Hydraulic Stimulation
1. Whether reservoir stimulation has really achieved its objective successfully in enhancing the resultant ‘hydraulic-connectivity’ (reservoir permeability)? How far have we progressed in hydraulic fracturing commencing from the hydraulic fracturing of Kelpper-well using napalm (in Kansas in 1947)?
2. Whether high-volume hydraulic-fracturing for shale-gas extraction remains more successful than low-volume hydraulic-fracturing for conventional reservoirs? Whether zirconium cross-linkers remain the best fracturing fluid for conventional reservoirs?
3. Have we really understood the concept of non-linear elasticity with a complex fluid-leakoff from a non-planar fracture geometry associated with the stimulation of naturally fractured shale-gas reservoirs?
4. In the absence of the propagation of hydraulic fractures in the direction of maximum principle stress (resulting from non-homogeneous and anisotropic reservoir), how exactly to have a control over the initiation and propagation of fractures as a function of reservoir rock-property, confining-pressure, fluid injection rate and the type of injected fluid?
5. What is the maximum fracture width that we have achieved so far; and what is the least permeability of the reservoir, where fracking has been applied so far successfully? What is the achieved maximum increase in flow rate of oil/gas - following hydraulic fracturing?
6. Does the fracture always grow upward and outward?
7. What exactly ceases the fracture from growing (apart from the presence of either an impermeable-barrier or a permeable geological-unit; or a significant leak-off into the neighboring fractures) further?
8. Whether the foam fracturing with nitrogen applied for the stimulation of natural gas wells has really improved the conductivity to a significant extent with its reduced proppant transport?
9. Whether the huge requirement of liquid CO2 for cryogenic-fracturing (induced fractured by thermal stresses) would remain beneficial in the context of climate change? Also, the expenses associated with the usage of liquid-nitrogen as fracturing fluid (induced fractures from thermal tensile stresses) can be met comfortably?
10. Will it be wise to apply pneumatic fracturing for relatively shallow depths (5 – 25 m) with self-propping itself?
11. How efficient the zipper fracturing is? How deep it induces fractures? Does it significantly save drilling cost as well as time?
12. How efficient is visco-elastic surfactant gel fluid in transporting the proppants? Whether the full potential of elevated zero-shear viscosity of VES will remain effective in transporting the proppants?
13. Which of the energized fracturing fluids have significantly helped in controlling the fluid leak-off; and under such circumstances, what is the associated amount of recovered frac-fluid on flow-back in shales?
14. To what extent SPFF (self-propped fracturing fluid) technology has remained effective in mitigating the damage to the reservoir permeability?
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