Simulation Study Investigating the Impact of Carbon Dioxide Foam Fracturing Fluids on Proppant Transport

Abstract

Production from unconventional reservoirs using hydraulic fractured wells has recently gained much attention due to its ability to increase recovery to high percentages. The placement of proppant in fractures plays a significant role in conductivity of fractures and well productivity. Here, we aimed to elucidate some basic concepts of the technique using FracPro simulator. FracPro and hydraulic fracturing consist of many design parameters that effect the results of the stimulation process. Of the many parameters that exist, three were focused on in this paper: proppant transport, the use of carbon dioxide (CO2) foam fracturing fluid, and the use of low specific weight versus higher specific weight. FracPro was also used to simulate the results of using a low specific gravity value of 1.9, a medium value of 2.7, and a high value of 3.5. The concentration of CO2 was also varied in each condition; concentrations of 30, 50, and 70% were used. After running investigating these scenarios, some unexpected results were obtained. Notably, a lower specific gravity should produce a longer effective proppant length; however, our data indicates shows the opposite.