Proppant transport

Conference · Sat Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1977 · Soc. Pet. Eng. AIME, Pap.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6604265

Novotny, E J

A method is presented for predicting (1) the transport of proppant in a vertical fracture during a hydraulic fracturing treatment, (2) the settling of the proppant during closure of the fracture following the treatment, and (3) from the final distribution of proppant, the increase in well productivity that results from the treatment. The examples given illustrate that proppant settling during fracture closure can be important in the design of a hydraulic fracturing treatment. Field data illustrate the time required for fracture closure. The computer program which models the fracturing process uses proppant settling velocities obtained from extensive laboratory data collected under simulated fracturing conditions. Proppant settling predictions include the effects of non-Newtonian fluids, concentrated slurries of proppant, fracture walls, and changes in fluid temperatures along the fracture. These substantially affect the settling velocity of the proppant and must be considered to obtain a realistic prediction of proppant transport. (20 refs.)

• Research Organization: Exxon Production Res Co
• OSTI ID: 6604265
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Soc. Pet. Eng. AIME, Pap.; (United States) Journal Volume: SPE-6813
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020300* -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
42 ENGINEERING
420400 -- Engineering-- Heat Transfer & Fluid Flow
COMMINUTION
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
ENHANCED RECOVERY
FORECASTING
FRACTURING
HYDRAULIC FRACTURING
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
OIL WELLS
PRODUCTIVITY
PROPPING AGENTS
RECOVERY
RESERVOIR TEMPERATURE
SIMULATION
TRANSPORT
WELLS