Fracturing/pressure pumping
A novel approach uses the heart-shaped signal in low-frequency distributed acoustic sensing measurements to estimate the hydraulic fracture tip distance before the hydraulic fracture intersects the monitor well, offering critical insight into the characterization of hydraulic fracture propagation.
At SPE’s Permian Basin Energy Conference, operators shared behind-the-scenes details on innovations such as drilling horseshoe wells and trimulfrac completions along with in-basin challenges such as handling produced water.
This paper presents a specialized workflow that aims to quantify the severity of condensate banking and subsequently optimize reservoir development strategies for a deep formation in the Permian Basin.
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The complete paper presents a strategy for selecting a surfactant/solvent package for parent wells. Oil recovery and associated water saturation in the microfluidic-based device, with or without surfactant, are quantified and reveal that the oil recovery is enhanced with surfactant. -
Unconventional producers around the world have been hamstrung by expensive and cumbersome options when it comes to obtaining reservoir data. Among the latest ways to break past these barriers is a new method developed by Canadian researchers and field tested in Australia’s unconventional frontier.
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Schlumberger is getting rid of its struggling OneStim business unit 2 years after an acquisition that doubled its size. It will get 37% of the shares of Liberty Oilfield Services, which said it will be the second-largest player in that sector.
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ExxonMobil is reluctant to join other big oil companies writing down the value of their reserves. It could chop its reserves by 20%, but it has not made a final decision.
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The forces of low oil prices and new efficiency trends are converging to remake the US pressure-pumping business into one that can complete more wells with less horsepower than ever. However, that might also mean service provider margins remain low for much of this new decade.
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The investment group Wilks Brothers, now owners of Carbo Ceramics, has sought stakes in other OFS companies this year.
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Why stimulate horizontal wells one by one when they can be done two at a time? The largest pressure-pumping company in the business says it might even be possible to complete three wells at once.
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The contraction of the shale sector and its operations such as drilling and completions due to COVID-19 and the drop in oil price has sifted down to the frac sand suppliers.
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In an era where capital markets are hitting the brakes on funding the US shale sector, operators have increasingly pivoted from production growth to maximizing the rates of return via lower-cost wells.
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Carbon dioxide (CO2) waterless fracturing uses liquid CO2 to replace water as the fracturing fluid in reservoir stimulation. The continuity and reliability of the blender are key factors determining performance of the operation.
