Operator sought to drill out more than 100 frac plugs in one run

An operator in the Midland Basin planned to hydraulically fracture two wells using plug and perf in 5 1/2-in casing. Well 1 required 103 frac plugs while Well 2 required 99. In previous wells, the operator had drilled out a maximum of about 80 plugs in one run. The objective was to extend that record with these two wells, using just one BHA in each well to minimize rig time. Another priority was to ensure small cuttings in the returns.

Fully composite frac plugs offered low metal content

Schlumberger proposed using FracXion Micro fully composite frac plugs. The 5 1/2-in plug is just 16.35 in long and engineered for drilling out with minimum torque, generating small, light cuttings that are easily circulated out of the well. Special clutch features at the top and bottom of the plug prevent spinning between plugs during drillout, reducing drillout time. The hollow metal button slips are designed to shatter during drillout. This feature and the reduced metal content improve drillout time—extending BHA life—and decrease debris size even further. Redundant antipreset features that enable run-in speeds of up to 600 ft/min for faster deployment are an added advantage.

Operator achieved fast drillout with a single BHA per well

After stimulation was complete, both Well 1 and Well 2 were drilled out in one run each. Additionally, small cuttings were obtained at good drillout rates of 9.6 min/plug and 8 min/plug, respectively. Wash times were also excellent at 32 min/plug and 24 min/plug in the two wells. The operator was delighted with the results and plans to continue using FracXion Micro frac plugs for future wells.