Publications

Post-fracture proppant flowback has been an unwanted result of high-pressure/high-temperature hard-rock fracturing in the Mahakam Delta for a number of years, causing abundant production-related issues coupled with additional operational risks for the operator, TOTAL E&P INDONÉSIE. Previous attempts to reduce proppant flowback with resin-coated proppant (RCP) have proven to be both unsuccessful and expensive due to the brittle nature of the hardened RCP and the extended cleanout periods associated with post-job fracture cleanout using RCP in the swamp environment, leading TOTAL E&P INDONÉSIE to search for an alternative solution. In early 2012, the service company implemented a new proppant flowback control service for mid- to high-temperature wells. This service has been applied to the high-pressure/high-temperature fracturing campaign in the Mahakam Delta with excellent results. The service consists of a resin-coated fiber additive, coupled with technical support software for design and optimization purposes. The service was pioneered on four hydraulically fractured wells throughout 2012 and 2013. From the four wells currently treated with the new proppant flowback control service, a total of 180 lbm of proppant has been recorded at surface production facilities. All of this proppant is known to be from well A (approximately 0.18% of total proppant placed during fracture treatment). Wells B, C, and D have all recorded zero proppant returned to date. None of the four wells shows any indication of perforation burial from proppant, and there has been no decline in production that can be attributed to proppant flowback.