American Oil and Gas Reporter - April 2021 - 62

pages 57-65_Layout 1 4/8/2021 3:38 PM Page 62

SpecialReport: Frac Tech
out was not part of the initial program,
we have seen tracers identify unproductive
stages and allow the operator to remediate
them, " he illustrates.
Ellis mentions that tracers are commonly used to assess dissolvable plug
performance. In addition to confirming
full dissolvability, they can help build
dissolve time profiles that guide future
improvements.
With particulate tracers, which have a
long life, Ellis says operators can monitor
each stage's production contribution several months or even years after a well
has been brought on line. " In many areas,
tracers have confirmed landing zone sensitivity, and informed adjustments to both
well landing depths and geosteering efforts, " he shares.
" The tracers could also reveal that
stages are producing water in areas where
that is unusual, " he adds. " In one case of
renegade water influx, the operator had
used a multicycle frac sleeve to frac the
well and quickly blocked the water's
entry into the wellbore by shutting sleeves
near the water-prone stages. This tracer-

62 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

driven change improved the well's economics by significantly increasing production and cutting produced water management costs.
" NCS is constantly bringing on technology to make tracers more affordable
and informative, " he reports. " As operators
begin to adopt tracers for their entire
programs, we have introduced a device
to simplify sampling. Unlike a traditional
'grab sample,' which can be compromised
by water slugs or other short-term events,
this device takes smaller samples over
the course of an entire day or days. "
According to Ellis, the device is integrated directly into the surface facility
and operates automatically. " It creates
a safer and more consistent sampling
point and delivers a robust and clear
image of the entire duration's sample
profile, " he reports.
As operators increase well density on
pads and experiment with simultaneous
fracs, Ellis says NCS is developing new
types of tracers so it can handle more
stages on each pad without losing resolution. Other research and development

efforts focus on improving tracer data
deliverability and enhancing service quality. " Through automation, we are getting
closer to analyzing samples on site and
providing near-immediate results, " he remarks.
Versatile Sleeve
As the industry applies enhanced oil
recovery processes to more fields, including unconventional ones, service
companies are investing in ways to improve EOR economics. For NCS, that
has meant developing a frac sleeve that
can convert a well from a producer to
an injector with a simple intervention,
Ellis relates.
" With the extensive run history of the
NCS sleeve system, we knew we could
provide greater efficiency and cost effectiveness to our operating partners through
all phases of development. The sleeves
pair our traditional frac sleeve with an
additional barrel that is specially designed
to handle injection, " he describes.
Ellis says the injection portion uses
proprietary nozzles with a unique geometry

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American Oil and Gas Reporter - April 2021

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