Microscale crack propagation in shale samples using focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy and three-dimensional numerical modeling

Reliable prediction of the shale fracturing process is a challenging problem in exploiting deep shale oil and gas resources.Complex fracture networks need to be artificially created to employ deep shale oil and gas reserves.Randomly distributed minerals and heterogeneities in shales significantly affect mechanical properties and fracturing behaviors in oil and gas exploitation.Describing the actual microstructure and associated heterogeneities in shales constitutes a significant challenge.The RFPA3D(rock failure process analysis parallel computing program)-based modeling approach is a promising numerical technique due to its unique capability to simulate the fracturing behavior of rocks.To improve traditional numerical technology and study crack propagation in shale on the microscopic scale,a combination of high-precision internal structure detection technology with the RFPA^(3D) numerical simulation method was developed to construct a real mineral structure-based modeling method.First,an improved digital image processing technique was developed to incorporate actual shale microstructures(focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy was used to capture shale microstructure images that reflect the distri-butions of different minerals)into the numerical model.Second,the effect of mineral inhomogeneity was considered by integrating the mineral statistical model obtained from the mineral nanoindentation experiments into the numerical model.By simulating a shale numerical model in which pyrite particles are wrapped by organic matter,the effects of shale microstructure and applied stress state on microcrack behavior and mechanical properties were investigated and analyzed.In this study,the effect of pyrite particles on fracture propagation was systematically analyzed and summarized for the first time.The results indicate that the distribution of minerals and initial defects dominated the fracture evolution and the failure mode.Cracks are generally initiated and propagated along the boundaries of hard mineral particles such as pyrite or in soft minerals such as organic matter.Locations with collections of hard minerals are more likely to produce complex fractures.This study provides a valuable method for un-derstanding the microfracture behavior of shales.

Complex fracture propagation model and plugging timing optimization for temporary plugging fracturing in naturally fractured shale

In this paper,a viscoelasticity-plastic damage constitutive equation for naturally fractured shale is deduced,coupling nonlinear tensile-shear mixed fracture mode.Dynamic perforation-erosion on fluid re-distribution among multi-clusters are considered as well.DFN-FEM(discrete fracture network combined with finite element method)was developed to simulate the multi-cluster complex fractures propagation within temporary plugging fracturing(TPF).Numerical results are matched with field injection and micro-seismic monitoring data.Based on geomechanical characteristics of Weiyuan deep shale gas reservoir in Sichuan Basin,SW China,a multi-cluster complex fractures propagation model is built for TPF.To study complex fractures propagation and the permeability-enhanced region evolution,intersecting and competition mechanisms between the fractures before and after TPF treatment are revealed.Simulation results show that:fracture from middle cluster is restricted by the fractures from side-clusters,and side-clusters plugging is benefit for multi fractures propagation in uniformity;optimized TPF timing should be delayed within a higher density or strike of natural fractures;Within a reservoir-featured natural fractures distribution,optimized TPF timing for most clustered method is 2/3 of total fluid injection time as the optimal plugging time under different clustering modes.

Continuous TDEM for monitoring shale hydraulic fracturing

Monitoring and delineating the spatial distribution of shale fracturing is fundamentally important to shale gas production. Standard monitoring methods, such as time-lapse seismic, cross-well seismic and micro-seismic methods, are expensive, time- consuming, and do not show the changes in the formation with time. The resistivities of hydraulic fracturing fluid and reservoir rocks were measured. The results suggest that the injection fluid and consequently the injected reservoir are characterized by very low resistivity and high chargeability. This allows using of the controlled-source electromagnetic method （CSEM） to monitor shale gas hydraulic fracturing. Based on the geoelectrical model which was proposed according to the well-log and seismic data in the test area the change rule of the reacted electrical field was studied to account for the change of shale resistivity, and then the normalized residual resistivity method for time lapse processing was given. The time-domain electromagnetic method （TDEM） was used to continuously monitor the shale gas fracturing at the Fulin shale gas field in southern China. A high-power transmitter and multi-channel transient electromagnetic receiver array were adopted. 9 h time series of Ex component of 224 sites which were laid out on the surface and over three fracturing stages of a horizontal well at 2800 m depth was recorded. After data processing and calculation of the normalized resistivity residuals, the changes in the Ex signal were determined and a dynamic 3D image of the change in resistivity was constructed. This allows modeling the spatial distribution of the fracturing fluid. The model results suggest that TDEM is promising for monitoring hydraulic fracturing of shale.

Mineralogy and fracture development characteristics of marine shale-gas reservoirs: A case study of Lower Silurian strata in southeastern margin of Sichuan Basin, China

Mineral contents and fractures of shale from well Yuye-1 and outcrops were examined mainly based on systematic description of the cores and outcrops, and data from experimental analyses. The data enabled us to thoroughly explore the mineralogy and developmental features of shale of the Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation in the study area. The results show that,the Lower Silurian Longmaxi Shale(SLS) in the southeastern margin of Sichuan Basin, China, is primarily characterized by a high content of brittle minerals and a relatively low content of clay minerals. The total content of brittle minerals is approximately 57%,including 27% quartz, 12.2% feldspar, 11.2% carbonate and 2.4% pyrite. The total content of clay minerals reaches 41.6%,composed of illite(23.8%), mixed-layer of illite and smectite(I/S)(10.8%) and chlorite(7.0%). The SLS accommodates the widespread development of various types of fractures, including tectonic fractures, diagenetic fractures, inter-layer fractures and slip fractures. The developmental level of the fracture in the SLS is mainly influenced by faults, lithology, mineral contents and total organic carbon content(TOC) in study area.

Influence of gas transport mechanisms on the productivity of multi-stage fractured horizontal wells in shale gas reservoirs

In order to investigate the influence on shale gas well productivity caused by gas transport in nanometer- size pores, a mathematical model of multi-stage fractured horizontal wells in shale gas reservoirs is built, which considers the influence of viscous flow, Knudsen diffusion, surface diffusion, and adsorption layer thickness. A dis- crete-fracture model is used to simplify the fracture mod- cling, and a finite element method is applied to solve the model. The numerical simulation results indicate that with a decrease in the intrinsic matrix permeability, Knudsen diffusion and surface diffusion contributions to production become large and cannot be ignored. The existence of an adsorption layer on the nanopore surfaces reduces the effective pore radius and the effective porosity, resulting in low production from fractured horizontal wells. With a decrease in the pore radius, considering the adsorption layer, the production reduction rate increases. When the pore radius is less than 10 nm, because of the combined impacts of Knudsen diffusion, surface diffusion, and adsorption layers, the production of multi-stage fractured horizontal wells increases with a decrease in the pore pressure. When the pore pressure is lower than 30 MPa, the rate of production increase becomes larger with a decrease in pore pressure.

Fracture detection by using full azimuth P wave attributes

A type of specific fractured hydrocarbon reservoir, a shale fractured reservoir, exists in the Shengli oilfield. Due to very small porosity of this type, low sensitivity to the variation of petrochemical property parameters, and strong anisotropy, it is very difficult to explore for them. So far, there is no set of mature methods for recognition of direction, distribution, and density of the fractures by an integrated analysis of geologic, geophysical, well log, drilling data, and etc. This paper presents a new method for acoustic impedance variation with azimuth （IPVA）, based on existing fracture detection methods. Seismic acquisition, processing, and recognition techniques were developed for detecting directional vertical fractures using multi-azimuth P wave data in combination with the seismic and geological features of shale fractures in the Luojia area. The IPVA research is carried out for recognizing the distribution, strike, and density of fractures based on the study of velocity variation with azimuth （VVA） and amplitude variation with azimuth （AVA） for full azimuth P wave data at different CMP positions. Through practical application in the Luojia area, primary results have been obtained which verifies that the IPVA method provides good potential for quantitative detection of parallel, high angle, shale fractures.

A numerical approach for pressure transient analysis of a vertical well with complex fractures

A new well test model for a vertical fractured well is developed based on a discrete-fracture model in which the fractures are discretized as one dimensional（1-D） entities.The model overcomes the weakness of complex meshing,a large number of grids, and instability in conventional stripe-fracture models. Then, the discrete-fracture model is implemented using a hybrid element finite-element method.Triangular elements are used for matrix and line elements for the fractures. The finite element formulation is validated by comparing with the semi-analytical solution of a single vertical fractured well. The accuracy of the approach is shown through several examples with different fracture apertures,fracture conductivity, and fracture amount. Results from the discrete-fracture model agree reasonably well with the stripefracture model and the analytic solutions. The advantages of the discrete-fracture model are presented in mesh generation, computational improvement, and abilities to handle complex fractures like wedge-shaped fractures and fractures with branches. Analytical results show that the number of grids in the discrete-fracture model is 10 % less than stripefracture model, and computational efficiency increases by about 50 %. The more fractures there are, the more the computational efficiency increases.