Hydraulic Gel Fracturing

Fracturing gel is a critical component of the hydraulic fracturing treatment. Its main functions are to open the fracture and to transport a propping agent along the length of the fracture. The most common fracturing gels use natural polymers, such as guar, crosslinked by borate to form viscoelastic gels. Due to serious limitations of many polymeric gels, a new generation of fracturing gels based upon viscoelastic surfactants has been developed. This work describes the commonly used fracturing gels.

Keywords:

• hydraulic fracturing gel
• HPG gel
• surfactant‐based gel
• polymer
• oil‐based gel
• multiphase gel