XFEM-Based CZM for the Simulation of 3D Multiple-Stage Hydraulic Fracturing in Quasi-brittle Shale Formations

Abstract:

The Cohesive Zone Model (CZM) engages the plastic zone and softening effects at the fracture tip in a quasi-brittle rock, e.g. shale, which concludes a more precise fracture geometry and pumping pressure compared to those from Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics. Nevertheless, this model, namely planar CZM, assumes a predefined surface on which the fractures propagate and therefore, restricts the fracture propagation direction. Notably, this direction depends on the stress interactions between closely spaced fractures and can be acquired integrating CZM as the segmental contact interaction model with a fully coupled pore pressure-displacement, extended finite element model (XFEM). This later model simulates the fracture initiation and propagation along an arbitrary, solution-dependent path.

In this work, we modeled double- and triple-cluster 3D hydraulic fracturing in a single-layer, quasi-brittle shale formation using planar CZM and XFEM-based CZM including slit flow and poro-elasticity for fracture and matrix spaces, respectively, in Abaqus. Our fully-coupled pore pressure-stress Geomechanics model includes leak-off as a continuum-based fluid flow component coupled with the other unknowns in the problem. Having compared the triple-cluster fracturing results from planar CZM with those from XFEM-based CZM, we found that the stress shadowing effect of multiple hydraulic fractures on each other can cause these fractures to rationally propagate out of plane; this also demonstrates the advantages of the second method compared to the first one. We investigated the effect of this arbitrary propagation direction on not only the fractures’ length, aperture, and the required injection pressure, but also fractures’ connection to the wellbore. Depending on the spacing and the number of clusters per stage, this connection can be gradually disrupted with time due to the near-wellbore fracture closure which may embed proppant particles on the fracture wall, or screen out the fracture at early stimulation times. Comparing all studied cases, we concluded that the double-cluster, simultaneous fracturing with 100-ft spacing provides the most viable fracture set for long-term production.