Prediction of Proppant Distribution in a Horizontal Hydraulic Fracturing Stage

Abstract Distributing the injected proppant equally between different perforated clusters remains challenging and requires optimization to achieve effective stimulation treatments. The distribution of proppant is essential to sustain the induced fracture conductivity and maximize the productivity of the stimulated well. Several factors affect proppant distribution and placement in different perforation clusters, including injection rate, proppant concentration, and fluid viscosity. Field proppant distribution data from a single stage, containing 15 clusters and 21 clusters, were used. The completion design incorporated two different perforation orientations to assess the distribution of the two proppant sizes. The injected proppant concentration was varied from 1 to 2 ppg. Different dimensional terms were devised to predict proppant distribution in a single stage using Buckingham's Pi theorem. The correlation considers the number of perforations per stage, perforation orientation, and the injection parameters. A coefficient of variation criterion was implemented to reduce the variability of proppant concentrations in each perforation cluster. The correlation proved to be precise in estimating the proppant distribution with a minimum residual sum of squares error. This work introduces a novel correlation that can be utilized to predict the actual proppant distribution in the field providing the completion design and injection parameters. This correlation is imperative as it paves the way for future work incorporating the effect of additional parameters, including reservoir geomechanical properties, to ensure an even proppant distribution in multi-cluster hydraulic fracturing treatment design. Proppant Transport Horizontal Wellbore Fracturing Stage