Methodology of Experiment to Investigate Connection Between Hydraulic Fractures and Vugs in Fracture–Vug Carbonate Formations

Abstract Fracture–vug carbonate formations are significant oil and gas reservoirs in China, Middle East, and North America. During development, it is required to connect between hydraulic fracture and as many vugs as possible which are the main geological component to store oil and gas. This paper introduces an advanced experimental methodology to directly observe the connection of hydraulic fractures with vugs. It studies the factors that could affect that connection. The work was based on geological information of the Tarim basin, which is the largest fracture–vug carbonate formation in China. According to the experiment, under higher horizontal stress difference more vugs could be connected. In addition, higher fracture density could improve the connection. This methodology could be used in the future study for the fracture–vug carbonate formation. In addition, the experimental result could be used to design and evaluate hydraulic fracturing works.