Experimental Study on the Hydraulic Fracture Propagation in Inter-Salt Shale Oil Reservoirs

Abstract

In response to the difficulty of fracture modification in inter-salt shale reservoirs and the unknown pattern of hydraulic fracture expansion, corresponding physical model experiments were conducted to systematically study the effects of fracturing fluid viscosity, ground stress and pumping displacement on hydraulic fracture expansion, and the latest supercritical CO2 fracturing fluid was introduced. The test results show the following. (1) The hydraulic fractures turn and expand when they encounter the weak surface of the laminae. The fracture pressure gradually increases with the increase in fracturing fluid viscosity, while the fracture pressure of supercritical CO2 is the largest and the fracture width is significantly lower than the other two fracturing fluids due to the high permeability and poor sand-carrying property. (2) Compared with the other two conventional fracturing fluids, under the condition of supercritical CO2 fracturing fluid, the increase in ground stress leads to the increase in inter-salt. (3) Compared with the other two conventional fracturing fluids, under the conditions of supercritical CO2 fracturing fluid, the fracture toughness of shale increases, the fracture pressure increases, and the fracture network complexity decreases as well. (4) With the increase in pumping displacement, the fracture network complexity increases, while the increase in the displacement of supercritical CO2 due to high permeability leads to the rapid penetration of inter-salt shale hydraulic fractures to the surface of the specimen to form a pressure relief zone; it is difficult to create more fractures with the continued injection of the fracturing fluid, and the fracture network complexity decreases instead.

Keywords

• inter-salt shale oil
• fracture propagation
• fracturing fluid viscosity
• in-situ stress
• pumping displacement
• supercritical CO₂ fracturing