Open AccessAssessing the effect of proppant compressibility on the conductivity of heterogeneously propped hydraulic fracture
Author(s) -
Arthur M. Skopintsev
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of physics. conference series
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.21
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1742-6596
pISSN - 1742-6588
DOI - 10.1088/1742-6596/2057/1/012078
Subject(s) - fracture (geology) , hydraulic fracturing , hydraulic conductivity , embedment , comminution , compressibility , geotechnical engineering , deformation (meteorology) , geology , materials science , conductivity , petroleum engineering , mechanics , composite material , soil science , metallurgy , soil water , chemistry , physics
Hydraulic fracturing is a technology that is widely used in the development of oil and gas formations. Given that the fracture closure has a strong impact on production, quantifying the resulting fracture conductivity is critical for optimizing treatment design. The goal of this paper is to better understand the influence of the closing stress on the fracture conductivity when the proppant distribution is heterogeneous. In addition to the spatial proppant distribution, the conductivity of the propped fracture is affected by proppant deformation and embedment. Numerical results indicate that compressibility of proppant can significantly change the residual fracture aperture and, consequently, production performance in oil and gas reservoirs