COREY MASSEY, TechnipFMC
Fig. 1. A TechnipFMC technician monitors the operation of the iComplete high-performance surface pressure containment ecosystem from a control van.
Unconventional well completion is a complex operation involving multiple vendors and intricate equipment setups, with multiple connections needed to channel and contain high pressure—all while personnel are present at the wellsite. Achieving the operational efficiency required to deliver the lowest lateral cost per foot and making unconventional economics viable at scale depends on the autonomous application of reliable, repeatable control of surface pressure and seamless transitions between stages and pads.
FROM CONTINUOUS PUMPING TO CONTINUOUS SAND-FLOW EFFICIENCY
Currently, frac completion efficiency is measured by pump uptime, but is that the best metric to define operational efficiency? For operators and service providers, the real need lies in ensuring uninterrupted proppant delivery until a stage is complete—what we call “sand flow efficiency.”
While automated control systems can easily maintain continuous pumping—and this remote task performance does minimize human intervention—throughput efficiency is not substantially improved, nor are transitions streamlined.
EFFICIENCY WITH SAFETY AT THE FOREFRONT
To maximize safety and minimize operational risk, efficiency must also address the following:
- Reducing rig-up time and nonproductive time (NPT)
- Rationalizing the number of personnel and their positioning (particularly working in the red zone)
- Lowering equipment failure rates and maintenance needs.
For the benefit of all stakeholders at a wellsite, the use of an autonomous pressure control ecosystem is necessary to intelligently and autonomously control pressure and transitions. This autonomous control can be quantified with the throughput metric of continuous sand-flow efficiency, which directly impacts economics and sustainability.
AN AUTONOMOUS, INTEGRATED SOLUTION FOR ADVANCED COMPLETIONS
Recognizing that lowering the lateral cost per foot requires a fully integrated, autonomous ecosystem compatible with any pumper, TechnipFMC developed the iComplete® high-performance surface pressure containment ecosystem. Combining a digital backbone with advanced missile and well systems that leverage flexible pipe as its three performance pillars, the iComplete ecosystem reliably delivers an industrialized, standardized completion experience that’s greater than the sum of its parts.
Fig. 2. A TechnipFMC field technician oversees iComplete high-performance surface pressure containment ecosystem operations at the wellsite outside of the red zone.
It must be emphasized that autonomy within the iComplete ecosystem is not all or nothing. Operators can realize their efficiency goals via secure autonomous operations with resulting time efficiencies and enhanced safety for personnel who would otherwise be stationed in the red zone. They have 100% visibility across the progression of operations and retain manual remote control as needed, whether from stage to stage in single wells to multistage pad-to-pad deployment and simul-fracs.
DRIVING FASTER, SAFER, SMARTER SIMPLIFICATION
The iComplete ecosystem simplifies operations to boost efficiency by reducing connections by 90% and components by 50%, which contributes to operational efficiency through faster rig-up, fewer maintenance cycles and risk reduction, totaling 30% lower costs and delivering sand-flow efficiency.
These gains stem from designing iComplete as an ecosystem—not just a collection of individual components with a digital veneer. The ecosystem’s plug-and-play modules require fewer parts and connections.
Industrialization reduces rig-up time by fully assembling and verifying performance of the standard components offsite, in a TechnipFMC-controlled environment.
The result is greater equipment reliability and a more-than-40% reduction in material movement, with the latter driving reduced logistics spending and process-related emissions.
Deploying the iComplete ecosystem at the wellsite eliminates red zone exposure for personnel. Operations can be validated visually to confirm job status per the human machine interface (HMI), as needed. Operating autonomously secures the performance of the completion, mitigating the opportunity to introduce human error.
An additional logistics benefit is that from pump to casing, operators work with one supplier and one invoice. As the supplier, TechnipFMC is the single point of contact for the iComplete ecosystem and is ultimately responsible for ensuring the ecosystem’s high performance.
Digital backbone powering performance. The full autonomy of the iComplete ecosystem is executed through its CyberFrac® real-time intelligence and digital backbone. The CyberFrac platform interfaces with the ecosystem’s advanced missile and well systems to deliver secure operations and sand-flow continuity, time savings and enhanced safety for personnel involved in what are conventionally high-risk activities.
Operators retain control when needed, but CyberFrac autonomously manages numerous highly configurable, routine tasks within well completion operations—particularly across multistage pad-to-pad deployment and simul-fracs.
Where the CyberFrac platform is particularly valuable is in enforcing a secure digital handoff, instead of traditional in-person handoffs between the people responsible for operations, which unfortunately carries a typical risk for inefficiencies and human-input error. Key personnel onsite have simultaneous awareness of upcoming operational steps and can abort mistaken commands to reduce errors.
For example, during wireline operations, sensors in the Speedloc™-XT fully digitized hydraulic connector on the frac tree will confirm the presence of wireline. In turn, CyberFrac prevents operations that could lead to a catastrophic wireline cut, requiring manual override for valve closure—a situation that happens all too often with conventional hydraulic systems.
Advanced modular missile system for seamless pump transitions. Conventional pump swaps for maintenance—which interrupt pumping continuity and place personnel in the red zone—are eliminated by the HyperFrac™ advanced modular missile system’s pump bank isolation, which is not possible with conventional missiles. Compartmentalizing pumps enables proactively scheduling maintenance through the CyberFrac platform, without halting sand flow. Pumps remain on the pad for maintenance, making trucking replacements in and failed pumps out a thing of the past, in turn saving on costs and improving sustainability.
Flexible well systems with pad-to-pad connectivity. PadFlex™ high-pressure flexible pipe technology is put to good use by the iComplete ecosystem’s remote frac, advanced maintenance-free well system to quickly connect not only within a pad, but also to multiple frac pads, which further raises the efficiency of simultaneous fracturing operations. The cost savings resulting from 97% fewer connections drive 50% quicker make-up time, augmented by sustainability gains through the removal of multiple potential leak paths for fugitive emissions.
Fig. 3. The full autonomy of the iComplete ecosystem is executed through its CyberFrac real-time intelligence and digital backbone interfacing with the ecosystem’s advanced missile and well systems to deliver secure operations, continuous sand flow, and reduced risk in high-exposure environments.
While flexibles are known for dampening system vibration—which helps dissipate pump cavitation effects to reduce piping erosion in comparison with traditional flow iron—PadFlex flexibles also bring numerous industry standard-setting firsts to well completions. The low friction factor of its proprietary inner liner achieves the lowest possible pressure drop. But the liner isn’t just extremely smooth. It handles erosion better mechanically, conveying flow at 80 ft/sec, compared to a maximum of 40 ft/sec in steel pipe or, at best, 70 ft/sec in third-party flexibles. PadFlex flows safer, with end connection clamps that prevent using risky hammer unions or leak-prone flanges. The end connections also feature proprietary end termination technology that enables zero catastrophic separations.
ELECTRIFICATION ISN’T JUST FOR SUSTAINABILITY
The iComplete ecosystem can be optionally deployed with an electrical power system, to further grow operational sustainability while eliminating the NPT associated with hydraulic valve operation. Electrification enables the use of electric actuators that reduce failure modes by up to 90%. Unlike hydraulic valves, electric valve operation is highly predictable—eight seconds every time, regardless of temperature or location on the pad—and requires zero maintenance.
The extremely low amount of electrical power required for operating the iComplete ecosystem means that only a minimal draw is made from the power cushion generated for frac execution. So, the costs for diesel fuel and associated labor are eliminated, as sustainability and predictability are further elevated.
This dramatically reduces make-up time and improves reliability by removing multiple potential leak paths. Reduction of leak paths inherently reduces fugitive emission situations.
CASE STUDIES
Developed and proved in the challenging North American unconventional market, the autonomous, high-performance iComplete surface pressure containment ecosystem is now available to operators worldwide, across emerging unconventional basins, to achieve similar efficiency, safety and sustainability gains.
Autonomous transitions raise pumping hours more than 30%. A major operator implemented the iComplete high-performance surface pressure containment ecosystem to reduce downtime, which was negatively affecting the operational efficiency of unconventional well completions. The ecosystem has enabled the average number of pumping hours per month to rise from approximately 405 hours to 594–635 hours, an increase of at least 30%.
The key to this significant improvement was the automation of continuous pumping, which moved between-stage transitions offline, in turn cutting the typical five-minute stage-to-stage transition time to zero. Another time-saver was employing a no-bleed frac stack that was managed autonomously by the CyberFrac platform. This integration greatly decreased the number of necessary valve actuations, and it improved the safety of wireline deployments by preventing operations that could accidentally lead to a catastrophic wireline cut.
Another previous contributor to downtime was shutting down the pumps for required maintenance in the red zone. The HyperFrac advanced modular missile system compartmentalized the pump banks, so they could be isolated with the flip of a switch—reclassifying them to be outside of the red zone—and allowed maintenance to be conducted without interrupting completion operations.
With a boost in average pumping hours per day from 17.8 to 21.8 since introducing the iComplete ecosystem, the operator plans to continue to use this streamlined, single-vendor solution in its unconventional operations.
High-flow sand-laden pumping delivered autonomously. Another major operator in the Permian basin achieved its frac completion operational efficiency goal of a minimum 90% high-flow sand-laden pumping from all pumpers through the iComplete ecosystem. Most critical was its ability to deliver autonomously conducted pressure containment, well and pad swapping and pump bank isolation for maintenance as seamless, uninterrupted operations across single and multiple pads. Because operations are remotely monitored and controlled autonomously through the CyberFrac platform, this approach removes the need for TechnipFMC personnel onsite after rig-up—especially in the red zone—to reduce risk while elevating safety.
With higher pumping efficiency across all pumpers since introducing the iComplete ecosystem, the operator has overperformed its pumping target by achieving a 20% increase in sand-flow pumping time above that of previous traditional manual operations—without increasing pump horsepower on location. Critical to keeping the pumps in place onsite and contributing, not interrupting, was the ability to schedule pump maintenance with the HyperFrac missile system. Selected pump banks were taken offline without disrupting operations, ensuring that potential pump failures did not trigger a system shutdown. The resulting pump reliably enabled essentially continuous sand-laden pumping, supported by the CyberFrac platform’s autonomously planned stage transitions, which were orchestrated through the remote frac, advanced maintenance-free well systems.
New industry benchmark set with iComplete ecosystem. Operators using the conventional, manual-dominated method for hydraulic fracturing well completions obtain, at best, pumping for about 80% of the hours in a day—without a quantification of what sand flow was achieved. Switching to TechnipFMC’s iComplete high-performance surface pressure containment ecosystem enabled one operator to reform its unconventional well completion operations, setting a new industry benchmark by racking up 273.7 continuous pumping hours, without the interruption of any pump swaps.
With the iComplete ecosystem, pump maintenance is conducted on banks of pumps that are isolated, using the HyperFrac advanced modular missile system. The red zone was redefined to exclude compartmentalized pump banks, supporting safer in-place maintenance instead of swap-outs, all without adversely impacting overall pumping operations.
This milestone not only set a new industry benchmark but also saved three days of fracturing time versus the status quo. In addition, autonomous control with the iComplete ecosystem decreased the need for onsite personnel, in turn reducing operational costs, as well as further increasing safety.
CONCLUSION
As the complexity of pressure control increases for multistage frac completions—as well as across multiple pads—in unconventional wells, greater operational efficiencies are necessary to economically accelerate getting to first oil. To close the loop between the pumper and the reservoir, an integrated surface pressure containment ecosystem that operates autonomously across multiple wells and pads is enabling previously unobtainable deliverables, while improving safety and sustainability. Moreover, by introducing a new performance metric of sand-flow efficiency, operators are no longer limited to simply tallying continuous pumping.
COREY MASSEY serves as the Global Product Champion for completions within Surface Technologies at TechnipFMC. In this role, he leads product development, system integration and commercialization strategies for the Surface business. With over 20 years of experience at TechnipFMC, Mr. Massey has held diverse roles across Surface and Subsea, spanning engineering, manufacturing and project management. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Oklahoma and holds a Professional Engineer license in the State of Oklahoma.
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