Patent ID: 8258083

Claim:
A method for fracture stimulation of a subterranean formation having a wellbore, comprising: providing a heat-treated polymeric impact modified nanocomposite spherical bead proppant comprising: a polymer matrix, wherein said polymer matrix comprises a styrene-divinylbenzene copolymer or a styrene-ethylvinylbenzene-divinylbenzene terpolymer; from 0.1 to 65 weight percent of a polymeric impact modifier; and from 0.001 to 60 volume percent of nanofiller particles possessing a length that is less than 0.5 microns in at least one principal axis direction; said nanofiller particles comprising at least one of dispersed fine particulate material, fibrous material, discoidal material, or a combination of such materials, and wherein said nanofiller particles are selected from the group of nanofillers consisting of: carbon black, fumed silica, fumed alumina, carbon nanotubes, carbon nanofibers, cellulosic nanofibers, fly ash, polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes, or mixtures thereof, wherein said nanofiller particles are dispersed throughout said heat-treated polymeric impact modified nanocomposite spherical bead proppant, wherein said heat-treated polymeric impact modified nanocomposite spherical bead proppant has a diameter ranging from 0.1 mm to 4 mm, and wherein said heat-treated polymeric impact modified nanocomposite spherical bead proppant has about neutral buoyancy relative to water; forming a slurry comprising a fluid and said heat-treated polymeric impact modified nanocomposite spherical bead proppant; injecting into the wellbore said slurry at sufficiently high rates and pressures such that said formation fails and fractures to accept said slurry; and emplacing said heat-treated polymeric impact modified nanocomposite spherical bead proppant within a fracture network in said formation in a packed mass or a partial monolayer of heat-treated polymeric impact modified nanocomposite spherical bead proppant which packed mass or partial monolayer props open the fracture network; thereby allowing produced gases, fluids, or mixtures thereof, to flow towards the wellbore.