--> ABSTRACT: Influence of Natural Fractures on Hydraulic Fracture Propagation, by L. W. Teufel and N. R. Warpinski; #91030 (2010)

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Influence of Natural Fractures on Hydraulic Fracture Propagation

L. W. Teufel, N. R. Warpinski

Hydraulic fracturing has become a valuable technique for the stimulation of oil, gas, and geothermal reservoirs in a variety of reservoir rocks. In many applications, only short fractures are needed for economic production. In low-permeability reservoirs, however, long penetrating fractures are generally needed, and in this case, natural fractures can be the cause of many adverse effects during a fracture treatment. Natural fractures can influence the overall geometry and effectiveness of the hydraulic fracture by: (1) arresting the vertical or lateral growth, (2) reducing total fracture length via fluid leakoff, (3) limiting proppant transport and placement, and (4) enhancing the creation of multiple or secondary fractures rather than a single planar hydraulic fracture. he result may range from negligible to catastrophic depending on the values of the ancillary treatment and reservoir parameters, such as the treating pressure, in-situ stresses, pore pressure, orientations of the natural fractures relative to principal in-situ stresses, spacing and distribution of the natural fractures, permeability, etc. Field observations from mineback experiments at DOE's Nevada Test Site and the multiwell experiment in Colorado, laboratory tests, and analyses of these data are integrated to describe the complex fracture behavior found and to provide guidelines for predicting when this complex fracturing will occur.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91030©1988 AAPG Annual Convention, Houston, Texas, 20-23 March 1988.