Application of Interventionless Single Point Entry Technology to Improve Proppant Placement Control and Well Production

Abstract

The hydraulic fracture treatment (HFT) and its effectiveness to enhance wellbore drainage directly correlate with each well’s overall production performance and underlining economics. This paper will discuss the potential of ultra high stage count Single Point Entry (SPE) sleeves and their ability to increase control over proppant placement and isolation during the HFT as a method for optimizing well performance, economics, and reduce non-uniformity between treatments and wells. To address the limitations of current completion methods, full ID single point entry systems have been developed for open hole and cemented applications. These systems provide unlimited frac stage count with lower frac tortuosity, provide increased control over proppant placement and well production, reduce or eliminate over- flush and formation damage, and achieve higher efficiency during and after frac stimulation than previous conventional plug-and-perf (PnP) and sleeve systems, thereby reducing costs. While the ball-and-seat completion technique revolutionized the efficiency of multi-stage single point entry fracturing, its vast array of limitations (primarily ID restrictions), limited stage count, and compatibility with cemented liners quickly sidelined it in place of PnP. PnP offers increased surface area contact through additional entry points compared to sleeve systems of the past and remains the accepted method for achieving zonal isolation and initiation during stimulation. However, the time intensive operations of PnP present challenges in maintaining efficiencies due to variability in wireline during deployment and coiled tubing during millouts. The increase in number of clusters per stage and number of stages per well achieved with PnP often results in higher stimulated rock volumes (SRV) however, due to the number of multiple clusters open simultaneously, this method gained a "pump-n-pray" reputation due to the uncertainty of cluster efficiency and its unpredictability. The lack of cluster control over the years has created a series of challenges in terms of parent-child well relationships and spacing, economical asset development, and loss of potential production. With over 4,000 stages fracture stimulated across US, Canada, and Asia, some wells containing 220 individual stages, this paper will address the differences in production in terms of bbl of oil equivalent (BOE) for direct and indirect offsets in trials, compare capital efficiency with spud to put on production (POP) timelines, demonstrate economical completion optimization for lower commodity pricing of oil, and carbon intensity reduction measures to lower greenhouse gas emissions.