Effect of Hydraulic Fracture on the Fractured Reservoir Based on the Connection with Natural Fractures

Document Type : Original Paper

Authors

1 Departmentof Petroleum Engineering, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Iran Young Researchers Society

2 Department of Petroleum Engineering, Environmental and Energy Research Center, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Iran

Abstract

Hydraulic fracturing in the fractured reservoirs plays a significant impact on the production rate. In this study, the hydrostatic condition is taken into account, the hydraulic fracturing operation was applied in every direction usinga written distinct element code. In each direction the hydraulic fracture is applied with different lengths and in each level the amount of production is predicted. The impact of interaction of natural fractures and hydraulic fractures on the amount of production is discussed and the number of natural fractures which are intersected by hydraulic fractures is presented. Hydraulic fracturing operation in different directions with different lengths is economically analyzed. In fractured reservoirs the best scenario is that the hydraulic fracture is created in a direction that intersects a group of high permeable natural fractures/parts of the reservoir that are actively participating in flow or the parts with high pore pressures and no connection to the well. The reason isthat connecting the natural fractures which are near the well does not have a significant effect on the production rate. According to the results, creating the hydraulic fractures in a direction with no fractures significantly affects the production rate.

Keywords

References

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Journal of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering
Volume 46, Issue 2 - Serial Number 2
December 2012
Pages 123-133

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History

  • Receive Date: 07 August 2012
  • Accept Date: 25 September 2012

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