Mechanics of Hydraulic Fracturing

Revised to include current components considered for today’s unconventional and multi-fracture grids, Mechanics of Hydraulic Fracturing, Second Edition explains one of the most important features for fracture design — the ability to predict the geometry and characteristics of the hydraulically induced fracture. With two-thirds of the world’s oil and natural gas reserves committed to unconventional resources, hydraulic fracturing is the best proven well stimulation method to extract these resources from their more remote and complex reservoirs. However, few hydraulic fracture models can properly simulate more complex fractures. Engineers and well designers must understand the underlying mechanics of how fractures are modeled in order to correctly predict and forecast a more advanced fracture network.

Updated to accommodate today’s fracturing jobs, Mechanics of Hydraulic Fracturing, Second Edition enables the engineer to:

• Understand complex fracture networks to maximize completion strategies

• Recognize and compute stress shadow, which can drastically affect fracture network patterns

• Optimize completions by properly modeling and more accurately predicting for today’s hydraulic fracturing completions

• Discusses the underlying mechanics of creating a fracture from the wellbore

• Enhanced to include newer modeling components such as stress shadow and interaction of hydraulic fracture with a natural fracture, which aids in more complex fracture networks

• Updated experimental studies that apply to today’s unconventional fracturing cases