Darcy technologies unveiled what it called "pioneering completion technology" for the oil and gas industry at the Society of Petroleum Engineers Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition in Italy.
The firm says the new system will provide operators with a revolutionary new completion methodology to optimize reservoir inflow and maximize recovery by applying stress beyond the wellbore.
"We are proud to be at the forefront of bringing a step-change in possibility for operators," said Darcy CEO Steve Bruce. "Conventional completion methods which are well established in the market such as gravel packing and expandable screens, are able to help operators address sand mobility in the near wellbore. However, they are not able to address the source of the problem, beyond the near wellbore and in the formation."
Bruce claims the Darcy system provides operators with a solution to the issues of near wellbore degradation and associated production issues which all too often beset them over the productive life of the well. "Our system does this by addressing the area beyond the near wellbore and within the wellbore's critical matrix," he said.
The company points to studies which show that completion designs which offer support to the formation as the reservoir depletes can improve the wellbore's productivity and reliability. The Darcy system, which is modular and incorporates the proprietary Tri-axial Activation Platform, has the benefit of allowing the integration of components to match individual completion requirements and is the only method to provide positive compliance.
Oil and gas investor Epi-V has supported the development of the system. Epi-V partner Steve Kent described it as "a genuinely straightforward option that we believe will lead to a reinvention in well design for sand control."
