It’s “tried and true” when it comes to completion techniques in the Midcontinent. The slickwater fracture is far and away the most common well stimulation technique in the play, although some operators are experimenting with crosslink gel and nitrogen to tweak production volumes.

Otherwise, operators are shortening the distance between stages and increasing the number of stages as laterals grow beyond 5,000 feet. Spacing averaged 300 feet between stages, according to a mix of contractors and operators participating in a Hart Energy survey of Midcontinent completion practices.

The survey was conducted in mid-April 2014.

“There are many folks trying all sorts of different approaches to completions, but we have 10 of the top 50 producing wells in the region and they were straight and simple slickwater fracks,” said one mid-tier operator who participated in the Hart Energy survey. “Until there is conclusive data to justify the more expensive and exotic methods, we will stick to what we know works at a great price.”

Operators have been packing as many as 25 stages along 5,000-foot laterals, up from 10 plug and perf (PNP) stages previously. The average response among survey participants was 18 stages per lateral on an average 5,200-foot lateral.

PNP remains the most common completion method, though a handful of operators are using sliding sleeves, or a combination of sliding sleeves and PNP, in the longer lateral wells.

“We have one client who just completed an 8,500 foot lateral with 12 plug and perf stages and 12 sliding sleeves with a total of 4 million pounds of sand,” noted a mid-tier service provider. “That isn’t the average and they are still searching for a winning combination.”

In fact, the average volume of sand used among survey participants was 1.6 million pounds.

One operator noted that the industry prefers tried and true methods in the Midcontinent, since simpler approaches are less expensive and produce similar results to specialized, more expensive techniques.

With a majority of horizontal wells moving to multi-well pads, zipper fractures have become a common completion method and occur on more than 50% of horizontal wells, survey participants noted. Most pressure pumping fleets are operating on a 24-hour basis, although one survey participant said crews worked on a traditional daylight basis only.

The Hart Energy survey found contractors expecting demand to grow sequentially for well stimulation services led by expanding activity in oil- and condensate-heavy plays. That said, survey respondents noted that the regional well stimulation fleet was adequate to meet rising demand. Consequently, few survey participants expect pricing to improve unless demand increases on the basis of higher natural gas prices.

Contact the author, Richard Mason at rmason@hartenergy.com