Novel Re-Crosslinkable Preformed Particle Gels (RPPG) for Parent- and Infill-Well-Fracture Interactions Mitigation

Abstract Hydraulic fracturing treatments in unconventional infill (or "child") wells can be significantly affected by depletion from existing parent-well, resulting in asymmetrical fracture growth. These issues may lead to excessive load-water production, proppant deposition, casing deformation in the parent well, and unbalanced stimulation of infill wells. To mitigate these effects, various strategies have been proposed, including the use of far-field diverters in child wells and repressurization of parent wells. Additionally, an increasingly popular strategy involves injecting near-wellbore diverters to temporarily plug entry points into the parent wellbores during frac operations on infill wells. To achieve better application, a novel low-cost, self-degradable, re-crosslinkable preformed particle gel (RPPG) has been developed and evaluated. Preliminary characterization results indicate that this RPPG exhibits sufficient thermal stability and self-degrading performance at 150°C during the required timeframe, with minimal residues. It also demonstrates good injectivity and plugging efficiency.