HALLIBURTON WIRELINE AND PERFORATING

Methods to measure fracture placement and height

The need to better understand proppant placement and fracture height has been understood as a method to evaluate stimulation performance and possible production contributions for many years. The methods to directly measure these have been largely reliant on radioactive materials pumped with the stimulation or more recently using MicroSeismic Monitoring or StimWatch stimulation monitoring. The direct measurement of proppant placement using specialized downhole materials and the logging methods to evaluate these will be the subject of this paper. Radioactive tags The tagging of stimulation proppant and fluids with radioactive materials has been successfully used for many years. Typically between one and three isotopes are used in the process and can take the form of solids, liquids or gas that are added to the stimulation when the job is pumped. To measure the placement of the tagged materials, a pre-stimulation logging run is normally required as a base reference log with a post-stimulation logging run required to measure the difference in radiation spectrum specific energies across the intervals stimulated. A standard gross measurement Gamma Ray tool can be used for a single tracer isotope. A logging tool that can measure the spectral energies of the radiation is required for wells with two or more R/A tracers pumped. The typical measurement depth detected by any logging tool is 12-18 (30.546 cm). Historically the R/A tagged proppants were subject to flushing by additional fluids during the stimulation or flow back and this could wash the coating and reduce the effectiveness of the measurement. The ZeroWash product from ProTechnics encapsulates the isotope and prevents the dilution from washing or flow back. Additionally, the typical isotopes used have a relatively short half life and the ability to measure if the tagged material remains in place for more effective production evaluation is quickly lost due to half-life reductions in gamma energy.
Isotope Antimony Iridium Scandium Symbol Sb-124 Ir-192 Sc-46 Half-Life 60 days 74 days 84 days

The half-life of a radioactive isotope is defined as the time required for it to lose of its energy. Depending on the isotope, its gamma energy emission and the distance to the logging tool, at 2 half-life periods the ability to detect the isotope with any certainty is greatly reduced. After 3 half-life periods the ability to detect the isotope is generally impossible.

Methods to measure fracture placement and height| ICH Newsletter

March 2011

HALLIBURTON WIRELINE AND PERFORATING

Radioactive tracers may require special transportation depending on quantities, do require special handling and storage at the wellsite, require special equipment to inject during the stimulation and any used or flow back material is subject to special disposal requirements. One of the largest providers of radioactive tracers and the logging equipment to measure these is ProTechnics, a Core Lab company. ProTechnics uses their SpectraScan logging tool, licensed technology from Halliburton, to measure the gamma spectrum across stimulated intervals and identify which tracer isotope is present in the near wellbore. New Technologies There are now other options available to measure the placement and height of the stimulation. Each offers unique opportunities for Halliburton to build on multi-PSL solutions and provide better answers to the customer. Both technologies use non-radioactive materials which are safe to handle and require no special equipment at the wellsite.

Prop Trac Prop Trac is a product of Momentive Specialty Chemicals, formerly Hexion. Prop Trac uses a resin coated proppant with a built in tagging material. Once the proppant is pumped into place, a logging tool is run to evaluate the placement. Halliburton WP provides this logging evaluation service and has performed jobs in the USA and Saudi Arabia. The data processing is performed by Momentive. The service uses the 2 1/8 OD Halliburton Reservoir Monitor Tool (RMT-eU) to measure the gamma spectrum after the proppant is energized by a chemical neutron source. A prestimulation run of a logging tool is not required with this product in most conditions. The RMT-eU is a mono-cable logging tool which provides greater operational flexibility when dealing with post-stimulation surface pressures. Following stimulation completion, the RMT-eU is adapted with a source holder, designed specifically for this application (101771673), a standard 15 ci neutron source is installed and a log pass is made while running in the well. An updated source holder sub will be released allowing use of the RMT-I tool to be run for this application. The neutrons interact with the proppant coating and release a specific gamma energy which is measured by the RMT. The detectors used in the RMT tool, larger than any other Pulse Neutron tool, are well suited to the spectral resolution required for this service.

Methods to measure fracture placement and height| ICH Newsletter

March 2011

HALLIBURTON WIRELINE AND PERFORATING

The proppant that remains in place can be logged as often as desired during the life of the well and there is no flushing or dilution of the special resin coating. With the Prop Trac product, there are no special environmental or safety precautions, permits or regulatory compliance necessary. A technical data sheet describing the product can be found at the link below.
http://ww2.momentive.com/Products/TechnicalDataSheets.aspx?id=3742

CarboNRT CarboNRT is a product of Carbo Ceramics. CarboNRT, Non-Radioactive Traceable proppant, uses a proprietary chemical material distributed through each grain of proppant during the manufacture process. Once the proppant is pumped into place, a logging tool is run to evaluate the placement. While Halliburton is not the exclusive provider of the logging services for this product, Halliburton WP developed a specific tool adaptation to enable proppant logging for high temperature, high surface pressure (post-stimulation) small mono-bore jobs. In addition, the technical consultant working with Carbo Ceramics on development of this material is a former Halliburton WP Technology manager who specifically recommended the use of a Halliburton WP logging tool for this work. This preferred tools for this service are a 1 11/16 OD Cased Hole telemetry tool, a crossover sub (101826526), the 2 OD Hostile Dual Space Neutron (HDSN) and a 15 ci chemical neutron source. If the post-stimulation surface pressure allows use of a multi-conductor cable, the 3 5/8 OD Halliburton DSN is the next preferred tool should a HDSN not be available. The CarboNRT product requires a pre-stimulation logging run using the tool string described above to be used as a reference. As soon as practical following the stimulation, the same tool string is logged again. The CarboNRT uses a material which is a neutron absorber and proppant within the measurement horizon of the tool will show a distinct difference in neutron counts when comparing the pre and post stimulation logging passes. The proppant that remains in place can be logged as often as desired during the life of the well and there is no flushing or dilution of the special resin coating. The CarboNRT has no shelf-life issues, requires no special equipment, handling procedures, permits, certifications or disposal of used material. A technical data sheet describing the product can be found at the link below.
http://www.carboceramics.com/attachments/wysiwyg/5/NRT_TechSheet.pdf 3 Methods to measure fracture placement and height| ICH Newsletter March 2011

HALLIBURTON WIRELINE AND PERFORATING

Summary The demand to provide more environmentally friendly and safe to handle materials has resulted in the development of the Prop Trac and the CarboNRT products. While these are available to various Stimulation providers Halliburton is uniquely positioned to provide both the stimulation services using these products and the proppant placement logging operations using WP services. The tool strings to log both Prop Trac and CarboNRT are validated and preferred by the vendors, both are mono-cable conveyed tools easing surface pressure control requirements, can be run on any Halliburton WP logging unit and tools are widely available throughout the world. Both Momentive and Carbo provide the processing of the log data and subsequent delivery to the Customer. Combining the Cased Hole and Open Hole Logging expertise WP offers, the potential for FRS evaluation services and leveraging the benefits of multiple PSLs should be pursued as a One Halliburton BD effort so that Halliburton provides the complete package of services to the customer.

Methods to measure fracture placement and height| ICH Newsletter

March 2011