60 Years of Multi-Fractured Vertical, Deviated and Horizontal Wells: What Have We Learned?

King, George E.

doi:10.2118/170952-ms

Cited by 46 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 193 publications

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“…King [] discusses fracture hits (or frac hits), where an induced fracture opens communication to an offset well. The chance of fracture hits increases in reservoirs where planar fractures are more common than complex fractures and as the density of wells increases.…”

Section: Factors Controlling Vertical Migration Of Hf Fluidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydraulic fracturing fluid migration in the subsurface: A review and expanded modeling results

et al. 2015

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Understanding the transport of hydraulic fracturing (HF) fluid that is injected into the deep subsurface for shale gas extraction is important to ensure that shallow drinking water aquifers are not contaminated. Topographically driven flow, overpressured shale reservoirs, permeable pathways such as faults or leaky wellbores, the increased formation pressure due to HF fluid injection, and the density contrast of the HF fluid to the surrounding brine can encourage upward HF fluid migration. In contrast, the very low shale permeability and capillary imbibition of water into partially saturated shale may sequester much of the HF fluid, and well production will remove HF fluid from the subsurface. We review the literature on important aspects of HF fluid migration. Single-phase flow and transport simulations are performed to quantify how much HF fluid is removed via the wellbore with flowback and produced water, how much reaches overlying aquifers, and how much is permanently sequestered by capillary imbibition, which is treated as a sink term based on a semianalytical, one-dimensional solution for two-phase flow. These simulations include all of the important aspects of HF fluid migration identified in the literature review and are performed in five stages to faithfully represent the typical operation of a hydraulically fractured well. No fracturing fluid reaches the aquifer without a permeable pathway. In the presence of a permeable pathway, 10 times more fracturing fluid reaches the aquifer if well production and capillary imbibition are not included in the model.

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Section: Factors Controlling Vertical Migration Of Hf Fluidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydraulic fracturing fluid migration in the subsurface: A review and expanded modeling results

et al. 2015

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“…to isolate shallow aquifers and prevent leakage between gas-bearing formations and shallow aquifers through the casing annulus (King and King 2013;King 2014). However, two factors affect the applicability of this estimate: (1) not all CBM wells are hydraulically fractured (shale and tight gas are) and (2) because shale gas typically exists at greater depths, the probability of abandoned wells existing at depths sufficient to intersect the production formation is expected to be lower.…”

Section: Contamination Via Inter-aquifer Leakage During Hydraulic Framentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards Quantifying the Likelihood of Water Resource Impacts from Unconventional Gas Development

2018

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Gas production from unconventional reservoirs has led to widespread environmental concerns. Despite several excellent reviews of various potential impacts to water resources from unconventional gas production, no study has systematically and quantitatively assessed the potential for these impacts to occur. We use empirical evidence and numerical and analytical models to quantify the likelihood of surface water and groundwater contamination, and shallow aquifer depletion from unconventional gas developments. These likelihoods are not intended to be exact. They provide a starting point for comparing the probabilities of adverse impacts between types of water resources and pathways. This analysis provides much needed insight into what are "probable" rather than simply "possible" impacts. The results suggest that the most likely water resource impacts are surface water and groundwater contamination from spills at the well pad, which can be as high as 1 in 10 and 1 in 100 for each gas well, respectively. For wells that are hydraulically fractured, the likelihood of contamination due to inter-aquifer leakage is 1 in 10 or lower (dependent on the separation distance between the production formation and the aquifer). For gas-bearing formations that were initially over-pressurized, the potential for contamination from inter-aquifer leakage after production ceases could be as high as 1 in 400 where the separation between gas formation and shallow aquifer is 500 m, but will be much lower for greater separation distances (more characteristic of shale gas).

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“…King (2014) presents valuable information for recycling water, handling, preparation, and storage options gained in the US within the last 60 years. King (2014) presents valuable information for recycling water, handling, preparation, and storage options gained in the US within the last 60 years.…”

Section: Logisticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water Management for Tight and Shale Reservoir: A Review of What Has Been Learned and What Should Be Considered for Development in Argentina

Bonapace

2015

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This work builds on Bonapace et al. (2015), specifically discussing shale reservoir information related to several tight reservoirs in Argentina.Hydraulic fracturing has been ongoing in Argentina since the 1960s. The first treatments were performed using oil-based fluids. Throughout the years, new water-based fluids were introduced, as well as alcohol-water mixture fluids to foams, based on the reservoir requirements, economics, and safety and environmental issues. Currently, more than 95% of hydraulic fractures performed in the country are performed using aqueous-based fluids.In the last 10 years, exploration and development has begun for tight gas reservoirs and more recently several shale plays. To achieve commercial production, this type of reservoir requires extensive hydraulic fracturing applications which use large volumes of water. From 2004 to present, various exploration techniques have been performed in different reservoirs, such as tight formations at Lajas, Punta Rosada, Mulichinco (Neuquén Basin); Potrerillos (Cuyo Basin); D-129 (Golfo San Jorge Basin) and shale plays at Los Molles, Vaca Muerta, Agrio (Neuquén Basin), Cacheuta (Cuyo Basin), and D-129 (Golfo San Jorge Basin).This paper discusses aspects of water logistics necessary during the well completion phase, fracture treatment designs applied within these various unconventional reservoirs, and laboratory studies performed on flowback and produced waters to help evaluate their potential for use and/or reuse. The primary focus here will be related to various parts of the water cycle for these projects.• Stimulation and water sources are presented as detailed information concerning the type of stimulation performed in these reservoirs, volume of water, treatment types, fracturing fluids, additives used, and physical-chemical characteristics of various freshwater sources used. • Logistics are discussed for water storage and transport for single and multiple well pads. • Reuse of flowback and formation water addresses laboratory testing of various flowback and formation water and/or blends (freshwater and flowback water), treated and untreated including:-Physico-chemical characteristics of water (flowback and produced) from various wells.-Formation sensibility testing with flowback water from various tight and shale formations and usage possibilities. -Impact on proppant packs of floculants generated in nontraditional waters at various pH values. -A new low-residue CMHPG-metal crosslinked fracturing fluid formulated using no traditional water, i.e., untreated with high total dissolved solids (TDS).

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60 Years of Multi-Fractured Vertical, Deviated and Horizontal Wells: What Have We Learned?

Cited by 46 publications

References 193 publications

Hydraulic fracturing fluid migration in the subsurface: A review and expanded modeling results

Hydraulic fracturing fluid migration in the subsurface: A review and expanded modeling results

Towards Quantifying the Likelihood of Water Resource Impacts from Unconventional Gas Development

Water Management for Tight and Shale Reservoir: A Review of What Has Been Learned and What Should Be Considered for Development in Argentina

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