Patent ID: 8167039

Claim:
A method of hydraulic fracturing a subterranean formation by introducing a transport fluid containing a proppant into a fracture of defined length, D PST , within the formation, the method comprising: (a) determining the requisite median diameter of the proppant, d prop , for the fracture of defined length in accordance with Equation (I): ( d prop )=( A )×(1 /q i )×( D PST ) B ×(1 /C TRANS )×(1 /ΔSG PS )×(μ fluid ) (I) wherein: A is the multiplier and B is the exponent from the Power Law equation of velocity of the transport slurry vs. distance for the fracture geometry; q i is the injection rate per foot of injection height, bpm/ft; C TRANS is the transport coefficient; ΔSG PS is SG prop −SG fluid , SG prop being the specific gravity of the proppant and SG fluid being the specific gravity of the transport fluid; and μ fluid is the apparent viscosity of the transport fluid, in cP; (b) introducing the transport fluid into the formation; and (c) subjecting the formation to hydraulic fracturing and creating fractures in the formation defined by D PST .