Nine Energy completes first 50-stage Divert-A-Frac system in Williston Basin
Nine Energy Service has completed its first 50-stage Divert-A-Frac open-hole system for a large independent operator in the Williston Basin.
All 50 stages were successfully placed, and the stimulation job was completed as designed with a total of 3.5 million lb of proppant and 52,300 bbl of fluid. The stimulation took just over 50 hours, averaging one hour per stage, with zero nonproductive time related to the system operation.
“The operator was looking for a single-point entry solution to significantly increase their stage count from 35 to 50 without resorting to limited-entry cluster stimulation,” Rickey Green, Vice President for the Rocky Mountain Region, said. “This success was a result of detailed testing and analysis of Nine’s Divert-A- Frac Port Sub (DAFPS-III) frac sleeve to confirm the 50-stage design was sound.”
The Nine Energy team worked closely with the operator to engineer the system for their 10,000-ft laterals. The DAFPS-III frac sleeves were pressure-tested with dissolvable metallic actuation balls, and computational fluid dynamics analysis demonstrated that ball-on-seat performance would not be affected by the planned proppant stimulation in the 50-sleeve system.
“This success demonstrates Nine’s ability to engineer and execute a customized solution to fulfill operator needs,” Ann Fox, President and CEO, said. “We are proud of our team, and we continue to invest in talented people who deliver exceptional results.”
The Divert-A-Frac open hole system 50-stage sleeve capability will enable operators working in the Bakken and other formations to stimulate their wells with more stages, at higher rates with more control over fracture initiation and propagation than with traditional cluster stimulation.
