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Abstract
Unconventional plays require multiple hydraulic fracture treatments placed in vertical or horizontal wellbores in
order to be economical. These are very complex operations performed on-location in an orchestrated manner by many
contributors. A screenout puts many of the contributors on stand-by status, delays the placement of subsequent stages,
and, results in cost overruns due to stand-by charges, wellbore cleanout operations, and, lost production days. Thus,
advanced warning of screenouts is a major technical advance in hydraulic fracturing.
Advanced warning of screenouts in real-time is a great advantage due to the ability to exercise decision control for
early termination of the treatment, or extension of the treatment.
A screenout is imminent if the surface pressure slope deviates from the inverse slope (positive surface pressure
slope). This allows for early initiation of the displacement (flush) procedure, and prevents leaving in the wellbore
excess proppant. When only the designed amount of proppant is left in the wellbore high net-pressure develops, along
with adequate packing of the near-wellbore area and a much wider fracture.
A treatment can be extended if the surface pressure slope doesnt deviate from the inverse slope (positive surface
pressure slope). Thus, if extra fluid and proppant are available on location the treatment can be extended. This would
result in a much better placement of the proppant pack, as it would result in a higher net-pressure, a wider fracture, and
higher production rates.
Introduction
The inverse slope method is an empirically developed method which is used in real-time during hydraulic fracturing
operations to obtain advanced warning of an imminent screenout, thus, early termination of can be executed.
Conversely, a hydraulic fracture treatment can be extended if a screenout isnt imminent, and if enough fluid and
proppant is available on location.
The inverse slope method has much better prediction accuracy than the Net-pressure plot method (a.k.a Nolte plot)
(Nolte 1981), because, it avoids the major issues inherent in the calculating procedure of the net-pressure.
The inverse slope method has been tested on thousands of hydraulic fracture treatments, which were located in
geographically and geologically diverse settings (6 countries and 3 continents) and, in wells with depths varying from
3,280 ft (1000 m) to 17,716 ft (5400 m). The prediction accuracy exceeds 95%.
Historical Background
The Net-pressure plot method (a.k.a. Nolte plot) (Nolte 1981) is the most widely used real-time diagnostic and
decision control procedure (method) for avoiding a screenout or extending a propped hydraulic fracture treatment. See
Figure 1 for a typical Net-pressure plot.
The logic of the Net-pressure plot method is very sound, as it is based on the behavior of the net-pressure (the
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pressure which holds the fracture open). However, the method isnt very useful in predicting a screenout or extending a
fracture treatment in real-time, as the algorithm for the net-pressure calculation as implemented in almost all
commercially available fracture propagation simulators has major issues:
Ignores the near-wellbore friction,
Ignores fracture tip dilatancy effects,
Assumes (wrongly) that the net-pressure decreases linearly to the tip of the fracture. See blue line in Figure 2,
Assumes (wrongly) that perforation friction is constant throughout the mainfrac treatment,
Ignores proppant addition effects (which vary with proppant: mesh size, type, and density),
Cannot account for effects related to the actual width of the fracture entry (an unknown).
A fracture can be thought of as a container filled with fluid under pressurized conditions (e.g., a balloon). Usually
the pressure inside the balloon is the constant everywhere (ignoring gravitational and density difference effects). Only
at the tip of the fracture the pressure declines rapidly, due to rock dilatancy and fracture re-opening effects. This is
depicted with the red line in Figure 2. The pressure in the fracture is constant, because the fluid velocity is very low.
Figure 1: Diagram showing a typical Net-pressure plot method (a.k.a. Nolte plot). The plot doesnt provide any distinct features on
which to base decisions such as when to initiate displacement (flush) or to decide to extend the hydraulic fracture treatments.
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Figure 2: Diagram shows two methods for calculating net-pressure: Conventional and true. The conventional method ignores nearwellbore friction, and, assumes linear pressure loss along the fracture length (see solid blue line). The true method is more
representative of pressure loss along the fracture length as it accounts for the previously mentioned components (see solid red
line). (Adopted and modified from Massaras et al., 2007).
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A deviation of the pressure trend from the positive surface pressure plot is a strong positive indication that a
screenout is imminent at the surface, as it is already occurring at the near-wellbore area, as such, the displacement
(flush) procedure should start immediately in order to be able to displace all the proppant from the wellbore, thus,
leaving only enough proppant in the wellbore to ensure that the near-wellbore area is propped open with the maximum
fracture width possible.
The above mentioned plot data on which the inverse slope method has been based and tested, are geographically
and geologically diverse. That is, they are from 6 countries and 3 continents, and, vary in depth from 3,280 ft (1000 m)
to 17,716 ft (5400 m).
Figure 3: Typical surface pressure behavior of a screened-out hydraulic fracture treatment, showing that the negative surface
pressure slope is equal in magnitude but opposite to the inverse slope (positive surface pressure slope). It also shows that when
the surface pressure slope starts to deviate from the inverse slope (positive surface pressure slope), it is the start of an advance
warning interval, at which point displacement (flush) should commence immediately.
Inverse Slope Equal but Opposite of the Negative Surface Pressure Slope
The negative surface pressure slope (see Figure 3) is equal but opposite in magnitude of the Inverse slope
(positive surface pressure slope) because higher proppant concentration results in a higher hydrostatic pressure and a
steeper negative surface pressure slope. When slurry with increased proppant concentration arrives at the perforated
interval, it encounters difficulties in passing through the tortuous near-wellbore area, which manifests itself as higher
pressure loss due to friction, and a steeper inverse slope (positive surface pressure slope).
The negative surface pressure slope and the inverse slope (positive surface pressure slope) are the opposite of
each other (equal but opposite slope) for standard proppant mesh sizes and types. This may not be true for large
proppant mesh sizes.
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Figure 4: Extending a hydraulic fracture treatment can be undertaken if the surface pressure slope isnt deviating from the inverse
slope (positive surface pressure slope), up-to where the surface pressure intersects the pressure stabilization line.
Conclusions
1. The Inverse Slope Method is a very simple and very accurate method for obtaining real-time advance warning
of an imminent screenout of a hydraulic fracture treatment.
2. The inverse Slope Method can be used for decision control to extend a hydraulic fracture treatment.
3. The Inverse Slope method has been tested on numerous geographically and geologically diverse settings, and
at greatly varying well depths.
4. The Inverse Slope Method has proven to be very accurate when used to call a screenout. The accuracy is
greater than 95% when standard mesh size proppant is utilized in the hydraulic fracture treatment.
Recommendations
1. During real-time fracturing operations, it is recommended to make two plots of the surface pressure. One plot
should be of the entire mainfrac treatments, while the other one should be zoomed-in on the inverse slopes.
2. On the zoomed-in plot, it is recommended to add movable smart lines on both the negative surface pressure
slope and on the inverse slope. This allows for effective visual monitoring of the pressure trend.
3. The zoomed-in plot can be used to decide to terminate early a hydraulic fracture treatment immediately upon
noticing deviation of the pressure trend from the inverse slope (positive surface pressure slope).
4. The zoomed-in plot can be used to decide to extend a hydraulic fracture treatment as long as the surface
pressure trend doesnt deviate (diverge) from the inverse slope (positive surface pressure slope).
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References
Chipperfield, S.T., Roberts, G.A., Miller II, W.K. Vandersypen, R.S.: Gel Slugs: A Near-Wellbore Pressure-Loss
Remediation Technique for Propped Fracturing, SPE Paper 59777, 2000 SPE/CERI Gas Technology
Symposium, 3-5 April, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Cleary, M. P., Johnson, D. E., Kogsboll, H. H., Perry, K. F., de Pater, C. J., Stachel, A., Schmidt, H. and Tambini, M.:
Field Implementation of Proppant Slugs to Avoid Premature Screenout of Hydraulic Fractures With Adequate
Proppant Concentration, SPE paper 25892, 1993 SPE Rocky Mountain Regional Meeting and Low-Permeability
Reservoirs Symposium, Apr. 26-28, Denver, CO.
Lizak, K., Bartko, K., Self, F., Izquierdo, G., and Al-Mumen, M. (2006): New Analysis of Step-Rate Injection
Tests for Improved Fracture Stimulation Design, SPE paper 98098, International Symposium and Exhibition on
Formation Damage Control, 15-17 February, Lafayette, Louisiana.
Massaras, L.V., Dragomir, A., Chiriac, D. (2007): Enhanced Fracture Entry Friction Analysis of the Rate Stepdown Test, SPE paper 106058, SPE Hydraulic Fracturing Technology Conference, January 29-31, College
Station Texas.
Massaras L.V., Massaras, D.V., Al-Subhi, S., (2011). The Median Ratio and Near Wellbore Friction: Useful
Proppant Admittance Criteria for Design and Placement of Safe and Effective Propped Hydraulic Fracture
Treatments, SPE paper 149092, Presented at the SPE/DGS ATSE, May 15-18, Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia.
Nolte, K.G. (1981): SPE 8297, Interpretation of Fracturing Pressures, Journal of Petroleum Technology, September
1981, pages 1767-1775.
Roberts, G.A., Chipperfield, S.T., Miller II, W.K. (2000): The Evolution of a High Near-Wellbore Pressure Loss
Treatment Strategy for the Australian Cooper Basin, SPE paper 63029, SPE ATCE, 1-4 October, Dallas, Texas.
Yang, Y., Hu, G., Kremer, A. (2008): Using Prefrac Test Information to Predict and Avoid Screenout Associated
with Slickwater Frac in Tight Gas Sands at the Wattenberg Field in the Denver-Julesburg Basin, SPE paper
115214, SPE ATCE, 21-24 September, Denver, Colorado.
Figure 5: When cross-linked gel or proppant slug arrives at the perforations the negative surface pressure slope shifts to the right
but the slope remains unchanged. This proves that both the negative slope isnt only a function of hydrostatic pressure, but also a
function of near-wellbore friction.