As of September 2022, QuartzPack has been utilised for different applications in between 150 and 200 wells in Colorado and Mississippi, US with a success rate of more than 90%.

A paper, studying 83 of these wells, will be presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (ATCE) in Houston October 3rd, 2022.

The paper, authored together with Chevron and NexTier OFS, will discuss how QuartzPack successfully has been utilised conducting rig-less Mechanical Integrity Test (MIT) operations in temporary abandoned wells in the DJ Basin, north of Denver, Colorado.

The conclusion from this study is that QuartzPack is an excellent sealing material, easily placed across the perforation interval, acting as a plug the production casing can be pressured against and tested/ verified for the integrity of the casing.

The Colorado Authorities’ regulations require old temporary abandoned wells to be regularly tested to ensure the integrity of production casings to avoid leaks from hydrocarbon bearing zones into the underground and especially into freshwater aquifers and/or to surface.

The unique features of QuartzPack, being a “green”, non-hazardous (natural ingredients, quartz particles and fresh water) material, with extremely low permeability, non-curing (Bingham Plastic characteristics), no micro annulus, no fracturing, pre-mixed for instant use at site (low personnel/environmental HSE exposure and guaranteed quality), compatible with all fluids and gases, non-degradable and with excellent LCM effects, has again proven its incomparable, attractive and cost efficient solution.

The presentation will take place Monday October 3rd in the George Brown Convention centre at 02:50 PM, section 13, “Well and Surface Operations – from Clean-up to Production” and presented by a NexTier OFS representative.
FloPetrol Well Barrier personnel will be present during the event and available for consultation and discussions of how QuartzPack can be utilised for other applications as well, to effectively act as a seal barrier in all phases of a wells life time, from initial well construction to final P&A.

You are all welcome to participate and listen in on in this exciting speech.

There is a state-wide growing concern with the fate of freshwater aquifers, and stringent rules and legislations now hold the industry accountable. In addition, regulators and operators report that a growing number of wells are temporarily suspended and awaiting permanent abandonment. They are looking for more robust and sustainable methods to ensure their well integrity challenges.

QuartzPack® to enter the US Land Market.

The high demand for a new method lead to new opportunities. Last year, one of the larger E&P companies operating in the DJ Basin of Colorado reached out to FloPetrol Well Barrier (FWB) in search of a solution to their well integrity challenges.

As a solutions-oriented company, delivering smart, unique and patented materials/methods, we needed a reliable, professional and innovative business partner to represent FloPetrol and introduce the product to the US land market. There was a common agreement that by working together we had a great solution. With our product and a partner who could deliver to the operators, we were ready demonstrate what QuartzPack could offer.

Delivering on-site in less than a year

Based on concrete, expressed interest from several operators in the region during the summer of 2019, we worked in close cooperation with a large domestic provider of pumping services in our efforts to enter this market without having to build a separate organisation.

The first yard demonstrations and successful pilot wells sparked a keen interest by several players in the area as well as by the regulators. Processes that usually take years went fast. From point of contact to demonstration and high interest from multiple players in less than a year. So far, QuartzPack has been successfully installed in several wells by three different operators.

QuartzPack® is going places

Being a green, all-natural, self-healing material, QuartzPack is of particular interest and may quickly become a preferred product for isolating and securing the freshwater aquifers in an environmentally friendly manner.

Also, by replacing some of the cement used in the industry, our clients contribute to the reduction of overall global CO2 emissions. Now, more and more operators are discovering and experience the unique features and recognise the benefit of QuartzPack.

What will the future bring for QuartzPack®?

We found our partner to be an excellent match for us to introduce our new technology. Their large equipment park and existing customer base provides a good opportunity for FWB to enter a new region with low up-front investment. Operational preplanning is done in close cooperation with our partner, who has performed wellsite execution in a very professional manner.

This year we will continue to work out details of the future framework with our partners, expand capacity and well site efficiency, as well as seeking out new opportunities in the country.

Successful applications in DJ Basin to date:

•  Mechanical Integrity Testing (MIT) of production casing in wells to be P&A, using the excellent LCM effect of QuartzPack to form a plug at the bottom of the well to pressure up the entire well, to test for leaks in the casing, before the P&A process can proceed.
•  Killing a well with the high specific gravity weight (17.9 ppg/ 2.15 sg), extremely low permeability and no fluid loss material, QuartzPack is a perfect solution since it does not cure and will maintain the hydrostatic overbalance to the pressurized zone over time.
•  QuartzPack in combination with cement will form perfect sandwich plugs, whereas cement can be used as anchor below and/or above the plug and whereas QuartzPack, with its extreme low permeability and full hydrostatic support over time, is the sealing element in combination with the cement plugs.

Opportunities in challenging times

There are thousands and thousands of wells out there which need to be repaired, suspended or plugged, and unfortunately the backlog has increased every year. Many of these interventions can be done rig-less, cheap, fast and safe.

So, what has this got to do with our world facing a pandemic of historic proportions? Apart from the severity and the fact that almost all branches of business are suffering this time, our industry has been through many downturns before. People will be let off, and many will choose not to come back when the tides turn, putting a lot of strain on the remaining staff.

Operators are now faced with the challenge of keeping their permanent staff busy creating value in a market with unsustainable prices. They also depend on service providers being able to stay in business and retain an adequately skilled work force and operational capacity in the future.

A robust and reliable solution

Our ambition at Flopetrol Well Barrier is to offer a more robust and reliable well barrier than what has been available for the last 150 years.

Our unique QuartzPack™ solution is not only both simple and extremely robust; but simply by laws of nature, it will repair itself when necessary, in any distant future; on its own, free of charge and with nearly no interventions.

Simple Physics beats Complex Chemistry in a hostile downhole environment.

How can we move forward?

If rigs are stacked and drilling operations postponed, maybe this is the time to assign idle staff to work with the contractors in solving some of the current challenges. Now could be a good time to get overdue mandated well repairs/P&As out of the books, to meet your obligations and be positioned for the next up cycle.

We have supplies of QuartzPack™ available in Europe, The Middle East, USA and Australia, where we have excellent partners, very able and willing to assist with your critical well integrity work.