Evaluation and Application of Gas Suspension Proppant for Reservoir Fracturing in Eastern Ordos Basin

In eastern Ordos Basin, the reservoir heterogeneity is strong, and the conventional slick water fracturing has problems of proppant settlement and aggregation, as well as a low support rate of distal fractures due to its low viscosity. Therefore, a new type of gas-suspended proppant was studied and practiced in scene. The mechanism of the suspension proppant is that the special modification of the proppant surface allows it to absorb bubbles, which can effectively improve the sand distribution of cracks while improving the sand carrying the capacity of slick water. The experimental results show that the gas suspension proppant not only has good migration performance and suspension performance, but to enter the simulated branch fracture easily when compares to the same mesh of the regular sand. It can be seen and calculated that a bunch of the suspended proppants entered the secondary branch fractures, while the conventional sands only remained in the main cleavage. The conductivity of the suspended proppant is greater than 10 μm2·cm at a closure pressure of 50 MPa. Compared with the adjacent wells in the same block, the average sand ratio of a single section is increased by more than 5% in the field test of gas suspension proppant. The sand strength and sand ratio of low viscosity fluid were increased by more than 15%, to achieve the purpose of controlling fluid and increasing gas, while reducing reservoir damage and improving the efficiency of proppant prop the fractures. The successful field test of gas suspension proppant provides strong technical support for the efficient development of gas fields in the eastern Ordos Basin.