Application of nanofluids for treating fines migration during hydraulic fracturing: Experimental study and mechanistic understanding

Ramin Moghadasi, Alireza Rostami, Abdolhossein Hemmati-Sarapardeh

Abstract view|936|times       PDF download|221|times

Abstract


 

Hydraulic fracturing has emerged as one of the best and most economic methods for enhancing oil recovery from low permeability reservoirs such as shale gas reservoirs. However, its performance will be negatively affected by fines migration due to hydraulic fracturing process. In the present study, it has been tried to experimentally investigate the efficiency of a synthesized Nanosilica particles in reducing fines migration for the first time in literature. To this end, two sets of static and dynamic experiments, namely glass bead funnel test and core displacement analysis, were implemented, respectively. In the static test, increasing the soaking time and addition of Nanosilica led to the clearer effluent fluid, resulting in less concentrations of clay particles in solution. When the mixture of Nanosilica and glass beads was available in the solution, a higher differential pressure was obtained during dynamic condition in comparison to only glass beads, which means the lower permeability of the porous media. Moreover, DLVO theory was applied to demonstrate the clay particles absorption on the sand proppants surfaces.  Consequently, it was observed that the use of Nanosilica particles mixed with sand proppant can effectively reduce fines migration; thereby, it can enhance hydraulic performance of the fracturing operation.

Cited as: Moghadasi, R., Rostami, A., Hemmati-Sarapardeh, A. Application of nanofluids for treating fines migration during hydraulic fracturing: Experimental study and mechanistic understanding. Advances in Geo-Energy Research, 2019, 3(2): 198-206, doi: 10.26804/ager.2019.02.09


Keywords


Nanofluid, hydraulic fracturing, oil reservoirs

Full Text:

PDF

References


Ahmadi, M.A., Shadizadeh, S.R. Induced effect of adding nano silica on adsorption of a natural surfactant onto sandstone rock: Experimental and theoretical study. J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 2013, 112: 239-247.

Assef, Y., Arab, D., Pourafshary, P. Application of nanofluid to control fines migration to improve the performance of low salinity water flooding and alkaline flooding. J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 2014, 124: 331-340.

Bao, J., Liu, H., Zhang, G., et al. Fracture propagation laws in staged hydraulic fracturing and their effects on fracture conductivities. Pet. Explor. Dev. 2017, 44(2): 306-314.

Binks, B.P. Particles as surfactants–similarities and differ-ences. Curr. Opin. Colloid Interface Sci. 2002, 7(1-2): 21-41.

Borisov, A.S., Husein, M., Hareland, G. A field application of nanoparticle-based invert emulsion drilling fluids. J. Nanopart. Res. 2015, 17(8): 340.

Bortolan, N.L., Khanna, A., Kotousov, A. Conductivity and performance of hydraulic fractures partially filled with compressible proppant packs. Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. 2015, 74: 1-9.

Choolaei, M., Rashidi, A.M., Ardjmand, M., et al. The effect of nanosilica on the physical properties of oil well cement. Mater. Sci. Eng. 2012, 538: 288-294.

Cipolla, C.L. Modeling production and evaluating fracture performance in unconventional gas reservoirs. J. Pet. Technol. 2009, 61(9): 84-90.

Civan, F.P. Single-phase formation damage by fines migration and clay swelling, in Reservoir formation damage (third edition), edited by F.P. Civan, Kidlington, Oxford, pp. 235-275, 2016.

Clogston, J.D., Patri, A.K. Zeta potential measurement, in Characterization of nanoparticles intended for drug delivery, edited by E.M. Scott, Clifton, New Jersey, pp. 63-70, 2011.

Contreras, O., Hareland, G., Husein, M., et al. Application of in-house prepared nanoparticles as filtration control additive to reduce formation damage. Paper SPE 168116 Present at SPE International Symposium and Exhibition on Formation Damage Control, Lafayette, Louisiana, 26-28 February, 2014a.

Contreras, O., Hareland, G., Husein, M., et al. Experimental investigation on wellbore strengthening in shales by means of nanoparticle-based drilling fluids. Paper SPE 170589 Presented at SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Amsterdam, The Netherland, 27-29 October, 2014b.

Contreras, O., Hareland, G., Husein, M., et al. Wellbore strengthening in sandstones by means of nanoparticle-based drilling fluids. Presented at SPE deepwater drilling and completions conference, Galveston, Texas, USA, 10-11 September, 2014c.

Dai, C., Wang, S., Li, Y., et al. The first study of surface modified silica nanoparticles in pressure-decreasing application. RSC Adv. 2015, 5(76): 61838-61845.

Divandari, H., Hemmati-Sarapardeh, A., Schaffie, M., et al. Integrating synthesized citric acid-coated magnetite nanoparticles with magnetic fields for enhanced oil recov-ery: Experimental study and mechanistic understanding. J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 2019, 174: 425-436.

Driscoll, V.J. Multiple producing intervals to suppress coning. U.S. Patent No 3,638,731, 1972.

Ezeonyeka, N.L., Hemmati-Sarapardeh, A., Husein, M.M. Asphaltenes adsorption onto metal oxide nanoparticles: A critical evaluation of measurement techniques. Energy Fuels 2018, 32(2): 2213-2223.

Franco, C.A., Nassar, N.N., Corts, F.B. Removal of oil from oil-in-saltwater emulsions by adsorption onto nano-alumina functionalized with petroleum vacuum residue. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 2014, 433: 58-67.

Gao, C., Miska, S., Yu, M., et al. Effective enhancement of wellbore stability in shales with new families of nanopar-ticles. Paper SPE 180330 Presented at SPE Deepwater Drilling and Completions Conference, Galveston, Texas, 14-15 September, 2016.

Guo, T., Zhang, S., Wang, L., et al. Optimization of proppant size for frac pack completion using a new equipment. J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 2012, 96: 1-9.

Haddad, M., Sepehrnoori, K. Simulation of hydraulic fractur-ing in quasi-brittle shale formations using characterized cohesive layer: Stimulation controlling factors. J. Unconv. Oil Gas Res. 2015, 9: 65-83.

Hoxha, B.B., Oort, E.V., Daigle, H. How do nanoparticles stabilize shale? Paper SPE 184574 Present at SPE Inter-national Conference on Oilfield Chemistry, Montgomery, Texas, 3-5 April, 2017.

Huang, T., Evans, B.A., Crews, J.B., et al. Field case study on formation fines control with nanoparticles in offshore applications. Paper SPE 135088 Presented at SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Florence, Italy, 19-22 September, 2010.

Khanna, A., Kotousov, A., Sobey, J., et al. Conductivity of narrow fractures filled with a proppant monolayer. J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 2012, 100: 9-13.

Li, Q., Xing, H., Liu, J., et al. A review on hydraulic fracturing of unconventional reservoir. Petroleum 2015, 1(1): 8-15.

Liu, N., Zhang, Z., Zou, Y., et al. Propagation law of hydraulic fractures during multi-staged horizontal well fracturing in a tight reservoir. Pet. Explor. Dev. 2018, 45(6): 1129-1138.

Lv, Q., Li, Z., Li, B., et al. Study of nanoparticlesurfactant-stabilized foam as a fracturing fluid. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2015, 54(38): 9468-9477.

Lv, Q., Li, Z., Li, B. Enhancing fluid-loss control performance of liquid CO2 fracturing fluid by foaming with high-pressure nitrogen, in Proceedings of the International Field Exploration and Development Conference 2017, edited by Z. Qu and J. Lin, Singpore, pp. 1568-1575, 2019.

Moghadasi, R., Rostami, A., Hemmati-Sarapardeh, A., et al. Application of nanosilica for inhibition of fines migration during low salinity water injection: Experimental study, mechanistic understanding, and model development. Fuel 2019a, 242: 846-862.

Moghadasi, R., Rostami, A., Tatar, A., et al. An experimental study of nanosilica application in reducing calcium sulfate scale at high temperatures during high and low salinity water injection. J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 2019b, 179: 7-18.

Parvazdavani, M., Masihi, M., Ghazanfari, M.H. Monitoring the influence of dispersed nano-particles on oilwater relative permeability hysteresis. J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 2014, 124: 222-231.

Patel, V.R., Agrawal, Y. Nanosuspension: An approach to enhance solubility of drugs. J. Adv. Pharm. Technol. Res. 2011, 2(2): 81-87.

Sanematsu, P., Shen, Y., Thompson, K., et al. Image-based stokes flow modeling in bulk proppant packs and propped fractures under high loading stresses. J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 2015, 135: 391-402.

Shokrlu, Y.H., Babadagli, T. Viscosity reduction of heavy oil/bitumen using micro-and nano-metal particles during aqueous and non-aqueous thermal applications. J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 2014, 119: 210-220.

Wen, Q., Zhang, S., Wang, L., et al. The effect of proppant embedment upon the long-term conductivity of fractures. J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 2007, 55(34): 221-227.

Xie, Q., Saeedi, A., Pooryousefy, E., et al. Extended dlvo-based estimates of surface force in low salinity water flooding. J. Mol. Liq. 2016, 221: 658-665.

Yuan, B., Wood, D.A. Formation Damage During Improved Oil Recovery: Fundamentals and Applications. Oxford, UK, Gulf Professional Publishing, 2018.

Yuan, H., Shapiro, A.A. Induced migration of fines during waterflooding in communicating layer-cake reservoirs. J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 2011, 78(34): 618-626.

Zakaria, M., Husein, M.M., Harland, G. Novel nanoparticle-based drilling fluid with improved characteristics. Paper SPE 156992 Presented at SPE international oilfield nanotechnology conference and exhibition, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, 12-14 June, 2012.

Zeinijahromi, A., Vaz, A., Bedrikovetsky, P. Well impairment by fines migration in gas fields. J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 2012, 88-89: 125-135.

Zhang, J., Ouyang, L., Zhu, D., et al. Experimental and numerical studies of reduced fracture conductivity due to proppant embedment in the shale reservoir. J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 2015, 130: 37-45.


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2019 The Author(s)

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Copyright ©2018. All Rights Reserved