HPC-based Validation of Water/Natural Gas Mixtures as a Fracturing Fluid for Effective Multiple Stage Hydraulic Fracturing

Advances in technologies for unconventional drilling and completion of oil and gas wells have led to unprecedented production rates in the United States. In addition to evolution of directional drilling technologies and isolation methods, application of hydraulic fracturing or "fracing" has facilitated production of oil and gas from shale and other low-permeability formations. A focal point of concern with the economic viability and environmental standards required for hydraulic fracturing is the use of water as the principal component of treating fluids. Water use is substantial, and this puts a strain on valuable groundwater resources, impairs recovery (relative permeability effects and imbibition), and increases the overall environmental footprint by delaying production to sales (more flaring). In addition, dust and exhaust levels associated with bringing water to the well site can be significant. During Phase I, Reaction Engineering will make use of advanced modeling and simulation software to perform assessments of cryogenic natural gas and natural gas-water blends as hydraulic fracturing fluids. Specific goals include identifying the overall feasibility of the approach, verifying the potential benefits, and demonstrating the practical limits. Based on these results an economic analysis and preliminary operational plan for natural gas/water usage will be developed. Potential Phase II efforts involve development of web-based natural gas/water design and optimization software tools with much more reasonable pricing models than the large commercial simulators. These advanced HPC simulation capabilities would then be used to optimize specific fracturing operating methodologies for front-line well completion activities using natural gas/water mixtures. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: The final product of the proposed Phase I work will be specific knowledge of how to make economic use of natural gas/water mixtures as a fracturing fluid. This knowledge will be provided to potential customers via consulting services. The final product of a Phase II effort will be a turn-key, cloud-based, easy-to-use, computationally efficient solution for simulating natural gas/water fracking and production using cutting-edge HPC modeling capabilities. The customers of the web-based HPC model will be engineers and well owners, looking to optimize water usage and production when using natural gas/water mixtures.