Halliburton Co. on Nov. 11 released PixStar High-Resolution Ultrasonic Imaging Service, a new LWD technology that provides real-time images of the borehole to help operators identify fractures, improve wellbore stability and optimize completion design.
When drilling with oil or water-based fluids, operators must understand the location and frequency of natural fractures to determine the reservoir’s production potential and accurately plan their fracturing and completion activities. Since fractures are small-scale structures, they are typically below the resolution of seismic and conventional well logs, making them difficult to identify.
The PixStar service uses ultrasonic transducers that provide high-resolution images to reveal previously hidden fracture networks or faults, allowing operators to make informed drilling decisions that reduce well time and increase production potential.
“We designed the PixStar service to provide operators with greater wellbore coverage in all mud types,” Lamar Duhon, vice president of Sperry Drilling, said. “Visualizing fractures, geological features and borehole size and shape in real time enhances reservoir understanding to optimize drilling, fracturing and completions programs.”
An operator in the Middle East recently used the PixStar service to evaluate a formation experiencing significant drilling fluid losses. The high-resolution images identified a section with a large fracture, which corresponded to the loss zone, and multiple sections of borehole breakout. The images revealed two zones with high fracture frequency allowing the operator to optimize their completion design.
Recommended Reading
Analysis: Middle Three Forks Bench Holds Vast Untapped Oil Potential
2025-01-07 - Williston Basin operators have mostly landed laterals in the shallower upper Three Forks bench. But the deeper middle Three Forks contains hundreds of millions of barrels of oil yet to be recovered, North Dakota state researchers report.
Coterra Takes Harkey Sand ‘Row’ Show on the Road
2024-11-20 - With success to date in Harkey sandstone overlying the Wolfcamp, the company aims to make mega-DSUs in New Mexico with the 49,000-net-acre bolt-on of adjacent sections.
Classic Rock, New Wells: Permian Conventional Zones Gain Momentum
2024-12-02 - Spurned or simply ignored by the big publics, the Permian Basin’s conventional zones—the Central Basin Platform, Northwest Shelf and Eastern Shelf—remain playgrounds for independent producers.
E&P Highlights: Dec. 2, 2024
2024-12-02 - Here’s a roundup of the latest E&P headlines, including production updates and major offshore contracts.
Tethys Oil Suspends Kunooz-1 Well in Oman
2024-12-13 - The decision to suspend its Kunooz-1 exploration well comes after flow testing failed to confirm the presence of commercially-viable hydrocarbons, Tethys said.