American Oil and Gas Reporter - January 2012 - 193

Production Technology
return on investment of a well."
In one example, Hatch reports that a
dehydration unit was operating at 45 percent efficiency with 17 percent oxygen
escaping through the exhaust pipe and
400 percent more air than necessary passing through the fire tube pipe. A burner
management system raised efficiency to
70 percent, and the operator was able to
reduce the fuel to the burner from 25 to
12.5 psi, he points out.
"The system can operate in low to nopower areas by relying on solar and other
power supplies. It also can be customized
with modifier cards," Hatch comments.
"And remote monitoring capability allows
field superintendents to keep an eye on
the status of all burner systems without
having to dispatch crews."
Limpert adds that the payout for the
Profire 2100 BMS typically ranges between six and 18 months when factoring
in potential fuel savings and reduced expenses from service calls. "The benefits
to the operator include safer and cleanerburning systems in the field, but there
are also clear financial benefits that impact
bottom-line profitability," he holds.
Coiled Tubing Services
Advances in using coiled tubing during
all phases of an oil or gas well's productive
life has Midland-based Basic Energy
Services Inc. looking to expand its CT
capabilities as part of its "life of the
well" service offering says Chief Executive
Officer Ken Huseman.
Coiled tubing applications continue
to expand, and the use of CT during
well completion operations has become
a "tried-and-true" technique for operators,
according to Huseman, who notes that as
part of its acquisition of the Maverick
group of companies in July, Basic purchased 60,000 horsepower in stimulation
equipment and seven coiled tubing spreads
that have helped jump start his company's
coiled tubing initiative.
"Several years ago, there was not a lot
of CT equipment in the market," he says.
"It was primarily a very specialized and
expensive pressure control service, but
now it is utilized routinely as a completion
technique, particularly in extended-reach
horizontal wells where multiple-stage
fracs require plugs to be drilled out without
killing the well. The Maverick coiled
tubing platform provides us with an excellent foundation to rapidly expand on
our CT capabilities for stimulation

workover and production services."
The growth in the application of fracturing technologies across a broad sprectrum of oil and gas reservoirs is driving
increased demand for coiled tubing services during the completion phase. Fracturing techniques are freeing reserves
and improving economics in challenging
reservoirs such as the Granite Wash in
the Texas Panhandle and the Wolfberry
play in the Permian Basin, Huseman remarks.
"CT is frequently the process of choice
in other applications where the well operator wants to avoid killing the well
with fluid before performing a well
cleanout or other remedial operations,"
he continues.
While producers continue to rely on
traditional production enhancement and
workover services from acid jobs to hot
oiling applications, Huseman says a number of advancements are on the drawing
boards to help prolong well life and optimize production.

"Plans are being developed to apply a
lot of technologies and techniques, whether
horizontal drilling in lower-pressure reservoirs or using more sophisticated fracturing
in low-volume reservoirs to open them,"
he comments. "That will add to the well
count and create a new type of producing
well that probably will have a higher requirement for ongoing well servicing and
other remedial services."
The price of oil and gas ultimately will
determine how operators choose to optimize
existing wells. "No one is going to adopt
new technology for new technology's sake.
It is about what is effective in a particular
well or field," Huseman relates. "But we
think there will be a lot more capital spent
to optimize oil production from existing
wells, which will drive demand for well
services. The impact technology has had
on how fast we drill wells and the initial
productivities we are getting out these
reservoirs is phenomenal, and technology
can help maximize production over time
and extend well life."
r

The Profire 2100™ burner management system from Profire Energy Inc. regulates burners in
separators, line treaters, dehydrators and other production equipment to improve fuel efficiency,
enhance safety and safeguard the
environment.

JANUARY 2012 193
American Oil and Gas Reporter - January 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Oil and Gas Reporter - January 2012
