The purpose of the packers is determined by the specific technological tasks. The design of a packer and the principle of bringing it into action provide protection from ealy wear during the tripping process. In addition, the design of a packer ensures manufacturability of its use and reliable control over the work in the well during the hydraulic fracturing, regardless of the depth of the installation. The experience with the use of packers for the test beds showed that in most cases packer items become inoperative due to the destruction of the lower part of the rubber element. In practice, the isolation annulus packer with different ways of planting is important and necessary to ensure reliable fixing of a packer at the place of installation in the borehole. It happens due to the use of anchoring unit and different designs of seals of packers.

The paper examines the causes of proppant backflow from a fracture to a well, and presents the main technologies for proppant control. The consequences of the removal of the fracture filler into the wellbore are determined. It has been noted that proppant backflow is most damaging to wells operated by electric centrifugal pumps. Existing methods of hydraulic fracturing are investigated, their disadvantages are indicated. A method has been developed for hydraulic fracturing with injection of compressed springs made of metal with the effect of ‘memory’ and restoring their shape under reservoir temperature stress. In the first stage, the remote section of the crack is filled with a fine fraction of ceramic proppant, and at the final stage of crack attachment, compressed springs made of nitinol material are fed. Using of material with a shape memory will allow the proppant packing to be compacted and the proppant to be ‘locked’ in the fracture.

No abstract

The sediment of the mechanical impurities, salts, undecomposed gel, destroyed proppant is systematically accumulated after the hydraulic fracturing in the horizontal well. This process is negative for the well operation and requires additional flushing to remove sediment. If this sediment is not removed, then ultra viscous gelatinous crust is formed. The energy of the jet of the working fluid is insufficient to effectively destroy the resulting gelatinous mass in the wellbore. The paper analyzes the existing technological solutions and proposes a device developed by the authors, which allows the destruction of proppant sediments. Application of the device described in the paper will contribute to more efficient production of hydrocarbons after hydraulic fracturing.

Hydraulic fracturing has become one of the main and most effective methods of intensifying oil production. A method of bench-scale study with the use of modern measuring equipment, automation of experimental variable measurements according to specified algorithms ensuring high-level works was developed in order to obtain reliable data on proppant migration in a fracture. The laboratory facility makes it possible to determine the speed of proppant flowback from a fracture, proppant permeability depending on layer elevation. The tests show the nature of permeability change as the pressure increases. The conditions under which the height of a filling layer varies depending on pressure were identified. The test bench greatly facilitates and accelerates the experiments. The use of modern information and measurement systems makes it possible to significantly increase the volume of received information and improve its quality. The use of experimental results obtained through hydraulic fracturing will allow for additional increase in hydrocarbon production.