Patent ID: 7669655

Claim:
A method of hydraulic fracturing a subterranean formation by introducing a transport fluid containing a proppant into a desired fracture of defined generalized geometry within the formation, the method comprising: (a) determining the estimated propped fracture length of the fracture, D PSI , in accordance with Equation (I): ( D PST ) B =( q i )×(1 /A )× C TRANS ×(d 2 prop )×(1/μ fluid )×(ΔSG PS ) (I) wherein: A is the multiplier and B is the exponent from the Power Law equation of the velocity of the transport slurry vs. distance for the fracture geometry; C TRANS is the transport coefficient; q i is the injection rate per foot of injection height, bpm/ft; d prop is the median proppant diameter, in mm.; μ fluid is the apparent viscosity of the transport fluid, in cP; and 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; (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 PSI .