High-energy gas-fracturing development. Quarterly report, April 1983-June 1983

Technical Report · Fri Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1983

OSTI ID:5877362

Cuderman, J F

The High Energy Gas Fracturing (HEGF) technique is being developed and optimized to produce multiple fractures around a wellbore in order to simulate natural-gas production in Devonian shale. The HEGF technique uses a full wellbore charge of propellant, tailored to produce pressure loading in the borehole that avoids crushing yet produces multiple fractures radiating from the wellbore. These fractures provide a number of conduits for natural gas to flow into the wellbore, thus making multiple fracturing superior to conventional hydraulic fracturing where a single fracture plane is created. A site in Rowan County, Kentucky, has been prepared and will be used to transfer the HEGF technique, developed in ash-fall tuff at the Nevada Test Site (NTS), to Devonian shale. The hardware needed for these HEGF experiments has been fabricated, tested, and delivered to the Rowan County site. Experiment plans have been finalized and the approval to begin the experiments has been given. The modified downhole instrument package was field-tested in a 6-3/4-in. (0.17-m) diameter borehole in ash-fall tuff at NTS; the test demonstrated that the hardware was ready for application in Devonian shale. Preparation of the site at Rowan County involved drilling a 6-3/4-in. (0.17-m) diameter borehole to a depth of 620 ft (189 m) and installng stressmeters and accelerometers in an existing borehole 20 ft (6.1 m) N 35/sup 0/E from the new borehole. Both wells were logged and the experiment well was having buildup and drawdown well tests performed on it at the close of the report period.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-76DP00789
• OSTI ID: 5877362
• Report Number(s): SAND-83-1379; ON: DE83015787
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

03 NATURAL GAS
030900* -- Natural Gas-- Artificial Stimulation
Plowshare-- (-1989)
BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
BLACK SHALES
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CHATTANOOGA FORMATION
COMMINUTION
DEVONIAN PERIOD
ENERGY SOURCES
ENHANCED RECOVERY
EXPLOSIVE FRACTURING
FEDERAL REGION IV
FIELD TESTS
FLUID FLOW
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FRACTURING
FUEL GAS
FUELS
GAS FUELS
GASES
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS
KENTUCKY
MATERIALS
NATURAL GAS
NATURAL GAS WELLS
NORTH AMERICA
OIL SHALES
PALEOZOIC ERA
RECOVERY
TESTING
USA
WELLS