Patent ID: 9328285
Filing Date: 2016-05-03
CPC Classification: C09K,E21B

Claim Text:
1. A method for fracturing a formation comprising: pumping a liquid fracturing fluid into a formation to be fractured at a liquid pressure sufficient to fracture the formation, where the fluid includes a proppant, during pumping, injecting a gas into the liquid fracturing fluid at a single downhole location and at a gas injection rate below an amount that would convert the fluid into a stable foam, and changing the gas injection rate to produce a desired gasification profile in the fracturing fluid across the formation to be fractured during fracturing, where the injecting produces gas microbubbles having an average size between about 10 and about 6000 micron (μm or μ) in the fracturing fluid, where the gasification profile is characterized by having a gas to fluid ratio of less than 20% and a microbubble volume fraction in the fracturing fluid between about 1 and about 40 percent in the fracturing fluid and where the microbubbles reduce a settling rate of the proppant in the fracturing fluid by hindering proppant settling, reducing proppant density, or forming microbubble coated proppant particles.