A Comprehensive Numerical Study of Hydraulic Fracturing Process and Its Affecting Parameters

Production of hydrocarbons from shale formations has been made possible mainly due to hydraulic fracture (HF) technology. It increases the permeability of reservoir rocks around a well by connecting fractures and improving conductivity. HF behavior especially in presence of natural fractures have recently given much attention in studies. This paper investigates HF propagation and its associated parameters in various conditions. A higher order displacement discontinuity method is used to achieve higher accuracy in the results. First, behavior of crack opening displacement (COD) of an HF i.e. HF width in various conditions is studied. COD is a key parameter in determination of an HF operation success. It is proportional to production rate of oil and gas wells and provides a path for proppant entrance into the fractures. An equation considering many important parameters, based on numerous numerical modellings of various mechanical and geometrical effects on COD is proposed with coefficient of determination and standard error of 94.35% and 4.37 × 10⁻⁴ respectively. The next part of the paper studies the HF propagation in a naturally fractured reservoir. These natural fractures alter the stress fields and hence affect the propagation of a hydraulic fracture. In fact, it is shown that in certain orientations of hydraulic fractures and natural fractures, the effect of natural fractures disappear or completely changes propagation path. Using a combination of several interaction criteria, a new modeling of HFs and NFs interaction is presented. The modellings showed that spacing and angle of intersection can significantly affect HFs propagation. The results of COD and HF propagation in presence of natural fractures may be considered in HG design and primary orientation of perforated fractures.