Fracture propagation law of temporary plugging and diversion fracturing in shale reservoirs under completion experiments of horizontal well with multi-cluster sand jetting perforation

This study conducted temporary plugging and diversion fracturing(TPDF)experiments using a true triaxial fracturing simulation system within a laboratory setting that replicated a lab-based horizontal well completion with multi-cluster sand jetting perforation.The effects of temporary plugging agent(TPA)particle size,TPA concentration,single-cluster perforation number and cluster number on plugging pressure,multi-fracture diversion pattern and distribution of TPAs were investigated.A combination of TPAs with small particle sizes within the fracture and large particle sizes within the segment is conducive to increasing the plugging pressure and promoting the diversion of multi-fractures.The addition of fibers can quickly achieve ultra-high pressure,but it may lead to longitudinal fractures extending along the wellbore.The temporary plugging peak pressure increases with an increase in the concentration of the TPA,reaching a peak at a certain concentration,and further increases do not significantly improve the temporary plugging peak pressure.The breaking pressure and temporary plugging peak pressure show a decreasing trend with an increase in single-cluster perforation number.A lower number of single-cluster perforations is beneficial for increasing the breaking pressure and temporary plugging peak pressure,and it has a more significant control on the propagation of multi-cluster fractures.A lower number of clusters is not conducive to increasing the total number and complexity of artificial fractures,while a higher number of clusters makes it difficult to achieve effective plugging.The TPAs within the fracture is mainly concentrated in the complex fracture areas,especially at the intersections of fractures.Meanwhile,the TPAs within the segment are primarily distributed near the perforation cluster apertures which initiated complex fractures.

Effect of fractures on mechanical behavior of sand powder 3D printing rock analogue under triaxial compression

In practical engineering applications,rock mass are often found to be subjected to a triaxial stress state.Concurrently,defects like joints and fractures have a notable impact on the mechanical behavior of rock mass.Such defects are identified as crucial contributors to the failure and instability of the surrounding rock,subsequently impacting the engineering stability.The study aimed to investigate the impact of fracture geometry and confining pressure on the deformation,failure characteristics,and strength of specimens using sand powder 3D printing technology and conventional triaxial compression tests.The results indicate that the number of fractures present considerably influences the peak strength,axial peak strain and elastic modulus of the specimens.Confining pressure is an important factor affecting the failure pattern of the specimen,under which the specimen is more prone to shear failure,but the initiation,expansion and penetration processes of secondary cracks in different fracture specimens are different.This study confirmed the feasibility of using sand powder 3D printing specimens as soft rock analogs for triaxial compression research.The insights from this research are deemed essential for a deeper understanding of the mechanical behavior of fractured surrounding rocks when under triaxial stress state.

Erosion characteristics and simulation charts of sand fracturing casing perforation

Large-scale sand fracturing is a necessary means in the efficient exploitation of shale gas/oil.However,in the process of fracturing operation,the sand carrying fluid and proppant easily causes scouring and wear to production strings,especially the casing perforation system,which damage the wellbore integrity and deformation to affect the subsequent fracturing.For this problem,taking the actual construction conditions and perforation technology of an oilfield in western China as an example,the structural parameters of the downhole string were measured and the wall thickness reduction model of casing perforation suitable for large-displacement sand fracturing in horizontal well section was established.With software ANSYS-FLUENT,the casing perforation erosion under the conditions of different displacements,sand content and perforation sand-passing quantity in the process of sand fracturing was simulated and calculated.The influences of three parameters on perforation erosion and expansion were analyzed and the prediction chart of the influences of three main control factors on perforation erosion and expansion was established.The perforation erosion images after fracturing construction were obtained with the downhole eagle perforation logging technology.The logging chart results were compared with the downhole eagle perforation data.The error between the established numerical simulation calculation charts and the real logging data was about 5%,indicating that the simulation charts were the valuable reference.

Experimental modeling of sanding fracturing and conductivity of propped fractures in conglomerate:A case study of tight conglomerate of Mahu sag in Junggar Basin,NW China

True tri-axial sanding fracturing experiments are carried out on conglomerate samples from the Permian Wuerhe Formation of Mahu sag,Junggar Basin,to study hydraulic fracture propagation geometry and quartz sand transport in ma-trix-supported fine conglomerate and grain-supported medium conglomerate.The effect of rough fracture surface on conduc-tivity is analyzed using the 3D-printing technology to reconstruct the rough surface formed in the fractured conglomerate.The hydraulic fractures formed in the matrix-supported fine conglomerate are fairly straight,and only more tortuous when en-countering large gravels at local parts;thus,proppants can get into the fractures easily with transport distance about 70%–90%of the fracture length.By contrast,in the grain-supported medium conglomerate,hydraulic fractures tend to bypass the gravels to propagate in tortuous paths and frequently change in width;therefore,proppants are difficult to transport in these fractures and only move less than 30%of the fracture length.As the ma trix-supported fine conglomerate has high matrix content and low hardness,proppants embed in the fracture surface severely.In contrast,the grain-supported medium conglomerate has higher gravel content and hardness,so the quartz sand is crushed more severely.Under the high proppant concentration of 5 kg/m^(2),when the closure stress is increased(above 60 MPa),fractures formed in both matrix-supported fine conglomerate and grain-supported medium conglomerate decrease in width significantly,and drop 88%and 92%in conductivity respectively compared with the case under the low closure stress of 20 MPa.The field tests prove that under high closure stress above 60 MPa,using a high proportion of fine proppants with high concentration allow the proppant to move further in the fracture;meanwhile proppant places more uniformly in the ro ugh fracture,resulting in a higher fracture conductivity and an improved well per-formance.

Selection of candidate wells for re-fracturing in tight gas sand reservoirs using fuzzy inference

An artificial-intelligence based decision-making protocol is developed for tight gas sands to identify re-fracturing wells and used in case studies. The methodology is based on fuzzy logic to deal with imprecision and subjectivity through mathematical representations of linguistic vagueness, and is a computing system based on the concepts of fuzzy set theory, fuzzy if-then rules, and fuzzy reasoning. Five indexes are used to characterize hydraulic fracture quality, reservoir characteristics, operational parameters, initial conditions, and production related to the selection of re-fracturing well, and each index includes 3 related parameters. The value of each index/parameter is grouped into three categories that are low, medium, and high. For each category, a trapezoidal membership function all related rules are defined. The related parameters of an index are input into the rule-based fuzzy-inference system to output value of the index. Another fuzzy-inference system is built with the reservoir index, operational index, initial condition index and production index as input parameters and re-fracturing potential index as output parameter to screen out re-fracturing wells. This approach was successfully validated using published data.

Experimental study on the flow behaviour of water-sand mixtures in fractured rock specimens

The study of flow behaviour of water-sand mixtures in fractured rocks is of great necessity to understand the producing mechanism and prevention of water inrush and sand gushing accidents.A self-developed seepage test system is used in this paper to conduct laboratory experiments in order to study the influence of the particle size distribution,the void ratio,and the initial mass of Aeolian sand on the flow behavior.It is concluded that the water flow velocity is insensitive to the initial mass of the Aeolian sand but increases with the power exponent in the Talbot formula and the specimen height.The outflow of the Aeolian sand increases with the power exponent in the Talbot formula,the specimen height,and the initial mass of the Aeolian sand.Besides,the outflow of the Aeolian sand changes exponentially with the water flow velocity.Finally,it is found that the fractured specimen has a maximum sand filtration capacity beyond which the outflow of the Aeolian sand significantly increases with the initial mass of the Aeolian sand.

Effect of reclaimed sand additions on mechanical properties and fracture behavior of furan no-bake resin sand

In this work, the effects of reclaimed sand additions on the microstructure characteristics, mechanical properties and fracture behavior of furan no-bake resin sand have been investigated systematically within the temperature range from 25 to 600 oC. The addition of 20%-100% reclaimed sand showed dramatic strength deterioration effect at the same temperature, which is associated with the formation of bonding bridges. Both the ultimate tensile strength(UTS) and compressive strength(CS) of the moulding sand initially increase with the increase of temperature, and then sharply decrease with the further increase of temperature, which is attributed to the thermal decomposition of furan resin. The addition amount of reclaimed sand has a remarkable effect on the room temperature fracture mode, i.e., with the addition of 0-20% reclaimed sand, the fracture mode was mainly cohesive fracture; the fracture mode converts to be mixture fracture mode as the addition of reclaimed sand increases to 35%-70%; further increasing the addition to 100% results in the fracture mode of typical adhesive fracture. The fracture surface of the bonding bridge changes from a semblance of cotton or holes to smooth with the increase of test temperature.

A laboratory study of hot WAG injection into fractured and conventional sand packs

Gas injection is the second largest enhanced oil recovery process, next only to the thermal method used in heavy oil fields. To increase the extent of the reservoir contacted by the injected gas, the gas is generally injected intermittently with water. This mode of injection is called water-alternating-gas (WAG). This study deals with a new immiscible water alternating gas (IWAG) EOR technique, “hot IWAG” which includes combination of thermal, solvent and sweep techniques. In the proposed method CO2 will be superheated above the reservoir temperature and instead of normal temperature water, hot water will be used. Hot CO2 and hot water will be alternatively injected into the sand packs. A laboratory test was conducted on the fractured and conventional sand packs. Slugs of water and CO2 with a low and constant rate were injected into the sand packs alternatively; slug size was 0.05 PV. Recovery from each sand pack was monitored and after that hot water and hot CO2 were injected alternatively under the same conditions and increased oil recovery from each sand pack and breakthrough were measured. Experimental results showed that the injection of hot WAG could significantly recover residual oil after WAG injection in conventional and fractured sand packs.

Coupled hydro-mechanical evolution of fracture permeability in sand injectite intrusions

Sandstone“injectite”intrusions are generally developed by the fluidization of weakly cemented sandstones and their subsequent injection into fractured reservoirs.In this work,a continuum coupled hydromechanical model TOUGH-FLAC3D is applied to simulate the discrete fracture network in large-scale sand injectite complexes.A sand production constitutive model is incorporated to consider the formation of sand through plastic deformation and its influence on evolution of fracture permeability.Overpressures in the fluidized sand slurry drives the injection with sand dikes intruded upwards,typically into previously low permeability“tight”mudstone formations.The contrast in poroelastic properties of the underlying weak sandstone and overlying injectite receptor directly affects the evolution of fracture aperture both during and after intrusion.Fluid drainage into the unconsolidated matrix may reduce the extent of fracture aperture growth,through the formation of shear bands.The results of this work have broad implications related to the emplacement of sandstone intrusions and subsequent hydrocarbon accumulation,maturation and then production.

致密灰岩水平井复合缝网加砂压裂技术研究与矿场实践

鄂尔多斯盆地太原组石灰岩资源丰富,是长庆油田天然气勘探开发的重要接替领域。但由于储层致密、厚度薄、酸岩反应速率快等因素,以往多种酸压工艺均未能获得产量突破。为此,转变增产技术思路,强化裂缝扩展规律实验研究、压裂液及关键材料研发配套、体积压裂模式精细刻画,形成“多段少簇密集造缝、酸压—加砂双元复合”为一体的水平井复合缝网加砂压裂技术。通过开展大露头压裂物理模拟实验,结合储层地质特点及岩石力学特征,明确储层高脆性、低两向水平主应力差、微裂缝发育特征,采用体积压裂工艺能够实现复杂缝网改造;集“深度酸压+大规模加砂”双重技术优势,构建“水力缝网+酸蚀裂缝”相结合的高导流裂缝流动通道,结合水平井密切割压裂大幅提高裂缝改造体积;针对石灰岩高杨氏模量、高破裂压力、高裂缝延伸压力、低裂缝宽度的三高一低特征,通过提高套管承压等级、差异化裂缝铺砂设计,形成多尺度小粒径连续加砂模式,解决了高杨氏模量储层加砂难问题;基于基质、壁面、裂缝三级伤害评价,研发低伤害变黏滑溜水体系,实现高杨氏模量储层造缝、成网、携砂需求。现场试验4口井,平均单井产量为59.7×10^(4)m^(3)/d,较酸压直井提高5~20倍以上,增产效果显著。目前,水平井复合缝网加砂压裂技术已成为太原组石灰岩水平井储层改造的主体技术,为该类气藏的勘探突破及有效开发提供了有力的技术保障。

西山煤田煤层气井水力压裂效果剖析及启示

水力压裂是改善煤层渗透率的常用方法,其改造效果直接影响煤层气井的产能。详细观测了西山煤田屯兰区块5口煤层气井的井下揭露煤层及裂隙展布情况,并联合体视镜、扫描电镜和显微CT等研究煤体结构、微裂隙、石英砂和煤粉的分布特征,结合区域地应力和水力压裂施工参数,剖析煤层气井的压裂效果。研究结果表明:水力压裂产生的宏观裂隙形态复杂多样,包含水平型、垂直型、X型和T型。距离煤层气井筒越近,煤体越破碎,以碎裂煤和碎粒煤为主,水力压裂裂隙发育,远离煤层气井筒的煤体主要是原生结构煤,以原生裂隙为主。石英砂主要铺置在水平裂隙内,仅有少量分布在T型裂隙内。石英砂与煤的裂隙面强烈摩擦、碰撞和嵌入,与压裂液破裂煤体叠加形成大量煤粉,造成煤粉裹挟石英砂堵塞裂隙。宏观裂隙内的煤粉主要受水力压裂时煤体破裂、压裂液冲刷煤体及石英砂与裂隙面摩擦而产生,微观裂隙内的煤粉在煤体破断时产生。煤粉与石英砂混合堆积在裂隙内,对携砂液产生巨大阻力,造成石英砂无法向煤层气井的远端运移。地应力的大小和方向、煤层及顶底板的强度是影响水力压裂裂隙张开与延展方向的重要因素,携砂液黏度低无法悬浮石英砂,容易造成石英砂与煤粉聚集堵塞裂隙。

支撑剂回流对页岩人工裂缝导流能力影响试验

支撑剂回流对页岩人工裂缝导流能力的伤害不容忽视,须对实际应力加载条件下支撑剂回流进行定量表征。利用自主研发的导流能力测试系统,通过添加支撑剂回流腔体模块,实现压裂液返排过程中支撑剂回流的定量表征,在实验室尺度下开展不同应力加载方式(变围压测试和变流压测试)下的页岩人工裂缝长期导流能力对比试验。结果表明:不同应力加载方式对支撑剂破碎量和嵌入量的影响相似,但变围压测试下支撑剂回流量随围压变化维持在约4.46%,与现场支撑剂回流数据不符;变流压测试下支撑剂回流量在流压20 MPa时的支撑剂回流量为20.53%,且随着流压的降低,回流量下降,与现场支撑剂的回流变量变化规律一致;忽略支撑剂的回流会导致对裂缝导流能力伤害率的计算值偏低,不利于制定施工方案;页岩人工裂缝导流能力的准确测试,应采用与实际应力加载更符合的变流压测试方法,以便更好地体现支撑剂回流对导流能力的影响。

塔里木盆地库车山前超深气井砂垢堵塞成因及靶向解除技术

塔里盆地库车山前超深气田是西气东输主力气源地,具有超高温、超高压、高矿化度、储层裂缝非均质性强等特征,气井生产过程中砂垢堵塞问题突出,据统计最高影响气田产能达800×104 m^(3)/d。为实现超深气井高效解堵,通过气水两相结垢热力学预测模型、裂缝性储层岩石力学实验、井筒内气液固流动模拟等研究,揭示了超深气井砂垢复合堵塞成因,并形成了靶向解堵复产关键技术。研究结果表明:①“高温流动压降结垢、裂缝面破裂出砂”是超深气井出砂结垢的内在机理;②结垢固化松散砂桥形成复合堵塞是气井堵塞减产的主要原因,其中靶向除垢是解堵复产的关键所在;③靶向除垢解堵区域为井筒变径处和井周5 m内基质—裂缝系统,气井堵塞率30%~60%为最佳解堵时机;④非酸性除垢解堵液相比常用的酸性解堵液,在同级别溶垢能力的基础上,腐蚀速率降至0.49 g/(m^(2)·h),可同时满足低腐蚀和高效除垢的技术要求。结论认为,形成的超深气井靶向除垢解堵技术在塔里木盆地库车山前超深气田规模应用159井次,有效率达93.3%,累计增产天然气75.08×10^(8)m^(3),已成为西气东输主力气井快速解堵复产的“冬保良方”,可为国内外同类气田解堵复产提供技术借鉴。

一步水热改性石英砂支撑剂及性能研究

为提高石英砂在压裂液中的分散稳定性,采用十六烷基三甲基氯化铵(CTAC)对传统石英砂表面进行改性。结果表明,CTAC质量分数为0.6%,在80℃中性条件下与石英砂反应120 min,可以使石英砂的沉降速度降低44.85%。改性前后石英砂与水的接触角由28.233°增至87.853°,表明石英砂表面的疏水性有大幅度改善,石英砂颗粒与水分子之间的排斥力增大。表面自由能由83.342 mJ/m^(2)降至22.379 mJ/m^(2),表面自由能降低使系统更加稳定,从能量的角度解释了改性后石英砂沉降速度降低的原因。改性后石英砂的zeta电位是改性前的2倍,石英砂颗粒之间的静电斥力明显增大,从而使颗粒之间不容易聚沉,体系更加稳定。

通道压裂支撑剂缝内分布规律研究

通道压裂是低渗透致密油气藏高效、低成本开发的关键技术,通过采用非连续簇团铺砂的方式,使裂缝中形成具有高导流能力的通道,但目前关于通道压裂的理论研究仍然处于起步阶段.因此,基于计算流体力学建立欧拉-欧拉固液两相流模型,对通道压裂过程中支撑剂的分布状态进行模拟,通过与实验结果进行对比,证明了所建立模型的有效性,并系统研究了不同中顶压裂液(纯压裂液脉冲段)黏度、支撑剂密度、泵注排量对通道压裂通道率的影响.结果表明,中顶压裂液的黏度从1 mPa·s增加到20 mPa·s,通道内平均通道率增加5%;支撑剂密度从1400 kg/m^(3)增加到2000 kg/m^(3)时,缝内通道率减小了7%;排量由3 m^(3)/min增加到7 m^(3)/min时,通道率由28%增加到33.5%后减小到31%.现场应用过程中应使用较高黏度中顶压裂液、较低密度支撑剂和合理的泵注排量以保证裂缝中形成有效支撑通道.

塔河油田T1-5H井泵送桥塞分段加砂压裂工艺

针对塔河油田泵送桥塞分段加砂压裂施工中存在泵送桥塞工具串易遇阻遇卡,缺乏相配的井下工具,含硫化氢、井控风险较高等问题,以T1-5H井为例,提出了井下工具泵送模拟技术,提高工具串在复合套管中的通过性;形成了人工井底地质深度回归结合连续油管探底的高精度校深方法,保证首段射孔位置精确;采用大通径全封堵桥塞,解决高压气井组下生产管柱的难题。应用表明,T1-5H井泵送桥塞分段加砂压裂完井工艺4段5簇,注入地层总液量3210.7 m^(3),累计产能提高2401.6 t,有效提高了储层动用程度。该工艺为西北工区砂泥岩薄互储层改造提供经验借鉴,为实现超深石炭系储层大规模开发奠定了技术基础。

车载式混砂车的改进设计

为适应国家机动车污染物排放标准的逐步提高以及原有混砂车管汇系统、液添系统和储存罐系统存在的不足,开展了车载式混砂车改进设计研究。研究了新的关键部件配置方案;设计了新的吸排转换管汇系统;取消原有100桶混砂车液添灌结构,在管路布置上进行了重新设计,改进为130桶混砂车液添系统;改进了混合罐,改进后容量达到1.5m^(3),配置液面自动控制装置实现了手动或自动控制;重新进行了参数计算,使改进设计的车载式混砂车满足了国家及行业标准要求,产品性能得到了提升,满足了石油天然气市场对车载式混砂车的需求。

迂曲裂缝内支撑剂运移数值模拟

水力压裂后,储层形成较多的迂曲裂缝,支撑剂在迂曲裂缝中的运移和铺置规律尚不明确,在稠密颗粒流模型的基础上耦合颗粒物料仿真软件,模拟迂曲角度、支撑剂尺寸、注入速率、携砂液密度和支撑剂密度对迂曲裂缝中支撑剂运移和砂堵的影响。结果表明:大多支撑剂会堆积在裂缝第一转折角处,迂曲角度的变化会显著影响支撑剂的运移和砂堵的发生,迂曲角度大,容易发生砂堵且砂堵程度严重;密度大和粒径小的支撑剂发生砂堵时会形成致密的支撑剂堆积,加剧砂堵程度;注入速率大,支撑剂在裂缝中运移距离较远,但注入速度和携砂液密度的增加,会加剧砂堵程度。

苏里格砂泥薄互储层缝控压裂造缝机制及穿层判别准则

针对苏里格气田二叠系盒8段砂泥薄互储层压裂施工中裂缝穿层扩展判别与压裂效果评价存在的问题,建立考虑层间非均质性的砂泥薄互储层地质力学模型,开展水力裂缝穿层扩展实验,揭示砂泥薄互储层中人工裂缝的起裂-延伸-交互-穿层机制。基于非常规裂缝模型的数值模拟,阐明了裂缝在薄互层中的垂向起裂与扩展特征,构建了裂缝穿层的判别准则与压裂效果评价方法。研究表明:层间应力差是直接影响穿层压裂裂缝形态的主要地质因素,苏里格气田层间应力差异系数(ξ_(IL))小于0.40时,裂缝可突破隔层在目标砂岩层内扩展;0.40≤ξ_(IL)<0.45时,裂缝突破隔层但无法在目标砂层内有效扩展;ξ_(IL)≥0.45时,裂缝仅在射孔储层扩展,无法实现穿层扩展。提高压裂液黏度与排量能弥补能量损耗并突破隔层限制,苏里格气田压裂施工参数控制区域内采用高黏度(50~100mPa·s)压裂液、高排量(12~18 m^(3)/min)施工条件有利于裂缝穿层。

机理和智能融合下压裂泵压预测及应用

我国页岩油气的高效开发离不开大规模压裂技术。页岩油气大规模压裂过程时间长,压裂砂堵事故易发生且后果严重,开展其预警研究对页岩油气压裂施工安全意义重大。然而,目前仍缺乏压裂砂堵主控因素分析及其施工泵压预测的有效手段。针对此问题,考虑压裂机理和泵压变化特征,建立了一套压裂施工过程中泵压实时预测的方法,以开展砂堵预警研究。首先,采用压裂模拟器模拟压裂全过程泵压变化,通过改变不同流体性质与地层参数开展泵压变化规律的主控因素分析,并采用灰色关联分析方法进行主控因素排序。其次,基于断裂力学、支撑剂运移理论和长短时记忆神经网络(LSTM)模型,建立施工泵压预测框架及模型,形成机理和智能融合下的压裂砂堵预警方法,最后基于砂堵预警方法开展了现场压裂砂堵预警实例应用。结果表明,影响典型井施工泵压的因素由主到次依次为排量、流体黏度、主应力差、砂浓度、裂缝簇数及孔眼数。当其他参数不变时,随着流体黏度、主应力差及排量的增大,施工泵压增加;随着裂缝簇数、孔眼数及砂浓度增加,施工泵压降低。将该压裂砂堵预测方法应用于矿场实际,对压裂砂堵事故进行判识和预警,预测砂堵时间较现场人工识别提前19s,得到相对误差约为6.8%。建立的砂堵智能预警方法可靠性较好,预测泵压与现场泵压基本吻合,实现了压裂砂堵精确预警,对页岩油气压裂过程中砂堵预警具有良好的借鉴意义。