Controls of natural fractures on the texture of hydraulic fractures in rock

Hydraulic fracturing plays an important role in the exploitation of oil, shale gas and coal seam gas resources – all of which contain natural fractures. We systematically explore the role of the pre-existing texture of such natural fractures on the form of the resulting stimulated reservoir volume (SRV). A blocky discrete element model (DEM) coupled with fluid flow is used to explore this response. Numerical predictions for the evolution of...