Forming frac packs in high permeability formations

A method of treating a highly permeable subterranean formation that is penetrated by a wellbore to form a sand screen frac pack in the formation, wherein the wellbore has an annular wall, comprising:

• (a) installing a sand screen in a desired wellbore interval, wherein said sand screen has an inside surface, an outside surface, and a size and shape such that an annulus is formed between said outside surface of said sand screen and the annular wall of the wellbore in the desired wellbore interval;
• and
• (b) following step (a), injecting a first fracturing fluid into the formation at a pressure sufficient to form a fracture in the formation that propagates from a near-wellbore region of the formation into a far-field region of the formation, wherein said first fracturing fluid is a high efficiency fracturing fluid, wherein said first fracturing fluid is formed into a high efficiency fracturing fluid by adding a fluid loss control agent to the first fracturing fluid, by adding a viscosifying agent to the first fracturing fluid, or both;
• (c) following step (b), injecting a second fracturing fluid that includes a high strength proppant into the formation at a pressure sufficient to keep said fracture open and place high strength proppant in a portion of said fracture in a near-wellbore region of the formation, wherein said second fracturing fluid is a low viscosity fracturing fluid;
• (d) following step (c), injecting a third fracturing fluid that includes a low strength proppant into the formation at a pressure sufficient to keep said fracture open and place low strength proppant in a portion of said fracture in a far-field region of the formation, wherein said third fracturing fluid is a low viscosity fracturing fluid;
• (e) following step (d), injecting a fourth fracturing fluid that includes a high strength proppant into the formation at a pressure sufficient to keep said fracture open and squeeze high strength proppant into said portion of said fracture in which high strength proppant was placed by said second fracturing fluid, wherein said fourth fracturing fluid is a low viscosity fracturing fluid;
• and
• following step (e), injecting a screen fracturing fluid that includes a proppant into the wellbore at a pressure sufficient to place proppant in said annulus between said outside surface of said sand screen and the annular wall of said wellbore in the desired wellbore interval, wherein said screen fracturing fluid is a low viscosity fracturing fluid.

A method of treating a highly permeable subterranean formation that is penetrated by a wellbore to form a frac pack in the formation, comprising:

• (a) injecting a first fracturing fluid into the formation at a pressure sufficient to form a fracture in the formation that propagates from a near-wellbore region of the formation into a far-field region of the formation, wherein said first fracturing fluid is a high efficiency fracturing fluid, wherein said first fracturing fluid is formed into a high efficiency fracturing fluid by adding a fluid loss control agent to the first fracturing fluid, by adding a viscosifying agent to the first fracturing fluid, or both;
• (b) following step (a), injecting a second fracturing fluid that includes a high strength proppant into the formation at a pressure sufficient to keep said fracture open and place the high strength proppant in a portion of said fracture in a near-wellbore region of the formation, wherein said second fracturing fluid is a low viscosity fracturing fluid;
• (c) following step (b), injecting a third fracturing fluid that includes a low strength proppant into the formation at a pressure sufficient to keep said fracture open and place the low strength proppant in a portion of said fracture in a far-field region of the formation and, after said low strength proppant is placed in a portion of said fracture in a far-field region of the formation, reducing the injection rate at which the third fracturing fluid is injected into the formation in order to induce a tip screen out at the tip of the fracture in the far-field region of the formation, wherein said third fracturing fluid is a low viscosity fracturing fluid;
• and
• (d) following step (c), injecting a fourth fracturing fluid that includes a high strength proppant into the formation at a pressure sufficient to keep said fracture open and squeeze high strength proppant into said portion of said fracture in which high strength proppant was placed by said second fracturing fluid, wherein said fourth fracturing fluid is a low viscosity fracturing fluid.