WORLD HEADQUARTERSNCS Multistage, LLC. 19450 State Highway 249, Suite 200Houston, TX 77070Phone +1 281.453.2222Fax +1 281.652.5846ncsmultistage.cominfo@ncsmultistage.com

CANADANCS Multistage, Inc.800, 840–7th Avenue SWCalgary, AB T2P 3G2Phone +1 403.720.3236

©2016 NCS Multistage, LLC. All rights reserved. Multistage Unlimited and “Learn from every frac” are trademarks of NCS Multistage, LLC.

Learn

Learn from every frac.

Controlled optimization for multistage completionsA field-level process based on consistent frac placement and measured downhole pressures and temperatures

Recorded downhole data merged with surface frac data gives you a clear picture of exactly what happened during each stage.

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Top pressure gauge Top temperature gauge Surface treating pressure Sand concentrationBottom pressure gauge Bottom temperature gauge Slurry rate BH sand concentration

To optimize a multistage completion design for a given field and formation, you need a systematic completion approach that allows you to make well-to-well comparisons with confidence. You need consistent, repeatable frac delivery plus measured downhole data that helps you better understand the formation, the well, and the stimulation.

That means you can’t truly optimize conventional plug-and-perf and open-hole-packer/ball-drop-sleeve completions, because you don’t know how many fracs are created, where they are, and how much proppant goes into each one. Even if you did know, you couldn’t reproduce the completion because variable break-down pressures prevent control over where fracs and proppant actually go. You get no downhole data either, unless you deploy a costly monitoring system.

Pinpoint fracs are predictable, verifiable, and repeatableWith the Multistage Unlimited® pinpoint-frac system, you know where fracs initiate and exactly how much proppant you put in each one. No matter what else you adjust—frac spacing, frac dimensions, proppant type, proppant concen-tration, frac fluid, injection rates—you can evaluate the effects of those design changes because frac placement remains predictable, verifiable, and repeatable from well to well.

Recorded downhole data describes every fracAt every stage, the Multistage Unlimited frac-isolation assembly records actual pressures and temperatures at the frac zone and in the wellbore below (see charts on facing page). Two proprietary, high-resolution gauge/recorders—one above the multiset bridge plug and one below—measure and record pressure, temperature, and forces acting on the tool string during a completion. Stage-by-stage details give you insights you can’t get with older completion technologies.

Use recorded pressures to optimize stage spacingPost-completion analysis of the data confirms zone isolation or reveals both the presence and type of interzone communication (natural fractures, cement failure, longitudinal frac), so you can establish minimum frac spacing in a given formation. The data also identifies the presence and cause of near-wellbore restrictions and proppant bridging.

Use actual bottom-hole pressures to improve frac modeling Actual pressures at the frac zone (no pipe friction guesswork) permit more exact pressure history matching, enabling more realistic frac modeling and reservoir simulation.

Controlled, systematic optimization

Multistage Unlimited pinpoint frac system Pinpoint frac placementSliding barrelFrac ports Locator profile

Optimize fracs from stage to stage as you complete the wellYou can optimiize fracs during a completion by watching bottom-hole pressure in real time via the coiled tubing deadleg. Then you can adjust pad size, pump rates, and sand concentration and ramp from stage to stage as you move up the wellbore, based on actual formation re-sponse. You can also be very aggressive because, even if you do screen out, circulation removes excess proppant without tripping out of the hole, so you can move quickly to the next stage.

Use actual bottom-hole temperatures to optimize crosslinkers and breakersIn addition to their diagnostic value, recorded temperatures in and below the frac zone enable better crosslinker and breaker design and testing, using actual downhole warm-up and cool-down measurements instead of guesstimates.

More information, case historiesContact an NCS Multistage representative for more information and to see how other companies have benefitted from controlled optimization. Visit ncsmultistage.com for a list of contacts and for full details on the Multistage Unlimited pinpoint-frac system.

Actual pressure and temperature data from a single Multistage Unlimited frac stage. The pressure readings confirm isolation from the stage below. Top gauge temperature shows the cooling effect of the frac fluid; bottom gauge tempera-ture shows the gradual warming of the wellbore below.

These charts show pressure and temperature above and below the isolation assembly for ten stages. The data reveals and describes any interstage communication and important formation, well, and frac characteristics.

The Multistage Unlimited gauge/recorder captures high-resolution pressure, temperature, and force data throughout the completion.

Frac-isolation assembly located in the sleeveThe casing sleeve

The frac-isolation assemblyBridge plug set, zone isolated, sleeve shifted, pinpoint frac underway

Conceptual sketch of a plug-and-perf frac network depicts unstimulated reservoir resulting from uncontrolled frac placement caused by variable breakdown pressures. Supporting references: SPE 144326; SPE 163820; SPE 168633; SPE 169574; SPE 174943; URTeC 1571745

An ideal field frac network. The goal of optimization is the optimum number of stages without interzone communication and the maximum frac dimensions without bashing other wells or unintentionally poaching other formations. The only stimulation method that can deliver this is pinpoint fracturing.

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