| Abstract: | Electrically conductive proppants and methods for detecting, locating,
and characterizing same are provided. The electrically conductive
proppant can include a substantially uniform coating of an electrically
conductive material having a thickness of at least 500 nm. The method can
include injecting a hydraulic fluid into a wellbore extending into a
subterranean formation at a rate and pressure sufficient to open a
fracture therein, injecting into the fracture a fluid containing the
electrically conductive proppant, electrically energizing the earth at or
near the fracture, and measuring three dimensional (x, y, and z)
components of electric and magnetic field responses at a surface of the
earth or in an adjacent wellbore. |