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This article originally appeared here.
Fracture face preservation and enhanced conductivity
EC Max is part of the next generation of completion fluid additives based on Integrity BioChem’s biopolymer chemistry. Whereas typical completion stimulation fluids fall into the traditional buckets of water/brine, friction reducer (FR), biocide, scale inhibitor, surfactant and possibly breaker, EC Max paves the way for a new category that encompasses fracture face preservation along with enhanced conductivity due to embedment mitigation.
The current problem in unconventional reservoirs is that the fluids being pumped create a rapid loss of fracture conductivity due to the softening of the fracture face. This softening increases the rate of proppant embedment. The net results are steep decline curves and less production on these wells.
EC Max bonds with the fracture face at the exact points where proppant embedment is most prone to occur but without altering mineral structures it encounters. It is designed to slow proppant embedment allowing fluid to migrate through the fracture network more efficiently.
Regain permeability results in the Wolfcamp Shale showed a 32% increase in permeability without breaker and 42% with breaker. In the Barrea sandstone, EC Max showed a 23% increase in permeability over FR without EC Max.
