Packers Plus Energy Services Inc. has announced it has completed an openhole, multi-stage system in the North Sea 3.5 times faster than the traditional plug and gun method.

 

"Our recent success in the North Sea demonstrates that openhole, multi-stage fracturing increases efficiency and decreases costs," said Dan Themig, Packers Plus president. "This operation significantly reduced time and costs for the operator, Wintershall, and the savings were further amplified due to the offshore environment."

 

Wintershall, Germany's largest crude oil and natural gas producer, chose to use the Packers Plus StageFRAC Titanium Series system on the North Sea well. The specialized Titanium Series system is rated to pressures of up to 15,000 psi to facilitate even the most aggressive stimulation treatments.

 

The installation took place in the Dutch sector of the southern North Sea in a military zone, which restricted operations to only a few months of the year. Given this time constraint, the traditional plug and gun method was less than ideal as the process is long and repetitive.

 

Wintershall drilled and completed a multi-fractured horizontal well, using the StageFRAC Titanium Series from Packers Plus. This system, in combination with a large capacity stimulation vessel, was a first in the North Sea.

 

The campaign lasted 19 days, 10 of which were waiting on weather. The operation was significantly faster than the plug and gun operations carried out by Wintershall in 2007, where the fracture operations for a similar well (horizontal, with five fracture treatments) were completed within 32 days, with no down time waiting on weather.

 

"We had done extensive research on the various horizontal completions methods that we could have used in our well," said Mattijs Brugman, Wintershall Well Services superintendent. "Although the plug and gun technique has had success for 15 years, Packers Plus technology, coupled with a large capacity stimulation vessel, has substantially enhanced our offshore operations," said Brugman.

 

"The results produced by Packers Plus speak for themselves. Not only were we able to save time but we also managed to cut down costs and stay well within the given work window," said Brugman.

 

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