Development of an ultra-lightweight coconut shell-based proppant for hydraulic fracturing of subterranean formations

Hydraulic fracturing (HF) has seen a considerable increase in interest for the purpose of improved oil recovery. HF creates high conductive conduits between wellbores and reservoirs by a pressurized fluid mixed with proppants. The problem of most popular fracturing fluid (i.e., slickwater) is the hi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Gharibi, Abdoullatif
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/81748/1/AbdoulLatifGharibiPFChE2016.pdf
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
id my-utm-ep.81748
record_format uketd_dc
spelling my-utm-ep.817482019-09-29T10:53:43Z Development of an ultra-lightweight coconut shell-based proppant for hydraulic fracturing of subterranean formations 2016-09 Gharibi, Abdoullatif TP Chemical technology Hydraulic fracturing (HF) has seen a considerable increase in interest for the purpose of improved oil recovery. HF creates high conductive conduits between wellbores and reservoirs by a pressurized fluid mixed with proppants. The problem of most popular fracturing fluid (i.e., slickwater) is the high settling rate of common proppants, e.g. sand, which results in small effective propped fractures. Ultra-lightweight (ULW) proppants are easily transported by slickwater and can cover further fracture area. However, ULW proppants cannot provide enough strength at high closure pressure. This study developed a moderately high strength, chemically modified and reinforced composite proppant (CMRCP) which is composed of chemically modified coconut shell, composite material, and epoxy resin. Investigating the performance of new ULW proppant was conducted using laboratory and simulation works such as characterization, quality and mechanical evaluation, simulation mechanical response of particles under compression, fracture conductivity, and HF design. Characterization indicated that the coating layers of CMRCP provide thermal stability of 297.5 °F. Also, quality tests revealed that CMRCP is a neutral buoyant proppant with lower bulk density than frac sand, glass beads, ULW-1.75, and ceramic. Desirable strength (i.e., 8,000 psi) and conductivity (i.e., 791 mDft) from mechanical tests and fracture conductivity were observed, respectively. The results showed an improved performance than Brady sand and its counterpart (i.e., ULW-1.25). The results of strength tolerance and fracture conductivity of CMRCP were 25% and 77% higher than ULW-1.25. Furthermore, experimental and simulation of proppant’s mechanical response with different geometries approved that round geometry provides further strength. Finally, HF design shows that the new product can realise high cumulative production, net present value, and return on investment. This study introduced a new ULW proppant that has moderately high strength, resistant to high temperature, easy to get, light, and cost effective, and it can be used as proppant for HF of subterranean formations. 2016-09 Thesis http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/81748/ http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/81748/1/AbdoulLatifGharibiPFChE2016.pdf application/pdf en public phd doctoral Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering
institution Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
collection UTM Institutional Repository
language English
topic TP Chemical technology
spellingShingle TP Chemical technology
Gharibi, Abdoullatif
Development of an ultra-lightweight coconut shell-based proppant for hydraulic fracturing of subterranean formations
description Hydraulic fracturing (HF) has seen a considerable increase in interest for the purpose of improved oil recovery. HF creates high conductive conduits between wellbores and reservoirs by a pressurized fluid mixed with proppants. The problem of most popular fracturing fluid (i.e., slickwater) is the high settling rate of common proppants, e.g. sand, which results in small effective propped fractures. Ultra-lightweight (ULW) proppants are easily transported by slickwater and can cover further fracture area. However, ULW proppants cannot provide enough strength at high closure pressure. This study developed a moderately high strength, chemically modified and reinforced composite proppant (CMRCP) which is composed of chemically modified coconut shell, composite material, and epoxy resin. Investigating the performance of new ULW proppant was conducted using laboratory and simulation works such as characterization, quality and mechanical evaluation, simulation mechanical response of particles under compression, fracture conductivity, and HF design. Characterization indicated that the coating layers of CMRCP provide thermal stability of 297.5 °F. Also, quality tests revealed that CMRCP is a neutral buoyant proppant with lower bulk density than frac sand, glass beads, ULW-1.75, and ceramic. Desirable strength (i.e., 8,000 psi) and conductivity (i.e., 791 mDft) from mechanical tests and fracture conductivity were observed, respectively. The results showed an improved performance than Brady sand and its counterpart (i.e., ULW-1.25). The results of strength tolerance and fracture conductivity of CMRCP were 25% and 77% higher than ULW-1.25. Furthermore, experimental and simulation of proppant’s mechanical response with different geometries approved that round geometry provides further strength. Finally, HF design shows that the new product can realise high cumulative production, net present value, and return on investment. This study introduced a new ULW proppant that has moderately high strength, resistant to high temperature, easy to get, light, and cost effective, and it can be used as proppant for HF of subterranean formations.
format Thesis
qualification_name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD.)
qualification_level Doctorate
author Gharibi, Abdoullatif
author_facet Gharibi, Abdoullatif
author_sort Gharibi, Abdoullatif
title Development of an ultra-lightweight coconut shell-based proppant for hydraulic fracturing of subterranean formations
title_short Development of an ultra-lightweight coconut shell-based proppant for hydraulic fracturing of subterranean formations
title_full Development of an ultra-lightweight coconut shell-based proppant for hydraulic fracturing of subterranean formations
title_fullStr Development of an ultra-lightweight coconut shell-based proppant for hydraulic fracturing of subterranean formations
title_full_unstemmed Development of an ultra-lightweight coconut shell-based proppant for hydraulic fracturing of subterranean formations
title_sort development of an ultra-lightweight coconut shell-based proppant for hydraulic fracturing of subterranean formations
granting_institution Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering
granting_department Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering
publishDate 2016
url http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/81748/1/AbdoulLatifGharibiPFChE2016.pdf
_version_ 1747818404450926592