Can Gel Treatments Effectively Mitigate “Two-Dimensional Coning” in Fractured Wells?
(Yes, with the proper gel placement and gel properties.)

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In contrast to the very limited potential of polymers and gels in treating 3-D coning, these treatments have much greater potential for “two-dimensional coning” where vertical fractures cause water from an underlying aquifer to be sucked up into a well.18,25Whereas gel treatments will only raise the critical rate by factors from 1.5 to 5 in unfractured wells, they can raise the critical rate by more than a factor of 100 in fractured wells (see Fig. 8).

Fig. 8. Reduced coning in fractured versus unfractured wells.