In-Situ Water-Blocking Measurements and Interpretation Related to Fracturing Operations in Tight Gas Reservoirs

Abstract

Summary Invasion of aqueous drilling, completion, or fracturing fluids can reduce the relative permeability to gas and thereby causes a water block. In the case of low-permeability formations, the capillary pressure tends to be high because of the small pore size. Cleanup of water blocks requires high drawdown unless water vaporization by the flowing gas is improved by using specific additives such as alcohols. The purpose of this work is to investigate fracture-face damage by measuring relevant petrophysical parameters: absolute-permeability damage and gas return permeabilities. Measurements are performed in representative conditions of a fracturing operation in a tight gas formation: cores with an absolute permeability of 10 μd set at Swi and experimental pressure of 200 bars for the fracturing-fluid invasion. Water and gas saturations during the fracturing-fluid invasion and during gas backflow are monitored by X-ray equipment. Adding alcohol in the fracturing fluid has a striking effect on resolving water blocks. Cake formation on the simulated fracture face is also discussed. Numerical simulations are performed to assess relative permeabilities from the experimental results. It is shown that hysteresis of gas and water relative permeabilities has a strong impact on the rate of water removal. Sufficiently high pressure drawdown is crucial to overcome capillary forces and initiate the alcohol- assisted vaporization process. Water removal by water vaporization is assessed and compared to the experimental results.