Hydraulic Fracture Propagation in Naturally Fractured Reservoirs: Complex Fracture or Fracture Networks

TL;DR

This paper introduces a fully-coupled numerical model to study hydraulic fracture propagation in naturally fractured reservoirs, revealing that complex fractures are more typical than fracture networks, which has implications for geothermal and unconventional reservoir development.

Contribution

The study provides a new numerical modeling approach and challenges existing assumptions by showing complex fractures are more common than fracture networks in naturally fractured reservoirs.

Findings

Complex fractures are the norm in naturally fractured reservoirs.

The numerical model effectively simulates hydraulic propagation.

Field observations support the dominance of complex fractures.

Abstract

Understanding the behavior of fluid-driven hydraulic fracture in naturally fractured reservoirs is crucial in the development of geothermal energy and unconventional reservoirs. This study presents a fully-coupled numerical model to investigate hydraulic propagation in naturally fractured reservoirs, along with a comprehensive discussion on field observations. The results indicate that, contrary to our common beliefs, "Complex Fracture" rather than "Fracture Networks" is the norm in these naturally fractured reservoirs