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The Origins of Low‐Fracture Conductivity in Soft Shale Formations: An Experimental Study
Author(s) -
Zou Yushi,
Ma Xinfang,
Zhang Shicheng,
Zhou Tong,
EhligEconomides Christine,
Li Han
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
energy technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.91
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 2194-4296
pISSN - 2194-4288
DOI - 10.1002/ente.201500188
Subject(s) - conductivity , oil shale , fracture (geology) , geology , shear (geology) , geotechnical engineering , materials science , surface finish , displacement (psychology) , shale gas , permeability (electromagnetism) , composite material , membrane , psychology , paleontology , chemistry , psychotherapist , biology , genetics
Abstract Sufficient fracture conductivity must be sustained in fracture networks created by massive slickwater fracturing to continue the exploitation of ultralow‐permeability shale formations. However, unrealistic conductivity values obtained under ideal laboratory conditions are generally utilized for fracture designs. In this study, we outlined an experimental program to measure the conductivity of different possible fracture patterns in the fracture network, such as standard smooth fractures and shear fractures, with varying amounts of proppant and placement patterns. The results show that low‐conductivity fractures are likely to form in a soft shale. The high roughness and shear displacement of fracture surfaces improve conductivity. However, the crushing degree of the surface asperities is high for soft shale, which reduces the self‐supporting capability of the fracture. The conductivity values under ideal proppant‐placement conditions are overestimated substantially.