1. 2012 Williston Basin Petroleum Conference
Number of Completion Stages – Does it Matter
2012 Williston Basin Petroleum Conference
Bismarck, ND
May , 2012
Jim Thompson
Bakken D&C Manager
Marathon Oil Corporation

2. Marathon Oil Corporation
Topics of Discussion
Bakken completion stages
Effect on IP and cumulative production
Optimum number of stages
Other considerations
Proppant types and selection criteria
Function
Selection
Transport
Messenger word of thanks
Drilling & Completion Team
SS Team
Ahmad Salman
UT Team
Steve Baumgartner
Marathon Oil Corporation

3. Bakken Completion Stages
9-5/8” 7”
16”
Single Stage Completions OH
Uncemented preperforated liner
Crosslinked polymer , linear gel, and/or slickwater fracs
Diverter slugs or balls
UBS
9000+’
6” Hole
MBS
LBS
Marathon Oil Corporation

4. Bakken Completion Stages
Marathon Oil Corporation

5. Bakken Completion Stages
9-5/8” 7”
16”
Multi Stage Completions
Plug and Perf
Frac Sleeves
Rapid adoption of 10 stage Sleeve Technology
¼” graduated ball seats
Linear Gel and Crosslinked polymer fracs
UBS
9000+’
6” Hole
MBS
LBS
Marathon Oil Corporation

6. Bakken Completion Stages
Marathon Oil Corporation

7. Bakken Completion Stages
Evolved to 20 stage sleeve technology with 1/8” graduated ball seats
Decreased spacing between stages
Increased amount of stimulated rock volume (SRV)
Versus 10 stage
Progression to 40 stages continued with move to 1/16” graduated ball seats
Number can be tweaked to operators preference with mixing of sleeves and plug and perf typically referred to as hybrid completion
UBS
MBS
LBS
Marathon Oil Corporation

8. Bakken Completion Stages
Marathon Oil Corporation

9. Bakken Completion Stages
Marathon Oil Corporation

10. Bakken Completion Stages
Marathon Oil Corporation

11. Bakken Completion Stages
Marathon Oil Corporation

12. Bakken Completion Stages
Marathon Oil Corporation

13. Bakken Completion Stages
Marathon Oil Corporation

14. Bakken Completion Stages
Marathon Oil Corporation

15. 2006 – 2011 Dunn County Middle Bakken Wells
2006 – 2007
Open Hole Wells
2006 – 2007
Open Hole Completion Wells
Average Proppant Density (lb/ft):
2008
Staged Wells
2008 Stage Completion Wells
Average # of Stages:
Average Proppant Density (lb/ft):
2009
Staged Wells
2009 Stage Completion Wells
Average # of Stages:
Average Proppant Density (lb/ft):
2010
Staged Wells
2010 Stage Completion Wells
Average # of Stages:
Average Proppant Density (lb/ft):
2011
Staged Wells
2011 Stage Completion Wells
Average # of Stages:
Average Proppant Density (lb/ft):
Open Hole
6 Stage Completion
9 Stage Completion
19 Stage Completion
20 Stage Completion
Mean
12 Month Cumulative
Oil Production
(BBL Oil)
41,000
45,000
59,000
88,000
91,000*
2011 staged wells cumulative oil production based on extrapolation
Data obtained from NDIC public information.
Marathon Oil Corporation

16. Bakken Completion Stages
Conclusions
Number of completion stages does have an effect on IP and cumulative production during first year
Increases stimulated rock volume
Other considerations which may effect optimum number of stages
Geology or rock quality
Understand natural fractures to determine vertical vs horizontal growth dominance
Flowback practices
Conservative or Aggressive choke management
Be consistant to evaluate proper number of stages
Frac design per stage
Fluid volumes
Proppant volumes
Proppant type
Consistency is key to determine effect of varying the number of stages
Change one variable at a time keeping others the same
Understand cost implications of each variable for well economic considerations
Marathon Oil Corporation

17. 2012 Williston Basin Petroleum Conference
Proppants and Selection Criteria
2012 Williston Basin Petroleum Conference
Bismarck, ND
May , 2012
Jim Thompson
Bakken D&C Manager
Marathon Oil Corporation

18. Proppant Types and Selection Criteria
%Fines per API/ISO procedure
Marathon Oil Corporation

19. Proppant Types and Selection Criteria
Marathon Oil Corporation

20. Proppant Types and Selection Criteria
Proppant Function
Keep the created fracture (length and height) open
Provide conductivity contrast to accelerate flow to the wellbore 
Proppant Selection
Cost
Proppant pack conductivity – minimum 500 md-ft
Size – as large as you can place with frac design
Effective Closure Stress on Proppant = Minimum Horizontal Stress – Fracture Face Flowing Pressure (Pressure in the Producing Propped Fracture)
Fracturing fluid damage – slick water, linear gel, cross link fluids
Crush test
Less than 10% fines generated at maximum closure stress
Predict-K
Tool to predict proppant pack conductivity of planned fracture treatments
Evaluate conductivity of what can be placed, 2 lb/ft2 of 20/40 versus 2.5 lb/ft2 of 30/50, etc.
Marathon Oil Corporation

21. Proppant Types and Selection Criteria
Proppant Selection (cont’d)
Proppant pack conductivity over the life of well
Production damage (scale, salt, fines, etc.)
Proppant degradation from stress cycling
Embedment into formation face
Proppant Transport
Larger proppant provides higher conductivity but may be more difficult to place
Settling rate increases in proportion to the diameter squared
Bridging
Perforation diameter should be six times larger than proppant diameter
Pumping hydraulic fracture width should be three times larger than proppant diameter
Marathon Oil Corporation

22. Questions
Thank You