A stimulation treatment routinely performed on oil and gas wells...

A stimulation treatment routinely performed on oil and gas wells in low-permeability reservoirs. Specially engineered fluids are pumped at high pressure and rate into the reservoir interval to be treated, causing a vertical fracture to open. The wings of the fracture extend away from the wellbore in opposing directions according to the natural stresses within the formation. Proppant, such as grains of sand of a particular size, is mixed with the treatment fluid to keep the fracture open when the treatment is complete. Hydraulic fracturing creates high-conductivity communication with a large area of formation and bypasses any damage that may exist in the near-wellbore area.

See: treatment fluid
2. n. [Well Testing] ID: 8087

The process of pumping into a closed wellbore with powerful hydraulic pumps to create enough downhole pressure to crack or fracture the formation. This allows injection of proppant into the formation, thereby creating a plane of high-permeability sand through which fluids can flow. The proppant remains in place once the hydraulic pressure is removed and therefore props open the fracture and enhances flow into the wellbore.