Estudio de la perdida de conductividad debida a empotramiento de propante en formaciones de shale mediante simulación numérica

Abstract

Proppant embedment is inherent in reservoir fracking stimulation, this phenomenon occurs when the in-situ stresses are applied to the proppants surface causing their incrustation into the formation. Proppant embedment occasion conductivity, production and money losses, these issues are intensified in unconventional reservoir of shale plays. This work describes geomechanical and compositional factors, which influence on embedment, as well as some embedment models. Fracture conductivity and width loss are studied by reservoir numerical simulation. The software Predict K was use to pre-select the proppant types implemented onto the simulation. The numerical simulation was carried out on a Black Oil simulator: IMEX, from the CMG suite. Embedment fractures are duplicated with a double permeability model for a gas shale play, this considering closure effective stress through permeability and porosity multipliers. In this article were generated conductivity curves that show proppant performance with applied stress in production. Due to shale data scarcity working with the methodology of this work is convenient, the multipliers can replicate geomechanics without high computational effort. Additionally, it is shown mineralogy and geomechanics impacts on shale gas exploitation.

Keywords

• Geomechanics
• Hydraulic fracture
• Double permeability model
• Porosity multiplayer
• Permeability multiplayer. Gas reservoir
• Unconventional reservoir