Sinopec has successfully solved a key challenge in oil and gas development in the Hongxing Block!
2026-03-26
Shale oil and gas wells are often referred to as “artificial reservoirs.” To unlock the reservoir’s production potential, fracturing is employed to fracture the shale and create flow pathways for hydrocarbons. The sophistication of fracturing, perforation, and related technologies directly determines the effectiveness of reservoir stimulation, thereby influencing the per-well EUR. In response to the distinct characteristics of different blocks, Jianghan Oilfield has focused on advancing fracturing technologies, enhancing their technical compatibility, and steadily increasing the EUR of new shale oil and gas wells. Currently, the Fuling block has seen a 22.6% increase in per-well EUR compared with earlier stages; the Fuxing block has recorded a year-on-year rise of 42.8%; and the Hongxing block has posted a year-on-year improvement of 10.3%.
Xiang Shen, test yields hit a three‑peat.
On March 18, the ultra-deep Hongye 7HF well has been in continuous, stable production for more than 800 days, with cumulative gas output exceeding 30 million cubic meters.
In the Hongxing area, resources at depths greater than 4,500 meters account for over 66% of the total, making it a key focus for exploration and development. However, deep drilling is extremely challenging: the Hongxing block features thin reservoirs, abundant limestone, numerous interbeds, and hard rock formations, posing significant engineering difficulties. Zhang Fan, a reservoir‑enhancement expert at the Petroleum Engineering Technology Research Institute of Jianghan Oilfield, explained that, particularly as operations extend to greater depths, the challenges of fracturing—stemming from high‑modulus formations and numerous interbeds—become even more pronounced.
The great burial depth and the high silica content of the reservoir pose a series of challenges to hydraulic fracturing. “We have launched an integrated effort to tackle key challenges in geological‑engineering collaboration: engineering teams extend their scope to the field, examining core samples, while geologists delve deeper into the wellsite to refine fracturing operations. We’ve also conducted retrospective evaluations of previously fracked wells—analyzing each stage and summarizing every well—to develop more refined, differentiated treatment plans,” said Zhang Fan. Through collaborative R&D, technical experts iteratively refined a core process—“moderately tight segmentation plus high/stable injection rates, dynamic pressure control, and graded particle‑size, high‑strength proppant placement”—which has transformed deep, high‑modulus, multi‑layered shales from being difficult to fracture to being fractured effectively. Key parameters have improved markedly, with operating depths advancing from 3,300 meters to 3,900 meters and now exceeding 4,500 meters. Test production has surged threefold over the past three years, and the per‑well EUR continues to rise.
Pressing the “mud” open with precision, toward the thin layer.
Recently, the Xingye L255-6-1HF well achieved a high‑producing industrial oil and gas flow of 160.45 tonnes per day, becoming the sixth hundred‑tonne‑per‑day well in the Fuxing block. During the well’s fracturing operation, the team addressed challenges such as high clay content and strong plasticity, integrating an advanced “ultra‑close‑cutting + ultra‑high‑discharge + ultra‑high‑proppant‑strength” technique to penetrate stress‑controlled interlayers, enabling precise fracturing and enhancing the utilization rate of high‑quality reservoirs.
In the Fuxing area, the Jurassic strata exhibit a complex network of interbeds, with high-quality shale reservoirs averaging only 12–15 meters in thickness and characterized by elevated clay content, posing significant challenges to reservoir stimulation. Technicians liken the shale in the Fuxing block to mud; within this thin, highly cohesive mud, creating fractures that are both wide and long while ensuring lasting conductivity remains a formidable task. Complex fracture network , which places great demands on technical capabilities.
The oilfield is focused on three key objectives—enhancing fracture‑controlled reserves, optimizing process parameters, and refining fracture‑network support—and continues to explore new technologies and techniques. It is promoting a fracturing process centered on “close‑spacing cutting, high‑discharge rates, differentiated flow restriction, knot‑based temporary plugging, and small‑size proppants.” By employing high‑discharge, high‑fluid‑volume fracturing parameters, the field increases the force for opening up the reservoir; meanwhile, small‑size proppants are selected to boost sand‑packing strength. Coupled with close‑spacing cutting and temporary plugging, this approach creates a complex artificial fracture network, maximizing reservoir connectivity.
“By tackling challenges in fracturing technology, optimizing fracturing process parameters, and strengthening precise operational control, we have established a strong correlation between reservoir stimulation performance and the increase in single-well EUR,” said Wu Wei, Director of the Well Completion Management Office at the Oil and Gas Production and Construction Management Center of the field. Currently, in the central area of the Fuxing Block, the single-well EUR has risen by 48.2% compared to the early stages of development.
Xiang Chang: Precise Weaving and Stitching to Avoid the “Spiderweb” Effect
“In the early stages of developing the Fuling shale gas field, the horizontal section of Well Jiaoye 1HF was only 1,007.9 meters; today, it typically measures around 2,500 meters, with the longest reaching 5,412 meters,” Wu Wei explained. Hydraulic fracturing and stimulation of horizontal wells is the most effective approach for achieving economically viable development of shale reservoirs. In theory, the longer the horizontal section and the larger the stimulated volume, the greater the recoverable reserves that can be brought online per well.
As the horizontal section lengthens, determining how to segment and precisely perform hydraulic fracturing—ensuring smooth operations while achieving the desired reservoir‑stimulation effects and minimizing adverse impacts on neighboring wells—remains a critical challenge. This is especially true in mature gas‑field areas, where the subsurface well pattern resembles a spider’s web, with the closest spacing between wells as little as 30 meters. During fracturing of new wells, there is a high risk of communicating with existing fracture networks in older wells; once cross‑flow occurs, the resulting damage is irreversible.
To achieve precision fracturing and transform mutual interference between adjacent wells into mutual synergy, technical personnel leverage integrated modeling and numerical simulation to render subsurface conditions transparent. This enables them to accurately map the orientation of artificial fracture networks in neighboring wells, assess reservoir stimulation effectiveness, evaluate production performance at each sub‑layer, and characterize the distribution and volume of remaining gas. With this comprehensive understanding, they can target specific zones within the three‑dimensional fracture network, define the appropriate scale and design parameters for each segment, and maximize production capacity.
Meanwhile, leveraging the gas reservoir management platform, technical personnel tailor pressure‑gradient‑change warning parameters to the specific characteristics of each block, adjusting them according to burial depth during operations. They also monitor neighboring well pressures in real time to ensure that pressure variations remain within acceptable limits.
From deep‑zone breakthroughs to fine‑tuning of thin reservoirs and then to long‑interval wellbore networking, Jianghan Oilfield is continuously unlocking subsurface potential through technological innovation, with process upgrades underpinning the sustained increase in single‑well EUR.
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