Market leader Schlumberger has released details of a new flow-channel hydraulic fracturing technique that is capable of significantly enhancing output from reservoirs to which it is applied.
According to Patrick Schorn, president of Schlumberger Well Services, the new approach to hydraulic fracturing works by removing the link between flow within the fracture and proppant pack conductivity.
Proppant is a material, such as grains of sand, ceramic or other particulates, that prevent the fractures from closing when the injection is stopped.
He said the new fracturing technique “delivers what other fracture techniques cannot … effective infinite fracture conductivity”.
Schlumberger has successfully deployed the technique, known as HiWAY, in Argentina, Russia, Mexico and the US. The average initial production rate for the wells treated in Argentina was 53% higher than that of the offset wells treated using conventional fracturing techniques, according to operator YPF. Furthermore, hydrocarbon recovery per well is expected to increase by 15% over the next decade.
HiWAY fundamentally changes the way fracture conductivity is generated. A unique combination of placement and completions techniques, fluid engineering and process control creates a complex network of stable channels within the fracture.
Productivity of the fracture is decoupled from the actual permeability of the proppant used, so rather than flowing through the proppant pack, hydrocarbons flow through the highly conductive channels.
The channels extend from the wellbore to the tip of the fracture, allowing for longer effective fracture half-lengths and better fluid and polymer recovery. These effects allow for maximised production and superior hydrocarbon recovery.
Schlumberger says the technique is available for hydraulic fracturing applications in competent rock for single and multi-layer oil or gas wells.