| abstract |
A system and a method for heterogeneous proppant placement in a fracture ( 12 ) in a subterranean formation ( 18 ) are disclosed. The system includes a delivery system ( 10 ) for delivering proppant and treatment fluid to the fracture ( 12 ), a sensor ( 20 ) for measuring geometry of the fracture and a computer ( 24 ) in communication with the sensor ( 20 ). The computer ( 24 ) includes a software tool for real-time design of a model ( 38 ) for heterogeneous proppant placement in the fracture ( 12 ) based on data from the sensor ( 20 ) measurements and a software tool for developing and updating a proppant placement schedule ( 42 ) for delivering the proppant and treatment fluid to the fracture ( 12 ) corresponding to the model. A control link between the computer ( 24 ) and the delivery system ( 10 ) permits the delivery system ( 10 ) to adjust the delivery of the proppant and treatment fluid according the updated proppant placement schedule. |