A Numerical Study on the Diversion Mechanisms of Fracture Networks in Tight Reservoirs with Frictional Natural Fractures

Daobing Wang, Fang Shi, Bo Yu, Dongliang Sun, Xiuhui Li, Dongxu Han and Yanxin Tan
Additional contact information
Daobing Wang: School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Key Laboratory of Pipeline Critical Technology and Equipment for Deepwater Oil & Gas Development, Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, Beijing 102617, China
Fang Shi: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, Huaiyin Institute of Technology, Huai’an 223003, China
Bo Yu: School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Key Laboratory of Pipeline Critical Technology and Equipment for Deepwater Oil & Gas Development, Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, Beijing 102617, China
Dongliang Sun: School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Key Laboratory of Pipeline Critical Technology and Equipment for Deepwater Oil & Gas Development, Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, Beijing 102617, China
Xiuhui Li: The Conventional Natural Gas Research Institute, China Univeristy of Petroleum, Beijing 102249, China
Dongxu Han: School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Key Laboratory of Pipeline Critical Technology and Equipment for Deepwater Oil & Gas Development, Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, Beijing 102617, China
Yanxin Tan: The Conventional Natural Gas Research Institute, China Univeristy of Petroleum, Beijing 102249, China

Energies, 2018, vol. 11, issue 11, 1-28

Abstract: An opened natural fracture (NF) intercepted by a pressurized hydro-fracture (HF) will be diverted in a new direction at the tips of the original NF and subsequently form a complex fracture network. However, a clear understanding of the diversion behavior of fracture networks in tight reservoirs with frictional NFs is lacking. By means of the extended finite element method(XFEM), this study investigates the diversion mechanisms of an opened NF intersected by an HF in naturally fractured reservoirs. The factors affecting the diversion behavior are intensively analyzed, such as the location of the NF, the horizontal principal stress difference, the intersection angle between HF and NF, and the viscosity of the fracturing fluid. The results show that for a constant length of NF (7 m): (1) the upper length of the diverted fracture (DF) decreases by about 2 m with a 2 m increment of the upper length of NF ( L u p p e r ), while the length of DF increases 9.06 m with the fluid viscosity increased by 99 mPa · s; (2) the deflection angle in the upper parts increases by 30.8° with the stress difference increased by 5 MPa, while the deflection angle increases by 61.2° with the intersection angle decreased by 30°. It is easier for the opened NF in lower parts than that in upper parts to be diverted away from its original direction. It finally diverts back to the preferred fracture plane (PFP) direction. The diversion mechanisms of the fracture network are the results of the combined action of all factors. This will provide new insight into the mechanisms of fracture network generation in tight reservoirs with NFs.

Keywords: hydraulic fracturing; tight reservoirs; fracture diversion; extended finite element method; fracture network (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/11/11/3035/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/11/11/3035/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:11:y:2018:i:11:p:3035-:d:180621

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().