Publications

Stimulation of highly permeable reservoirs has long been the domain of matrix treatments. With recent technology developments, fracturing treatments designed to overcome the limitations of conventional matrix treatments can now be successfully applied to formations with permeability in excess of 500 millidarcies.Addressed are the practical applications of highly conductive fractures and the difficulties of achieving a larger effective wellbore radius in high-permeability reservoirs. A methodology is discussed for achieving effective fractures considering: frhcture-tip screenout design techniques, fluid-loss characteristics of fracture fluids in high-permeability rock, proppant selection with respect to embedment and non-Darcy flow impact, and posttreatment control of proppant or formation sand mobility. Case studies are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of using relatively short, high-conductivity fractures as an alternative to matrix stimulation techniques.