Abstract
In shale gas fracking, the stimulated natural fracture system is often critical to the gas production. In this paper, we present the results of state-of-the-art modeling of a detailed parametric evolution of the shear stimulation effect in discrete fracture network (DFN) formations. Two-dimensional computational modeling studies have been used in an attempt towards understanding how naturally fractured reservoirs response in hydraulic fracturing. Simulations were conducted as a function of: (1) the in-situ stress ratio; (2) internal friction angle of DFN; (3) DFN orientation with the stress field; and (4) operational variables such as injection rate. A sensitivity study reveals a number of interesting observations resulting from these parameters on the shear stimulation in natural fracture system. This work strongly links the production technology, geomechanical evaluation and aids in the understanding and optimization of hydraulic fracturing simulations in naturally fractured reservoirs.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Biot M A. 1941. General theory of three-dimensional consolidation. J Appl Phys, 12: 155
Chong K K, Grieser W V, Passman A, Tamayo C, Modeland N, Burke B E. 2010. A Completions Guide Book to Shale-Play Development: A Review of Successful Approaches Towards Shale-Play Stimulation in the Last Two Decades. In: Canadian Unconventional Resources and International Petroleum Conference, 19–21 October, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Paper CSUG/SPE 133874
Cipolla C L, Lolon E P, Erdie J C, Tathed V S. 2009a. Modeling well performance in shale-gas reservoirs. In: Presentation at the SPE/EAGE Reservoir Characterization and Simulation Conference. Abu Dhabi, UAE, October 19–21
Cipolla C L, Lolon E P, Mayerhofer M J. 2009b. Reservoir modeling and production evaluation in shale-gas reservoirs. In: The International Petroleum Technology Conference. Doha, Qatar, 7–9 December
Damjanac B, Gil I, Pierce M, Sanchez M, Mclennan J. 2010. A new approach to hydraulic fracturing modeling in naturally fractured reservoirs. In: The 44th US Rock Mechanics Symposium, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, 27–30 June. Paper ARMA 10-400
Gale J F W, Holder J. 2008. Natural fractures in the Barnett shale: Constraints on spatial organization and tensile strength with implications for hydraulic fracture treatment in shale-gas reservoirs. In: The 42nd US Rock Mechanics Symposium (USRMS). San Francisco, CA, June 29–July 2
Jeffrey R G, Zhang X, Bunger A P. 2010. Hydraulic fracturing of naturally fractured reservoirs. In: Proceedings of the 35th Workshop on Geothermal Reservoir Engineering. Stanford, California, USA, 1–3 February
King G E. 2010. Thirty years of gas shale fracturing: What have we learned? In: SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition. Florence, Italy, 19–22 September. Paper SPE 133456
Kresse O, Cohen C, Weng X, Gu H G, Wu R T. 2011. Numerical modeling of hydraulic fracturing in naturally fractured formations. In: The 45th US Rock Mechanics Symposium. San Francisco, California, USA, 26–29 June. Paper ARMA 11-363
Mayerhofer M J, Lolon E P, Warpinski N R, Cipolla C L, Walster D W, Rightmire C R. 2010. What is stimulated reservoir volume? SPE Prod Oper, 25: 89
Mayerhofer M J, Lolon E P, Youngblood J E, Heinze J R. 2006. Integration of microseismic fracture mapping results with numerical fracture network production modeling in the Barnett shale. In: The SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition. San Antonio, Texas, September 24–27
Meyer B R, Bazan L W. 2011. A discrete fracture network model for hydraulically induced fractures—Theory, parametric and case studies. In: SPE Hydraulic Fracturing Technology Conference and Exhibition. The Woodlands, Texas, USA, 24–26 January. Paper SPE 140514
Nagel N, Gil I, Sanchez-Nagel M. 2011a. Simulating hydraulic fracturing in real fractured rock—Overcoming the limits of pseudo 3D models. In: SPE Hydraulic Fracturing Technology Conference and Exhibition. The Woodlands, Texas, USA, 24–26 January. Paper SPE 140480
Nagel N, Sanchez-Nagel M. 2011b. Stress shadowing and microseismic events: A numerical evaluation. In: SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition. Denver, Colorado, USA, 30 October–2 November. SPE 152192. Paper SPE 147363
Nassir M, Settari A, Wan R. 2010. Modeling shear dominated hydraulic fracturing as a coupled fluid-solid interaction. In: International Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition. Beijing, China, 8–10 June. Paper SPE 131736
Noghabai K. 1999. Discrete versus smeared versus element-embedded crack models on ring problem. J Eng Mech, 125: 307
Olson J E. 2003. Sublinear scaling of fracture aperture versus length: An exception to the rule? J Geophys Res, 108: 1
Olson J E. 2004. Predicting fracture swarms—The influence of subcritical crack growth and the crack-tip process zone on joint spacing in rock. Geol Soc Lon Spec Pub, 231: 73
Olson J E. 2008. Spatial organization of natural fractures: A geomechanics approach. Nat Fract Pattern Dev. 2008–2010
Palmer I D, Luiskutty C T. 1985. A model of the hydraulic fracturing process for elongated vertical fractures and comparisons of results with other models. In: SPE/DOE Low Permeability Gas Reservoirs Symposium. Denver, Colorado, 19–22 May. Paper SPE 13864
Palmer I, Moschovidis Z. 2010. New method to diagnose and improve shale gas completions. In: SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition. Florence, Italy, 19–22 September. Paper SPE 134669
Perkins T K, Kern L R. 1961. Widths of hydraulic fractures. J Petrol Technol, 13: 937
Rahman M M, Aghighi A A, Rahman S S. 2009. Interaction between induced hydraulic fracture and pre-existing natural fracture in a poroelastic environment: effect of pore pressure change and the orientation of a natural fractures. In: Asia Pacific Oil and Gas Conference & Exhibition. Jakarta, Indonesia, 4–6 August. Paper SPE 122574
Sagy A, Reches Z. 2006. Joint intensity in layered rocks: The unsaturated, saturated, supersaturated, and clustered classes. Isr J Earth Sci, 55: 33
Sayers C, Le Calvez J. 2010. Characterization of microseismic data in gas shales using the radius of Gyration tensor. SEG Expanded Abstract
Simonson E R, Abou-Sayed A S, Clifton J J. 1978. Containment of Massive Hydraulic Fractures. SPE J, 18: 27
Tang C A, Tham L G, Lee P K K. 2002. Coupled analysis of flow, stress and damage (FSD) in rock failure. Int J Rock Mech Min Sci, 39: 477
Thallak S, Rothenbury L, Dusseault M. 1991. Simulation of multiple hydraulic fractures in a discrete element system. In: Roegiers J C, ed. Rock Mechanics as a Multidisciplinary Science, Proceedings of the 32nd US Symposium. Rotterdam: Balkema. 271–280
Voegele M D, Abou-Sayed A S, Jones A H. 1983. Optimization of stimulation design through the use of in-situ stress determination. J Petrol Tech, 35: 1071
Wang S Y, Sloan S W, Liu H Y. 2011. Numerical simulation of the rock fragmentation process induced by two drill bits subjected to static and dynamic (impact) loading. Rock Mech Rock Eng, 44: 317
Wang S Y, Sun L, Au A S K, Yang T H, Tang C A. 2009. 2D-numerical analysis of hydraulic fracturing in heterogeneous geo-materials. Constr Build Mater, 23: 2196
Warpinski N R, Finley S J, Vollendorf W C, Obrien M, Eshom E. 1982. The interface test series: An in-situ study of factors affecting the containment of hydraulic fractures. Sandia National Laboratories Report, SAND, 2381–2408
Warpinski N R, Mayerhofer M J, Vincent M C, Cipolla C L, Lolon E. 2009. Stimulating unconventional reservoirs: maximizing network growth while optimizing fracture conductivity. J Can Petrol Technol, 48: 39
Yang T H, Tang C A, Zhu W C, Feng Q Y. 2001. Coupling analysis of seepage and stress in rock failure process (in Chinese). Chin J Rock Soil Eng, 23: 489
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wang, Y., Li, X., Zhou, R. et al. Numerical evaluation of the shear stimulation effect in naturally fractured formations. Sci. China Earth Sci. 59, 371–383 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-015-5204-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-015-5204-5