Propped Fracturing in Gas Carbonate Formations in Mexico

Abstract Since 1995 Pemex E & P has been using acid fracturing to increase production rates in gas-condensate fields in carbonate formations at the Veracruz Asset. The increase in production from fractured wells is an average of 0.5 MMCFD per well. Trying to enhance the fracturing activities, the Veracruz Multidisciplinary Team made a proposal for a project for the application of propped fractures. The project is part of an internal process named Technology Management Process, PAT per its Spanish acronym, conducted and supported by the Technology and Professional Development Subdirection. In Mexico, all the propped fracturing activities were conducted in sandstone formations, especially in its North border, and hence the importance of this work. The project includes 3 propped fractures in fields Mata Pionche, Mecayucan and Copite. In 1998 the well Mata Pionche 1092 was fractured, but the job suffered a premature screenout after 55% of the proppant mass had been placed in the formation. In spite of the screenout, a net increase of 0.2 MMCFD was achieved, not enough to recover the investment in a short time. This paper presents a Post-Frac analysis of well Mata Pionche 1092 treatment, independent of the Service Company's report. It was finished 12 months after the treatment to include the production response over a considerable period. This paper includes the causes of such screenout concerns and describes multiple fracture geometry using several tools. Although these tools are used to obtain data differently, they are not used in Mini Frac and main treatment data together. This paper will show that the effective use of the combined analysis is more comprehensive. It is possible to apply successfully propped fracturing in carbonate formations with some modifications to the perforation program, selection of fracturing fluids and flow efficiency testing to diagnose potential problems.