Open research questions in Hydraulic Fracturing and Reservoir Analysis

What the literature leaves open

• Existing methods often cannot capture interaction mechanisms, generate field-scale fracture networks, and validate production responses. There is a need for a reliable characterization of hydraulic fracture-natural fracture interactions and fracture-network propagation. Current formulations do not always lead to explicit closed-form criteria, making them less suitable for efficient algorithmic implementation.

  A Mechanics-Based Recursive Propagation Framework for Modeling Complex Hydraulic Fracture Networks in Naturally Fractured Shale Reservoirs · 2026 · DOI

• The need to balance subjective expert judgment with objective data evidence. The challenge of determining the optimal fracturing location considering multiple factors.

  Optimization and effectiveness assessment of hydraulic fracturing target layers using multi-source information fusion · 2026 · DOI

• Limited number of training samples, particularly for the crushed zone.

  Identification of Internal Structures in Fault-Fracture Reservoirs Using the Stacking Ensemble Learning Algorithm: A Case Study of the Chang 8 Member in the Jinghe Oilfield, Ordos Basin · 2026 · DOI

• Traditional diagnostic tools have limitations such as cost, deployment complexity, or limited spatial coverage. There is a need for cost-effective and scalable techniques for characterizing fracture networks. The application of PWPM requires a physics-based interpretation of hydraulic fracture propagation, which is currently lacking.

  A Passive Wellhead Pressure Monitoring Framework for Fracture Network Evaluation and Refracturing Design in Multi-Well Hydraulic Systems · 2026 · DOI

• The lack of effective fracturing fluids for ultra-deep reservoirs with high temperature and high pressure. The need for a fracturing fluid with delayed crosslinking, excellent friction reduction, and superior temperature resistance. The challenge of creating a dual-network structure that enhances temperature and shear resistance.

  Supramolecular Polymer-Based Delayed Crosslinking Weighted Fracturing Fluid with a Double Network for Ultra-Deep Reservoirs · 2026 · DOI

• The need to understand the intrinsic mechanisms underlying the rheological discrepancies of the materials. The challenge of developing a suitable mathematical model to describe the rheological behavior of the materials.

  Rheology and Molecular Mechanisms of Fracturing Fluids: A Comparison of Three Thickener Types—A Case Study · 2026 · DOI

• The lack of systematic comparison regarding rheological properties of fracturing fluid materials. The unclear structure–property relationships among three core fracturing fluid materials. The need for a suitable mathematical model to describe the rheological behavior of the materials.

  Rheology and Molecular Mechanisms of Fracturing Fluids: A Comparison of Three Thickener Types—A Case Study · 2026 · DOI

• The effects of ionic composition and concentration on the rheological behavior of fracturing fluids are not well understood. There is a need for further study on the use of saline water in hydraulic fracturing, including the development of targeted pretreatment strategies for flowback water.

  Impact of Mono-, Di-, and Trivalent Ions on the Rheology of Borate-Crosslinked Guar Fracturing Fluids · 2026 · DOI

• Injecting fracturing fluid that is cooler than the surrounding deep shale formation creates a thermal contrast, yet its effect on interactions between a hydraulic fracture (HF) and initially intact cemented natural fractures (NFs) remains insufficiently quantified.

  Thermal-shock-induced activation of cemented natural fractures and reinitiation of hydraulic fractures in deep shale · 2026 · DOI

• However, their coupled influence on the fracture complexity and hydraulic properties has been insufficiently explored.

  Properties of hydraulic fractures influenced by fluid viscosity: insights from grain-based CFD–DEM modelling on tight granites · 2026 · DOI

• However, the flow of SC-CO 2 foam in fractures and the heat transfer between the foam and matrix are not yet fully understood.

  Multiphysical modeling of supercritical CO2 foam flow and heat transfer in rough fractures considering filtration loss · 2026 · DOI

• However, the dynamics of proppant settling in viscoelastic fluids within low Reynold numbers remain unclear.

  Dynamics of proppant particle settling within low Reynolds numbers: Roles of particle shape, surface wettability, wall factor, and fluid elasticity · 2025 · DOI

• Higher-resolution imaging techniques will be supplemented for typical core samples, including micro-CT with a resolution of ≤5 µm and large-field-of-view SEM mosaic imaging. The total matrix porosity can be calibrated more accurately to quantitatively correct the underestimation degree of full-diameter CT data.

  Characterization of Laminae and Lamina-Associated Fractures in the Tight Oil Reservoir of Xifeng Oilfield, Ordos Basin: CT Scanning of Full-Diameter Cores from Horizontal Well X119-19-39H · 2026 · DOI

• Despite its importance, the mechanisms by which fluid inertia modulates flow redistribution and energy dissipation at fracture intersections remain inadequately understood, especially for time-dependent, spatially heterogeneous flow regimes that characterise realistic subsurface conditions.

  Inertia-driven flow dynamics across rock fracture intersection: Experimental insights into subsurface reservoir flows · 2025 · DOI

• Further discussion is needed to fully establish the method's scientific rigor and practical applicability, - The method's performance for other values of α should be…

  Optimization and effectiveness assessment of hydraulic fracturing target layers using multi-source information fusion · 2026 · DOI

• The number of training samples is limited, - The Stacking model does not completely eliminate overfitting or underfitting, - Experiments are costly, - Numerical simulations take a long…

  Identification of Internal Structures in Fault-Fracture Reservoirs Using the Stacking Ensemble Learning Algorithm: A Case Study of the Chang 8 Member in the Jinghe Oilfield, Ordos Basin · 2026 · DOI

• Consideration of strong depositional heterogeneity, detailed architectural boundaries, two-phase flow, wellbore friction, and complex non-uniform inflow along the horizontal wellbore, - Uncertainty analysis of field…

  Pressure-Transient Diagnosis of Fault-Related Flow Baffling in Long-Horizontal-Well Reservoir Systems: A High-Permeability Fault-Block Case Study · 2026 · DOI

• The workflow is inherently limited, - The DFN ensemble is diagnostic rather than statistical, - The study relies solely on surface…

  A Passive Wellhead Pressure Monitoring Framework for Fracture Network Evaluation and Refracturing Design in Multi-Well Hydraulic Systems · 2026 · DOI

• The interpretation of the etherification reaction remains indirect, - The assumption that the oxygen increase mainly originates from grafted GMH-1-derived side chains introduces uncertainty, - The L9(3 4) design is mainly suitable for screening the main effects of the four factors, and the interaction effects among factors were not explicitly…

  Low-Substitution Glycerol Etherification of Guar Gum for Reduced-Residue Fracturing Fluids · 2026 · DOI

• Further molecular-level characterization is still required to determine the exact substitution pattern and mechanism, - Investigation of the interaction effects among factors is needed, - More detailed structural, rheological, and engineering performance evaluation of GMGG…

  Low-Substitution Glycerol Etherification of Guar Gum for Reduced-Residue Fracturing Fluids · 2026 · DOI

• Available well sites for physical testing are limited, - Atmospheric conditions are not controllable, - The well was tested during multiple sessions lasting 4-7 h within a 6-month period, - The chamber could not be left at the well site…

  Challenges in Designing a New Smart Static Methane Detection and Monitoring Chamber: Application to Plugged and Unplugged Abandoned Wells · 2026 · DOI

• Further testing of the system on different well sites, - Integration of the system with other monitoring equipment, - Development of more advanced machine learning models for predicting emission…

  Challenges in Designing a New Smart Static Methane Detection and Monitoring Chamber: Application to Plugged and Unplugged Abandoned Wells · 2026 · DOI

• Further study on the relationship between breakdown pressure and burial depth, - Investigation of the influence of coal reservoir mechanical properties on fracturing effectiveness, - Research on the control effect of engineering parameters on fracture propagation, - Development of a more accurate method for calculating Young's…

  Hydraulic fracturing response characteristics and differentiated pumping parameter optimization of coal reservoirs in the Yushe-Wuxiang block, Qinshui Basin, China · 2026 · DOI

• Inadequate matching between engineering parameters and reservoir conditions. Complex reservoir geological conditions. Variability in fracturing stimulation effectiveness across the block.

  Hydraulic fracturing response characteristics and differentiated pumping parameter optimization of coal reservoirs in the Yushe-Wuxiang block, Qinshui Basin, China · 2026 · DOI

• Establishing comprehensive baseline data and robust pollution monitoring systems is needed, - Priority risk management for PMT and vPvM substances…

  Environmental Impacts of Shale Gas Development on Groundwater, and Flowback and Produced Water Treatment Management: A Review · 2025 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Hydraulic Fracturing and Reservoir Analysis

• A Review of Hydraulic Fracturing Simulation · Archives of Computational Methods in Engineering · 2021 · 342 citations
• Progress and prospects of horizontal well fracturing technology for shale oil and gas reservoirs · Petroleum Exploration and Development · 2022 · 266 citations
• Water Pollution Risk Associated with Natural Gas Extraction from the Marcellus Shale · Risk Analysis · 2011 · 257 citations
• Contact angle measurement for hydrogen/brine/sandstone system using captive-bubble method relevant for underground hydrogen storage · Advances in Water Resources · 2021 · 244 citations
• A FDEM-based 2D coupled thermal-hydro-mechanical model for multiphysical simulation of rock fracturing · International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences · 2021 · 169 citations
• Hydraulic fracture height growth in layered rocks: Perspective from DEM simulation of different propagation regimes · International Journal of Solids and Structures · 2021 · 169 citations
• A Numerical Investigation on Kick Control with the Displacement Kill Method during a Well Test in a Deep-Water Gas Reservoir: A Case Study · Processes · 2024 · 98 citations
• The Carrying Behavior of Water-Based Fracturing Fluid in Shale Reservoir Fractures and Molecular Dynamics of Sand-Carrying Mechanism · Processes · 2024 · 96 citations
• Experimental simulation of fracture propagation and extension in hydraulic fracturing: A state-of-the-art review · Fuel · 2024 · 91 citations
• A review of deep and ultra-deep shale gas fracturing in China: Status and directions · Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews · 2024 · 72 citations

Most recent work

• Rapidly improving the acid-fracture conductivity in deep and ultra-deep carbonate reservoirs through mineral alteration: a new method · International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences · 2026
• Crack Propagation Characteristics in Shale under Cyclic In Situ Methane Detonation Impact Fracturing · Energy & Fuels · 2026
• Phase-field model of hydraulic fracturing based on the unified strength theory · Computers & Structures · 2026
• Hydro-mechanical-damage modelling of hydraulic fracturing processes in granite with single and double pre-existing flaws · Computers and Geotechnics · 2026
• Real-Time Sand Transport Detection in an Offshore Hydrocarbon Well Using Distributed Acoustic Sensing-Based VSP Technology: Field Data Analysis and Operational Insights · Technologies · 2026
• Characterization of Fractures and Veins from Images of Drill Core: A review of imaging technologies · Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment · 2026
• Fracture flow channeling in enhanced geothermal systems: THMC feedback mechanisms and mitigation strategies · Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews · 2026
• Experimental Investigation and Numerical Modeling of Imbibition Behavior in Deep Shale Gas Reservoirs · Energy & Fuels · 2026
• Study on the influence of mineral heterogeneity and temperature on acid–rock reaction behavior in mixed sedimentary reservoirs · International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer · 2026
• Hydro-mechanical modeling of gas–water two-phase migration in fractured shale reservoirs by combining discrete hydraulic fractures with multi-continuum representation · Computers and Geotechnics · 2026

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