Comparative studies on the effect of surfactant used in optimizing the hydraulic fracturing technique for shale gas formation

• Main Author: Hamid, Mohd Ridzuan
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS 2013
• Subjects: T Technology (General)
• Online Access: http://utpedia.utp.edu.my/10654/1/FYP_Dissertation_Mohd%20Ridzuan%20Bin%20Hamid_12688.pdf; http://utpedia.utp.edu.my/10654/

Hydraulic fracturing plays a major role in enhancing petroleum reserves and daily production. It consists of blending special chemical to make the appropriate fracturing fluid and then pumping the blend fluid into the pay zone at high rates. The project done is based in the study of the effect of surfactant in hydraulic fluid used in optimizing hydraulic technique towards alteration of shale gas formation. The objectives are to estimate reduction of interfacial tension by applying the surfactant in hydraulic fluid, to investigate the effect of surfactant in hydraulic fluids towards improving the distribution of strain and stress in the shale formation and to estimate the tolerance level for the fracture pressure after surfactant and hydraulic fluids is injected in the formation. Reason of choosing shale formation as a field of study is due to increasing in demand for unconventional drilling for the natural resources. In this project the surfactant used in the hydraulic fluid can act as the de-emulsifier or as emulsifier. Surfactant could also lower the surface tension and reduce the capillary pressure which result in lower the energy required to move the hydraulic fluid across the boundaries and through the formation. In this project, the author will study on the effect of strain and stress distribution after the hydraulic fluid which contains surfactant is injected in the formation. Besides, addition of surfactant in the hydraulic fluid will help in reducing the surface tension. The theory is brought into laboratory work where clean shale formation is tested in tri-axial equipment test for stress and strain distribution measurement in hydraulic fracturing technique by using surfactant as the additive medium in the injected fluid. Three different concentrations of surfactant solutions are planned to be prepared by varying the percentage of additive. The result of core samples for the distribution of strain and stress measurement will be able to describe concisely the effect of surfactant used in the hydraulic fluid. Based on the hypothesis, additive agent (surfactant) in hydraulic fluid will help in improving the shear and strain stress distribution.