A method for manipulating hydraulic fracture geometry. In one embodiment, the method comprises injecting a fracturing fluid into a well to generate one or more hydraulic fractures in a subsurface rock formation and then substantially draining any fluids from the one or more hydraulic fractures. The method may further comprise injecting a hydrophilic polymer and one or more crosslinking agents into the well to subsequently form low-density hydrogels which may then screen out only each tip of the one or more hydraulic fractures. A working fluid may then be injected into the well to increase fracture width of the one or more hydraulic fractures without substantially increasing fracture length. In an alternative embodiment, the hydrophilic polymer may be fully crosslinked by the one or more crosslinking agents and injected as pre-formed particle gels (PPGs) which may also screen out only each tip of the one or more hydraulic fractures.

A system for deploying an untethered dissolvable frac package for use in a hydraulic fracturing operation includes a dissolvable or degradable frac package with a dissolvable or degradable setting tool. The setting tool of the dissolvable frac package is configured to deploy a dissolvable frac plug at a predetermined position along the wellbore string and dissolve over time in the wellbore.

A flow conveyed plugging device for use in a well, the device can include a body, and one or more lines extending outwardly from the body, each of the lines having a lateral dimension that is substantially smaller than a size of the body. A method of plugging an opening in a well can include deploying at least one flow conveyed plugging device into the well, the flow conveyed plugging device including a body and, extending outwardly from the body, at least one of the group consisting of: a) one or more fibers and b) one or more lines, the flow conveyed plugging device being conveyed by flow in the well into sealing engagement with the opening. Another flow conveyed plugging device can include a body, and fibers extending outwardly from the body. The flow conveyed plugging device degrades and thereby permits flow through an opening in the well.

A method of producing petroleum from at least one open hole in at least one petroleum production zone of a hydrocarbon well comprising the steps of locating a plurality of sliding valves along at least one production tubing; inserting the plurality of sliding valves and the production tubing into the at least one open hole; cementing the plurality of sliding valves in the at least one open hole; opening at least one of the cemented sliding valves; removing at least some of the cement adjacent the opened sliding valves without using jetting tools or cutting tools to establish at least one communication path between the interior of the production tubing and the at least one petroleum production zone; directing a fracing material radially through the at least one sliding valve radially toward the at least one production zone; producing hydrocarbons from the at least one petroleum production zone through the plurality of the sliding valves the cement adjacent to which has been removed.

A system and method to determine closure pressure in a wellbore that can include, flowing a fracturing fluid into the wellbore during a fracturing operation of at least one stage and forming a fracture, sensing fluid pressure and a flow rate of the fracturing fluid during the fracturing operation and communicating the sensed data to a controller, plotting data points of the sensed data to a visualization device which is configured to visually present the data points to an operator as a plot, fitting a curve to the data points which represent statistically-relevant minimum pressure data at various flow rates, determining an intercept of the first curve with a zero flow rate axis of the plot, determining the closure pressure based on a pressure value of the intercept, and determining an average fracture permeability based on the closure pressure.

A system and method for treating a subterranean formation. The method may include utilizing a diluted stream and a high-loading stream which are combined to form a diverting composition. The diverting composition may then be injected into a wellbore. The system may include devices to prepare the diluted stream and high-loading stream, combine the streams, and introduce the combined stream into the wellbore.

A system for stimulating a subterranean formation that has a wellbore formed within the subterranean formation; and a tubular disposed within the wellbore. There is a first frac valve disposed within the tubular, the first frac valve having a first sleeve in a closed position, and further configured to move to an open position. There is an at least a second frac valve disposed within the tubular, the second frac valve having a respective sleeve in a respective closed position, and further configured to move to a respective open position. A dart is configured to pass through the first frac valve without moving the first sleeve, and to subsequently engage the second frac valve to move the respective sleeve to the respective open position.

Acid stimulation operations in a wellbore may be conducted using frac plugs constructed of a hydrolytically degradable polymer. The frac plugs may be constructed of an aliphatic polyester such as PGA and may be readily pumped into position in the wellbore due in part to their relatively low density. Once perforations have been created in the wellbore and a first frac plug is set in place, an acid solution may be pumped at a high-pressure acid against the frac plug and into the geologic formation. A second and/or any number of subsequent frac plugs may be pumped behind the acid, e.g., in brine solution, to be used in subsequent acid stimulation operations. After completing acid stimulation operations, the frac plugs may degrade in the wellbore to permit production within two weeks.

An economical process in which cement sheath integrity, perforation cluster spacing and frac plug integrity can be assessed for every frac stage, potentially leading to improvements in stimulation, completion, cementing and drilling practices. It is based on analyzing wellbore pressure responses occurring at key segments of the wireline pump-down and perforating operation and correlating the results among multiple frac stages and wells in a field or play. A special requirement is that the frac ball (ball check) is inserted in the frac plug and pumped to seat prior to performing perforating operations. A complementary benefit of this process is that selectively establishing injectivity in the most distant perforation cluster can be used to establish inhibited HCl acid (wireline acid) coverage across all perforation intervals for uniform reduction in near-wellbore tortuosity.

Methods of stimulating a hydrocarbon well are disclosed herein. The hydrocarbon well includes a wellbore that extends within a subterranean formation and a tubular that extends within the wellbore and defines a tubular conduit. The methods include retaining a sealing structure within the tubular conduit and, during the retaining, stimulating a zone of the subterranean formation. Subsequent to the stimulating, the methods include fluidly isolating the zone of the subterranean formation from the uphole region by at least partially sealing the plurality of perforations. Subsequent to the fluidly isolating, the methods include moving the sealing structure in a downhole direction within the tubular conduit. The methods also include repeating the retaining, the stimulating, the fluidly isolating, and the moving a plurality of times to stimulate a plurality of corresponding zones of the subterranean formation.