Minimizing damage to a propped fracture by controlled flowback procedures
Severe fracture-conductivity damage can result from proppant crushing and/or proppant flowback into the wellbore. Such damage is often concentrated near the wellbore and can directly affect postfracture performance. Most of the time severe fracture-conductivity damage can be minimized by choosing the correct type of proppant for a particular well. In many cases, however, this is not enough. To minimize excessive crushing or to prevent proppant flowback, it is also necessary to control carefully the flowback of the well after the treatment. Specific procedures can be followed to minimize severe fracture-conductivity damage. These procedures involve controlling the rates at which load fluids are recovered and maximizing backpressure against the formation. These procedures require much more time and effort than is normally spent on postfracture cleanup; however, the efforts could result in better performance.
- Research Organization:
- S.A. Holditch and Assocs. Inc., College Station, TX (US)
- OSTI ID:
- 6835099
- Journal Information:
- J. Pet. Technol.; (United States), Journal Name: J. Pet. Technol.; (United States) Vol. 40:6; ISSN JPTJA
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Mechanical stability of propped hydraulic fractures: A numerical study
Proppant flowback control additives
Related Subjects
020300* -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
03 NATURAL GAS
030300 -- Natural Gas-- Drilling
Production
& Processing
CEMENTING
FLUID FLOW
FLUID MECHANICS
FORMATION DAMAGE
GEOLOGIC FRACTURES
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
HYDRAULICS
MECHANICS
NATURAL GAS WELLS
OIL WELLS
PERFORMANCE
PROPPING AGENTS
ROCK-FLUID INTERACTIONS
WELLS