Improving Hydraulic Fracturing Productivity in Khalda Oil Fields (Western Desert -Egypt)

Abstract

The hydraulic fracturing technique is used to create a highly conductive path between the reservoir and wellbore at an economic rate. There are two types of hydraulic fracturing based on the pumping schedule: the first is the conventional hydraulic fracturing which uses continuous pumping schedule and forms a proppant pack inside the fracture. The second is the channel hydraulic fracturing which uses intermittent (pulsing) pumping schedule and forms proppant pillars inside the fracture. The aim of this work is to study the factors affecting the fracture conductivity of the channel fracturing technique. Technical and economical comparison has been conducted between the above-mentioned two types of fracturing using real production data. The Fracturing Computer-Aided Design and Evaluation (FracCADE) simulator was utilized for this purpose. The results indicate that the conductivity of the channel fracturing technique is greater than that of the conventional one. The pulse time and perforated cluster length were found to have a significant effect on the fracture conductivity because of their influence on the pillar spacing. The results indicate also that: the cost of the channel fracturing is greater than that of the conventional one by about 26.28 %. However, the NPV of the produced oil by the channel fracturing is more than the same of the conventional one. In addition, the payout time of the channel fracturing is shorter which means a faster return of investments.