying stress conditions. In addition, the effects of static rock mechanical properties and rock mineralogy on conductivity decline are investigated. The mineralogy of each core sample was determined by X-ray Diffraction analysis. Fracture conductivity was measured using a Hassler-type pressure core holder with a pressure rating of 15,000 psi (103.42 MPa). Estimated rock mechanical properties showed that shale anisotropy could affect fracture conductivity. The time decline in conductivity revealed two possible decline trends, a) decline from the reduction in induced fracture width, and b) decline from the healing of developed micro-cracks. An exponential decline in fracture conductivity with increasing confinement pressure was observed with an average decline rate constant of 3.15 x 10^-10 mPa^-1. While rock mineralogy did not have any clear relationship with conductivity decline, the effects of rock mechanical properties were only important at 10.34 MPa confinement pressure and above. The observation showed that a high Young's modulus correlate to high conductivity, whereas a high Poisson's ratio correlate to low conductivity. This study provides useful observations for optimizing fracture design to enhance well productivity in the TMS.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Univ. of Louisiana, Lafayette, LA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE; USDOE Office of Fossil Energy (FE)

Grant/Contract Number:: FE0031575

OSTI ID:: 1977542

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1836350

Journal Information:: Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, Journal Name: Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering Journal Issue: C Vol. 210; ISSN 0920-4105

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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