Paper: An Improved Foam Fracturing Process

A recurring problem in foam fracturing is sand suspension; i.e., the suspension of high sand concentrations in the liquid phase of a foam frac system. A process has been developed which enables the liquid phase to be pumped directly from the blender to the high-pressure pumps without recirculating to suspend high sand concentrations. This process for foam frac is improved by using a unique gel-gel breaker system for the liquid portion used in generating the foam. The advantage of this system is that more sand may be carried in the liquid portion, which means that more sand can be delivered downhole, which in turn delivers more sand to the fracture. resulting in more of the created fracture being propped. The liquid portion of the fluid is divided into two portions. The main liquid portion which carries the sand is modified by hydrating a cellulose-type polymer in water to form a viscous gel. The viscosity of this gel is such that high sand concentrations can be carried without recirculation. The other smaller portion carries a foaming agent and a gel breaker. When the two liquids are combined, the viscosity of the gel breaks immediately. Nitrogen gas is then added downstream to generate the foam as shown in Fig. 1.