Significant effect of the rock parameters of Longmaxi formation in hydraulic fracturing

Hydraulic fracturing is the primary technology for shale reservoir stimulation, mainly evaluated by the stimulated reservoir volume (SRV). Besides, the fracture curvature and breakdown pressure are the main influencing factors of hydraulic fracturing. Much research has focused on the influence of formation parameters on critical parameters mentioned above. However, the computational complexity and research difficulty are relatively high due to the large number of formation parameters involved. In this paper, the significance of the effect of formation parameters on hydraulic fracturing is analyzed and ordered by impact significance. Based on the SPSS, forty-nine sets of orthogonal experiments were designed and analyzed. The numerical simulation experiments were conducted using the extended finite element method (XFEM). Consequently, the following conclusions are obtained: (1) For breakdown pressure, the Poisson's ratio, formation leak-off coefficient, tensile strength, in-situ stress difference, and permeability are significant parameters, and the effects decrease in order. (2) For SRV, the permeability, formation leak-off coefficient, Young's modulus, and Poisson's ratio are significant parameters, and effects decrease in order. (3) The in-situ stress difference and the formation leak-off coefficient significantly impact the fracture morphology. (4) The SRV grows in a step-like manner during hydraulic fracturing and the difficulty of fracture propagation gradually increases. Based on the significance analysis results, the dimensionality reduction of the formation parameters can be effectively carried out. (c) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This paper analyzes the significance of formation parameters on hydraulic fracturing and presents conclusions on the influence of factors such as breakdown pressure, stimulated reservoir volume (SRV), and fracture morphology. The research is based on experimental design and numerical simulation experiments using the extended finite element method (XFEM).