Stimulation

Purpose
Fracturing a well, can increase the production of hydrocarbons from the reservoir.
The results of fracturing is intended to improve productivity, or in some cases injectivity, thereby
improving the economics of the well. The increase can be achieved by bypassing damage and creating a
highly conductive pathway from a high quality reservoir or creating a long conductive path into a
reservoir of marginal quality. Some reservoirs possess such a low permeability that fracture treatments
are the only method of obtaining economic production.
A man-made fracture or fracture network is created during the hydraulic fracturing process to alter fluid
flow in the reservoir. In low permeable reservoirs the fracturing process offers a highly permeable path
for hydrocarbons resulting in an increase in production. In damaged reservoirs fracturing bypasses
damage due to drilling or production. It connects the wellbore to natural fractures or faults in the rock.
In coal bed methane it helps with de-gasing or de-watering the reservoir in the aim of increasing
hydrocarbon production. In injection wells fracturing can lower the required injection pressures.
Fracturing, when used to increase water and other fluids injection wells, improves upon the vertical
coverage for the fluid injected within the flood zone of the injection well. It also decreases the wellbore
pressure, minimizing the production of formation and fracture sand. Decreasing the wellbore pressure
also reduces the production of water and the deposit of asphaltenes, paraffins, and scale.
Hydraulic fracturing is complicated by the fact that it is multi-disciplinary, and demands a broad science
base.
The essentials include:
1. Fluid mechanics which controls fluid flow and proppant placement within a fracture.
2. Rock mechanics which controls fracture geometry.
3. The chemistry that governs performance of the materials used for the treatment.
A hydraulic fracturing treatment is design based on the unique characteristics of the formation and
reservoir. Basic components of the design schedule include the injection rate, treating pressures, and
the types and volumes of materials that include base fluid, chemicals, gases, and proppants needed to
achieve the desired stimulation of the formation. The design process includes the generation of
computer simulations which are used to help design the optimum fracture geometry.
The Basic Process
As a fluid is pumped into a permeable formation, a pressure differential is generated that is proportional
to the permeability of the formation. As the rate increases, this pressure differential between the
wellbore pressure and the original reservoir pressure also increases. This pressure differential between
the wellbore pressure and the original reservoir pressure causes additional stresses that will exceed the
stress needed to break the rock apart, and a fracture is formed. At this point, if the pumps are shut
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down or the pressure is bleed off, the fracture will close again. Eventually, depending on how hard the
rock is and the magnitude of the force acting to close the fracture, it will be as if the rock had never
been fractured. By itself, this would not necessarily produce any increase in production.
However, if we pump some propping agent, or proppant, into the fracture and then release the
pressure, the fracture will stay propped open, providing the proppant is stronger than the forces trying
to close the fracture. If this proppant also has significant porosity, then under the right circumstances a
path of increased permeability has been created from the reservoir to the wellbore. If the treatment has
been designed correctly, this will produce an increase in production.
Generally, the process requires that a highly viscous fluid is pumped into the well at high rate and
pressure, although this is not always the case. High rate and high pressure mean horsepower, and this is
why the process generally involves large trucks or skids with huge diesel engines and massive pumps. A
typical frac pump will be rated at 700 to 2700 hydraulic horsepower (HHP) - to put this in perspective,
the average car engine (outside of North America) has a maximum power output of 80 to 100 HP.
In order to create the fracture, a fluid stage known as the pad is generally pumped first. This is then
followed by several stages of proppant-laden fluid, which actually carries the proppant into the fracture.
Finally, the whole treatment is displaced to the perforations. These stages are pumped consecutively,
without any pauses.
Once the displacement has finished, the pumps are shut down and the fracture is allowed to close on
the proppant. The Frac Engineer can change pump rates and fluid types in order to obtain desired
characteristics.
Frac Deliverables

Remove skin damage by creating a conductive channel through Near Wellbore damage.
Remediate for sand production tendencies of a formation during production.
Increase the natural production to an economic level by increasing the effective wellbore radius.
Extend the production life of a well by increasing the productive drainage area.
Hydraulic fracturing is especially important as a completion technique in tight sand, where frac
length is king.
A well in tight sand is most often not economic unless it is stimulated. The application of
hydraulic fracturing as a stimulation method is highly technologically dependent.
Successful stimulations are highly dependent on the geometry of the induced fracture where
fracture growth is greatly affected by complex variations in the subsurface. Understanding of
the subsurface therefore assists us in enhancing production with optimized fracture designs.
A clear understanding of individual fracture geometry created by hydraulic fracturing also helps
answer other questions such as well spacing, and maximum drainage of the reservoir.
This visualization provides input to form a model to answer questions about everyday
economics and profitability.

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The initial models are able to be calibrated by pressure history matching, and the ongoing
results gauged by production results.

Situational Awareness
The Hydraulic fracturing treatment process is a field activity that involves the transport of a
large amount of equipment to the well head.
Hydraulic fracturing is a people intensive activity and requires a large work force. A frac crew
can have from 25 to 125 people.
Frac pumps are used to pump the mixed frac fluid downhole at high pressure. The normal
pressure range is 10,000 to 15,000 psi.
Frac task have to be carefully coordinated to maintain prime on the frac pumps. These task
involve working with lots of hoses, addition of additives, mixing and transfer of fluid and
chemical additives, and finally the mixing in of the proppant.
Multi stage fracturing of wells involve 24 hour operations that can go on for many days and can
easily exceed a week in duration.
Long jobs require refueling while the treatment is in progress.
Weather conditions can pose particular problems that need to be resolved in each situation.
The location must be large enough to accommodate all the equipment required for a hydraulic
fracture treatment. Its surface must be prepared to drive on and spot equipment in close
quarters.
Job Execution
The personal of a frac crew are subdivided into two main groupings which are called the front side and
the back side. The front side works with the frac pumps and treating iron, while the back side works with
the blending equipment and fluids.

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STIMULATION JOB AID

Pre-Job

Provide service provider with the well plan and objectives

Provide ALL Well Data
Run simulation models:
MFrac modeling
FracPro modeling
Review recommended stimulation data with service provider
Do you need any changes to the program or additional services?
Revise service provider program as required to meet objective
Provide service provider with any special instructions.
Get from service provider total number of crew members needed for the operation. Make sure
accommodation for them is available.

Equipment Delivery Rig Up

Expect the equipment to arrive at the location a day prior to the operation for rig up and testing
Respect Companys and Service providers journey planning and management systems
Make sure all transportation and storage procedures are followed at all times and one qualified
person is there to supervise their movement and storage on the well site.

Job Execution

The Crew and Engineer will arrive prior to job execution to:
Inspect the equipment
Review the operational procedure with you to insure no changes have occurred
Review requirements and markings for barriers indicating the safe and hazardous areas
Review and clarify operations sequence
Evaluate all the materials/equipment on location to ensure the frac job will perform as
designed.
Perform water and fluid test using the onsite samples of chemicals.
Check the proppant for quality and quantity.
Make sure that a safety meeting is conducted with all personnel prior to job start
Make sure that the Pre-Frac Checklist is followed step by step and signed by the engineer/site
supervisor.
Follow preplanned operational procedure for run sequence and keep time record of all events
Samples of the frac fluid should be taken regularly to check the crosslink and the viscosity.
The volumes of fluid, proppant, and additives should be monitored throughout the job and
compared with design volumes.
Injection rate and pressure should be recorded at every stage change.

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Information concerning significant events should be recorded. (For example, a change in pressure is
considered a significant event/change.)

Post Job

Once the pumping is finished, monitor the pressure to determine the time of closure.
Record the volume and the rate of fluid recovery.
An inventory of all materials that are leftover should be recorded and compared to the design
volumes.
All the treatment parameters for the job should be summarized. This includes volumes, rates,
and pressures.
Review the entire operation with the frac engineer/supervisor
Review the Service Ticket with the frac engineer/supervisor
Make sure a demobilization plan for the crew and equipment is in place and executed in a timely
manner
Make sure no hazardous materials are left at the Wellsite

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