Formation of fractures in carbonate rocks by pad acid fracturing with different states of carbon dioxide

Abstract

Carbonate outcrops were taken from Ma 51 sub-member in the Lower Paleozoic in the Yan’an gas field to conduct true tri-axial hydraulic fracturing experiments with water, liquid CO2 and supercritical CO2. CT scan was applied to analyze initiation and propagation laws of hydraulic fractures in carbonate rocks. The experiments show that supercritical CO2 has low viscosity, strong diffusivity and large filtration during fracturing, which is more liable to increase pore pressure of rocks around wellbore and decrease breakdown pressure of carbonate rocks. However, it would cost much more volume of supercritical CO2 than water to fracture rocks since the former increases the wellbore pressure more slowly during fracturing. For carbonate rocks with few natural fractures, tensional fractures are generated by fracturing with water and liquid CO2, and these fractures propagate along the maximum horizontal principal stress direction; while fracturing with supercritical CO2 can form shear fractures, whose morphology is rarely influenced by horizontal stress difference. Besides, the angle between propagation direction of these shear fractures near the wellbore and the maximum horizontal principal stress is 45°, and the fractures would gradually turn to propagate along the maximum horizontal principal stress when they extend to a certain distance from the wellbore, leading to an increase of fracture tortuosity compared with the former. For carbonate rocks with well-developed natural fractures, fracturing with fresh water is conducive to connect natural fractures with low approaching angle and form stepped fractures with simple morphology. The key to forming complex fractures after fracturing carbonate rocks is to connect the natural fractures with high approaching angle. It is easier for liquid CO2 with low viscosity to realize such connection. Multi-directional fractures with relatively complex morphology would be formed after fracturing with liquid CO2.

Keywords

• carbonate rock
• pad acid fracturing
• liquid CO2
• supercritical CO2
• fracture initiation
• fracture propagation