Ryan Herz-Thyhsen and John Kaszuba - Wyoming … Herz... · Ryan Herz-Thyhsen and John Kaszuba ......

Ryan Herz-Thyhsen and John Kaszuba

View of Precision Drilling #18 while drilling Hornbuckle 1-11H in Converse County, Wyoming. (Paul Clark, geologist for Sunburst Consulting)

Outline • Motivation and Hypothesis

• Formation and Fluid Characterization

Laboratory

Experiments

Field

Production

Geochemical

Modeling

Motivation

How will hydraulic fracturing fluids

interact with the host rock?

- Dissolution/Precipitation reactions?

- Porosity/Permeability changes?

Reactions between minerals and hydraulic fracturing

fluid cause precipitation and dissolution of minerals,

potentially opening/closing pores and fractures.

Hypothesis

Powder River Basin

Formation and Fluid Characterization

Niobrara Fm

Minerals Quartz Calcite

Illite

Plagioclase Pyrite Kaolinite

Up

per

Cre

tace

ou

s

Nio

bra

ra

Fro

nti

er

11797’

12076’ 12101’

12466’

Niobrara

Niobrara Chalk

Niobrara Target

Sage Breaks Member

Frontier Target

2nd Frontier

3rd Frontier

12239’

12562’

12717’

12970’

13158’

1st Frontier

Clays

Organic Material

Qtz

Calcite

Clays

Frontier Fm

Minerals Quartz Calcite

Illite

Plagioclase Pyrite

Kaolinite Glauconite

Up

per

Cre

tace

ou

s

Nio

bra

ra

Fro

nti

er

11797’

12076’ 12101’

12466’

Niobrara

Niobrara Chalk

Niobrara Target

Sage Breaks Member

Frontier Target

2nd Frontier

3rd Frontier

12239’

12562’

12717’

12970’

13158’

1st Frontier

Hydraulic Fracturing Fluid Chemical Field Purpose Mass Fraction

Cheyenne River Water Solvent 86.9%

Bauxite and Ultraprop Proppant 11%

Petroleum Distillates Optimize injection rates 0.38%

HCl Dissolves/breaks rock 0.12%

Tetramethylammonium Chloride Clay stabilizer 0.088%

Methanol Prevents corrosion and reduces friction 0.07%

Sodium Erythorbate Prevents metal precipitation 0.0009%

Laboratory Experiments

Field Production

Geochemical Modeling


Experimental Design

Experimental Parameters

Fluid-Rock Ratio = 20:1

T = 115°C

P = 35 MPa

pH = 2.35

Experiments: • Niobrara Fm + Hydraulic Fracturing Fluid

• Frontier Fm + Hydraulic Fracturing Fluid

• React Rocks and Fluids for ~750 hours

Experimental Design

Seyfried, 1987

Fluid Chemistry

Feldspar Dissolution

Niobrara

Quartz Dissolution

Frontier Frontier

Calcite Dissolution

Niobrara Niobrara

Trace Elements

Unreacted/Reacted Rock

Reacted

Rock

Unreacted

Rock

N

F

F

F

Unreacted/Reacted Rock

Reacted

Rock

Unreacted

Rock

F

F

F

F

Conclusions • Experiments are necessary to understand small scale mineral-fluid reactions

in the rock. These reactions occur on lab time scales comparable to the field.

• Trace elements and heavy metals are initially released from the rock, but in a

closed system, are incorporated back into the rock (by mineralization?).

• Feldspar alters to clay. Existing clay minerals alter by ion exchange and/or

neocrystallization.

• Fracturing fluid saturates with Silica, while acid-attack on silicate minerals is

evident.

• The fluid approaches equilibrium with the rock in the first day, and the

biggest changes in mineral-fluid equilibria are witnessed within a few hours.

Laboratory

Experiments

Laboratory

Experiments

Field

Production

Geochemical

Modeling

Geochemical Model

HCO3-

5.33

Cl-

20.57

SO42-

15.17 Ca2+

6.02 K+

0.63

Mg+

6.82

Na+

18.78

Hydraulic Fracturing Fluid (mmol/L)

Quartz

64%

Calcite

20%

Illite

10%

Fron

tier Fo

rmatio

n

Quartz

15%

Calcite

45%

Illite

30%

Nio

brara Fo

rmatio

n

Plagioclase 5% Pyrite 5% / 1%

Geochemical Model

Modeled Mineralogy Change


in the rock. These reactions occur on lab time scales relevant to hydraulic

fracturing.

• Trace Elements are initially released from the rock, but in a closed system,

are incorporated into the rock by mineralization.


neocrystallization.

• Fracturing fluid saturates with Silica, while acid-attack on silicate minerals is

evident.



• Computer models predict reactions observed in experiments.

Geochemical Modeling


Laboratory

Experiments

Field

Production

Geochemical

Modeling


in the rock. These reactions occur on lab time scales relevant to hydraulic

fracturing.

• Trace Elements are initially released from the rock, but in a closed system,

are incorporated into the rock by mineralization.


neocrystallization.

• Fracturing fluid saturates with Silica, while acid-attack on silicate minerals

is evident.



• Computer models predict reactions observed in experiments.

• Reactions occur more quickly in models.

• Produced fluid from wells shows the same geochemical trend as both models

and experiments.

Furthering our understanding of fluid-rock reactions in the lab and through

modeling will help us better understand fluid-rock interactions in the field

Future Work

• X-Ray Analyses

– X-Ray Diffraction

– X-Ray Fluorescence

• Organic Analyses

• Fluid-rock ratio sensitivity analyses

• Varying fluid composition in future experiments

and geochemical models

Acknowledgements

• Energy GA from the State of Wyoming via the Research Office

• Paul Lawless and the Helis Oil & Gas Co.

• Janet Dewey

• Norbert Swoboda-Colberg

• Kaszuba group: Virginia Marcon, Quin Miller, Alexa Socianu, Steve Levesque, and Mike Schedel

• Caroline Lo Ré and Jeff Martin

Extra Slides

Frontier Geochemical Model

Frontier Modeled Mineralogy Change

Measurement Niobrara Frontier Niobrara Frontier Niobrara Frontier units

Specific Gravity 1.0301 1.0365 - - - -

pH 6.22 6.28 6.29 6.57 6.9 7.26

Temperature 65.2 66.7 - - 115 115 F

Resistivity 0.19 0.16 - - - - Ohm.m

Iron 12 3 0.302 0.287 0 0 mg/L

Potassium 200 200 49 58 5.12 2.2 mg/L

Calcium 1413 1692 264 243 7.7 0.5 mg/L

Magnesium 153 187 62 65 0 0 mg/L

Chloride 23720 28480 737 715 1.45 1.45 mg/L

Sulfate 0 0 1496 1371 1363 1352 mg/L

Bicarbonate 293 329 - - 382 78 mg/L

Sodium 13441 16165 571 550 823 691 mg/L

Silica - - 44 62 103 77

Produced Water

Conclusions

• Mineralogy changes in the formation by clay ion

exchange or neocrystallization

• Rock is in control of the fluid-rock system; the fracturing

fluid approaches equilibrium with the rock within the first

day

• Inorganic reactions occur primarily within the first day,

often in the first few hours

• Silica increases in both experiments and models

Niobrara Formation

• Initial immediate pH increase

• Also visible in experiments

pH decline also visible

in experiments

EHR-001

0.1

1

10

100

1000

10000

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

um

ol/

kg

Sample Number

EHR-001 Fluid Chemistry

Li

Mo

Rb

Sr

V

W

0.1

1

10

100

1000

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

um

ol/

kg

Sample Number

EHR-001 Fluid Chemistry

Fe

Al

Ba

Co

Cu

Mn

Pt

Sb

Niobrara Formation Reactions

Frontier Formation Reactions

Frontier Formation

• Initial immediate pH increase

• Also visible in experiments

pH decline also visible

in experiments

Dominant Mineral Reactions

Fluid Fluid Volume

(gal) Constituents

HCl 15 13,000 A264, L058, W054, F110

WF125 23,500 B306, F110, W054, L064, J481

WF135 139,000

YF125LGD 176,000 B306, L010, M007, J511, F110, W054, L064, J569, J218, M298L, SS85-2040 YF135LGD 1,058,000

WF110 134,589 B306, F110, W054, L064, J218

• F110 – methanol, ethoxylated alcohols • L064 – tetramethylammonium chloride • J218 – diammonium peroxidisulphate

Niobrara B chalk – there because it’s more brittle. Fractures extend up 150 ft and down 70 ft

(200-210 ft of vertical section). Laterally about 500 feet (so out of the board). Not a lot of natural fractures and pore throats are very small. 9000’ laterals (usually ~4500’)

Frontier upper 2nd bench (12560’)– there because it’s coarse grained. Extend as high as top of core, below bottom of core

• F110 – methanol, ethoxylated alcohols • L064 – tetramethylammonium chloride • J218 – diammonium peroxidisulphate

Ryan Herz-Thyhsen and John Kaszuba - Wyoming … Herz... · Ryan Herz-Thyhsen and John Kaszuba ......

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Transcript of Ryan Herz-Thyhsen and John Kaszuba - Wyoming … Herz... · Ryan Herz-Thyhsen and John Kaszuba ......