Review of Friction Reducers Performance Applied to the Marcellus Shale Region

McIntyre, Morgan Emma; Kelly, Cayman; Kudrashou, Viacheslau Y.; Kazemi, Mohammad

doi:10.2118/201787-ms

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…81,82 However, even in the presence of a small amount of salt, the performance of HVFR fluids will sharply decrease. 13,83 FRs are the most commonly used type. Compared to anions, the cationic FRs are more salt-resistant.…”

Section: Application Advantages For Ves Fracturing Fluidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Free radical coupling may also occur, which may increase molecular weight and thus increase the likelihood of formation damage. 83 Abaa et al 90 reported that the FRs intrude into the matrix of rock samples, which may block the rock pores. The laboratory research has confirmed that the retained conductivity of the proppant pack through which the FRs flowed was approximately 80%.…”

Section: Application Advantages For Ves Fracturing Fluidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The amount of FRs added to these fluids (0.2–0.8 vol %) is higher than that of slickwater and lower than the 0.24–0.36 wt % of guar gum, to improve their viscosity and proppant-carrying performance. They have achieved good performance and production results in both the laboratory and fields. , However, even in the presence of a small amount of salt, the performance of HVFR fluids will sharply decrease. , Both anionic and cationic FRs can increase viscosity, and anionic FRs are the most commonly used type. Compared to anions, the cationic FRs are more salt-resistant. ,, Shen et al found that common divalent and trivalent cations (Ca 2+ , Fe 3+ ) significantly reduce the performance of anionic FRs but have no effect on the performance of cationic FRs .…”

Section: Application Advantages For Ves Fracturing Fluidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This combination of the particle size and pore size indicates that FRs can cause formation damage to tight reservoirs. Free radical coupling may also occur, which may increase molecular weight and thus increase the likelihood of formation damage . Abaa et al reported that the FRs intrude into the matrix of rock samples, which may block the rock pores.…”

Section: Application Advantages For Ves Fracturing Fluidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Review on High-Temperature-Resistant Viscoelastic Surfactant Fracturing Fluids: State-of-the-Art and Perspectives

Liu

et al. 2023

Energy Fuels

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A viscoelastic surfactant (VES) fluid is an important part of a water-based fracturing fluid. As oil and gas exploration expands into deep, high-temperature, low-permeability reservoirs, the conventional VES fracturing fluid has shown great limitations. The high-temperature-resistance mechanisms of the high-temperature-resistant VES fracturing fluids in publicly available literature were analyzed from five aspects: single-chain surfactant system, oligomeric surfactant system, counterion effect, blended surfactant system, and nano-enhanced VES system. The friction-reduction performance, sand-carrying performance, gel-breaking performance, and core-damage performance of these systems were summarized. The results show that oligomeric surfactants with a monounsaturated hydrophobic long chain (>C21) are most likely to be used for VES fracturing fluids in high-temperature reservoirs, but the loading of the surfactants is still relatively high (3–5 wt %). By reducing the repulsion among polar headgroups to effectively decrease the area of head groups, or/and penetrating into the nonpolar cores based on hydrophobic interaction to increase the average hydrophobic volume of hydrophobic tails, counterions affect the performance of VESs. The aromatic counterion salts are preferred choices for improving the temperature resistance, friction reduction, and suspended sand performance of VES fluids. The blended surfactant/synthetic polymer systems based on noncovalent interaction improve the temperature resistance of VES fluids and reduce the loading of the surfactants to a certain extent. Based on the “pseudo-cross-linking” of nanomaterials and wormlike micelles, a very small amount of nanomaterials can improve the temperature resistance of VES fluids and reduce the loading of the surfactants. The most essential and effective method to improve the temperature resistance of VES fluids for fracturing is the molecular structure design based on the packing parameter theory. However, the synthesis process or route still needs further optimization to reduce production costs. In addition, given the excellent performance of VES fluids enhanced by nanomaterials, further research should be conducted on the influence mechanism of nanomaterial type and geometric features on the performance of VESs, as well as the potential harmfulness of nanomaterials, to promote the field-scale application of nano-enhanced VES fluids.

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Section: Application Advantages For Ves Fracturing Fluidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Application Advantages For Ves Fracturing Fluidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Application Advantages For Ves Fracturing Fluidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Application Advantages For Ves Fracturing Fluidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Review on High-Temperature-Resistant Viscoelastic Surfactant Fracturing Fluids: State-of-the-Art and Perspectives

Liu

et al. 2023

Energy Fuels

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Slickwater Friction Reducer Performance Evaluation and Application

Matovic

Theriot

Linnemeyer

et al. 2022

SPE Improved Oil Recovery Conference

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Friction reducers (FRs) are a vital component of slickwater fracturing fluids used in hydraulic fracturing operations. FRs, which are typically made up of high molecular weight polyacrylamide-based polymers, help decrease frictional pressure losses and improve the effectiveness of fracturing operations by allowing for higher fracturing (frac) injection rates at the same or lower surface pressures. By optimizing FR selection for field application, cost savings can be realized through reduction in chemical costs, reduction in equipment maintenance frequency, and rental savings. Furthermore, operations could be modified to use more produced water. Evaluating FR performance in the laboratory typically consists of running flow-loop experiments to measure pressure reduction in tubing or pipe over time. However, there is no industry-standard method for evaluating FR performance and different labs have developed their unique protocols and loop designs. To mitigate this deficiency, the project team designed and installed a FR evaluation flow loop and developed a protocol that effectively evaluates FR performance. The team compared performance of various FRs from selected FR suppliers focusing on three attributes: hydration time, maximum pressure reduction, and sustainability of pressure reduction over time. For a given test water, all candidate FRs were tested in the same conditions to allow direct comparison of FR performance. This work showed that pipe size, Reynolds number, and shear rate all affect friction reduction performance; but if testing is done under the same conditions, performance can be compared and ranked directly. Based on comprehensive testing to identify the best performing FRs for brackish, produced, and mixed water blends, a field test with the recommended candidates was conducted in support of a frac-chemical unbundling effort. FRs used in the field test were qualified using the in-house FR evaluation flow loop. Friction reducer performance in the field trial confirmed the FR lab evaluation protocol correctly ranks FR performance and enables scaling to field operation. There were no accepted methods to scale-up lab FR performance to predict field conditions and as accurate models continue to be developed, the main method for evaluating FR performance continues to rely on qualifying FRs based on lab-scale experiments. To bridge the gap, the project team developed an empirically based tool to improve FR selection using a comprehensive test matrix considering FR dosage, water salinity and water hardness. Development of this tool used constant test conditions so that consistent recommendations can be made.

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Proppant Transport Analysis of the Anionic High Viscosity Friction Reducer in High-TDS Marcellus Shale Formation Water Environments

Biheri

Imqam

2022

SPE Eastern Regional Meeting

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High viscosity friction reducers (HVFRs) have been recently gaining more attention and increasing in use, not only as friction-reducing agents but also as proppant carriers. Reusing of produced water has also been driven by both environmental and economic benefits. In Marcellus Shale regions, slickwater fracturing fluids are commonly used, which reduce the number of fluid additives required and foster high retained conductivity but require high water volumes and pumping rate. In contrast, HVFRs can also exhibit high retained conductivity with less water and horsepower required and much more other operational and economical advantages. Currently, most friction reducers on the market are anionic friction reducers, which are fully compatible with most produced water with low to medium level of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) but show significant decreasing at high TDS conditions in term of their friction reduction performance in most cases. Concerns remain about performances of using anionic HVFRs with produced water to transport proppant. The ultimate objective of this experimental study is to investigate whether increasing loading of the anionic HVFR can compensate the side effects of high TDS and temperature in Marcellus Shale formation. Anionic HVFRs at 4, 6, and 8 gallons per thousand gallons (GPT) were selected and analyzed. The rheology measurement of different concentrations of anionic HVFRs were conducted with deionized (DI) water, high TDS Marcellus Shale formation water, and 30,000 mg/L NaCl solution at temperature of 60 °C. Static and dynamic proppant settling tests were conducted with various HVFR concentrations at high TDS and temperature conditions. The results showed that high TDS and temperature decreased the viscous and elastic profiles of the anionic HVFR. In particular, the elastic profile became negligible. Differences between monovalent and divalent cations effects on the rheology properties and proppant transport capability of the anionic HVFR were also negligible at high TDS and temperature conditions. Increasing loading of the anionic HVFR had very limited effects on improving its rheology properties and further proppant transport capabilities at Marcellus Shale formation conditions. Therefore, future study can be focused on modifying proppant, such as sizes and concentrations, and slurry injection rate to get better fracturing results in Marcellus Shale formation.

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Review of Friction Reducers Performance Applied to the Marcellus Shale Region

Cited by 5 publications

References 36 publications

Review on High-Temperature-Resistant Viscoelastic Surfactant Fracturing Fluids: State-of-the-Art and Perspectives

Review on High-Temperature-Resistant Viscoelastic Surfactant Fracturing Fluids: State-of-the-Art and Perspectives

Slickwater Friction Reducer Performance Evaluation and Application

Proppant Transport Analysis of the Anionic High Viscosity Friction Reducer in High-TDS Marcellus Shale Formation Water Environments

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