High costs are preventing operators from widely adapting to real-time data acquisition while fracturing horizontal wells. Common thought in the industry is that without downhole measurement, operators are fracturing blindly. Many believe measurements at the wellbore interface are needed to correctly understand what is happening during fracturing.

 

"Everyone would like real-time data; however, there are issues with obtaining this," said John Ely, president of Ely and Associates, a hydraulic fracturing analysis and consulting company.

 

SmartFrac is a new data acquisition platform where memory pressure and temperature data acquisition tools (DATs) are run inside fracturing plugs to measure pressure and temperature. Industry-proven Omega memory gauges are the pressure-temperature DATs employed within the SmartFrac plugs. The data gathered will help optimize well production and allow engineers to do a better job evaluating and planning the fracturing of their wells. Successful well production can equate to increased financial success.

 

SmartFrac uses standard fracturing plugs that are conveyed into the hole during normal pump-down operations. The plug deployment does not add to operating time, and the DATs are recovered during plug drill-out.

 

A DAT is installed in the center of the plug, which collects the pressure and temperature data. The DATs are retrieved after the operation in a catcher barrel during the milling of the plugs. The data are then uploaded to a USB outlet on a computer to view the measurements. To avoid blind fracturing, this tool provides a necessary low-cost option for obtaining data to optimize field development.

 

SmartFrac provides knowledge of where the fracturing fluid is going and helps engineers make better decisions for future field development. Engineers can review the trends of the data they collect and make informed adjustments to the fracing programs prior to fracturing nearby wells.

 

"The industry has a definite need for these data," Ely said. "I think this is a worthwhile tool. SmartFrac may not give you real-time data, but it can give you real data, which makes this product unique to our industry."