Final Report Summary - HYDROFRAC (Computational Multiscale Modelling of Hydraulic Fracturing for Shale Gas Development)
The project was carried out from July 1, 2014 and was requested terminate on November 30, 2015. There has also been a two months-break due to the pregnancy (including giving birth) of the Marie-Curie Fellow; this two months break is compulsory by German law. During the 17-months course of the project, most of the objectives have been achieved as planned in the proposal while certain task remains to be accomplished.
The main objectives of this project were to
1. develop of a fully 3D computational multiphysics framework to gain better understanding of the HF
process and
2. to apply this framework to a specific shale to shed light on the following issues:
a. The resulting wellbore pressure variation due to the fracture network evolution, for a given injection
flow rate and geostructural model.
b. The effect/interaction of an existing fracture network due to a previous stage of HF treatment on the
fracture network evolution in succeeding, adjacent stages.
c. The possibility of the fracture network encroaching into adjacent layers of rock.
d. The interaction of fractures with existing natural faults that intersect the shale seam.
e. Determination of key input parameters (material parameters, boundary conditions, etc.) for a certain
output (e.g. pressure drop).
The first task of the project has been accomplished by the MC-fellow and is described in more detail in the attachment. Parts of the second key tasks (2a and e) were carried out as well while the other tasks were not completed yet. However, though the project has been terminated early, a student funded through a national project will complete these tasks. The student remains still in contact with the MC-Fellow and the work has been smoothly transferred.
The main objectives of this project were to
1. develop of a fully 3D computational multiphysics framework to gain better understanding of the HF
process and
2. to apply this framework to a specific shale to shed light on the following issues:
a. The resulting wellbore pressure variation due to the fracture network evolution, for a given injection
flow rate and geostructural model.
b. The effect/interaction of an existing fracture network due to a previous stage of HF treatment on the
fracture network evolution in succeeding, adjacent stages.
c. The possibility of the fracture network encroaching into adjacent layers of rock.
d. The interaction of fractures with existing natural faults that intersect the shale seam.
e. Determination of key input parameters (material parameters, boundary conditions, etc.) for a certain
output (e.g. pressure drop).
The first task of the project has been accomplished by the MC-fellow and is described in more detail in the attachment. Parts of the second key tasks (2a and e) were carried out as well while the other tasks were not completed yet. However, though the project has been terminated early, a student funded through a national project will complete these tasks. The student remains still in contact with the MC-Fellow and the work has been smoothly transferred.
