Propagation Of Multiple Hydraulic Fractures Research Articles

Numerical simulation of multiple hydraulic fracture propagation in heterogeneous coal reservoirs based on combined finite-discrete element method

Multi-stage fracturing in Horizontal well increases the permeability of coalbed methane by generating multiple fractures. However, the heterogeneity of coal reservoirs is a crucial factor that cannot be ignored in the study of multiple hydraulic fracture propagation. Therefore, we established a two-dimensional model for multiple hydraulic fracture propagation based on the combined finite-discrete element method (FDEM) and assigned a Weibull distribution function to the heterogeneity of the physical parameters of the cohesive elements in the model. The objective was to simulate and study the fracture propagation law of multi-cluster fracturing in horizontal wells in heterogeneous coal reservoirs. The research results indicated that: 1) as the heterogeneity of the coal reservoir weakened, the deflection angle of the main fracture increased. More secondary fractures were generated in the coal reservoir, leading to significant discontinuity. 2) The fracturing disturbance area was always concentrated at the tip of the main fracture, with a double wing shape. However, the fracturing disturbance areas at the tips of multiple main fractures could easily converge, with a square shape; 3) It is recommended to use a moderate injection rate and increase the perforation spacing appropriately when hydraulic fracturing is carried out in coal reservoirs with a heterogeneity coefficient m=5.

Multiple hydraulic fracture propagation simulation in deep shale gas reservoir considering thermal effects

Deep and ultra-deep shale gas will gradually become the focus of unconventional oil and gas resources in the petroleum industry. In the development of shallow shale reservoirs, the multi-cluster hydraulic fracturing of horizontal wells is the commonly applied technique to create a network of fractures and achieve reservoir stimulation. However, for deep shale reservoirs, the behavior of multiple hydraulic fracture propagation is affected by stress interference between fractures. On the other hand, it is also influenced by the temperature disturbances caused by the injection of low-temperature fracturing fluids into high-temperature formations and the resulting thermal effects. Currently, most research on multiple hydraulic fracture propagation in shale only considers the interaction between fluids and solids while neglecting thermal effects. Therefore, based on the displacement discontinuity method, finite volume method, and finite difference method, this study established a numerical model for the non-planar propagation of multi-cluster hydraulic fractures in deep shale, considering the thermal effects. And the model was validated through numerical solutions of the temperature field and double-fracture propagation. Moreover, the number of fracture clusters, pumping rate, and formation temperature were selected as influencing factors, and the differences in multiple hydraulic fracture propagation with and without considering thermal effects were analyzed. The results show that as the formation temperature increases, the thermal effects become more significant, leading to greater differences in the morphology of multi-cluster fractures. Moreover, the thermal effects are more significant when the formation temperature exceeds 90 °C. Additionally, appropriately reducing the number of fracture clusters or increasing the pumping rate can to some extent mitigate stress interference between fractures and promote uniform fracture propagation. The findings of this study contribute to understanding the influence of thermal effects on multiple hydraulic fracture propagation and provide theoretical basis for the efficient development of deep shale gas.

Numerical simulation of the simultaneous propagation of multiple hydraulic fractures based on expanded finite element method

Hydraulic fracturing technology with horizontal wells is a highly efficient approach to stimulate the unconventional reservoir by creating lots of fractures to increase the oil and gas recovery rate. However, some field monitoring data indicate that multiple fractures could not propagate uniformly due to stress interference, which leads to a lower stimulation volume and production capacity. Therefore, investigating the stress interference mechanism between multiple fractures is important to obtain a higher production capacity for unconventional reservoirs. In this study, a two-dimensional XFEM (expanded finite element method) model was established to investigate the influence of stress interference on the fracture propagation of multiple fractures in horizontal wells. The different injection parameters, completion parameters, and fracturing patterns were investigated by sixteen simulation cases. The results show that first the influencing degree of stress interference from different parameters is fracture spacing, injection flow rate, number of fractures, and fluid viscosity, respectively. Second, compared to the simultaneous fracturing and sequential fracturing, the zip fracturing pattern (sides fractures created first and then mid-fracture) could create more uniform fractures in the reservoir. Third, a small fracture spacing and a higher injection flow rate could lead to a faster stress interference, but the fluid viscosity and the number of fractures have little effect on the occur timing of stress interference. This study could provide some meaningful perspective on the field fracturing design in horizontal wells.

Numerical study of multiple hydraulic fractures propagation in poroelastic media based on energy decomposition phase field methods

This paper proposes a novel phase-filed model for simulating hydraulic fracturing in poroelastic media under complex stress conditions. The main theoretical contribution lies in the fact that a generalized strain energy density decomposition is incorporated to hydraulic fracturing phase field model, which unifies hydrostatic-deviatoric and spectral decompositions and predicts material failure through classical Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion. Based on Biot’s poroelastic theory, an indicator function is used to distinguish between fluid flow in fractures and in pores. The fully coupled equations are solved by combining staggered schemes with Newton-Raphson methods. The proposed model is validated by comparing laboratory experimental results with numerical results. In order to demonstrate the influence of introducing hydrostatic-deviatoric and spectral energy decompositions, we simulated propagation of multiple hydraulic fractures and coalescence of hydraulic fractures with natural fractures. Finally, the effects of stress ratios (σx/σy) on multiple hydraulic fractures are analysed. It is found that when the stress ratio is 2, a more complex hydraulic fracture network is formed in the porous media.

DEM Modeling of Simultaneous Propagation of Multiple Hydraulic Fractures Across Different Regimes, from Toughness- to Viscosity-Dominated

DEM Modeling of Simultaneous Propagation of Multiple Hydraulic Fractures Across Different Regimes, from Toughness- to Viscosity-Dominated

Modeling method for rock heterogeneities and multiple hydraulic fractures propagation based on homogenization approach and PHF-LSM

Hydraulic fracturing is an important technique to enhance the production rate of oil and gas. We extend the functions of Permeability-based Hydraulic Fracture, Level Set Method (PHF-LSM) by including homogenization approaches to take into account the influence of the heterogeneities of rock media at both mesoscale and macroscale during hydraulic fracture propagation. The center position pattern of mesoscale heterogeneities is generated by introducing the Fast Poisson Disk (FPD) approach with an inherent parameter controlling the randomly distributed inclusions, and we developed an algorithm to detect inclusion collision by binary image matrix calculation. The level set function is used to describe the distributed joints at the macroscale. Both numerical and theoretical homogenization approaches are applied to study the characteristics of the material properties of rock matrices with randomly distributed hard inclusions at the mesoscale. Based on these results, we adopt the Mori–Tanaka (MT) and the Halpin–Tsai (HT) methods to homogenize the elasticity parameters (elastic modulus and Poisson’s ratio) and the hydraulic conductivity of the rock material, respectively. The Voigt upper bound is applied to estimate the tensile strength of the rock material at the integration points. A series of numerical simulations first indicated that the proposed method can model multi-scale heterogeneous rock that contains both the influences of macro-heterogeneities, e.g., distributed joints, and meso-heterogeneities, e.g., randomly distributed inclusions. Second, the development of pore pressure and stress path varied at the injection point, on the fracture path and on a joint. Finally, both the macro- and meso- heterogeneities influenced the propagation of multiple hydraulic fractures with joints significantly influenced the propagation path of the fractures, and increased injection number Np enhanced the height of the equivalent fracture zone when Np<5.

Influence of the bedding plane on the propagation of multiple hydraulic fractures

The presence of bedding planes (BPs) in unconventional shale reservoirs is common and widespread. BPs always affect fracture propagation. The objective of this study was to investigate the impacts of BPs on multiple hydraulic fracturing. The BPs were assumed to be perpendicular to the direction of the fractures. Based on the block distinct element method, we established a numerical model to simulate multiple fracture propagation in reservoirs with BPs. The model considered the fluid partitioning of multiple fractures and the fracture interaction by stress shadow. The numerical simulations clearly showed that the BPs reduced the non-uniform growth of multiple fractures. The results indicated that when hydraulic fractures met BPs, the BPs likely prevented the hydraulic fractures from passing through the formation with a smaller stress contrast. When hydraulic fracturing in a formation containing BPs, the key problem is how to reduce the obstructive effects of the BPs to increase the length of the main fractures.

Investigating the Propagation of Multiple Hydraulic Fractures in Shale Oil Rocks Using Acoustic Emission

Investigating the Propagation of Multiple Hydraulic Fractures in Shale Oil Rocks Using Acoustic Emission

Propagation mechanisms and parametric influence in multiple interacting hydraulic fractures: A 3‐D G/XFEM hydro‐mechanical modeling

AbstractUsing a robust three‐dimensional generalized/eXtended finite element method (G/XFEM) algorithm, this paper presents a comprehensive study on multiple hydraulic fracture propagation and their interactions under different treatment conditions. Aimed at capturing the complex multiphysics behavior, the resulting nonplanar fracture footprints under mixed‐mode conditions are simulated using a formulation, which couples the solid/rock domain equations and the fluid flow within the fractures/crevices. Due to the small length scale of the fracture process zone relative to the surrounding formation size, as typically encountered in tight shale reservoirs, linear elastic fracture mechanics based on a regularized Irwin criterion is adopted to describe the fractured solid/rock response while a power law is used for the fluid flow by assuming a Newtonian fluid behavior. Equipped with the capability for mesh adaptivity and automatic time step search algorithms, the G/XFEM utilized to discretize the resulting system of coupled nonlinear equations allows the adoption of independent meshes for the background solid domain and the fracture surfaces without any matching/compatibility requirement between the two. Fracture propagation directions are decided based on the modes I, II, and III stress intensity factors that are extracted using the displacement correlation method. The presented model is first applied to a pair of misaligned fractures and then to an array of en échelon fractures for qualitative verification against a literature prediction by the boundary element method (BEM) and an observed field behavior, respectively. Next, simulation of several sets and configurations of multiple hydraulic fractures, resulting in a total of 23 parametric studies, are carried out to investigate the influences of fracture spacing, injection fluid viscosity, number of fracture clusters, and the type of remote stress conditions.

A three-dimensional Generalized Finite Element Method for simultaneous propagation of multiple hydraulic fractures from a wellbore

In this article, a 3-D methodology for the simulation of hydraulic fracture propagation using the Generalized Finite Element Method (GFEM) is extended for the simultaneous propagation and interaction of multiple hydraulic fractures. A 3-D isotropic elastic material for the rock and Reynolds lubrication theory for the fluid flow in the fractures are assumed. The elastic solid governing equation is discretized in space with a quadratic GFEM and the equation for the flow in the fractures is discretized in space with a quadratic FEM. With the GFEM, the solid mesh does not need to fit the fracture and accuracy is improved around the fracture front with the use of singular enrichment functions. Discretization error is further controlled by employing mesh adaptivity around the fracture front. The injected fluid partitioning among fractures is computed by modeling the wellbore, where the flow is assumed to be governed by the Hagen–Poiseuille relation. The pressure losses between wellbore and hydraulic fractures are modeled with the sharp-edged orifice equation and with the use of 1-D connecting elements. A linear FEM is adopted for the spatial discretization of the equation governing the flow in the wellbore and the connection between wellbore and hydraulic fracture. A propagation criterion based on a regularization of Irwin’s criterion is adopted and a methodology to automatically estimate the time step that leads to the propagation of fractures based on linear interpolation/extrapolation is presented. Three verification problems are solved and compared with results from the literature. A problem with initial fractures not aligned with the in situ stresses is analyzed. Complex final fracture geometries are observed due to this misalignment.

Observations and Modeling of Fiber Optic Strain on Hydraulic Fracture Height Growth in Hydraulic Fracturing Test Site 2 (HFTS-2)

Summary Understanding fracture height growth can be of great significance to optimizing field development and improving recovery. The Hydraulic Fracturing Test Site 2 (HFTS-2) has provided a unique opportunity and an advanced data set to allow us to observe and understand fracture geometries rigorously. Low-frequency distributed acoustic sensing (LF-DAS) data from a vertical well in HFTS-2 showed three key observations: (i) excessive upward height growth (&amp;gt;1,000 ft) and limited downward growth of the hydraulic fractures during pumping, (ii) considerable additional upward fracture height growth (~300 ft) after well shut in, and (iii) very complex LF-DAS strain rate patterns for a small fiber-to-stage offset. Advanced geomechanical modeling was performed to simulate the hydraulic fracture propagation and the resulting strain responses in the vertical direction. The modeling results demonstrated asymmetric upward and downward fracture height growths as observed in HFTS-2 with a similar upward height growth rate. Simulated waterfall plots of vertical strain rate showed distinct patterns for different fiber-to-fracture distances. The upward-growing fracture tip can be clearly identified by the interfaces between compressing and extending zones. It was also found that the complex strain rate patterns observed in HFTS-2 for small fiber-stage offsets were not caused by the mechanical layering but possibly result from the simultaneous propagation of multiple hydraulic fractures at different rates. The simulation results improved the understating of the HFTS-2 LF-DAS data, and the simulated strain rate patterns could also serve as templates for fracture height interpretation from LF-DAS data in future.

Influences on unstable hydraulic fractures: propagation of adjacent multiple perforations and bedded interfaces in multilayered reservoir via FE-DE model

PurposeSimultaneous hydrofracturing of multiple perforation clusters in vertical wells has been applied in the stimulation of hydrocarbon resources reservoirs. This technology is significantly impeded due to the challenges in its application to the multilayered reservoirs that comprise multiple interlayers. One of the challenges is the accurate understanding and characterization of propagation and deflection of the multiple hydraulic fractures between reservoirs and embedded interlayers.Design/methodology/approachNumerical models of the tight multilayered reservoirs containing multiple interlayers were established to study hydrofracturing of multiple perforation clusters and its influencing factors on unstable propagation and deflection of hydraulic fractures. Brittle and plastic multilayered reservoirs fully considering the influences of different in situ stress ratio and physical attributes for reservoir and interlayer strata on propagations of hydraulic fractures were investigated. The combined finite element–discrete element method and mesh refinement strategy were adopted to guarantee the accuracy of stress solutions and reliability of fracture path in computation.FindingsResults show that the shear stress fields between adjacent multiple hydraulic fractures are superposed to cause fractures deflection. Stress shadows induce the shielding effects of hydraulic fractures and inhibit fractures growth to emerge unstable propagation behaviors, and a main single fracture and several minor fractures develop. As the in situ stress ratio increases, hydraulic fractures more easily deflect toward the direction of maximum in situ stress, and stress shadow and mutual interaction effects between them are intensified. Compared to brittle reservoir, plastic-enhanced reservoir may limit fracture growth and cannot form long fracture length; nevertheless, plastic properties of reservoir are prone to induce more microseismic events with larger magnitude.Originality/valueThe obtained fracturing behaviors and mechanisms based on engineering-scale multilayered reservoir may provide effective schemes for controlling and estimating the unstable propagation of multiple hydraulic fractures.

Numerical Study of Elasto-Plastic Hydraulic Fracture Propagation in Deep Reservoirs Using a Hybrid EDFM–XFEM Method

Rock yielding may well take place during hydraulic fracturing in deep reservoirs. The prevailing models based on the linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) are incapable of describing the evolution process of hydraulic fractures accurately. In this paper, a hydro-elasto-plastic model is proposed to investigate the hydraulic fracture propagation in deep reservoirs. The Drucker–Prager plasticity model, Darcy’s law, cubic law and cohesive zone model are employed to describe the plastic deformation, matrix flow, fracture flow and evolution of hydraulic fractures, respectively. Combining the embedded discrete fracture model (EDFM), extended finite element method (XFEM) and finite volume method, a hybrid numerical scheme is presented to carry out simulations. A dual-layer iterative procedure is developed based on the fixed-stress split method, Picard iterative method and Newton–Raphson iterative method. The iterative procedure is used to deal with the coupling between nonlinear deformation with fracture extension and fluid flow. The proposed model is verified against analytical solutions and other numerical simulation results. A series of numerical cases are performed to investigate the influences of rock plasticity, internal friction angle, dilatancy angle and permeability on hydraulic fracture propagation. Finally, the proposed model is extended to simulate multiple hydraulic fracture propagation. The result shows that plastic deformation can enhance the stress-shadowing effect.

Multiple Fracture Growth in Modified Zipper Fracturing

Operational parameters, such as multiple-cluster and well spacing, flow rates, and injection time, play a vital role in the deviation and growth of multiple-cluster hydraulic fractures during the implementation of modified zipper fracturing technology. Fundamental analysis of the dynamic zipper fracture growth because of changing flow rates, well spacing, and injection time does not appear to have been studied in the literature, although it is of critical importance for fracturing optimization. In this study, a fully coupled two-dimensional (2D) extended finite-element method (XFEM)–cohesive zone model (CZM) in combination with a phantom-node method (CPNM) was used in ABAQUS to investigate the initiation and propagation of multiple hydraulic fractures with 10 injection clusters that are distributed in two horizontal boreholes. This study aims to assist fracturing design to achieve minimal deviation in multiple fracture propagation and create deeper and much wider fractures between two horizontal boreholes of a modified zipper fracture (MZF) completion pattern. The growth of a hydraulic fracture in an XFEM region were verified by Khristianovic–Geertsma–de Klerk (KGD) zero toughness solution and good agreement with a negligible error of <2.5% was obtained. A series of simulation scenarios was carried out with various flow rates and three well spacings of 40, 60, and 80 m, over a long injection period to identify the optimum injection time in which a fracture grows straight with minimal deviation. The results show that to create smooth and deeper multiple hydraulic fractures in zipper fracturing, an increase in the flow rate is preferred, but the duration of the injection period should be optimized. The results of this study could be used to better address operational difficulties, such as multiple-fracture crossing and closure that is associated with unfavorable injection times, well spacing, and flow rates in MZF operations.

A New Method to Improve the Fracturing Effect of Coal Seams by Using Preset Slots and Induced Stress Shadows

Efficient extraction of coal bed methane before coal mining is essential to eliminate the risk of coal-gas outbursts. However, stimulation technologies should be implemented to enhance the conductivity of the coal seam. In this study, we propose a novel method to create a complex fracture network in underground coal mines with the integration of multiple hydraulic slotting and hydraulic fracturing. In this method, hydraulic slots are used to direct hydraulic fractures and initialize branch fractures, while hydraulic fracturing is used to extend the fractures. Given the mutually exclusive and attractive propagation of multiple fractures, a relatively evenly distributed fracture network can be generated. The results show that (1) the dynamically induced stress shadows of hydraulic fractures can cause exclusive and attractive propagation of multiple hydraulic fractures; (2) a preset slot that deviates from the principal stress can direct hydraulic fractures to a certain extent and generate branch fractures; and (3) with a staggered distribution of preset slots, a relatively large volume of the coal seam in both the minimum and maximum horizontal stress directions can be stimulated, creating a complex fracture network including many vertical branch fractures and a large area of horizontally layered directional fractures.

A Model for Multiple Hydraulic Fracture Propagation with Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical Coupling Effects

In this study, a coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical model to simulate multiple hydraulic fracture propagation is presented. Fracture propagation with elastic deformation is described by using a displacement discontinuity method. The temperature distribution and induced thermal stress are calculated via a semi-analytical method in an explicit way. An iterative scheme is proposed to solve the coupling between fracture propagation with fluid flow and induced thermal stress. The numerical model is validated against related analytical solutions. Several numerical cases are modeled to investigate the controlling factors for uniform growth of multiple fractures. Results show that using non-uniform fracture spacings and proper increasing the spacing for fractures away from the heel of wellbore promote the uniform growth of multiple fractures by comparison with using uniform fracture spacings. Increasing the perforation diameter for the middle cluster also works. Besides, single-wing fracturing could greatly improve the uniform growth of multiple hydraulic fractures. Finally, it shows that the thermal stress has a significant influence on fracture geometrical size but has limited effect on fracture propagation path. In addition, the thermal effect promotes the uniform growth of multiple fractures.

Hydraulic Fracture Propagation in a Poro-Elastic Medium with Time-Dependent Injection Schedule Using the Time-Stepped Linear Superposition Method (TLSM)

The Time-Stepped Linear Superposition Method (TLSM) has been used previously to model and analyze the propagation of multiple competitive hydraulic fractures with constant internal pressure loads. This paper extends the TLSM methodology, by including a time-dependent injection schedule using pressure data from a typical diagnostic fracture injection test (DFIT). In addition, the effect of poro-elasticity in reservoir rocks is accounted for in the TLSM models presented here. The propagation of multiple hydraulic fractures using TLSM-based codes preserves infinite resolution by side-stepping grid refinement. First, the TLSM methodology is briefly outlined, together with the modifications required to account for variable time-dependent pressure and poro-elasticity in reservoir rock. Next, real world DFIT data are used in TLSM to model the propagation of multiple dynamic fractures and study the effect of time-dependent pressure and poro-elasticity on the development of hydraulic fracture networks. TLSM-based codes can quantify and visualize the effects of time-dependent pressure, and poro-elasticity can be effectively analyzed, using DFIT data, supported by dynamic visualizations of the changes in spatial stress concentrations during the fracture propagation process. The results from this study may help develop fracture treatment solutions with improved control of the fracture network created while avoiding the occurrence of fracture hits.

Numerical Investigation of Injection-Induced Fracture Propagation in Brittle Rocks with Two Injection Wells by a Modified Fluid-Mechanical Coupling Model

Hydraulic fracturing is a key technical means for stimulating tight and low permeability reservoirs to improve the production, which is widely employed in the development of unconventional energy resources, including shale gas, shale oil, gas hydrate, and dry hot rock. Although significant progress has been made in the simulation of fracturing a single well using two-dimensional Particle Flow Code (PFC2D), the understanding of the multi-well hydraulic fracturing characteristics is still limited. Exploring the mechanisms of fluid-driven fracture initiation, propagation and interaction under multi-well fracturing conditions is of great theoretical significance for creating complex fracture networks in the reservoir. In this study, a series of two-well fracturing simulations by a modified fluid-mechanical coupling algorithm were conducted to systematically investigate the effects of injection sequence and well spacing on breakdown pressure, fracture propagation and stress shadow. The results show that both injection sequence and well spacing make little difference on breakdown pressure but have huge impacts on fracture propagation pressure. Especially under hydrostatic pressure conditions, simultaneous injection and small well spacing increase the pore pressure between two injection wells and reduce the effective stress of rock to achieve lower fracture propagation pressure. The injection sequence can change the propagation direction of hydraulic fractures. When the in-situ stress is hydrostatic pressure, simultaneous injection compels the fractures to deflect and tend to propagate horizontally, which promotes the formation of complex fracture networks between two injection wells. When the maximum in-situ stress is in the horizontal direction, asynchronous injection is more conducive to the parallel propagation of multiple hydraulic fractures. Nevertheless, excessively small or large well spacing reduces the number of fracture branches in fracture networks. In addition, the stress shadow effect is found to be sensitive to both injection sequence and well spacing.

Propagation of multiple hydraulic fractures in different regimes

This study considers the problem of simultaneous propagation of multiple closely spaced hydraulic fractures in homogeneous rocks, under the limited entry condition that ensures uniform flux distribution between the fractures. In particular, the sensitivity of the results to fracture propagation regimes is investigated. There are four primary regimes of hydraulic fracture propagation that are related to interactions between two dissipation mechanisms, related to fluid viscosity and rock toughness, and a fluid storage mechanism (fracturing fluid leak-off), which can occur either inside the fracture or inside the formation. It is shown that the fracture behavior varies dramatically with respect to the fracture propagation regime. In particular, fractures that propagate in the viscosity dominated regime exhibit weak stress shadow interactions, grow predominantly radially, and develop nearly identical fracture geometries. In contrast, fractures that propagate in the toughness regime exhibit strong stress shadow interactions, grow as individual segments avoiding others that are propagating simultaneously, and develop geometrical structures resembling petals in a flower, where the overall geometry is radially uniform, but the individual fractures form non-overlapping segments of the total surface area. Results are presented for the case of Newtonian fluids with and without stress anisotropy, power-law fluids, and consider the case of fracture toughness anisotropy. Finally, the effect of fracture spacing on fracture geometry is investigated for different fracture regimes.

Numerical Simulation of Fracture Sequence on Multiple Hydraulic Fracture Propagation in Tight Gas Reservoir

Hydraulic fracturing with horizontal well is an effective technology for the unconventional resources development, especially for the shale gas, tight gas and oil. Simultaneous fracturing, sequential fracturing and alternating fracturing were the main technologies applied in the horizontal well stimulations. Based on the extended finite element method, the 2D seepage-stress-damage models for simulating fracture propagation of simultaneous fracturing, sequential fracturing and alternating fracturing were proposed to investigate the influence of fracture sequence on fracture propagation and fracture aperture. From the simulations, the sequential fracturing and alternating fracturing can dramatically decrease the limitation on fracture propagation caused by “stress shadow”, the total fracture length increased by 20.6% and 26.1% compared with simultaneous fracturing. The fracture aperture also affected by the fracture sequence. The simulation results demonstrates that the alternating fracturing is an effective method to prevent the fracture width reduction caused by squeezing effect, which can effectively improve the well productivity. These simulations are useful for horizontal wellbore stimulation design to acquire the desired fracture lengths, fracture conductivity and production rates.