Role of Fracturing Fluid on the Breakdown Pressure of Tight Sandstone Rocks

Hydraulic fracturing is a well stimulation technique which increases the hydrocarbon production by inducing fractures in the rock formation. The induced fractures in the reservoir serve as highways for faster hydrocarbon movement. The process is carried out by injecting fracturing fluid which primarily contains gelling agent, crosslinker, bactericide, fluid loss additive, friction reducer, clay stabilizer, buffer, breaker and proppant mixed in a base fluid. Fracturing fluids are carefully selected for each rock formation. A Tight gas reservoir is commonly referred to as a low-permeability reservoir. Tight gas accounts for about 7 % of the world’s hydrocarbon resources which is about the same as the conventional gas (9 %). Enormous quantities of natural gas are present in these tight gas reservoirs. Unlocking these reservoirs is fairly challenging due to the amount of complexities associated with them. Geomechanics plays a key role in the extraction of hydrocarbon from tight gas reservoirs. Hydraulic fracturing is an integral part of geomechanics and is an essential operation to achieve economical production. The importance of fully understanding the fracturing process is critical in properly developing an efficient hydraulic fracturing plan. It’s a robust technique but there are still several uncertainties associated in its implementation. Therefore, this study aims to address some of the challenges for tight sandstone in the areas of geomechanics and hydraulic fracturing. The objective of this research is to develop an efficient experimental setup to determine the breakdown pressure of tight sandstone rocks. Effect of the type of fracturing fluid on breakdown pressure, effect of saturating fluid on the breakdown pressure and the geomechanical properties of tight sandstone rocks is studied in this research