Multicluster Fractures Propagation during Temporary Plugging Fracturing in Naturally Fractured Reservoirs Integrated with Dynamic Perforation Erosion

Abstract

Summary Temporary plugging technology has been widely applied in multicluster fracturing for the uniform growth of multiple fractures. To investigate the propagation behavior of multiple fractures and explore a better fracturing scheme during temporary plugging fracturing, a 2D finite element method (FEM)-discrete fracture network (DFN) model is established. An improved traction-separation law is used to describe the constitutive behavior of fractures under different types of stress. The model is further integrated with the perforation pressure drop model, considering the dynamic perforation erosion effect to simulate the fracture geometry more accurately. Based on the model, the impact of the perforation erosion effect on the propagation of multicluster fractures in the naturally fractured reservoir is quantitatively evaluated first. The result showed that the effect can intensify the nonuniformity among multicluster fractures, especially under the condition of small cluster spacing. Then, the simulation for temporary plugging fracturing is carried out under different cluster spacings. Finally, the plugging time optimization in temporary plugging fracturing is explored. The model and results presented in this paper can provide new insight into the impact of the perforation erosion effect and exploration for plugging time optimization in temporary plugging fracturing.