Accurate stress measurement using hydraulic fracturing in deep low-permeability reservoirs: Challenges and research directions

Although there is increasing recognition of the significance of deep in-situ stress measurement for the safe and efficient exploitation of geo-energy in deep low-permeability reservoirs, accurate measurement of deep stresses using the hydraulic fracturing technique still requires substantial enhancement. In this work, the major challenges in the precise hydraulic fracturing stress measurement in deep low-permeability reservoirs are pointed out, including high rock temperature, high pore pressure, fracturing mechanism, rock tensile strength, and drilling conditions. Under such circumstances, several future research directions are proposed accordingly. These involve the thermal-pore-elastic effect, downhole sensors and flow meters, appropriate indoor tensile strength test methods, new stress calculation methods, hybrid test techniques, and refined coupled numerical models. The future research recommendations will provide several fresh perspectives for geo-energy development in deep low-permeability reservoirs in subsequent stages. Document Type: Perspective Cited as: Li, P., Liu, Y., Cai, M., Miao, S., Dai, L., Gorjian, M. Accurate stress measurement using hydraulic fracturing in deep low-permeability reservoirs: Challenges and research directions. Advances in Geo-Energy Research, 2024, 14(3): 165-169. https://doi.org/10.46690/ager.2024.12.02