Operators have nearly unlimited options when choosing systems and tools for their hydraulic fracturing operations, but one major service company is looking to streamline the entire process. Schlumberger unveiled its OneStim business in January at the Hydraulic Fracturing Technology Conference in The Woodlands, Texas.

The initial iteration of OneStim was a planned joint venture (JV) between Schlumberger and Weatherford announced early last year. But in late 2017 Schlumberger opted instead to purchase Weatherford’s pressure pumping assets and pump down perforating business, which Schlumberger merged with its existing hydraulic fracturing operations, multistage completions, sand mining and logistics, and coiled tubing operations.

Alejandro Peña, Schlumberger’s OneStim sales and commercial director, said in an exclusive interview with E&P that the idea of offering the full spectrum of fracturing completions under the same business initiated in 2010 when Schlumberger began noticing inefficiencies in uniformity and coordination with its customers who utilized separate components to their completions operations.

“Each region and discrete service line had its own supply chain structure, its own maintenance structure, its own equipment and own workflow to deliver discrete services,” Peña said.

By combining and centralizing coordination of the full array of services as well as offering streamlined management and operations, operators will be able to gain efficiencies and therefore enable cost savings, Peña explained.

“Completion time per well is the single most important variable when it comes to completion costs,” he said. “The more you manage to reduce completion time, the more you lower costs for the operator. Everybody wins with well efficiency.”

By purchasing Weatherford’s pressure pumping assets, Schlumberger increased its total pressure pumping capacity to more than 3 million hp. Peña said the increase in pump down perforating capabilities means Schlumberger can now serve 100% of its fracturing fleet operations, whereas before the deal with Weatherford, Schlumberger was serving about 20%.

Schlumberger’s foray into the sand business is helping meet increased industry demands as well, Peña said. With production of the popular Northern White sands at its Wisconsin mine, and sand production soon to ramp up at a new mine in the Permian Basin, Peña said Schlumberger now will be able to meet over 70% of its customers’ demand for sand with its own resources.

With so many options on the completions market, operators have increasingly engaged on piecemealing the components of their completions operations. But with OneStim, which Peña said is available and operating in every major unconventional basin in North America, the company is hoping to entice operators to go to one place for everything under commercial models tailored for each operator need—from discrete services to joint capital investments on completion programs. He said such an option ultimately results in cost savings—up to 10% per boe.

“Operators take on the task of managing more discrete workflows, which creates additional burden and creates additional liability in terms of overall risk,” he said. “If one of those services goes down, then all of the other services are on standby.”

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