Atlantic Richfield Company

Richard G Keck

Thomas K Perkins

Slurried solids waste materials are disposed of into a preselected subterranean disposal zone by generating radially extending hydraulic fractures from a disposal well and filling the primary fractures with disposal material until screenout is observed or it is determined that the fracture is filled with waste material from monitoring fracture growth and measuring the injected volume of material. The fluid flow rate is allowed to decline to provide relaxation and closure of the fracture at a point between the fracture tip and the injection well and secondary fractures are then created by injecting a fracturing fluid followed by further injection of waste material to fill the secondary fractures. The process is repeated to establish a dendritic array of multiple hydraulic fractures in the disposal zone sufficient to hold a predetermined quantity of waste material.

Generating multiple hydraulic fractures in earth formations for waste

Slurries of relatively fine particles of solids wastes and similar materials are disposed of through injection wells which penetrate earth formation disposal zones which have a minimum in situ compressive stress generally less than an overburden zone and an underburden zone adjacent to the disposal zone. The disposal zone preferably has a permeability greater than the overburden and underburden zones. The slurry is injected through a disposal well intersecting all of the zones and having perforations preferably communicating the slurry with the underburden zone to provide for lateral growth of the hydraulically fractured disposal zone as the solids filter cake plates out on the fracture faces of the disposal zone without substantially penetrating the overburden zone.

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Plano, TX, United States of America

Richard G Keck