title: A method to evaluate hydraulic fracture using proppant detection.
abstract: Accurate determination of the proppant placement and propped fracture height are important for evaluating and optimizing stimulation strategies. A technology using non-radioactive proppant and a pulsed neutron gamma energy spectra logging tool to determine the placement and height of propped fractures is proposed. Gd2O3 was incorporated into ceramic proppant and a Monte Carlo method was utilized to build the logging tools and formation models. Characteristic responses of the recorded information of different logging tools to fracture widths, proppant concentrations and influencing factors were studied. The results show that Gd capture gamma rays can be used to evaluate propped fractures and it has higher sensitivity to the change of fracture width and traceable proppant content compared with the exiting non-radioactive proppant evaluation techniques and only an after-fracture measurement is needed for the new method; The changes in gas saturation and borehole size have a great impact on determining propped fractures when compensated neutron and pulsed neutron capture tool are used. A field example is presented to validate the application of the new technique.
authors: School of Geosciences, China University of Petroleum, Qingdao 266580, Shandong Province, China; Department of Nuclear Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.
authors: Juntao
authors: J
authors: Liu
authors: School of Geosciences, China University of Petroleum, Qingdao 266580, Shandong Province, China. Electronic address: zhfxy_cn@sina.com.
authors: Feng
authors: F
authors: Zhang
authors: Department of Nuclear Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.
authors: Robin P
authors: RP
authors: Gardner
authors: Department of Nuclear Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.
authors: Guojing
authors: G
authors: Hou
authors: School of Geosciences, China University of Petroleum, Qingdao 266580, Shandong Province, China.
authors: Quanying
authors: Q
authors: Zhang
authors: Maxwell Dynamics, Inc., Houston, TX 77074, USA.
authors: Hu
authors: H
authors: Li
keywords: Gd capture gamma rays; Hydraulic facture height; Proppant detection