Application of foam fluids in the development of unconventional gas reservoirs

Recently, there has been an increase in the desire to recover hydrocarbons from formations with extremely low porosity (˂15%) and low permeability (˂0.1 mD), like coalbed methane reservoirs, methane hydrate, tight reservoirs, and shales (Yekeen et al., 2018). For these reservoirs to produce, horizontal drilling and multi-stage hydraulic fracturing techniques must be used to create artificial fractures that allow the flow of the gas to the wellbore (Hou et al., 2015). Water-based fracturing fluids have been in use for decades; however, the costs associated with formation damage, excessive water use, and environmental degradation have limited their field applications. To address the challenges of water-based fracturing fluids, development of non-water-based fracturing fluids such as gas-based and foam-based fluids with high apparent viscosities and low water requirements have been invented (Verma and Ojha, 2021).