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SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF DISSOLVABLE FRAC PLUGS IN HORIZONTAL VACA MUERTA SHALE WELL IN ARGENTINA

By: Description: 20 pDDC classification:
  • PD I116 1 0015668
Online resources: Summary: The Vaca Muerta shale in Argentina is a growing focus area for unconventional resource development in Latin America. Operators are evaluating the most effective completion solutions to successfully perform hydraulic fracturing and to produce the formation while reducing overall well completion costs. Typical unconventional completion designs use mechanical isolating plugs and multiple perforation clusters in each interval to effectively treat and isolate each stage during fracture stimulation. This technique, known as plug-and-perf (PnP), typically requires intervention to drill out the plugs in one or more trips, using a mill or tricone bit deployed on coiled tubing (CT) or jointed tubing. Although this procedure increases operational cost and risk, it is even more expensive and risk-prone in the Vaca Muerta basin where many wells have problems with casing collapse that is believed to be caused by geological shifting. In an ongoing effort to reduce the associated intervention costs incurred when completing a well using the PnP method, it was essential to determine a means of eliminating the need for post-fracture drillout operations. The objective of maintaining the frac plug parameters and customer requirements during pumpdown and setting operations added to the challenges. A novel dissolvable frac plug (DFP) technology was used in a horizontal wellbore in the Vaca Muerta shale in western Argentina. To begin, a 5 1/2-in. (139.7 mm) monobore casing was run and cemented in place. DFPs were deployed by means of traditional PnP completion techniques to enable multizone hydraulic fracturing. The DFPs were successfully deployed using electric wireline; perforations created formation access. Fracture stage isolation was successful with each DFP. After successfully completing the 15 stages, which required standard wireline installation equipment and pump down procedures, the plugs fully dissolved, eliminating the need for post-stimulation intervention. The well was flowed back and placed on production without completing a CT mill out, which exceeded operator expectations. To validate the technology in the Vaca Muerta formation, the customer elected to run CT after four weeks of production to physically verify that the technology had dissolved as designed. There were no indications of plug remains, and production returned to the same values as before the intervention. This case study illustrates the viability of this type of technology in the Neuquén basin by reducing risks and completion costs through the elimination of post-fracturing wellbore CT intervention; it also enabled the well to be brought on production more quickly than with conventional technology.
Item type: Congresos (trabajos presentados)
Holdings
Current library Call number Status Barcode
Colección Digital IAPG PD I116 1 0015668 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Not for loan 200064420

The Vaca Muerta shale in Argentina is a growing focus area for unconventional resource development in Latin America. Operators are evaluating the most effective completion solutions to successfully perform hydraulic fracturing and to produce the formation while reducing overall well completion costs. Typical unconventional completion designs use mechanical isolating plugs and multiple perforation clusters in each interval to effectively treat and isolate each stage during fracture stimulation. This technique, known as plug-and-perf (PnP), typically requires intervention to drill out the plugs in one or more trips, using a mill or tricone bit deployed on coiled tubing (CT) or jointed tubing. Although this procedure increases operational cost and risk, it is even more expensive and risk-prone in the Vaca Muerta basin where many wells have problems with casing collapse that is believed to be caused by geological shifting. In an ongoing effort to reduce the associated intervention costs incurred when completing a well using the PnP method, it was essential to determine a means of eliminating the need for post-fracture drillout operations. The objective of maintaining the frac plug parameters and customer requirements during pumpdown and setting operations added to the challenges. A novel dissolvable frac plug (DFP) technology was used in a horizontal wellbore in the Vaca Muerta shale in western Argentina. To begin, a 5 1/2-in. (139.7 mm) monobore casing was run and cemented in place. DFPs were deployed by means of traditional PnP completion techniques to enable multizone hydraulic fracturing. The DFPs were successfully deployed using electric wireline; perforations created formation access. Fracture stage isolation was successful with each DFP. After successfully completing the 15 stages, which required standard wireline installation equipment and pump down procedures, the plugs fully dissolved, eliminating the need for post-stimulation intervention. The well was flowed back and placed on production without completing a CT mill out, which exceeded operator expectations. To validate the technology in the Vaca Muerta formation, the customer elected to run CT after four weeks of production to physically verify that the technology had dissolved as designed. There were no indications of plug remains, and production returned to the same values as before the intervention. This case study illustrates the viability of this type of technology in the Neuquén basin by reducing risks and completion costs through the elimination of post-fracturing wellbore CT intervention; it also enabled the well to be brought on production more quickly than with conventional technology.



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