i-TEC releases lower completion ball drop sleeve system

Offshore staff

HOUSTON – i-TEC has developed i-Frac, a new lower completion ball drop sleeve system, which the company claims can reduce well stimulation time. According to the company, the system recently reduced stimulation of a North Sea well in early Paleocene and late Cretaceous carbonate formations on the Norwegian continental shelf to only one and a half days, as compared to the normal of 40-50 days. On the Norwegian shelf, i-TEC was able to open 56 valves in three zones by dropping only three balls. Instead of using the “plug and perf” technique, i-TEC used different size balls which were pumped into the well to open all the valves in each zone. This technology also enables the inclusion of a greater number of valves. The system allows for more than 20 sleeves per stage to be installed in a cemented liner and opened sequentially with a single ball. A number of stages can be run in a single well. CEO Roger Antonsen said: “The technology not only adds great value in that you are able to start the production in shorter time, but it also provides a greater reservoir contact, which improves the stimulation of the well. Additionally, the utilization efficiency of the oil reservoir is significantly increased, and our solution also allows for conventional cementing around the production string, which improves the zone isolation.”