Emergency Pump-Rate Regulation to Mitigate Water-Hammer Effect—An Integrated Data-Driven Strategy and Case Studies

Lei Hou (), Peibin Gong, Hai Sun, Lei Zhang (), Jianhua Ren and Yiyan Cheng
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Lei Hou: China-UK Low Carbon College, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 201306, China
Peibin Gong: Drilling Technology Research Institute of SINOPEC, Shengli Oilfield Service Corporation, Dongying 257017, China
Hai Sun: School of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China
Lei Zhang: School of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China
Jianhua Ren: Research Institute of Exploration & Development, East China Company of SINOPEC, Nanjing 210011, China
Yiyan Cheng: Research Institute of Exploration & Development, East China Company of SINOPEC, Nanjing 210011, China

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 5, 1-14

Abstract: Pump-rate regulation is frequently used during hydraulic fracturing operations in order to maintain the pressure within a safe range. An emergency pump-rate reduction or pump shutdown is usually applied under the condition of sand screen-out when advancing hydraulic fractures are blocked by injected proppant and develop wellhead overpressure. The drastic regulation of the pump rate induces water-hammer effects—hydraulic shocks—on the wellbore due to the impulsive pressure. This wellbore shock damages the well integrity and then increases the risk of material leakage into water resources or the atmosphere, depending on the magnitude of the impulsive pressure. Therefore, appropriate emergency pump-rate regulation can both secure the fracturing operation and enhance well-completion integrity for environmental requirements—a rare mutual benefit to both sides of the argument. Previous studies have revealed the tube vibration, severe stress concentration, and sand production induced by water-hammer effects in high-pressure wells during oil/gas production. However, the water-hammer effect, the induced impulsive pressures, and the mitigation measures are rarely reported for hydraulic fracturing injections. In this study, we present a data-driven workflow integrating real-time monitoring and regulation strategies, which is applied in four field cases under the emergency operation condition (screen-out or near screen-out). A stepwise pump-rate regulation strategy was deployed in the first three cases. The corresponding maximum impulsive pressure fell in the range of 3.7~7.4 MPa. Furthermore, a sand screen-out case, using a more radical regulation strategy, induced an impulsive pressure 2 or 3 times higher (~14.7 MPa) than the other three cases. Compared with the traditional method of sharp pump-rate regulation in fields, stepwise pump-rate regulation is recommended to constrain the water-hammer effect based on the evolution of impulsive pressures, which can be an essential operational strategy to secure hydraulic fracturing and well integrity, especially for fracturing geologically unstable formations (for instance, formations near faults).

Keywords: hydraulic fracturing; well integrity; pump rate; water hammer effect; case study (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: 2024
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