Michael B. Smith

High-Permeability Fracturing: "Carter" Fluid Loss or Not

Frac-pack treatments and hydraulic fracturing are successful completion procedures for high-permeability formations. In these soft rock formations, permeability, thus fluid loss, is a key design parameter. Often high fluid loss is accounted for by use of high fluid-loss coefficients, which do not describe the process. One possible cause of the inconsistency might be non-1D (i.e., non-Carter type) loss behavior. Non-1D fluid loss occurs in water-injection and water-disposal fractures. ID loss is valid if the fracture propagation is greater than loss velocity; this condition is not true for waterflood-induced fracturing.