Granted Patent B2

US 12,644,042 · App. 18/463,476 · Granted Jun 2, 2026

Inventors: Chad Cannan (Lancaster, NY); Terrence Palisch (Richardson, TX)

Assignee: CARBO CERAMICS INC.

C09K8/805C23C14/06C23C14/35E21B43/25E21B43/267E21B47/00E21B47/092E21B43/26

Abstract

Claims (19)

1 . A method of fracturing a subterranean formation, comprising:

determining an amount of hydraulic fluid to inject into a wellbore extending into the subterranean formation at a rate sufficient to open a subterranean fracture therein;

injecting the hydraulic fluid into the wellbore to prop open the subterranean fracture, the hydraulic fluid including electrically-conductive proppant particles;

obtaining electric and magnetic field responses of the subterranean fracture that is at least partially filled with the electrically-conductive proppant particles using a plurality of sensors, wherein obtaining the electric and magnetic field responses of the subterranean fracture includes:

electrically energizing at least a portion of a well casing disposed within the wellbore, wherein electrically energizing the at least a portion of the well casing causes subsurface electric and magnetic fields that interact with the electrically-conductive proppant particles to produce secondary electric and magnetic fields; and

detecting the secondary electric and magnetic fields produced by the interaction between the subsurface electric and magnetic fields and the electrically-conductive proppant particles as the electric and magnetic field responses of the subterranean fracture; and

producing an image of the electrically-conductive proppant particles based on the electric and magnetic field responses, wherein producing the image further comprises:

determining a source wave form; and

projecting the electric and magnetic field responses and the source wave form into an earth model using constructive and destructive interferences.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein each electrically conductive proppant particle comprises an electrically-conductive material.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the electrically-conductive material comprises one or more of a metal, an electrically-conductive polymer, graphite, carbon nanotube, or an electrically-conductive nanoparticle.

4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the electrically-conductive material comprises graphite or carbon nanotube.

5 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the electrically-conductive material comprises a metal selected from the group consisting of aluminum, copper, and nickel.

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the electrically-conductive material comprises nickel.

7 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the electrically-conductive material comprises graphite.

8 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the electrically-conductive proppant particles have an electrically-conductive material concentration of about 5 wt % to about 10 wt %.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the electrically-conductive proppant particles have a resistivity of about 100 ohm-cm to about 0.8 ohm-cm.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the earth model is based on geophysical logs.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the earth model is based on geological information.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (6)

References Cited (219)