Textural and Compositional Characterization of Surficial Sand Deposit for Potential Use as Proppant

Abstract

Hydraulic fracturing is an important technique that enhances the production of hydrocarbons from reservoirs and unconventional petroleum resources. In anticipation of rapid future growth in Abu Dhabi’s unconventional petroleum resource development, a study has been conducted on the presence of surficial sand deposits for potential use as a proppant. Eighty-nine sand samples were collected from the dunes within the emirate of Abu Dhabi and its surroundings for textural and compositional analysis during a field campaign covering an area of 34261 km². Compositional analysis of twenty-five samples indicates quartz, calcite, and feldspar are the major mineralogical constituents with amphiboles, mica, and gypsum as accessory phases. The medium sand size fraction (40/70 mesh) is rich in quartz and ranges from 69% to 93%, while the fine sand fraction (100 mesh) is lower in quartz and comparable to the bulk sample composition (51% to 75%). The roundness and sphericity values are greater than 0.7, and most grains are subrounded to subangular The samples are moderate to well-sorted sands with a unimodal distribution. The modal class of the sand samples is 2Φ-3Φ, symmetrical and mesokurtic. The average amount of dissolvable constituent in the bulk samples is 14.4%. This value reduces to 4.6% and 11.5% for the 40/70 mesh and 100 mesh proppant sizes, respectively. Out of the 25 analyzed samples, 15 pass the sieve requirement of the ISO 13503.2 standard for 100 mesh size, and all samples fail the sieve analysis requirement for the 40/70 mesh size. The crushing test at 10,000psi for the 40/70 mesh and 100 mesh have produced a fine fraction of 30 wt.% and 25.4 wt.%, respectively. The estimated volume of sand within the study area based on inverse distance weighted average and kriging method is 512.79 km³ and 458.27 km³. The provenance of the detritus within the study area is a mixture of debris from the Arabian Shield, Arabian Gulf (including sediments from Mesopotamia and Zagros), and the Hajar mountains. The results obtained are promising, considering this brown sands as proppant material has the potential to unlock and speed up the development of unconventional resources significantly in UAE.

Date of Award	Aug 2023
Original language	American English
Supervisor	Andrea Ceriani (Supervisor)