Experiment and Model of Conductivity Loss of Fracture Due to Fine-Grained Particle Migration and Proppant Embedment

Weidong Zhang, Qingyuan Zhao, Xuhui Guan, Zizhen Wang and Zhiwen Wang
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Weidong Zhang: School of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China
Qingyuan Zhao: School of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China
Xuhui Guan: School of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China
Zizhen Wang: School of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China
Zhiwen Wang: School of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 7, 1-16

Abstract: In weakly cemented reservoirs or coal-bed methane reservoirs, the conductivity of hydraulic fractures always declines after a period of production, which greatly influences gas production. In this paper, a comprehensive model considering fine-grained particle migration and proppant embedment is proposed to give a precise prediction for conductivity decline. Then, an experiment was conducted to simulate this process. A published experiment using coal fines was also tested and simulated. The results indicate that both fine-grained particle migration and proppant embedment have great negative effect on conductivity of fractures in weakly cemented sandstone and coal-bed methane reservoirs. The formulation we proposed matches the experimental data smoothly and can be widely used in the prediction of conductivity decline in weakly cemented sandstone and coal-bed methane reservoirs. In order to discuss the influencing factors of the filtration coefficient in the particle transport model, a porous media network model was established based on the theoretical model. The simulation results show that the filtration coefficient increases with the increase in particle size and/or throat size, and the filtration coefficient increases with the decrease in the fluid velocity. At the same time, it was found that the large larynx did not easily cause particle retention. Large size particles tend to cause particle retention.

Keywords: fine-grained particle migration; proppant embedment; fracture conductivity loss; weakly cemented reservoir; coal-bed methane reservoir; filtration coefficient (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: 2022
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