NCS SpotFrac Straddle-Frac

System Saves Horizontal

Completion
Problems with burst ports and screenouts threatened Flossie Lake production
Situation
An operator installed 25 burst ports in a Flossie Lake well and was using a conventional
cup-to-cup straddle assembly to selectively fracture each interval. However,
immediate screen-outs occurred on two of the first three zones, and the wellbore
pressure required to clean up residual proppant after the screenouts threatened to
rupture the remaining disks prematurely. Faced with the likelihood of more screen outs, the operator was reluctant to stimulate through the remaining burst ports, but
was also reluctant to abandon the well.

Challenge
The operator needed an alternative completion system that could create new access
points to the formation and prevent the installed burst ports from unintentionally
opening, and do it economically and efficiently.

Solution
The operator engaged NCS Oilfield Services to deploy the SpotFracTM straddle-frac

system, which is designed to add and frac zones in underperforming wells and to
restimulate existing zones. The SpotFrac system combines a sand-jet perforating sub
with an exclusive frac valve. The assembly can be switched between abrasive-jet cutting
and fracturing modes in about one minute, without the use of drop balls, thus
saving time and treating fluid. Target zones are isolated between upper seal cups and
a resettable bridge plug. Only straight up-and-down coiled tubing movement is required
for all operations.The SpotFrac assembly was positioned above burst port interval number 4,
where the burst port had already ruptured, and the casing was perforated. Then coiled tubing
weight was used to set the bridge plug and open the frac ports, and the frac was
performed. Finally, a pull on the coiled tubing equalized pressures, closed the frac
ports and unset the bridge plug. NCS repeated this process on the remaining intervals
to complete the well successfully.

Results
The completion operation was executed quickly and reliably in a single trip. Total time
from the first cut to pulling out of the hole was only 33 hours. The well completion
was saved from an unacceptably high screenout frequency, and the frac treatments
were placed without rupturing any of the pre-installed burst ports. The operator continues
to use NCS technology for well completions.

NCS Sliding Sleeves Case Study #1

Granite Wash Oil Play, Texas
Challenge

Client was only able to stimulate five zones on a 45-stage sleeve project in nine days

Project put on "standby" as many leaks in sleeves and wellbore detected

Stages 6 -18 were plug & perfed due to leaks in the wellbore

Action

NCS was called to open the sleeves and stimulate the remaining stages 19 - 45

NCS performed flawlessly and also added two Mongoose stages at the top of the
horizontal

NCS gave the client the ability to place stimulations where they were needed and
precisely inject proppant into the fractures

Result

After a couple of months of production, the well has been an excellent producer and
production has not declined

Client believes NCS technology will allow it to restate its reserves

A competitor was called to complete another well; However, client called NCS to be on
standby and ultimately replaced competitor after seven stages

Client understood value of running NCS sleeve systems and continues to employ NCS
sleeves and running tools

Client awarded two additional trial wells for re-stimulation that are under-performing;
Potential for another 50 wells

NCS Sliding Sleeves Case Study #2

Bakken Shale, North Dakota
Challenge

Deep trial well (19,012 ft) with treating pressure in excess of 4,500 psi

The well had a 4.5" liner that was not tied back to the surface

Action

Ten-stage Multi-Stage Unlimited sleeve job was 'trialed' with with 19 ball-actuated
sleeves run in the lower section of the well

NCS sleeves were run from 9,772 ft to 12,700 ft

Result

Flawless job -- NCS successfully completed the well with no screen-outs encountered

Client saved $80K on initial trial versus plug & perf

Client saved $80K on the initial trial versus plug & perf

Client is currently working on awarding NCS a four-well pad completion with 15-20
sleeves per well

NCS Sliding Sleeves Case Study #3

Tight Hole - Bakken Shale, North Dakota
Challenge

Client asked for quick delivery (13 days) for 30-stage completion in the Bakken

Action

NCS delivered non-standard sleeves to North Dakota within timeframe

NCS gave client the ability to stimulate exactly on targets and inject proppants into
fractures

Results

After a few weeks of production, the 30-stage lateral is out-performing another well on
the pad with twice the lateral length

Client ordered sleeves for another well -- tools were delivered to North Dakota in just
eight days

Client provided NCS a work order to complete the longer laterals

NCS Mongoose Case Study #1

Old Ocean Field, Southeast Texas

Challenge

Eleven-Stage Mongoose stimulation project in a tight sand vertical well

Action

NCS stimulated 11 stages using the Mongoose tool

NCS successfully stimulated stages in a wide range of low and high pressures (3,800 9,300 psi)

Uppermost stage was stimulated at 12,103 ft and 290 degrees F

Result

The Mongoose tool was used to allow the client to perforate and stimulate small
stringers (some as close as 15 feet apart) of a tight sand in a vertical well

NCS Mongoose Case Study #2

Queensland, Australia - SA Coal bed Methane Project
Challenge

Client was only able to stimulate an average of two zones per day

Client was running 7" and 5.5" casing

Action

NCS awarded job and within 45 days provided design and anufactured 7" tools

Tools were shipped in mobile work container (Jobox)

All jobs successful except one (collapsed casing)

Result

43 wells successfully completed to date

NCS Mongoose Case Study #3

Inner Mongolia, China
Challenge

NCS was asked to complete two wells with 6 and 14 stages, respectively

The wells had 7" casings with 4.5" liners hung in the horizontal platform of the well

Action

On the first well, five stages were fractured in 4.5" casing

The top stage was inside the 7" and 4.5" pipe, so both strings had to be perforated prior
to facing

The horizontal platforms for the well were approximately 10,620 ft - 14,173 ft

The next three wells were completed with similar well parameters

The production increase from offset wells was 50-100% better

Result

Successfully stimulated 16 wells in China with more to come

NCS - More Efficient Field Frac

Network for the Bone Spring
Single-point injection delivers predictable frac spacing and consistent propped volume
Situation
An operator developing the Bone Spring over several sections was using plug-andperf
to frac 12 stages of four clusters each in 4,800-ft laterals, with disappointing and

uneven production results. The operator sought an alternative completion system

that could consistently stimulate all stages to maximize reservoir connectivity.
Challenge
Operators in the Bone Spring formation must contend with variable frac gradients
across the lateral when executing multistage completions. Treating multiple clusters
simultaneously with plug-and-perf has historically resulted in some clusters being
under-stimulated or not stimulated at all. The operator estimated that 60% of reserves
might be left behind as a result of uneven stimulation.
Solution
The operator chose NCS Energy Services Multistage Unlimited system, which isolates
and fracs each stage independently by combining a resettable frac isolation tool, deployed
on coiled tubing, with full-drift, cemented casing sleeves. The isolation tool
seals the wellbore below the target zone and also opens the casing sleeves to access
the formation. Fracs are pumped down the annulus between the coiled tubing and
casing.The first Multistage Unlimited completion for the Bone Springs operator was designed
with 43 stages over approximately the same lateral distance as the plug-andperf
wells.
Results
Because of hole problems, the operator was unable to get casing to the toe of the
well, leaving only 25 stages to frac. Even so, the operator was able to achieve 26 fully
stimulated stages versus 48 clusters of unknown quality. Actual frac-zone pressure via
the coiled tubing dead string helped the operator optimize rates and proppant concentration
for each stage. With about half the stimulated length of the previous plugandperf completions, this well produced at more than twice the rate of those wells,
with a much better decline curve. The Multistage Unlimited completion was also
more economical due to a two-thirds reduction in the number of frac units needed,
quick clean-up of screenouts, and a full-drift, production-ready wellbore with no drillouts.
Finally, the substantial reduction in equipment and personnel provided many
health, safety, and environmental advantages over other multistage methods.
The operator continues to use the Multistage Unlimited completion system for completions
in the Bone Spring.