An improved method of fracturing a subterranean formation wherein particles composed of sintered bauxite are placed in the formation fracture to maintain the walls of the fracture spaced apart. The sintered bauxite particles have a specific gravity greater than 3.4 and are prepared from bauxite material having a grain size of about 12 microns or less.

Hydraulic fracturing method using sintered bauxite propping agent

An aluminosilicate ceramic, spherical pellet made from spent ceramic catalyst. More specifically, a spherical ceramic pellet made from spent fluid cracking catalyst. The pellets can be made by grinding the catalyst particles, forming them into spherical pellets, and then sintering the pellets. The final product is useful as a proppant in oil and gas well fracturing.

Proppant composition for gas and oil well fracturing

The novel proppant consists of composite particles, the core of which is a conventional proppant particle such as silica sand The core has a thin, void-containing coating which provides an overall density approaching that of the fracturing fluid The coating preferably comprises hollow glass microspheres embedded in an adhesive which bonds the microspheres to the core

Proppant for well fractures and method of making same

For extracting a liquid (such as oil) from a porous medium, the liquid is subjected to pulses that propagate through the liquid flowing through the pores of the medium. The pulses cause momentary surges in the velocity of the liquid, which keeps the pores open. The pulses can be generated in the production well, or in a separate excitation well. If the pulses travel with the liquid, the velocity of travel of the liquid through the pores can be increased. The solid matrix is kept stationary, and the pulses move through the liquid. The pulses in the liquid can be generated directly in the liquid, or indirectly in the liquid via a localised area of the solid matrix.

Enhancement of flow rates through porous media

A well is completed by cementing a casing string in place in the well. A jetting tool assembly is run into the casing string on a tubing string. The jetting tool assembly engages a sliding sleeve of a casing valve and slides the sliding sleeve to an open position uncovering a plurality of housing ports in the casing valve housing in which the sleeve is received. Then, disintegratable plugs are hydraulically jetted from the housing ports to communicate a subsurface formation adjacent the casing valve with an interior of the casing string. Preferably, prior to opening the sleeve and hydraulically jetting the plugs, residual cement is drilled from the casing string, then further residual cement is hydraulically jetted from the casing valve, and then the casing valve is backwashed by reverse circulation.

Well completions using casing valves

A method for propping a fracture in a subterranean formation uses a fluid suspension of impermeable proppant particles. The particles are a ceramic material having internal pores or cells containing a material with a substantially lower density than the ceramic material, for example, a glass sphere having internal voids or bubbles. The low average density of the particles will reduce their tendency to settle in the fluid suspension. The cellular structure will permit localized, partial crushing of the particles rather than complete fragmentation under applied load. Localized crushing will increase the contact area between the particle and the fractured wall which will result in improved load carrying by the proppant particles. (10 claims)

Method for propping a fracture

A method of propping fractures in a subterranean formation employs hard, ceramic particles having oppositely disposed surface elements which are linear and paralled. The composition of the particles may be glass or other ceramic material having a resistance to impact abrasion at least as great as soda-lime-silica glass. The particles may have the configuration of cylinders, rods, parallelepipeds, prisms, cubes, plates or other configuration which will have linear elements on its surface which are oppositely disposed and parallel. (9 claims)

Othar M Kiel

Papers

Method for propping a fracture

Method of propping fractures with ceramic particles

Method for testing wells for the existence of permeability damage

Method for improving permeability

Apparatus for improving the permeability of subterranean formations