Numerical simulation of multi-stage fracturing and optimization of perforation in a horizontal well

Aiming at analyzing the issues of non-uniform growths of multiple hydraulic fractures caused by stress shadowing, a numerical model considering elasto-hydrodynamic, stress interference and flow distribution into different fractures was presented. Based on the model, the effects of perforation friction, perforation cluster spacing, Young modulus of rock and fracturing fluid viscosity on the growth of multiple fractures were investigated. The simulation results show that the growths of hydraulic fractures are relatively uniform with adequate perforation friction; the reduction of perforation cluster spacing, increase of Young modulus or fluid viscosity will cause the reduction of some fracture width and uneven flow distribution into these fractures, thus aggravating non-uniform growth of multiple fractures. Since appropriate perforation friction is conducive to the uniform growth of fractures, a convenient quantitative optimization method to calculate the needed perforation friction for uniform growth was proposed. By estimating inter-fracture induced stress during fracturing, the perforation friction coefficient needed to maintain uniform growth of fractures inside a stage is calculated, and reasonable engineering parameters of perforation can be selected based on this. The perforation parameters of a horizontal well were calculated with the proposed method, the simulation results and actual fracturing performance show that the optimized perforation parameters can effectively keep uniform growth of fractures. Key words: horizontal well, multi-stage fracturing, fracture growth, perforation friction, perforation optimization, numerical simulatio