SPE

-Of*~~OfAIME

SPE

7168

LEAKOFF
CONTROL
TECHNIQUES
IMPROVE
OF ACID
FRACTURING
TREATMENTS
by E. F. Shumaker, V. B. Raines and P. A. Warembourg

EFFICIENCY

Dowell Division of Dow Chemical U.S.A.

Copyright1978, American Institute of Mining, Metallurgicaland Petroleum Engineers, Inc.

This paper was presented at the 1978 Regional Gas Technology Lymposium held in Omaha, Nebraska, June 7-9, 1978.
The material is subject to correction by the author. Permissionto copy is restricted to an abstract of not
Ilas, Texa\ 75206.
more than 300 words. Write: 6200 N. Central Expwy.,
rese?trch~rs
felt this discrepancywas due to failure
of liveacid to penetrate as far into the reservoir
as calculationsshowed it should. Research was then
directed toward increasingpenetration. Some of the
approaches taken have included:

ABSTRACT
Controlling leakoff of reactive fluids is the key to
more successful stimulationby acid fracturing treatments. Results of stimulation treatments using
alternatingstages of pad fluid and acid, in conjunction with 100mesh sand as a fluid loss agent, show
that leak off of the reactive fluids in carbonate
reservoirscan be controlled to the extent that
actual productivityincreases closely approximate
those predicted by computer design programs.

;:
::
::
7.

Acid retardation.
Increased acid concentration.
Increased injection rates.
Increased fracture width to decrease areavolume ratio.
Improvedmatrix leakoff control.
Increased pad volumes.
Improved computer programs.

This paper describes the evolution of currently used

acid fracturing techniquesand materials. Leak off
mechanisms and methods of controlling the leak off
are discussed. Case histories show the effect on
leak off of each advancement that has led to the
present alternate stage pad and acid technique.

Although each action helped, either separatelyor

when used in various combinations,still a large gap
remained between predicted and actual results.

INTRODUCTION

FRAC PAD ANDAUID TECHNIQUE

Acidizing as a method of well stimulationwas introduced on a commercial basis in 1932. For many years
recommendationsfor treatment of carbonate formations
were based on zone thickness and volubility. Increased productivitywas believed to be due to the
amount of rock dissolved rather than where and how it
was removed. Little thought was given to deep penetration and highly conductive flow channels. Improven?nts consisted of additives such as surface tnsion
redu~?rs, deemulsifiers,iron sequesteringagents,
silicate contr;l agents and many others.

At this time it was felt that leak off of the acid in

the formationwas greater than originally believed
due to the rapid reaction of the acid along the
fracture +aces. The acid reaction exposed worm holes
through which fluid loss was increased. Thus if a
non-reactivepad fluid were used dnead of the acid,
this pad fluid could create fracture area and fill
some of the voids. The following acid could then
penetrate farther into the formation before reacting.
This type20f stimulation treatment, termed Frac Pad
and Acid, apparently originated in the Deep Delawar
Basin, and probably was based as much O!Ieconomics as
theory. The deep formations here were
fluid 10SS
calculated to require such large volumes of acid to
achieve satisfactoryproductivityincreases that
treatmentwould be prohibitivelyexpensive. Treatlarge volur,;es
ments were designed, therefore, lJSin(J
of p~d fluid (gelledwater) to establish f:-actu-e
area and penetration. The pad fluid was followed by
smaller volumes of acid to etch the fracture faces
~nd provide c~nductivity. These treatmentswere
ilighlysuccessful and the Frac Pad and Acid Technique
gained wide acceptance. It did not, however, subst;r,t.iolly
close the gap between computer-predicted
iir,:
actl:a-:
acid fracturing results.

Although fracturingor Rock Busting was theorized

as early as 1936, the hydraulic fracturingprocess
was not recognizedas a stimulation tecilniquefor
carbonates at the tir!e. In the early 1950s, as
hydraulic fracturingbecame a basic method of stimulation, it became apparent that.fracturingwas occurring in most acidizing treatments. Lat-r in the
decade t-esearchdeveloped fracture acidizing desigt~
calculationsand comptiierized
design prcgrams.
Although the applicationof fracturing principles
improved treatmentdesign, results of fracture
acidizing treatmentsfell far short of results Fr,,dicted by the computerizeddesign progr;ms. MOS
___
Referencesand illust==at
end of paper;

<,
LEAKOFF CONTROL TECHNLQJES LWRCWE EFFICIENCYOF ACID FRACTURINGTREATMENTS

ALTERNATE STAGE FRAC PAD AND A~TD

The next step in acidizing efficiency improvementwas
discoveredwhen a conventionalstage Frac Pad and
Acid treatment,using diverting material to separate
the stages, was changed during the pumping operation
because of excessive pressure. The second stage
diverter plug was omitted due to the excessive
pressure and the third stage was performed as designed. Results from this treatment were considerably
above field average. Several other treatmentswere
designed using this alternate stage pad and acid
technique. The steps of these prototype treatments
were essentiallyas follows:
;:
3.
4.
5.
6.

Inject a small volume of acid.

Injects high viscosity fracture fluid pad
volume.
Inject acid volume (usually 28 percent
hydrochloric).
Repeat steps 2 and 3.
Continue to repeat steps 2 and 3 as
necessary to obtain total calculated
volumes.
Overflush with a volume of fluid to displace live acid to the proper etch distance.

Results of nearly all these treatments showed that

the technique had made a substantial contribution
toward improvingefficiency of fracture acidizing.
The following explanation by Coulteret al fromSPE
6124 probably best describes the mechanics of both
the Frac Pad and Acid and the AlternateStage
Techniques.
e
Fig. 1 diasrams in cross-,ection
three cores approximately I-fn diamter and 6-in long which were subjected to acid fluid-loss tests.
The coreon the left shows what happens when acid is
impressed against a limestone formation. In this
case, it channels through in 15 seconds. The second
core shows what happens when a thick pad is allowed
to build up a filter cake on the rock first. It only
slows the acid channeling by a few seconds because
the ftlter cake fs very thin. It takes approximately
5 seconds for the acid to penetrate this cake and
only 20 seconds to penetrate the core. But the third
case illustrateswhat happens when acid is allowed to
channel part way into the core and then the pad is
fmpresseclagainst the rock so it penetr~.is the
channels. After this pad has filled the beginning
wormholes, acid ts again charged against the surface.
This time, however, it takes 15 to 25 minutes for the
acid to penetrate. Uhat has happened is that the
easy flow paths for acid were enlarged enough to
accept the pad fluid. After the viscotispad has
filled the channels; the following acid can not
penetrii~ethose same flow paths and has to seek out
other tighter, more difficult-to-enterflow paths.
~~gk~; result is a more effective control of acid
.

......

During an actual treatment, the pad fluid extends a

fracture and widens it. when acid enters this fracture, it leaks off into the matrix and other flow
channels such as vugs, enlarging the flow channels.
The acid will not penetrate very far from the wellbore. If this acid stage is followed by another pad
stage, the pad fluid will fill the fracture and flow
channels created by the acid slug. An inmediate,
..-. . ...
.-.

SPE 7168

subsequentacid slug then will be prevented from

leaking off in this first part of the fracture. It
will etch the fracture faces and penetrate farther
from the wellbore before leaking off. Each succeeding pad and acid stage will thus penetrate farther
from the wellbore than the preceding stage. Thus, a
treatmentwill consist of many alternate stages of
pad fluid and acid. Sometimes as many as ten acid
stages may be required to obtain the desired acid
penetration.
HAIRLINE FRACTURES
Shortly before the discovery of the alternate stage
technique it began.to become apparent chat leak off
in carbonate reservoirswas not due to matrix permeability alone. Some other mechanism was contributing
greatly to fluid loss from the hydraulicallyreduced
fracture and this high leakoff rate was responsible
for the discrepancy between predicted and actual
results. Although ftwas known that most carbonate
formationscontain many natural hairline fractures,
the effect of these fractures on leakoff had not been
considered in treatment design and productivity
increase calculations. It is now recognized that
these hairlfne fractures may not greatly increase
overall permeabilitywhen they are in their natural
state, but, once widened, such as by acid etching or
hydraulic partfng3 they may totally dominate the flow
pattern. Table 1 shoflscalculated examples of the
effect of such fractures on formation permeability.
Photographs,Fig. 2, 3 and 4, of variou~ formation
cores by a scannfng electron microscope show the
sizerange of natural hairline fractures that might,
be expected in carbonate formations. While fractures
as wide as 20-40 roilshave been encountered, the
average width is about half a mil (.0005 tnches). To
overcome the leak off into these fractures during
treatment, fine sand (lQQ mesh) is now often used as
a fluid 10SS control agent. It is added at concentrations of 1-3 lb/gal to the pad fluid. A typical
treatment then becomes:
1.
2.
3.
4,
5.
6.
7.

Inject a small volume of hydrochloric

acid.
Inject a high viscosity frac fluid pad
volume.
Inject a high viscosity frac fluid pad
containing 1-3 lbs/gal 100 Mesh Sand
if necessary.
Inject a high viscosity frac fluid pad
Volm .
Inject acid Yolume (usually 28 per cent
hydrochloricacid).
Repeat steps 3 thru 5 as many times as
ecessary to obtain the desired etched
penetration and conductivity.
Overflush with a volume of fluid to displace
the live acid to the proper etch distance.

Note: The treatment procedure and fluid volumes may

be altered do to well and reservoir conditions.
The mechanism by which the tine sand works is again
best described in SPE 6124,
Curves in Fig. 5 shows how packing a 20 to 50mil
{Q.02 to 0.05) fracture with fine sand reduces the
average overall permeabilityback down to a level
below 100 reds,probably in the range of 10md jf the
fracture interval is assumed to be 5 to 10 feet.

SPE.7168

E. F. Shumaker, P. A. Warembourg,and V. B. Raines

This is in spite of the fact that the fine sand-has a

permeabilityas high as 9000 reds. Of course, one
question that arises is whether this fine sand would
be damaging to the subsequentwell production. The
answer lies in the comparisonsof flow rate when
fracturingas compared to flow when producingwell.
A normal pump rate during fracture acidizing of 20
5arrels per minute is 288 times as fast as a normal
production rate of 100 barrels per day. Thus, leakoff rate can be greatly reduced without materially
damaging the producing capacity.

SUMMARY
Recognitionof interconnectedvugs and hairline
fractures as the primary flow paths through which
acid base fracturing fluids can be lost during
fracture acidizing treatments has led to development
of a more effective and efficient treating technique.
This technique, employing alternate stages of nonreactive and reactive fluids, provides better leakoff control than previous techniquesand allows:
;:
,.
;.
r
J.

In fact productivityof the well following treatment

can be considerablyenhanced due to the contribution
of these propped hairline fracturesto overall permeability.

Deeper acid penetration into the reservoir.

More efficient acid use.
More effective use of given acid vollmes.
Effective use of larger acid volumes.
Improved stimulation results which more
nearly match design predicted results.

MATERIALS
Alternate Stage Frac Pad and Acid Treatments are
extremely flexible insofar as materials. The most
common pad fluid is gelled water. However, there are
many fracturing fluids - water-base, oil-base. or
emulsions - that have been used successfullyas the
non-reactivestage. Many strengths and formulations
of acids have also been used as the reactive stage.
In fact some treatments have been designed using
different pads or different acids at different stages
of the treatment. This flexibilityof materials
allows design for both efficient and economical
treatments.

Since there is wide flexibilityin materials that may

be used with the technique, treatmentsmay be design.
ed to meet specific well and reservoir requirements.
REFERENCES
10

Grebe, John J., and Stroesser, Sylvia M.,

IncreasingCrude Production 20,000,000Bbl.
From Established Fields, World Petroleum,
August, 1935.

2.

Hendrickson,A. R. and Cameron, R. C.: New

Fracture Acid Technique Provides Efficient
Stimulation of Massive Carbonate Sections,.
presented at 19th Mtg, of Petr. Sot. of CIM,
Calgary (May, 1968).

3.
--

Miller, B. D. and Warembourg, P. A.: Prepack

Technique Using Fine Sand Improves Results of
Fracturin and Fracture AcidiziilgTreatments,
SPE5643 f1975).

4.

Coulter, A. W., Crowe, C. W., Barrett, N. D.,

and Fliller,R. D., AlternateStages of Pad
Flutd and Acid ProYide+nproved Leakoff Control
FoP Fracture Acidizing, SPE 6124, presented at
the Annual Pall Meeting SPE of AIME, New Orleans,
La., Oct. 3-6, 1976.

CASE HiSTORIES
Alternate Stage Frac Pad and Acid treatments using
fine sand have been used in many different formations
in nearly all oil producing areas of.the United
States. Some of the results obtained are shown in <
Table 2. In nearly all cases where the new technique
have more closely matched
has been used, the results
computer-predictedresults than have other types of
treatmentsdesigned for carbonate formations.

TABLE 1
Influenceof Hairline Fractures it:Low Primary Matrix PermeabilityRock
FRACTURE
lN:~~~AL,

AVERAGE PERMEABILITY,MD, AS INFLUENCED

BY FRACTURE OF GIVEN WIDTH, INCHES:
.010
.005
.001

0.5

9.01

1125.01

9000

4.51

562.51

4500

2.26

281.26

2250

.91

112.51

900

10

.46

56.26

450

50

.10

11.26

90

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4

LEAKOFF CONTROL TECHNIQUES INPROVE.

EFFICIENCY OF ACID FRACtlJRING
TREATMENTS
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SPE 7168

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E. F. Shumaker, P. A, Warembourg, and V. B. Raines

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SPE 7168

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Fig. 1 - Schematic drawing of laboratory core :ests

snows how gel filled channel resists leakoff while
simple filter cake has little effect.

Fig. 4 - Core containing fracture 0,05 mil in

width.

:NFLilENCE OF ?ACKEG
5kCON!)ARY (HAIRLINE]
FRACT!JRE5 ON MATF!:X PER)MEA81LITY*

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Fig, 2 - )lorrow formation at 6113 t dePth in Texas

Couot:, Oklahcr$a, has mere common Size f:.actures
approximately 1/2 mil in width.

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