43 results about "Hydraulic fracturing proppants" patented technology

Surface modified oil and gas well hydraulic fracturing proppants for improving wettability, altering chemical reactivity, altering surface topography, imparting lubricity or controlling relative permeability to flow of fluids of such proppants. The use and preparation of such coated proppants in hydraulic fracturing of subterranean formations is also described.

A hydraulic fracturing system utilizes a multi-phase separation apparatus to separate gas entrained in hydraulic fracturing fluids during the blending process prior to introduction of hydraulic fracturing fluid into high pressure fracturing pumps by directing hydraulic fracturing fluids from a blender through a plurality of loops and thereafter, directing a portion of the separated fluid into a vortex cluster system.

Described herein is an improved container for storing, shipping, and dispensing proppant materials used in hydraulic fracturing operations. The container systems incorporate stretchable hopper structures in the container. The hopper expands and contracts responsive to the amount of proppant material held in the container. When the container is filled with a sufficient amount of proppant, the hopper stretches to expand the storage volume. When the sufficient amount of proppant material is dispensed from the container, the hopper contracts to lift and dispense the container contents.

A method is given for treating a wellbore in a subterranean formation by hydraulic fracturing, slickwater fracturing, gravel packing, and the like, by using plate-like materials as some or all of the proppant or gravel. The plate-like materials are particularly useful in complex fracture systems, for example in shales. They may be used as from about 20 to about 100% of the proppant. Relative to conventional proppants, plate-like proppants demonstrate (a) enhanced crush resistance of the proppant due to better stress distribution among proppant particles, (b) diminished proppant embedment into formation fracture faces due to the greater contact surface area of proppant particles with the formation, (c) better proppant transport due to lower proppant settling rates, (d) deeper penetration into branched and fine fracture networks, and (e) enhanced proppant flowback control. Preferred plate-like proppants are layered rocks and minerals; most preferred is mica.

The invention discloses an optimizing method for parameters of a hydraulic fracturing proppant for a sandstone reservoir. The optimizing method comprises the following steps: inputting wellbore data and the like of the sandstone reservoir to be fractured into oil and gas reservoir capacity simulating software, simulating and calculating the reservoir capacity under different fracture parameters todetermine the optimal fracture flow conductivity required by the production of the reservoir; splitting by adopting a real rock plate of a reservoir to form a fracture, acquiring surface rough topographic data of the fracture, then manufacturing a sample preparation mould which is consistent with that the surface rough topographic data, and manufacturing an artificial sandstone rock sample with real fracture surface topography; performing a propped fracture flow conductivity test under different proppant parameters by adopting the artificial sandstone rock sample, and performing comparison analysis on a test result with a simulated calculation result to obtain an optimal proppant parameter which is in accordance with the characteristics of the reservoir. According to the optimizing methodfor the parameters of the hydraulic fracturing proppant for the sandstone reservoir, proppant parameter optimization results can be acquired efficiently and accurately by performing the propped fracture flow conductivity test through adopting the artificial sandstone rock sample which can reflect hydraulic fracturing real fracture surface topography of the sandstone reservoir.

Hydraulic fracturing proppants for use in propping fractures in subterranean well bores comprising sand particles and methods for their manufacture are described. According to one or more embodiments, the proppants exhibit a narrow particle size distribution, crush resistance, sphericity, roundness and turbidity. Methods for propping open fractures during a hydraulic fracturing operation are also described.

A method of hydraulic fracturing, and tracer composites for use in the fracturing procedure, for tracing the production of crude oil or other hydrocarbon liquid products from one or more fractured zones. The tracer composites preferably include an oil soluble tracer adsorbed onto a solid carrier material. A non-water soluble coating is preferable also included on the composite over the tracer compound.

A ceramic propping agent, in the form of a spherical pellet, and containing common mineral particulate. The desired propping agent is defined as a particulate ceramic made from raw materials which may be comprised of about: 10%-90% parts by weight of a naturally occurring mineral particulate, 30%-70% parts by weight aluminosilicate network modifier, 0.25-20% parts by weight strength enhancer, and at least one part, typically less than 10% by weight, binder. For use in oil and/or natural gas wells as a hydraulic fracturing proppant.

The invention provides a low-density coated ceramsite proppant, and belongs to the technical field of hydraulic fracturing proppants. The low-density coated ceramsite proppant is prepared from the following raw materials in parts by weight: 60-100 parts of ceramsite, 0.2-10 parts of resin, 2-20 parts of activated carbon, 0.1-1 part of a coupling agent, 0.2-0.6 parts of a curing agent and 0.5-1 part of a lubricant. The activated carbon and resin are used as a film material and are applied to the surface of ceramsite under the action of the coupling agent by coating, and uniform coating and curing of the film material are achieved by cooperating with the curing agent and the lubricant; the activated carbon has rich micropores, and orifices of the activated carbon are closed by the resin material through mixing and curing with the resin. Thus, strength of the prepared coated ceramsite proppant can be ensured, certain gaps can be contained in the film material, and density is reduced; besides, the activated carbon has hydrophobic characteristic, and the hydrophobic surface of the activated carbon can reduce settling velocity of the activated carbon in fracturing fluid.

The invention provides a method for fracturing a subterranean formation penetrated by a well bore, by formulating a fracturing fluid useful in hydrocarbon drilling having the properties of both a dispersing fracture solution and an aggregating fracture solution. In particular, the dispersing properties of the stabilizing fracture solution are able to act as a dispersing fracture fluid in the clay and earthen materials discharged from the pay zone, in the flow-back fluids during hydraulic fracturing. At the same time, aggregating properties of the stabilizing solution stabilizes the pay zone. This stabilization property allows the flow of hydrocarbon through the fractures for a significantly longer time than with prior art fluids.

The invention relates to a Pickering emulsion fracturing fluid as well as a preparation method and application thereof. The Pickering emulsion fracturing fluid utilizes Pickering emulsion with stablesolid particles and realizes a dual technique of crack formation and placement of a propping agent at the same time, the defects that the traditional hydraulic fracturing propping agent is larger in particle size and can not enter tiny cracks in a remote well zone and settlement can be extremely easily caused are overcome, a link of injecting the propping agent is eliminated, and a hydraulic fracturing operation is simplified, so that cracks produced in a fracturing process are stabilized and propped up, and fracturing cost is reduced; and fracturing effect is greatly improved, and productioncapacity is greatly increased.

A method of hydraulic fracturing, and tracer composites for use in the fracturing procedure, for tracing the production of formation water from one or more fractured zones. The tracer composites preferably include a formation water tracer material adsorbed onto a solid carrier material.

The invention belongs to the field of compositions for enhancing the fracturing effect, and particularly discloses a method for preparing a self-suspended hydraulic fracturing proppant. Bulges havinga diameter of 100-500nm exist on the surface of the self-suspended hydraulic fracturing proppant, and about 4*10<7> bulges exist in each square millimeter. The preparation method comprises the following steps: (1) preparing the following raw materials: aggregates, resin, a curing agent, a catalyst and amine additives; (2) heating the aggregates to 80-90 DEG C, adding the resin and catalyst, and mixing and stirring; (3) adding the amine additives when the temperature is reduced to 70-80 DEG C, and stirring and mixing; and (4) adding the curing agent when the temperature is reduced to 65-75 DEGC, mixing and stirring, and removing from the pot when the temperature is reduced to 40-50 DEG C to prepare the self-suspended hydraulic fracturing proppant. The fracturing proppant prepared by usingthe method has good suspending performance, and can be easily carried into a well.

Hydrocarbon wells including crosslinked polymer granules as a proppant, methods of forming the hydrocarbon wells, and methods of operating the hydrocarbon wells. The hydrocarbon wells include a wellbore that extends within a subsurface region and a downhole tubular that extends within the wellbore and defines a tubular conduit. The hydrocarbon wells also include a plurality of perforations formed within the downhole tubular and a plurality of fractures formed within the subsurface region. The hydrocarbon wells further include the proppant positioned within the plurality of fractures. The proppant includes a plurality of crosslinked polymer granules, and each crosslinked polymer granule has a characteristic dimension of at least 100 micrometers and at most 2 millimeters.

The invention discloses a propping agent and a method for placing the same in a hydraulic fracture. The invention relates to the extraction of fluids from underground formations by means of hydraulic fracturing. The technical aim consists in improving the non-uniform placement of a propping agent. The propping agent consists of a material in the form of particles having a base, an outer water-soluble coating and a gelling agent, said gelling agent being immersed in the water-soluble coating in such a way that it is released from the base of a particle when the water-soluble coating is dissolved or destroyed upon introduction of the propping agent into portions of a hydraulic fracturing fluid. A method for the heterogeneous placement of a propping agent in a hydraulic fracture includes pumping alternating portions of hydraulic fracturing fluid, said portions containing and not containing the aforementioned particles, into a layer which is to undergo fracturing, under a pressure which exceeds a hydraulic fracturing pressure, through a plurality of clusters of perforations in a wellbore in the layer to be fractured, where the portions of hydraulic fracturing fluid containing the particles act as supports after the hydraulic fracture closes.