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The following material was emailed to us by David Mallard of Microfrac Technologies Corp. AnaLog Services, Inc. has no economic interest in Microfrac, and we make no representations as to the accuracy of the material on this page (we have verified nothing on this page). Minimal spelling and grammatical corrections have been made, but we lack the time to properly edit this material.
46. Can more than one tool be run at a time on the same wireline run?
Yes, but no more than 3 tools.
47. When the multi-tools are ignited, do they fire all at once or does the bottom tool set off the tool above it and so on?
It will depend on where your wire line company sets the blasting cap igniter. The ignition sparks at 22,000 feet per second thereby igniting the whole string pretty much at the same moment.
48. The Barnett shale is 300' thick and all of it is considered gas productive. What is the recommended amount of tool to run? Cost?
24 to 25 tools, starting at the bottom of the pay zone and working your way to the top of the zone. Using same rigging instructions as detailed in #45.
49. Would the tool work better if the 300' reservoir was an open-hole completion?
No! You must always develop perforation holes to expedite the initial surge of gas to the pay zone!
50. How much tool for a 10' reservoir? Or less than a 10' reservoir, especially where the hydrocarbons are on top of water?
If there are ground water tables or pools of water, extreme care must be taken to stay at least 200 feet above the water zone and within 1400 feet of any hidden underground water tables. Number of tools needed in a 10-foot zone is 1 complete 2-grain tool.
51. A reservoir is 100' thick with the bottom 20' having good porosity and the top 20' having good porosity. What is the recommended treatment for these 40'?
As a rule of thumb, if a well is in a reservoir where it is difficult to maintain a good water block (in other words the well is already open, pass-by the candidate well and save your client the expense).
52. What questions do we ask to design the right tool for the right application?
Right now we have developed an all-purpose tool. The Question is more one of is the well site able to hold a water block? Have the correlation logs been thoroughly examined by professional Geologists. What is the history of the well and surrounding wells? What was the initial flow of oil or gas (ip) and what is its decline curve. Have any new feasibility studies been conducted and what are the reasons for selecting this well over other wells of promise. The more current information made available to us, the better well service judgments will be made in the best financial interest of the client.
53. Has the tool ever failed to increase production?
Twice, in Texas, when an operator failed to follow instructions and capped the top of the well. Then again when the same operator used three of our largest tools and pulverized a 10 pay zone, thinking the tool had not ignited, when in fact it did go off with great power.
54. Is the application designed for rock type, casing size and weight, number of perfs and size of perfs?
One size and strength fits all right now. We are developing advanced technologies, but it may be another 5-6 years to the marketplace.
55. Are rock properties analyzed for the right design? Such as tensile strength, porosity, natural fractures, laminations, fluid filled porosity?
Yes, we encourage the client to have the well(s) and his formation studied and analyzed by licensed Geologists, that burden is entirely up to the client. Most wells come with good histories. In 2 recent field studies, our field engineers were able to locate over 1 million barrels, hidden below rigged wire line blocks that hid these deposits. In another case study, our engineers found 500,000 barrels behind the pipe, where previous promoters perforated the wrong zones in an effort to defraud investors and hide major oil deposits. Often fields are set up in such a way that they are pumping way below their optimum. In the future we will offer reservoir analysis as a service to the customers. Our field engineers and Geologist have a combined field experience and knowledge of oil and gas of over some 125 years of making the right choices.
56. Does the stimulation damage the casing or perfs? This has been addressed.
57. Is the theory that after ignition expanding gases go through the perfs and fracture the rock or is it a mechanical pulse (like a big hammer blow) that fractures the rock?
It is a energized series of powerful energy waves that load the rock, quicker than the rock can absorb the energy, thereby fracturing the rock and creating to some extent its own proppants, to assist keeping the fractures open longer.
58. Are there volume discounts for manufacturing the tools? Can we pass on attractive discounts for a 10 well program or a 100 well program?
Right now there is a shortage of material and an increasing demand for the tools; we do not offer discounts. The tools are already priced at an excellent price point compared to the potential return. Companies discount merchandize they have a hard time selling it, this is not our problem at this moment.
59. If we had an order for a job today, October 25, how long would it take to get a tool on location in North Texas?
There is approximately a three week turn around. It takes 3 days to mix and cast a batch of tools and another 10 days to cure the tools. After the process is complete, UPS takes 3-days to deliver anywhere in the Continental United States. Weather, order number and volume all play a role in the time factor.
60. How long would it take to store tools for a 10 well program?
The suggested route for a 10 well or greater program is to order the entire job and secure it with proper deposits. We have some limited storage available for 30 days maximum.
61. How can we realize a benefit from having a relationship with Schlumberger? Does one of their camps have more of a benefit than other areas of the country?
We will soon look like and smell like a 15 billion dollar oil service company. It can offer any of the service internationally and domestically on medium to larger projects that may require seismic analysis, drilling, and wire line services, over 100 services. We strongly advise your that team become familiar with the variety of services offered by this giant company. We will be using their services exclusively in three international settings where the country wants to deploy our Microfrac tools. Assume your client needed to drill 10 wells and agreed to contract with Schlumberger.
62. Why would Schlumberger help us run the tool when Microfrac competes with their stimulation tools and with Dowell's fracture services?
They may or may not depending on the size and competitive price of the winning bid on the contract. There will be many options for the client to not only give them superior service, but also better pricing for the best job available. Good results come from good information and complete service, not cutting corners. Most operators want to do the job right and have completion funds to correctly execute their energy project.
HISTORY AND RESULTS
63. Can we have the Department of Energy test results and opinions?
Yes, I believe you have this report. As other tests occur we will try to make additional case studies available.
64. Are there any Society of Petroleum Engineers technical papers on theory of the use of propellants? Any papers on case histories? We would like to write and submit lots of success stories.
Yes, 15 different organizations. Investigate the Internet. Currently, Microfrac has an article appearing in the Petroleum Technology Transfer Council's "Network News" 3rd quarter edition, second page. Contact: PTTC, 1101 16th Street NW, Suite C, Washington D.C. 20036-4803, phone 202-785-2225, Lance Cole, Technical Advisor. We are also invited to place an article in World Oil, December edition. The circulation is 9,000 oil and gas operators and 30,000 operators respectively. The trade papers are sources for excellent leads and networking contacts. Books and articles measure in the hundreds, if you want to spend some time researching the subject in the library. The more information you have in your tool bag, the easier it will be to close the big sales.
65. Where has the tool been used in the oilfield and with what results?
In Kentucky, 27 of 29 wells were stimulated to a positive 1,000 percent increase across the board lasting some 14 to 18 months, in shallow 800-foot oil in Dolomite.
66. What non-oilfield applications are there?
In Tennessee, one well went to 19 barrels of oil up from 1 barrel per day in a blanket formation. The pay zone was 1650 feet in a Limestone formation. Wyoming reservoir, we fraced a 20 foot and a 10 foot zone, lifting daily production from 1,250 barrels of fluid to 24,800 barrels of fluid per day. The well held for 60 days, then dropped to 19,000 barrels per day and held another 60 days, then last week dropped to 10,300 barrels per day for 45 days and still holding. Total number of new barrels delivered after treatment over the last 165 days is 3,073,500. Because of this spectacular result, the DOE is expanding our original $300,000 grant to do more testing next year.
67. Has the stimulation ever not worked? Already answered this question.
68. Has a wellbore ever been lost? Already answered this question.
69. Is the best application been found to be as a new perforation breakdown stimulation, to open up new perfs?
Perf's are necessary for this stimulation procedure.
70. Has the tool been used in coal-bed stimulation?
We are contracting to shoot coal in Alabama and Virginia in the near future. Right now Halliburton is fracing coal wells with small hydraulic treatments for $35,000 per well, and opening wells to 200,000 MCF for 1-2 years. We think our efforts will do better for half the price.
71. Is the tool/propellant temperature sensitive?
Yes and no. Temperatures play more of a role with fiberglass carriers. They will have little effect when hollow carriers are deployed. Generally temperatures are below 300 degrees in most well bores.
72. Does the stimulation make its own proppant to keep fracs open? Can it be so fine that open fractures will heal on the crushed material and have a better path to the wellbore, or can the crushed rock be so fine that it will cause the perfs to be clogged up?
Yes in shale, and we believe in coal seams, and lighter formation rock, the power of the energy will tear small pieces of the formation rock and develop its own proppants. Currently we are examining the possibilities of using a round "ferro material" in the carrier tubes and above the tool carrier, which will be sucked into the formation when the energy rockets through the formation rock. The rocks will crack under pressure, not heal. If the ignition is developed with deflagration cord instead of 80 grain Det cord, the overall performance will increase by as much as 40% over current results, which should average 300 to 1,000 percent or greater.
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Exercise extreme caution when working with explosives. Stay alert and THINK; complacency kills! Follow the guidelines in the American Petroleum Institute (API) Recommended Practices for Oilfield Explosives Safety, RP 67.
Last 10-20-10
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