CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a U.S. National Stage Application of International Application No. PCT/US2018/056691 filed Oct. 19, 2018, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to compositions and methods for treating subterranean formations.

Wells in hydrocarbon-bearing subterranean formations may be stimulated to produce those hydrocarbons using hydraulic fracturing treatments. In hydraulic fracturing treatments, a viscous fluid (e.g., fracturing fluid or pad fluid) is pumped into a subterranean formation at a sufficiently high rate and/or pressure (e.g., above the fracture gradient of the formation) such that one or more fractures are created or enhanced in the formation. These fractures provide conductive channels through which fluids in the formation such as oil and gas may flow to a well bore for production. In order to maintain sufficient conductivity through the fracture, it is often desirable that the formation surfaces within the fracture or “fracture faces” be able to resist erosion and/or migration to prevent the fracture from narrowing or fully closing. Typically, proppant particulates suspended in a portion of the fracturing fluid are also deposited in the fractures when the fracturing fluid is converted to a thin fluid to be returned to the surface. These proppant particulates serve to prevent the fractures from fully closing so that conductive channels are formed through which produced hydrocarbons can flow.

In some conventional fracturing treatments, large amounts of water or other fluids (e.g., an average of 1 million gallons per fracturing stage) are pumped at high rates and pressures in order provide sufficient energy downhole to form fractures in the formation of the desired geometries. To create fractures in certain types of formations (e.g., unconventional formations or low permeability formations) or to create complex fracture network in subterranean formations, operators may rely on the use of a low viscosity fluid (e.g., slickwater fluids) as the main fracturing fluid and small size proppant (e.g., 100-mesh) as the proppant. During the placement of aqueous fracturing fluids into a wellbore, a considerable amount of energy may be lost due to friction between the treatment fluid in turbulent flow and the formation and/or tubular goods (e.g., pipes, coiled tubing, etc.) disposed within the well bore. As a result of these energy losses, additional horsepower may be necessary to achieve the desired treatment. To reduce these energy losses, friction reducing polymers are typically included in aqueous treatment fluids.

