Patent ID: 8141632

Claim:
A method for determining hydraulic fracture dimensions comprising: creating a fracture in a borehole zone by injecting a polymer-based fracturing fluid into a wellbore so that a fracturing fluid filtrate penetrates into a formation around the fracture through a fracture surface and creates a filtrate zone around the fracture, providing a numerical model for displacement of the fracturing fluid from the fracture and the filtrate zone, by a formation fluid, the model being made based upon given formation parameters, fracturing data, and predicted fracture dimensions, using the model for calculating a change of a recovered fracturing fluid concentration in a produced fluid during production as a function of time and for calculating a change of a polymer concentration in the recovered fracturing fluid as a function of time, putting the well into production, periodically taking fluid samples from a well mouth during a fracturing fluid recovery, measuring recovered fracturing fluid concentration and polymer concentration in the samples, comparing the measurement results with the model calculations; and determining fracture length and width on the basis of a match of the measurement results and the model calculations, the match being obtained by correcting the fracture length and width so as to provide a constant total fracture volume.