In recent decades, high-performance ceramic proppants have proliferated as a superior alternative to lower quality fracturing sands, especially for more demanding well environments. Fracturing sands can be significantly degraded by the higher stresses and higher temperatures encountered in deeper wells, substantially reducing fracture conductivity. Numerous case studies and field trials have consistently demonstrated the production benefits associated with pumping high-quality, high-performance ceramic proppants over fracturing sands. These studies have also shown the significant impact of realistic well conditions on the actual conductivity of even high-performance proppants. Factors such as Non-Darcy flow, multiphase flow, fines migration, high temperature, cyclic stress and gel damage can significantly reduce the American Petroleum Institute (API) derived baseline conductivity, usually published as the reference conductivity.

Employing a high-quality, lightweight ceramic proppant with the same density and transport characteristics as fracturing sand, allows an operator to achieve a similarly large propped area / contact-driven strategy. However, the inherent higher conductivity of a lightweight ceramic proppant, combined with enhanced fracture cleanup through Hallux Talon’s biochemical solutions, provides durable long-term fracture conductivity and may allow for more efficient completion designs, with fewer stages or smaller fracture treatments. Alternatively, high-quality ceramic proppants can be used to supplement existing large volume, sand-based contact-driven designs by tailing-in with these higher conductivity proppants. Placing a higher conductivity proppant in the near wellbore region may negate any ‘choke’ effects as the hydrocarbons collected throughout the fracture network flow towards this ‘gathering’ region of the fracture.

With the optimal balance of transport and placement, contact area and volume, high fracture conductivity, and economics, Hallux Talon primarily offers premium lightweight ceramic proppants as an alternative to or to supplement large volume, sand-based contact-driven completion strategies.