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Fracability Evaluation Based on the Three-Dimensional Geological Numerical Simulation of In Situ Stress: Case Study of the Longmaxi Formation in the Weirong Shale Gas Field, Southwestern China

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Abstract

Quantitative evaluation of fracability is essential for hydraulic fracturing design, with the distribution of in situ stress being a key parameter. This study focused on evaluating fracability based on three-dimensional (3D) geological numerical simulation of in situ stress. First, a 3D geological model was established based on seismic data and the geological setting of a field of interest. Thereafter, the anisotropy of the mechanical parameters and boundary conditions was used to calculate the in situ stress on the 3D model. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method was then used to calculate the fracability related to the horizontal stress difference coefficient, rock mechanical brittleness, silicon content, cohesion, and internal friction angle. The horizontal stress difference coefficient was obtained by 3D geological numerical simulation, and the remaining parameters were obtained from logging data. The results revealed that the mechanical parameters exhibited significant anisotropy within the field of interest. The in situ stress depended on the structural depth and anisotropy of the mechanical parameters. The fracability index along the well trajectory differed at different well depths. The calculation results were verified using the Meijer G-function. With the parameters used in the AHP method, the in situ stress was determined by a 3D geological numerical simulation, logging data, and laboratory experiments, from which the fracability index was obtained. The results verified by the Meijer G-function indicated that obtaining the fracability index based on the 3D geological numerical simulation of in situ stress was advantageous with respect to complex formations.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51904264 and 51674217), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Nos. 2018M643792XB and 2020M673577XB), and the Postgraduate Innovation Foundation of SWPU (No. 2020cxyb051).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploration, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu, 610500, Sichuan, China

    Ze Li, Gao Li, Hao Yu, Hongzhi Li & Hanbo Gong

  2. Southwest Oilfield Company, Sinopec, Chengdu, 610051, Sichuan, China

    Long He & Zujun Jiang

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  1. Ze Li
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Contributions

ZL: Methodology, numerical simulation, writing; GL: Supervision, methodology; HY: Numerical simulation; LH: Data curation; ZJ: Validation; HL: Data curation; HG: Experimental study.

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Correspondence to Gao Li.

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Li, Z., Li, G., Yu, H. et al. Fracability Evaluation Based on the Three-Dimensional Geological Numerical Simulation of In Situ Stress: Case Study of the Longmaxi Formation in the Weirong Shale Gas Field, Southwestern China. Math Geosci 54, 1069–1096 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11004-022-10001-5

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