Proppant transport in hydraulic fractures by creating a capillary suspension

Abstract

Slick water fracturing fluids with high viscosity and minimal friction pressure losses are commonly employed in hydraulic fracturing technology. The conventional method of conducting hydraulic fracturing operations using high-viscosity fluids is not always suitable in complex geological conditions because hydraulic fracturing in low-productive formations creates fractures that resemble radial fractures, lowering the impact’s efficiency and profitability due to inefficient use of materials and reagents. As such, the goal is to limit the height of the fracture development and increase their length. In this work, we developed a low viscosity fracturing fluid with high proppant transport ability in order to minimize the specific pressure in the fracture and control its height. The hydrophobizing effect of surfactant was investigated, and criteria for employing it in hydraulic fracturing fluid formulation were created. We also developed a fracture model that we used to run simulation experiments in order to determine the nature of the fracturing fluid dispersion. Model simulations of hydraulic fracturing were performed utilizing proppant mesh sizes of 30/60, 20/40, and 16/20. Our experimental results have demonstrated that utilizing a capillary suspension, it is possible to generate a stable formulation of hydraulic fracturing fluid with an effective settling capacity by adding PLA fibers as a reinforcing filler to the formulation.