Induced Hydraulic Fracturing by Water-Flooding:
Whether the ‘fracture toughness’
of a consolidated reservoir-formation
@ the beginning of oil production by primary depletion;
and
@ the beginning of water-flooding
would remain the same?
If yes,
how exactly to capture
the spatial and temporal distribution of
break-down pressures?
If not,
Will it be feasible
to capture the various zones
(elastic-zone; transition-zone; plastic-zone)
of an evolving crack
at the fields-scale?
Also, how exactly,
to segregate
the fraction of fluid leak-off
from the walls of the growing fracture
from
that of the flow through the crack?
As the ‘fracture density’
keeps increasing with time
with continuous fluid injection,
whether
the fluid flow regime
will get shifted
from
‘flow through rock-matrix’
to
‘flow through network of fractures’ (still maintain single continuum)?
It depends on the elastic limit, depletion/injection will reduce and increase the pressure wherein effective stress will increase or reduce in comparison elastic limit, if its below yield limit, expect less change, if its failed, behaviour of the failed material will be different that off intact rock.
On the Leak Off Part: Minifrac-Fall off before main job and falloff after the main job may indicate the different leak off in the system such as Normal (induced frac leak), PDL (pressure dependent secondary frac leak), HR (vertical growth). Fluid properties and rates can be optimized to improve the HF job.
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