- •Application of Channel Fracturing in the Vaca Muerta Shale Formation
- •Introduction
- •Numerical Model for Predicting Fracture Conductivity under Closure Stress
- •The Relative Effect of Embedment upon Conventional and Channel Fracturing Performance
- •Relative role of aperture and proppant permeability damage
- •Influence of proppant mesh size
- •Discussions
- •Conclusions
- •Acknowledgments
- •References
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●Channel fracturing appears to be more favorable across the middle and upper Vaca Muerta intervals due to higher moduli and lower stresses. But it is less favorable across the lower Vaca Muerta interval due to low moduli and high stresses
●Modification to the stimulation design (increasing proppant layers and/or decreasing pillar spacing) could potentially make channel fracturing more applicable across the lower Vaca Muerta shale interval.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank the management of Tecpetrol S.A and Schlumberger for their permission to present this paper.
References
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Ejofodomi, E. A., Cavazzoli, G., Estrada, J. D., and Peano, J. 2013. Understanding the Impact of Completion Parameters on Production in the Vaca Muerta Shale Formation. Paper SPE WVPS-170 presented at the Second South American Oil and Gas Congress, Porlamar, Nueva Espara, Venezuela, 22–25 October.
Guillar, M., Medvedev, O., Peña, A., Peñacorada, F., and D’Huteau, E. 2010. A New Approach to Generating Fracture Conductivity. Paper 116453 presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition held in Florence, Italy, September 20 –22.
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