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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Lightweight proppants for deep gas-well stimulation. First annual report, July 1979-July 1980

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:5993696

Existing high strength proppants have desirable strength characteristics for propping deep hydraulic fractures, but also have high specific gravities when compared to sand. The high specific gravity necessitates high viscosity fracturing fluids and/or high pumping rates, along with low proppant concentration, which make fracture control and high conductivity fractures difficult to obtain. Theoretical stress and strength analyses of the proppants suggest that hollow spheres, as well as porous high purity ceramics, offer an alternative to dense bauxite proppants. Several novel ceramics, with specific gravities lower than conventional bauxite, are recommended for further evaluation in massive hydraulic fracturing (MHF).

Research Organization:
Terra Tek, Inc., Salt Lake City, UT (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC19-79BC10038
OSTI ID:
5993696
Report Number(s):
DOE/BC/10038-19; ON: DE82000950
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English