The effects of mechanical properties and selection of completion interval upon the created and propped fracture dimensions in layered reservoirs

A finite-difference, hydraulic fracture treatment simulator that computes fracture dimensions in a layered reservoir is presented in this paper. Each layer can have different mechanical and fluid flow properties. The model allows initiation of the fracture in multiple producing intervals simultaneously. This pseudo-three-dimensional model has been used extensively to study the effects of reservoir mechanical properties, particularly stress distribution, Youngʹs modulus, and fracture toughness of the reservoir layers on the height of the fracture. Effects of fluid properties such as apparent viscosity and injected fluid volume on fracture height have also been investigated. The use of this model for different scenarios illustrates the effects of mechanical properties on fracture dimension and proppant transport. Several examples have been generated for reservoirs with multiple producing zones, in which the fracture is initiated in one or several intervals simultaneously, so that one can illustrate the effects of perforation placement upon the distribution of proppant within the fracture. These examples illustrate that the location of the perforations can substantially affect the final proppant profile. The propped fracture geometry is used in a single-phase finite-difference reservoir simulator to show the production increase and long-term production performance for different scenarios.