Methods of limiting leak off and damage in hydraulic fractures

Abstract

Methods for treating a formation penetrated by a wellbore which improves fluid loss control during treatment. In some aspects, the treatments include preparing an aqueous fluid including one or more water inert polymers and an optional viscosifier, injecting the aqueous fluid into the wellbore at a pressure equal to or greater than the formation's fracture initiation pressure, and thereafter injecting into the wellbore a proppant laden fluid at a pressure equal to or greater than the formation's fracture initiation pressure. The water inert polymer may be a polymer such as an emulsion polymer or a latex polymer. Some methods of the invention use a fluid which may have a normalized leak off coefficient (C/sqrt(K)) equal to or less than about 0.0022, 0.0014, or 0.0010. A conventional fluid loss additive may or may not be used in conjunction with the treatment fluid and/or the proppant laden fluid. The water inert polymer may or may not substantially enter formation pores. In another aspect, methods for reducing matrix damage to a formation during a treatment operation include preparing an aqueous treatment fluid formed of at least one water inert polymer, and injecting the fluid at a pressure equal or greater than the formation's fracture initiation pressure.