Proppant Transport by High Viscosity Friction Reducer and Guar Linear Gel-Based Fracture Fluids

Abstract

The enhancements to the oil production process produced by high viscosity friction reducers (HVFRs) has increased dramatically. The HVFR fluid improves processes during hydraulic fracture operations and provides a successful reduction in friction compared to the traditional treatment, which employs linear gel such as guar. The research aims to determine proppant capability performance of HVFRs and linear gel by conducting intensive laboratory investigations. These investigations aim to elucidate the effects of rheological fluids and fracture geometry on the static and dynamic settling velocity of the proppant inside fractures using HVFRs compared to linear gel fluids. Various concentrations of HVFR and guar were used for both the rheology and the proppant test experiments. The rheology and settling measurements show greater improvement of HVFR to distribute the proppant in the fracture compared to guar. Interestingly, a lower concentration of the HVFR (i.e., 2 gpt) provided improved viscosity and elastic properties than the standard concentration of linear gel (i.e., 20 ppt). This work will contribute to a better comprehension of HVFRs' ability to transport proppant. Ultimately, this improved understanding can assist hydraulic fracturing companies to build better friction reducers.

Meeting Name

54th U.S. Rock Mechanics/Geomechanics Symposium (2020: Jun. 28-Jul. 1, Virtual)

Department(s)

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering

Document Type

Article - Conference proceedings

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2020 American Rock Mechanics Association (ARMA), All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jul 2020

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