RockPerm® service enhances well performance

Customized fracturing fluid solution

In a recent project in the Delaware basin, Thompson Petroleum Company utilized Halliburton’s custom chemistry to optimize fracturing treatments in its field. Using a structured design approach, Halliburton customized the fracturing treatments, resulting in improved load recovery and a 40 percent increase in barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) compared to equivalent, direct offset wells using more conventional surfactant packages.

Ensuring fluid compatibility using produced water

Thompson Petroleum Company had an active drilling and completion program in the Delaware Basin for a year. The fracture designs were aggressive, including high water and sand volumes. While the company’s production results aligned with expectations, Thompson Petroleum Company challenged Halliburton to provide a solution to improve well production.

However, the company did not want to drastically change its existing completion program. The customer also chose to use produced water. While produced water has numerous benefits, including less freshwater use and reduced disposal costs, produced water in fracture treatments can present unique challenges. Fluid compatibility with chemical additives, such as friction reducers, can be difficult to overcome. Ultimately, these compatibility issues may reduce the effectiveness of the treatment or, in extreme cases, result in unusable treatment fluid.

Custom chemistry improves load recovery and increases BOE

Halliburton designed a targeted approach to improve Thompson Petroleum Company’s production. At the core of this solution was the Halliburton RockPerm service, which provides a testing protocol based on sound stimulation fluid and reservoir engineering principles that optimize fluid additives selection. The RockPerm service offers laboratory testing performed by specially trained technicians. This process provides pre-stimulation testing using formation cuttings, reservoir fluids, stimulation treatment fluids, and additives. The operator provided cuttings and formation fluid samples. Using these and the proposed stimulation fluids, the RockPerm service was performed to determine an optimized surfactant package to improve fluid mobility in the formation, resulting in increased production.

Compared to similar offset wells, the wells treated with Halliburton's customized fluids showed improved load recovery and a 25 percent increase in the gas/oil ratio (GOR). Initial production improved dramatically, as well, with a 40 percent increase in BOE.