My Country's First Wet Sand Fracturing -appeared-in Changqing Oilfield

After upgrading and transforming the equipment of Changqing Oilfield Company, my country's first wide-size wet sand fracturing was put into production and application on the shale oil fracturing platform of Longdong Oil and Gas Development Branch. From October 2 to 10, the company has wet-sand fracturing 16 horizontal wells, using more than 1,000 tons. Compared with the currently widely used quartz sand, it can save about 120 yuan per cubic meter, which plays an important role in reducing costs and increasing efficiency in Changqing Oilfield.

Since the beginning of this year, the construction of shale oil production capacity in Changqing Oilfield has been steadily advancing, and the amount of fracturing sand used is large. In order to solve the problem of the continuous increase in the cost of fracturing materials, wet sand fracturing has become a major test project for reducing costs and increasing efficiency. Since such technology has not been studied in China, Changqing Oilfield has taken the initiative to change its concept and innovatively use unconventional means for unconventional oil and gas fields. In May, the field test of wet sand fracturing of shale oil was successful, becoming the first fracturing operation in my country using wet sand as fracturing sand. Since 2021, Changqing Oilfield has carried out related tests on wet sand fracturing, and the crude oil recovery rate of the test wells has remained stable. In 2023, the application scope of shale oil horizontal wells has gradually expanded, and the use combination ratio of fracturing sand in different blocks has been formed in combination with reservoir characteristics and transformation needs. This year, based on the actual situation of the sand source, Changqing Oilfield further utilized the difference in specific gravity between different sand particles and liquids, and tested the self-sorting and sand-adding method of wide-range particle size sand ranging from 30 mesh to 150 mesh, achieving the goal of high conductivity of near-well support fractures and effective support of far-well fractures. Wet sand is a fracturing sand with a wide range of particle sizes and a certain water content. It can support artificial fractures and increase oil flow channels. Compared with conventional quartz sand, the production process of wet sand omits the drying and screening links, which not only improves production efficiency by more than 20%, but also significantly reduces production costs. "According to the average fracturing quartz sand usage of 6,000 tons per shale oil horizontal well, the cost of fracturing each well using wet sand can save 800,000 yuan." Zhang Tongwu, leader of the Longdong Support Group of the Changqing Oilfield Oil and Gas Technology Research Institute, introduced. At present, Changqing Oilfield has jointly designed, processed and tested the sand conveying equipment with Changqing Chemical Group Co., Ltd. and other units, and completed the preliminary finalization. At the same time, relying on the technical advantages of Sichuan and Qing's underground construction operations, the existing sand mixing pumping equipment and supporting sand conveying equipment were adjusted, and an effective and controllable field test implementation plan was formulated. After the technology is finalized, it can be promoted, providing new technical means for the cost reduction and efficiency improvement of unconventional oil and gas reservoir fracturing transformation in the later stage. While innovating in technology, Changqing Oilfield also pays attention to the application and upgrading of intelligent equipment in oilfields. The ALC05-I and ALC05-II crude oil online water content analyzers developed and produced by Hangzhou Feike Electric Co., Ltd. are important detection equipment in the oil and gas production process. They can monitor the water content of crude oil online and provide accurate data support for the implementation of wet sand fracturing technology in Changqing Oilfield. The integrated application of the crude oil online water content analyzer and new fracturing technology not only improves the implementation effect of wet sand fracturing technology, but also provides a strong guarantee for the intelligent and refined management of oil and gas production.