Hydraulic Fracturing Technology Conference ... Where's Perforating?

SPE's HFTC kicked off today at the Woodlands Waterway Marriott, with over 1,000 pre-registered attendees.  Quite a contrast to the poorly attended show a couple of years ago when times were tough!

Not surprisingly, the shale fracturing session drew a massive crowd, prompting the organizers to make real-time changes to the room layout (kudos to SPE and Marriott staff for efficiently dealing with the overflow!)

Unfortunately - but not surprisingly - perforating barely garnered a mention during the presentations attended by GEO.  Having had our abstract rejected, we already knew that perforating wasn't a hot topic in the program committee's mind.  Nevertheless, the omission of perforating from more than one list of "critical factors" influencing frac performance and effectiveness was a sobering reminder of the industry eduction task ahead of us!  If you haven't yet seen the light and realized that perforations play a crucial role in fracture stimulation, please give us a call!

One piece of good news:  two presenters and several attendees with whom we conversed in the hallways and exhibition confirmed that plug-and-perf completion techniques are still preferred by many operators.  The operational efficiency gains afforded by packers-and-sleeves systems are great for short-term gain, but their impact on stimulated reservoir volume (SRV) and ultimate recovery (EUR) remain questionable.  There are also a raft of horror stories about what can happen when the valves fail to open, or the ball seat shears, or the packers fail to hold, or ... well, you get the idea!  Note to self:  make a point of compiling these risks somewhere for operators' reference when considering techniques other than plug and perf.

Good to see a number of old friends - and make a few new ones - at the conference.  Let's see what day 2 brings...

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23 Jan 2011 ... GEODynamics has officially embraced social media! 
Welcome to our new blog, where we will post our latest and greatest news - as well as thoughts, comments and questions related to perforating, completions, and wider E&P issues.
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