Evaluation of Resin Coated Proppants: A New Custom Method

Abstract

Resin Coated Proppants (RCP) type proppants are used to control proppant backflow in hydraulic fracturing operations. Negative effects of the RCP proppants used on the flowback volume and fracturing fluid have been frequently reported by operator companies. It is of great importance to understand how the resin material on which such proppants are coated behaves in during fracturing treatment conditions. In this study, it was investigated whether the resin covering the proppant surface flowed down from the proppant surface during fracturing operations. A new custom experimental method was developed to study resin behavior of RCP type proppants. In this developed method, RCP proppants were pressurized with fracing fluids, and then the changes in proppant size and loss of stickiness were recorded both by observation and by Particle Size Distribution (PSD) analyses. It was observed that the size of the RCP proppants decreased by 1-5% at 250 °F and different exposure times.