Study of the effect of the injection fluid viscosity on failure modes, initial and breakdown pressures in the hydraulic fracturing process of hydrocarbon reservoirs

Applications of rock mechanics in different parts of oil and gas industry have been proposed for many years in the world and important issues such as hydraulic fracturing, underground gas storage, sand production, active faults and permeability changing in heavy oil reservoirs have been addressed in relation to this field. The term of hydraulic fracturing, represents the process of starting and propagation of fractures in the rocks, caused by hydraulic pressure of fluid. This failure is found in both natural and synthetic type. Dyke phenomenon, usually on a scale of tens of kilometers, is natural, and artificial state is created by the special equipment at various depths. The primary objective of this study is to better understand the mechanism of hydraulic fracturing. Identifying the factors and effective parameters on the development of hydraulic fracturing and investigating the effect of factors on the growth pattern of failure in order to optimal design make optimal design of hydraulic fracturing operation are other objectives of this research. In this study, the effect of the injection fluid viscosity on failure modes, initial and breakdown pressures in the hydraulic fracturing process of hydrocarbon reservoirs has been considered.

Keywords:

Petroleum geomechanics , Hydraulic fracturing , Fluid viscosity , Crack growth pattern in hydraulic fracturing