Systems and methods for imaging a proppant in a hydraulically-fractured oil reservoir
AssigneeCarbo Ceramics Inc.
InventorSouvik Mukherjee
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method for determining a location of a proppant in a subterranean formation includes obtaining a first set of data in a wellbore using a downhole tool. The proppant is pumped into the wellbore after the first set of data is obtained. The proppant is pumped while or after the subterranean formation is fractured. A second set of data is obtained in the wellbore using the downhole tool after the proppant is pumped into the wellbore. The first set of data and the second set of data include a gravitational field measurement. The first and second sets of data are compared, and in response to the comparison, the location of the proppant in the subterranean formation is determined.
Claims20
A method for determining a location of a proppant in a subterranean formation, comprising:
- obtaining a first set of data in a wellbore using a downhole tool;
- pumping the proppant into the wellbore after the first set of data is obtained, wherein the proppant is pumped while or after the subterranean formation is fractured;
- obtaining a second set of data in the wellbore using the downhole tool after the proppant is pumped into the wellbore, wherein the first set of data and the second set of data comprise a gravitational field measurement;
- determining the location of the proppant in the subterranean formation by comparing the gravitational field measurements of the first and second sets of data;
- and
- generating an inversion image by modeling a response of individual fractures utilizing a finite element method, wherein the response of the individual fractures includes the located proppant.
A method for determining a location of proppant in a subterranean formation, comprising:
- obtaining a first set of data in a wellbore using a downhole tool, wherein the downhole tool comprises a gravity gradiometer;
- pumping a first fluid into the wellbore to cause the subterranean formation to fracture after the first set of data is obtained;
- pumping a second fluid comprising a proppant into the wellbore after the subterranean formation is fractured to provide a proppant-filled fracture, wherein the proppant is not coated with a material that is used to determine the location of the proppant in the subterranean formation;
- obtaining a second set of data of the wellbore by placing the downhole tool in a casing of the wellbore after the second fluid is pumped into the wellbore, wherein the first set of data and the second set of data comprise a combination of x-, y-, and z-components of the Earth's gravitational field vector and spatial gradients corresponding to the x-, y-, and z-components, respectively, of the Earth's gravitational field vector;
- generating a difference field by subtracting the first set of data from the second set of data, or the second set of data from the first set of data;
- generating an inversion image of the proppant by inverting the difference field, wherein generating the inversion image comprises modeling a response of individual fractures utilizing property allocation in a finite element method;
- and
- determining the location of the proppant in the subterranean formation based at least partially upon the inversion image.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.