D&C Tech Notes

Baker Hughes Achieves 24-Stage Openhole Isolation in Bakken Shale
Baker Hughes successfully ran a 24-stage completion in the Williston Basin for Whiting Petroleum Corp, the company reported. This is among the largest number of stages ever run using a ball/sleeve method for isolation. The Baker Oil Tools FracPoint™ EX multistage fracturing system (FracPoint EX) used on the Ogden 11-3H well allowed the single-trip isolation of 24 intervals with an 8,000-psi pressure rating, while achieving high frac rates through all the ball seats. Rick Ross, vice president of operations for Whiting Petroleum Corp. said, “As our ability to efficiently drill and complete longer horizontal laterals has increased, the need to increase the number of frac stages that can be pumped with a ball/sleeve system has become critically important to Whiting. Our relationship with Baker Hughes in North Dakota has resulted in the companies jointly pushing technology for more effective and efficient completions.”

The Bakken Shale/Three Forks play in North Dakota has seen an increase in activity due to fracturing improvements using multistage openhole packer and sleeve systems. Advances in completion product development are enabling Baker Hughes to develop increasingly more complex fracturing systems that can be deployed in one trip, reducing the steps required to successfully complete a well.

BJ Services Taps Electromagnetic Energy to Remedy Wells, Increase Production
BJ Services Company announced it has launched a new technology to boost production in underproducing and plugged wells using a combination of electromagnetic wave frequencies to affect downhole molecular bonding. The patent-pending EcoWave treatment service transmits high-frequency radio waves and microwaves into the wellbore at low power to remove and inhibit organic deposition and improve reservoir wettability. Results from more than 60 applications in the U.S. indicate near-wellbore damage removal and increased production for up to three months per treatment.

“EcoWave technology is unlike any stimulation treatment in its simplicity,” said Fred Toney, Vice President for Chemical Services, BJ Services. “It requires no chemicals, no pumping equipment and no large crews on location. It relies almost entirely on electromagnetic waves to alter downhole fluid characteristics in flowing and pump-assisted wells. The economic benefits can be significant because lifting costs are reduced, while increasing hydrocarbon production.”