Designing an effective fracturing fluid is a critically important part of the fracturing design process.
Fracturing fluid serves a dual role: it creates the fractures, and it carries the proppants to the fractures. Usually, fracturing fluids also contain chemicals designed to remediate formation damage caused by the fracturing process.
Most commonly, fracturing fluids consist of water mixed with a suite of additives designed to improve performance. In the table below, we’ve summarized the most common components of a typical fracturing fluid.
| Component | Typical % | Role |
| Water | 90% | Transmits pressure from the surface, creating fractures. Carries proppants and additives. |
| Proppant | 9% | Holds fractures open. |
| Acids | 0.1% | Prepares rock for fracturing and dissolves blockages. |
| Friction Reducers | 0.05% | Reduces friction of fracturing fluid, easing flow through the well bore and formation. May reduce the amount of horsepower needed at the surface. |
| Corrosion Inhibitor | 0.05% | Prevents corrosion by the acid treatment. |
| Biocide | <0.01% | Prevents biological growth, which can clog fractures and can induce the generation of gases like hydrogen sulfide. |
| Gelling Agent | 0.005% | Increases viscosity, allowing more proppant to be carried at lower flow rates. |
Let’s hear Mike Parker’s perspective on the role of modern fracturing fluids in releasing gas from unconventional and tight shale formations.
Transcript
Modern Hydraulic Fracturing Fluids
Hydraulic fracturing’s been around for, you know, arguably 60 or so years in different forms and formats. The big leap has been with the high volume hydraulic fracturing that we see with non-conventionals.
The types of fluids that are used, things like friction reducers, emulsifiers, viscosifiers, use of different types of polymers, additives that keep fluids stable at temperatures, higher temperatures, all have contributed to more efficient development of shales and other non-conventionals. When I say non-conventionals, I mean shale and tight gas as well. But those types of advances are where we’ve seen a lot of progress.
Citations
1. United State Environmental Protection Agency, 2011, Plan to study the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources: Office of Research and Development, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., November 2011, EPA/600/R-11/122, http://water.epa.gov/ (accessed May 1, 2014).
Images: “Fracking Tanks” by Jim Ladlee for Top Energy Training; “Fracking Gel” by Jim Blecha