Patent ID: 8443891

Claim:
A method of fracturing a cased wellbore portion of a well, the method comprising the steps of: (A) obtaining a fracturing job design having at least one treatment interval for the cased wellbore portion, wherein the treatment interval: (1) has a nominal cross-sectional area defined by the nominal casing inside diameter of the casing of the cased wellbore portion; and (2) has an uphole end and a downhole end; (B) running a tubular string into the treatment interval, wherein the tubular string has an axial passageway; (C) before or after the step of running, forming one or more tubular string openings in the tubular string, wherein after the step of running, the one or more tubular string openings are positioned in the treatment interval; (D) before or after the step of running, forming one or more casing openings in the casing of the treatment interval; (E) except for the axial passageway of the tubular string, blocking at least 86% of the nominal cross-sectional area of the treatment interval that is between one of the ends of the treatment interval and the axially closest of the one or more tubular string openings to the one of the ends, wherein the blocking is along a summational axial length that is at least one inch, and, except for the axial passageway of the tubular string, leaving unblocked at least 4% of the nominal cross-sectional area of the treatment interval that is along an entire axial length between the one of the ends of the treatment interval and the axially closest of the one or more tubular string openings to the one of the ends; (F) pumping a fracturing fluid through the tubular string, through the one or more tubular string openings, and through the one or more casing openings at a rate and pressure sufficient to initiate at least one fracture in the subterranean formation surrounding the treatment interval, wherein prior to the step of pumping, no packing of the tubular string is set uphole within 1,500 feet of the treatment interval; and (G) after the step of pumping a fracturing fluid, the steps of: (a) plugging the tubular string at a location uphole of the one or more tubular string openings: (b) repeating the steps after the step of running at a second treatment interval in the cased wellbore portion of the well at an uphole location relative to the plugged location.