US oil major Chevron says it expects to use “triple-frac” technology on nearly half of its new wells in the Permian Basin this year.
Hydraulic fracturing has revolutionised the gas and oil industry in the US by enabling access to underground formations that would be otherwise problematic to reach. By exploiting shale plays in places like the Permian Basin, the country has gone from being a net importer of oil to the world’s biggest oil producer.
The technology started by fracturing one well at a time, despite multiple wells often being present on a single pad. This advanced to simulfrac, where two wells are fractured at once.
Last year, Chevron, which makes Texaco grease and lubricant fluids, started hydraulically fracturing three new wells at once with triple-frac. It says it will triple-frac nearly 50% of Permian wells this year. Compared to simulfrac, this reduces the average completion cost per well by 12% and gets them done 25% faster.
Chevron’s engineering general manager for Permian operations, Jeff Newhook, said about the relevance of the technology:
“Without hydraulic fracturing, we would not be energy independent right now in the United States… The oil and gas we get from hydraulic fracturing impacts all of our lives daily, from the energy that lights our homes to the clothing we wear.”
The new completion technique shows how the energy industry is constantly innovating to improve efficiency. Chevron says it expects to increase its production in the Permian Basin by 10% this year.
