Analyzing the Benefits of Designing a Multifunctional Surfactant Blend From Laboratory Scale to Field Scale in Hydraulic Fracturing under High-Salinity Conditions: A Case Study of the Mississippian Limestone Play
Authors: Jin Xiao , Phatak Alhad , Friesen Dawn , Sanders Aaron , Ren Ginger , Koster Nicholas 
Published: September 2022

Surfactants are typically used in hydraulic fracturing applications to perform a single function, which results in multiple surfactants being used during operations. In this study, flow loop and coreflood tests were conducted with slickwater fracturing fluid systems and analyzed in conjunction to observe the effectiveness of flowback surfactants and their ability to increase friction reducer performance. A multifunctional surfactant blend (MSB) is tested against surfactant formulations commonly used either as a flowback aid or as a performance enhancer for low-cost friction reducers in harsh conditions. A case study is conducted using wells in the Mississippian limestone play to correlate laboratory investigations to field observations.

Each surfactant solution was tested with a friction-reducing polymer in synthetic brine containing a salt concentration of 200 000 mg/L representative of harsh field conditions in the laboratory evaluation. Coreflood tests were conducted under reservoir conditions to evaluate flowback efficiency quantified by regained permeability. To test the ability of the surfactants to improve friction reduction (FR) performance, a 0.4-in. inner diameter friction flow loop was used. In the field-scale application, four wells were hydraulically fractured with two wells acting as control cases and two wells including the addition of the MSB. Completions and production data are presented to compare the performances of the wells and the efficacy of the MSB at the field scale.

Friction flow loop testing showed that slickwater fluids with commonly used flowback surfactant formulations, including the MSB, can greatly improve the performance of economical freshwater friction reducers, even in a high calcium (13 000 mg/L) synthetic brine. The same slickwater/surfactant fluids used in the flow loop tests were evaluated in coreflood tests. Depending on the degree of polymer-induced damage created in the core samples, fluids containing the MSB offered the most consistent regained permeability. The laboratory-scale study shows that the MSB is functional for both polymer damage mitigation and acts as a performance booster for the FR, allowing a more economical friction reducer to be selected for slickwater fracturing. In field applications, including the MSB in the fracturing fluid resulted in increased oil production volumes and/or a reduced need for remedial operations throughout the early life of the well.

The results of this study show that by properly utilizing the friction flow loop and coreflood laboratory-scale experiments, an optimized MSB can be selected for hydraulic fracturing operations at the field scale. By selecting a flowback surfactant formulation that also increases friction reducer performance, a lower friction reducer dosage or a more economical friction reducer can potentially lead to operational savings at the field scale.