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Geomechanics of Hydraulic Fracturing
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Geomechanics of Hydraulic Fracturing

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "H1: Petroleum Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 January 2022) | Viewed by 9324

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Wasantha Liyanage

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Sport, Health and Engineering, Institute of Sustainable Industries and Liveable Cities, Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC 3011, Australia
Interests: geotechnical engineering; sustainable construction; reactive soils; rock mechanics; tunneling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Chaoshui Xu

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
Interests: coupled modelling of fluid flow in fractured porous rocks; stochastic rock fracture modelling; rock fracture mechanics; rock mass mechanical behaviour; stability assessment of rock excavations
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Hydraulic fracturing, informally referred to as “fracking,” is a reservoir stimulation technique that typically involves fracturing reservoir rocks using high-pressure fluid injection. The permeability of rocks is enhanced as a result of creating a network of fractures by hydraulic stimulation. Hydraulic fracturing is heavily used in producing unconventional hydrocarbons that include shale gas, tight oil, tight gas, and coalbed methane. The same technique also enables creating enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) for geothermal energy extraction from hot dry rock (HDR) reservoirs. While its proponents advocate the benefits such as more extensively accessible hydrocarbons, which burns more cleanly and emits less carbon dioxide (CO2), hydraulic fracturing has been criticized by others over some potential issues associated with it. These include the following: (1) groundwater contamination due to the potential migration of fracturing fluid to groundwater reservoirs, and (2) induced seismicity. A detailed understanding of the geomechanical basis of hydraulic fracturing technique is imperative to safely and economically implement hydraulic fracturing operations.      

For this Special Issue of Energies, we are looking for original contributions towards better understanding the geomechanics of the hydraulic fracturing technique to furnish a useful summary of latest developments in this area for practitioners and researchers. We welcome manuscripts of comprehensive reviews, micro- to macro-scale experimental studies, field-scale studies, and analytical and numerical investigations related to the geomechanics of hydraulic fracturing.     

The topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to:

  • General geomechanics/rock mechanics aspects of hydraulic fracturing
  • Fault reactivation and induced seismicity
  • Hydraulic fracture-natural fracture interaction
  • Proppant placement and fluid flow behaviour of hydraulically-stimulated factures
  • Wellbore stability and fracture nucleation
  • Field monitoring and assessment of hydraulic fracturing
  • Thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) behaviour of rocks

Dr. Wasantha Liyanage
Prof. Dr. Chaoshui Xu
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Hydraulic fracturing
  • Rock mechanics
  • Induced seismicity
  • Oil and gas recovery
  • Geothermal energy
  • Fracture interaction
  • Fault reactivation
  • Fracture geometry

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 5159 KiB  
Article
Tuscaloosa Marine Shale: Seal or Source? Petrophysical Comparative Study of Wells in SE Louisiana and SW Mississippi
by Cristina Mariana Ruse, Mehdi Mokhtari and Lenissongui Yeo
Energies 2022, 15(9), 3417; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15093417 - 7 May 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2568
Abstract
The Tuscaloosa Marine Shale (TMS) is a versatile Late Cretaceous shale formation present in central and SE Louisiana and SW Mississippi, which drew attention because of the various roles played within the Tuscaloosa Group. In this paper, it is debated whether the Tuscaloosa [...] Read more.
The Tuscaloosa Marine Shale (TMS) is a versatile Late Cretaceous shale formation present in central and SE Louisiana and SW Mississippi, which drew attention because of the various roles played within the Tuscaloosa Group. In this paper, it is debated whether the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale can act as a source, reservoir, or seal all throughout the shale play or only in certain areas. Well log and core data from Adams County, Mississippi, are compared to data from East Feliciana Parish in Louisiana. Conclusions were drawn based on the results of well log analysis, X-ray Diffraction (XRD), porosity–permeability measurements, programmed pyrolysis, and fracture analysis. It was shown that the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale interval in SE Louisiana consists of important amounts of calcite, exhibits multiple natural fractures, has porosity values as high as 9.3%, and shows a TOC content of up to 2.8 wt%. On the other hand, samples from a well at the Cranfield field, MS, are characterized by considerably lower TOC values of around 0.88 wt%, porosities between 0.33% and 4%, and no serious fracturing. The formation demonstrates better reservoir and source potential in SE Louisiana and reliable CO2 sealing capacity in SW Mississippi. The analysis presented in this paper represents a holistic approach to the characterization of shale formations, is applicable to other plays around the world, and can be used as an integral part of CO2 sequestration or hydraulic fracturing programs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geomechanics of Hydraulic Fracturing)
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19 pages, 4246 KiB  
Article
Parameter Studies on Hydraulic Fracturing in Brittle Rocks Based on a Modified Hydromechanical Coupling Model
by Yulong Zhang, Yiping Zhang, Bei Han, Xin Zhang and Yun Jia
Energies 2022, 15(7), 2687; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15072687 - 6 Apr 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1574
Abstract
In this paper, we present a numerical study of hydraulic fracturing in brittle rock by using particle flow simulation. The emphasis is put on the influence of in situ stress, differential stress, fluid injection rate, fluid viscosity and borehole size on hydraulic fracturing [...] Read more.
In this paper, we present a numerical study of hydraulic fracturing in brittle rock by using particle flow simulation. The emphasis is put on the influence of in situ stress, differential stress, fluid injection rate, fluid viscosity and borehole size on hydraulic fracturing behavior. To this end, an improved hydromechanical coupling model is first introduced to better describe fluid flow and local deformation of particle-based rocks. A series of parameter sensitivity studies are then conducted under the framework of particle flow simulation. Modelling results suggest that the breakdown pressure and time to fracture both linearly increase with confining stress, and hydraulic fracturing patterns present a distinct transition from brittle to ductile. Fluid injection rate and fluid viscosity have similar influences on hydraulic fracturing propagation, their value decrease leads to borehole pressure decrement and time to fracture prolongation. However, the former mainly controls the time to initial cracking, while the latter largely decides the duration of fracturing propagation. As for borehole radius, its increases can directly enhance the fluid diffusion zone, which further intensifies the nonlinear property of borehole pressure, leads to breakdown pressure decrease, prolongs time to fracture and forms more complex hydraulic fractures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geomechanics of Hydraulic Fracturing)
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14 pages, 2010 KiB  
Article
A New Mechanical-Hydrodynamic Safety Factor Index for Sand Production Prediction
by Mohammad Ahmad Mahmoudi Zamani and Dariusz Knez
Energies 2021, 14(11), 3130; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14113130 - 27 May 2021
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 2188
Abstract
A new applicable safety factor index (SFI) was developed to identify the impact of mechanical stresses and hydrodynamic forces on the potential sanding of a sandstone reservoir. The SFI is calculated by a fully numerically coupled analysis of the mechanical deformation [...] Read more.
A new applicable safety factor index (SFI) was developed to identify the impact of mechanical stresses and hydrodynamic forces on the potential sanding of a sandstone reservoir. The SFI is calculated by a fully numerically coupled analysis of the mechanical deformation and hydrocarbon fluid flow in the sandstone formation via FLAC3D software, Itasca Consulting Group, Minneapolis, USA. Sand production is commonly ascribed to mechanical failure while the influence of hydrodynamic forces on sandstone erosion is neglected or underestimated. However, the new SFI enables the designer to quantify the impact of mechanical and hydrodynamic forces separately on the future occurrence of sanding. Quantitative comparison is a beneficial tool to choose the most appropriate layout of the wellbore and perforations. The results demonstrated that hydrodynamic forces may have a more significant effect on sand production than mechanical stresses. Furthermore, the sanding process does not necessarily commence at the wellbore wall and may occur at any spot around the perforations with the highest stress state. The calculated SFI was effectively utilized to reduce the sand production, an intensely problematic issue in the oil field used here as a case study. The new SFI can be deployed to design the optimum wellbore and perforation configuration to decrease the sanding potential in a sandstone formation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geomechanics of Hydraulic Fracturing)
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12 pages, 3723 KiB  
Article
The Establishment and Evaluation Method of Artificial Microcracks in Rocks
by Zhenkai Wu, Xizhe Li, Hanmin Xiao, Xuewei Liu, Wei Lin, Yuan Rao, Yang Li and Jie Zhang
Energies 2021, 14(10), 2780; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14102780 - 12 May 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1705
Abstract
It is necessary to carry out experiments on cores with different degrees of crack development when studying the seepage law of cracked reservoirs and evaluating cracks. The seepage experiment in the laboratory requires cores with different degrees of microcrack development; cores obtained via [...] Read more.
It is necessary to carry out experiments on cores with different degrees of crack development when studying the seepage law of cracked reservoirs and evaluating cracks. The seepage experiment in the laboratory requires cores with different degrees of microcrack development; cores obtained via conventional drilling cannot meet the requirements, and the efficacies and evaluation methods of geological parameters used for artificial cracks are not perfect. In this study, cores are loaded using a triaxial gripper, and cracks are produced by changing the difference of stress; the relationship between the increased rate of permeability and the change in stress concentration is used to evaluate the degree of development of the crack in real time. The angle between the cracks and the maximum principal stress direction, calculated using the Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion, is 20–27.5°, which provides theoretical support for the process of crack creation. The experimental results show that the permeability variation curve shows two obvious turning points, which divide the whole zone into a reduction zone, a slow increase zone, and a rapid increase zone. Through the obtained experimental and evaluation results, a complete system for crack creation and evaluation is established, which can provide strong support for the study of cracked reservoirs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geomechanics of Hydraulic Fracturing)
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