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US 6,192,985 B1Granted
Fluids and techniques for maximizing fracture fluid clean-up
AssigneeSchlumberger Technology Corporation
InventorsJerald J. Hinkel, Kevin W. England
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AssigneeSchlumberger Technology Corporation
InventorsJerald J. Hinkel, Kevin W. England
Estimating the term…
The present Invention relates to method to stimulate the production of hydrocarbons from a subterranean formation. In particular, the present Invention discloses and claims methods to enhance the removal of fracturing fluid from a fracture deliberately created in the formation, thereby increasing effective fracture length, and thereby increasing hydrocarbon production. The methods of the present Invention involve breaker schedules opposite conventional teaching—i.e., according to the Invention, the breakers are staged such that the fluid near the fracture tip breaks first creating a viscosity gradient which causes the fluid resident in the tip to move towards the wellbore where it is more easily removed. Preferred embodiments of the Invention involve the use of gas to foam the fluid in the early pumping stages to induce a density gradient, as well as the use of fibrous material in the latter pumping stages to stabilize the proppant pack as the energized fluid in the near-tip squeezes through the near wellbore region.
A method for fracturing a subterranean formation comprising sequentially injecting into a wellbore, fracturing fluid thereby creating a fracture, said fluid comprising a suite of breakers or a single breaker at varying concentrations, to induce a mobility gradient, such that fracturing fluid near a fracture tip has a higher differential mobility than fracturing fluid near the wellbore.
A method for fracturing a subterranean formation comprising the steps of:
A method for fracturing a subterranean formation comprising the steps of:
A method for fracturing a subterranean formation comprising injecting a heterogeneous sequence of breakers into a wellbore at pressures greater than the minimum in situ rock stress, thereby creating a fracture, wherein said breakers induce a mobility differential.
A method for fracturing a subterranean formation comprising injecting through a wellhead into a wellbore, a foamed fracturing fluid thereby creating a fracture, said fluid in at least one early stage containing proppant, injecting into said wellbore, means for controlling proppant flowback in at least one later stage, opening said wellhead soon after completion of pumping to allow flowback and thereby forcing closure of said fracture.
A method for fracturing a subterranean formation according to a pumping schedule to achieve differential mobility, comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.