METHOD FOR DETERMINING THREE-DIMENSIONAL ORIENTATION OF HYDRAULIC FRACTURES Russian patent published in 2017 - IPC E21B43/267 G01V5/10 

FIELD: mining engineering.

SUBSTANCE: method for determining the three-dimensional orientation of a hydraulic fracture includes formation hydraulic fracturing - Frac with the formation of a hydraulic fracture and determining the three-dimensional orientation of the hydraulic fracture after the Frac. Prior to the Frac in the well in the interval of the formation to be fractured, a geophysical device is lowered on a pipe string, pulsed neutron logging is performed by rotating the pipe string with the geophysical device at an angle of 360°, measuring the neutron-absorbing capacity of the formation rocks. The pipe casing with the geophysical device is removed out of the well. Then, the Frac is done producing and maintaining a hydraulic fracture with a proppant. Moreover, maintaining the fracture, the proppant is pumped in two portions. The first portion to be pumped is the proppant of 4/5 of its total mass, and the second portion is a marked proppant containing 0.4% by weight of gadolinium (Gd⁶⁴_157.25) in 1/5 of the total proppant mass. At the same time the proppant fractions are the same in both portions. Upon completion of fixing fractures, the pressure is released from the well and the bottom hole is washed off the excess marked proppant. The pipe casing with a packer is recovered from the well. A geophysical device on a pipe casing is lowered into the well in the formation interval fixed with a fracture, fixed in the bottom hole area with a marked proppant. Pulsed neutron logging is performed by rotating the pipe string with the geophysical device at an angle of 360,° measuring the neutron-absorbing capacity of the formation rocks and the fracture and the three-dimensional orientation of the hydraulic fracture is determined.

EFFECT: simplification of the process of determining the three-dimensional orientation of a hydraulic fracture, improved reliability and efficiency of determining the direction of the three-dimensional orientation of the fracture, reduced duration of the implementation process.

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