American Oil and Gas Reporter - March 2022 - 65

SpecialReport: Resource Science
we think this approach will reduce deviation
from the target concentration across
clusters to plus or minus 20%. "
Snider adds, " We are a few thousand
stages into treating with this orientation.
We have yet to see any decrease in our
ability to frac because of higher rock
stresses, and there are fewer screen-outs. "
Mitigating Proppant Settling
Because gravity causes some sand to
settle out of the fracturing fluid before it
enters the fracture network, completions
generally fail to prop the majority of the
fracture network they create, warns Nicole
Hoffman, the sales and marketing executive
for SUN Specialty Products' production
enhancement division.
" When we run models, we have seen
sand prop as little as 12% of the induced
fractures, " she reports. " Most completions
should manage 20% or 30%, but that
still allows most of the fracture network
to close. "
By mixing near neutrally-buoyant proppant
(NBP) with the sand, Hoffman says,
operators can produce from 80%-90% of
created fractures. " Because they are made
of an extremely light thermoset nanocomposite
bead, NBPs have a specific gravity
of 1.055, less than half that of sand (which
is at 2.65). Instead of sinking as sand
would, NBPs enter the fracture network
and stay in suspension until closure sets
in and locks them in place, " she explains.
In most wells, more effective propping
can increase production 25%-35%, Hoffman
reports. " Even during the pandemic,
when oil prices were around $40, the
production boost was strong enough that
NBPs could pay for themselves in fewer
than 90 days, " she says.
Sun's NBPs debuted in 2007, Hoffman
says, and the production uplift grows with
time. To illustrate, she compares two
Bakken wells that used NBPs with sandonly
wells that were fractured around the
same time using similar designs. " Approximately
100 sand-only wells we looked
at had an average 20-year estimated ultimate
recovery of about 660,000 barrels, "
she reports. " For the NBP wells, the
average 20-year EUR was 1.5 million. "
Hoffman attributes NBPs' long-term
results to their durability. " The beads
will last down hole for the life of the
well, " she says. " Over time, they will
flatten into a hockey puck shape, but our
concentrations are low enough that even
after this occurs, there still will be plenty
of space for hydrocarbons to move. "
NBPs can help reduce environmental
impacts and safety risks by enabling operators
to achieve production targets with
fewer wells, Hoffman suggests. " Drilling
fewer wells means not only much improved
returns on capital, but fewer trucks
on the road, less water use and lower
carbon emissions, " she notes.
In the Permian Basin, Hoffman says
Sun is working with an operator to determine
whether NBPs can prop fractures
that extend across benches. If so, the operator
may be able to tap its reserves
with fewer wells.
The newest NBPs can withstand closure
pressures as high as 14,000 psi and temperatures
as hot as 325-350 degrees F,
with the exact temperature ceiling varying
by application, Hoffman describes. " We
used to sell the product in two mesh
sizes: 14/40 and 30/80, " she comments.
" Today, we also offer a 100-mesh version.
Our goal is to keep the size consistent
with the sand operators are pumping
alongside the NBPs, and in many plays,
100-mesh has become quite popular. "
Custom Chemistry
To stand out in the competitive specialty
chemical market, chemical suppliers
need the flexibility and breadth to
adapt to customers' needs, reflects Jerry
Don Sweatt, vice president of product
development and technology for Smart
Chemical Solutions. " We have to listen
Fracture Conductivity (Closure) with Sand Only (left) and 4.4% NBPs (right)
ml-ft
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Length (ft)
Because near-neutrally-buoyant proppants have a lower specific gravity than sand, they stay in suspension and travel deeper into the
fracture network, SUN Specialty Products reports. In these examples, sand propped 32% of a 372,128 square foot fracture network,
while NBPs propped 94% of a 425,952 square foot fracture network. SUN says the resulting increase in conductivity delivers production
uplifts that start strong and grow with time.
MARCH 2022 65
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American Oil and Gas Reporter - March 2022

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