QA / QC

Section 14

Printed: 9/1/2006

Quality Assurance/Control
● ISO 9001 Quality Assured Firm
● QC/QA – What & Why
● Pre-Treatment Preparation
Prior to arriving on location
On location immediately before treatment
● Treatment QC and monitoring
● Post-treatment

1
 Quality Control
● What is it?
Quality control is the process of evaluating the
materials and equipment on location to ensure
the fracture treatment is performed as
designed
● Why is quality control important?
Each well represents a large capital
investment that should not be put at risk due
to a substandard fracture treatment

Pre-Treatment Preparation
● Prior to arriving on location
Review treatment design and determine
equipment requirements
Evaluate well information
Pilot test treatment fluids

2
 Pre-Treatment Fluid Testing
● Fluid problems may jeopardize the entire
treatment
● Pilot tests
● Viscosity ~ base gel (pH, temp)
● Crosslink time (at surface temp)
● Viscous stability at bottomhole
temperature
● Crosslinked viscosity (pH, temp)
● Break tests additive type and amount
required

On Location Immediately
Before Treatment
● Review safety guidelines
● Review proper rig up procedures
● Confirm treatment schedule
● Conduct material inventory
● Analyze fluid properties

3
 Review Treatment Proposal
● Confirm with company supervisor
Treatment procedure
Chemical additives
Pumping equipment and standby
Clarify any discrepancies prior to performing
the treatment

Material Inventory
● Determine the amounts of all materials on
location
Fluid
Proppant, if needed
Chemicals
Compare required amounts of material for
design with inventory on location

4
 Water Analysis
● Clean, contaminant free water is critical to
achieving fluid properties
● Iron content vs iron control agent as
example

Acceptable Levels
on Water Analysis
● pH 6-8
● Iron <10 ppm
● Oxidizing Agents None
● Reducing Agents None
● Carbonate* <300 ppm
● Bicarbonate* <300 ppm
● Bacteria None
● Cleanliness Reasonable

5
 Acid Frac Fluid Testing
● Test multiple samples during the
treatment to confirm acid strength
● Perform conventional quality control
testing
Base gel viscosity
pH
Crosslink time
Advanced fluid testing
Viscosity at downhole temperature
Real-time pressure response

Analyze Fluid Properties

● Conventional tests
Base gel viscosity
pH
Crosslink time and temperature
Advance fluid tests
Viscosity measured at bottomhole temperature

6
 Measuring Acid Fracture
Fluid Properties
● To quantify the viscosity of a frac fluid, the
viscosity should be measured at
bottomhole temperature
Pilot tests (pre-treatment)
Blend test (during treatment)

Recording Treatment
Parameters
● Monitor volumes throughout treatment
Fluid
Additives
● Compare design volumes
● Flowmeters
● Physical inventory
● Record injection rate and pressure at every stage
change and significant event
● If an event occurs that results in a pressure
change, it is significant.
● With measured

7
 Post-Treatment Operation
● Post-treatment monitoring
Determine time to closure (shut-in and forced
closure)
Document volume and rate of fluid recovery
● Material inventory
Determine the amount of materials (fluid,
proppant and chemicals)
Compare to design volumes
Summarize treatment parameters
Fluid volumes, injection rates, and treating
pressures

Section Summary
● Quality Assurance/Control
ISO 9001 Quality Assured Firm
QC/QA – What & Why
Pre-Treatment Preparation
Prior to arriving on location
On location immediately before treatment
Treatment QC and monitoring
Post-treatment