《《Simulating Hydraulic Fracturing in Real Fractured Rock》.pdf

SPE 140480 Simulating Hydraulic Fracturing in Real Fractured Rock - Overcoming the Limits of Pseudo3D Models Neal Nagel, Ivan Gil, and Marisela Sanchez-Nagel, SPE, Itasca Houston, Inc., Branko Damjanac, Itasca Consulting Group, Inc. Copyright 2011, Society of Petroleum Engineers This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE Hydraulic Fracturing Technology Conference and Exhibition held in The Woodlands, Texas, USA, 24–26 January 2011. This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper have not been reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material does not necessarily reflect any position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its officers, or members. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper without the written consent of the Society of Petroleum Engineers is prohibited. Permission to reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words; illustrations may not be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of SPE copyright. Abstract With the huge growth in the stimulation of naturally fractured formations, it is clear that the industry needs new hydraulic fracturing simulation tools beyond the limits imposed by pseudo3D fracturing model. Discrete element models (DEM), in which both matrix block behavior and fracture behavior are explicitly modeled, offer one option for the specific modeling of hydraulic fracture creation and growth in naturally fractured formation without, for example, the assumption of bi-planar fracture growth. In this paper, we show the results of the successful realistic simulations of fluid injection into a given NFR using the 3DEC DEM model. The simulation