American Oil and Gas Reporter - October 2018 - 83

reducing the number of chemicals in the
package, fewer pumps were needed, leaving more spare pumps for substitution
and maintenance efficiencies.
Additionally, the reduced number of
chemicals and liquid additive pumps allowed for a tightening in chemical volume
variances, leading to a further reduction
in chemical costs and ability to meet
chemical design more closely.
Operationally, stage-to-stage learnings
supported the first two case histories, with
a max proppant concentration of 5.0 ppg
successfully placed with the frac fluid. A
new lesson was the ability to pump efficiently at higher rates. Because of contractual
constraints, the first two HVFR wells were
pumped at average rates of 70 and 80
bpm, respectively. This well was able to
achieve an average rate of 90 bpm. Field
personnel found the HVFR more manageable in adhering to the design at higher
rates, and the HVFR stages were completed
faster, decreasing both the pumping charge
per stage and number of days to complete
the lateral. The chemical cost savings on
this well averaged 38 percent.
Even with the chemical cost savings,
the advantages were not fully realized
because of numerous operational issues.
Mechanical issues during pump-down
operations left one spent gun string down
hole. After the completion of the well,
this string proved difficult to recover and
resulted in only 10 of 32 stages being
drilled out successfully and able to flow
without further intervention.
The well initially produced at competitive rates, but as expected, showed
KYLE DAHLGREN is an asset completions engineer for the Meramec at
Devon Energy. He began his career as
a reservoir engineer at QEP Resources
Inc. and joined Devon as a production
engineer in 2012. Dahlgren holds a degree in petroleum engineering from the
University of Oklahoma
BRETT GREEN is a field completions
foreman for the Meramec at Devon Energy. Green began his career with Devon
in 2014, most recently completing rotations in reservoir, drilling and completions engineering. Green holds a degree in petroleum engineering from the
Colorado School of Mines.
BRANDON WILLIAMS is a completion engineer at Devon Energy. Before
joining Devon in 2015, he served seven
years at Marathon Oil Corp. in completion, reservoir and production engineering roles in South Texas, Oklahoma

an earlier decline than offsets. As such,
further diagnostics are needed to evaluate
the productivity of the shortened lateral.
Comparing reservoir productivity and
production of the well and its offsets,
normalizing per productive lateral foot
will allow for proper understanding of
the performance of HVFR as a fracture
fluid in this application. Using this information, in addition to the chemical cost
savings during stimulation, generated a
positive outlook on the case study, bearing
the operational difficulties in mind.
Looking collectively at all three case
studies, early production during the flowback period showed promising results
compared with offset wells within similar
rock and the fluid. Moreover, improved
efficiencies by replacing multiple chemicals with one, combined with HVFR's
cost advantages, allowed for an average
34 percent reduction in chemical costs
while also reducing the surface footprint,
number of pumps needed, number of
fluid changes during treatment, etc.
Whether judging by field operations,
cost-cutting ability, or production enhancement, these initial field results illustrate HFVR technology's potential as
a fracturing fluid in the STACK play and
warrant further testing and development
in the field. While HVFR's regained conductivity benefits could be favorable in
both near-and long-term productive life,
combining cost savings with improved
early-time productivity has promoted the
selection of more candidates for continual
testing as the STACK Meramec play continues to develop.
r
and New Mexico. Williams holds a B.S.
in petroleum engineering from the University of Oklahoma.
JOSH INSCORE is an asset completions engineer for the Meramec at Devon
Energy. Before joining Devon in 2014,
he served six years at Albemarle Corp.
in drilling, completions and production
engineering roles in South Arkansas. Inscore holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Arkansas Tech University.
MARK VAN DOMELEN is vice president of technology for Downhole Chemical
Solutions LLC. Before joining the company,
he served for 31 years at Halliburton in
technology and operations management,
field engineering, supply chain, and training positions. Van Domelen's primary
areas of expertise are hydraulic fracturing
and well completion. He holds a B.S. in
mining engineering from the University
of Wisconsin-Madison.
OCTOBER 2018 83

http://www.bluetickinc.com

American Oil and Gas Reporter - October 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Oil and Gas Reporter - October 2018