The Effects of the Length and Conductivity of Artificial Fracture on Gas Production from a Class 3 Hydrate Reservoir

Natural gas hydrate is considered as a potential energy resource. To develop technologies for the exploitation of natural gas hydrate, several field gas production tests have been carried out in permafrost and continental slope sediments. However, the gas production rates in these tests were still limited, and the low permeability of the hydrate-bearing sediments is identified as one of the crucial factors. Artificial fracturing is proposed to promote gas production rate by improving reservoir permeability. In this research, numerical studies about the effect of fracture length and fluid conductivity on production performance were carried out on an artificially fractured Class 3 hydrate reservoir (where the single hydrate zone is surrounded by an overlaying and underlying hydrate-free zone), in which the equivalent conductivity method was applied to depict the artificial fracture. The results show that artificial fracture can enhance gas production by offering an extra fluid flow channel for the migration of gas released from hydrate dissociation. The effect of fracture length on production is closely related to the time frame of production, and gas production improvement by enlarging the fracture length is observed after a certain production duration. Through the production process, secondary hydrate formation is absent in the fracture, and the high conductivity in the fracture is maintained. The results indicate that the increase in fracture conductivity has a limited effect on enhancing gas production.

Study of Characteristics of Fault Slip and Induced Seismicity during Hydraulic Fracturing in HDR Geothermal Exploitation in the Yishu Fault Zone in China

Hot dry rock (HDR) geothermal energy has become promising resources for relieving the energy crisis and global warming. The exploitation of HDR geothermal energy usually needs an enhanced geothermal system (EGS) with artificial fracture networks by hydraulic fracturing. Fault reactivation and seismicity induced by hydraulic fracturing raise a great challenge. In this paper, we investigated the characteristics of fault slip and seismicity by numerical simulation. The study was based on a hydraulic fracturing project in the geothermal field of Yishu fault zone in China. It revealed that fluid injection during hydraulic fracturing can cause the faults that exist beyond the fluid-pressurized region to slip and can even induce large seismic event. It was easier to cause felt earthquakes when hydraulic fracturing was carried out in different layers simultaneously. We also examined the effects of the location, permeability, and area of the fracturing region on fault slip and magnitude of the resulting events. The results of the study can provide some useful references for establishing HDR EGS in Yishu fault zone.

Experimental Study on the Damage of Artificial Fracture Permeability in Coal during the Flow Back of Guar-Based Fracturing Fluid

After the completion of fracturing operation in coalbed methane (CBM), the fracturing fluid needs to flow back to the ground in time to reduce the damage to the coal reservoir. The damage of guar-based fracturing fluid to the coal reservoir has an adverse effect on the fracturing stimulation. A series of flow experiments were carried out with the unconventional natural gas reservoir damage evaluation equipment. This paper investigates the evolution of fracture permeability in coal samples during the process of hydroxypropyl guar (HPG) fracturing fluid flow back. The experimental results show that the fracturing fluid concentration, proppant type, proppant particle size, and proppant concentration all affect fracture permeability. The high concentration of fracturing fluid caused irreversible damage to fracture permeability of coal samples. With the increase of fracturing fluid concentration, the permeability damage rate increased from 65.31% to 84.57%, and the damage degree was strong. KCL brine flushing can only decrease the damage rate of coal sample fracture permeability within a certain range. The proppant embedment and the generation of pulverized coal exacerbated the damage of fracture permeability. The research results can be beneficial for optimizing the type and performance of fracturing fluid for hydraulic fracturing in CBM reservoir.