Problems
1.The traditional dissolvable frac plug has a narrow temperature resistance range and limited applicable scenarios.
Traditional dissolvable frac plugs adopt a sealing structure of “dissolvable metal + dissolvable rubber/polymer elastomer.” Rubber-based seals tend to age and fail at temperatures above 150°C, while their elasticity degrades below 30°C, failing to achieve effective sealing. This restricts their application to well conditions with conventional temperatures, making it difficult to meet the fracturing needs of deep high-temperature oil and gas wells (temperature exceeding 150°C) or shallow low-temperature wells (temperature below 30°C), and limiting the development scope of unconventional oil and gas resources.
2. The traditional dissolvable frac plug features a complex structure, high cost, and unstable dissolution performance.
Traditional products follow the multi-component design of conventional frac plugs or packers. The numerous parts not only drive up production and assembly costs but also lead to situations where “the metal body has dissolved but rubber seals remain” due to the different dissolution rates of materials (metal and rubber), clogging the wellbore and affecting subsequent production. Additionally, high precision is required for multi-component assembly; any assembly deviation will further cause uneven dissolution and reduce operational reliability.
3. The traditional dissolvable frac plug is difficult to store and manage, leading to high risk management costs.
Dissolvable rubber and polymer materials are significantly affected by light and temperature, aging rapidly, and have strict requirements for storage environment (needing constant temperature, light protection, and moisture protection) and storage time. During field operations, the simple storage conditions for equipment make it difficult to meet these requirements. Moreover, there is no effective way to evaluate the performance degradation of products after long-term storage, which may easily lead to sudden risks such as “seal failure and uncontrolled dissolution,” greatly increasing on-site equipment management costs and operational safety hazards.
How to deal with it?
1. All-Metal Integrated Design, Breaking Temperature Resistance Limits
Material Innovation: Abandoning the dissolvable rubber sealing structure, core components such as the frac plug body, sealing parts, and slips are made of high-performance dissolvable alloys (e.g., magnesium-based, aluminum-based alloys). The integrated molding design eliminates compatibility conflicts between different materials.
Temperature Resistance Upgrade: The product’s temperature resistance range is expanded to 20-200°C, enabling it to withstand the working environment of deep high-temperature wells above 150°C and maintain stable sealing performance in low-temperature well conditions below 30°C, adapting to the temperature requirements of various unconventional oil and gas wells.
2. Simplified Structure + Precise Dissolution Control, Reducing Costs and Improving Reliability
Structural Optimization: Redundant parts are eliminated, adopting a “fewer parts, integrated” design to reduce production and assembly costs, while lowering the failure risk caused by multi-component malfunctions.
Controllable Dissolution: The all-metal material ensures consistent dissolution rates of all components. After fracturing, it can be completely dissolved in flowback fluid without any residue, achieving full wellbore diameter, saving drilling and milling costs required for traditional products, shortening the operation cycle, and enabling rapid production. In addition, the dissolution time (5-30 days) can be customized by adjusting the alloy formula according to the construction cycle requirements, adapting to different fracturing processes.
3. Adaptable to Field Storage, Reducing Risk Management Costs
Storage-Friendly: The all-metal material is not affected by light or conventional temperature fluctuations, requiring no special storage conditions. It can be directly stored at room temperature during field operations, significantly reducing the costs of storage site construction and environmental control.
Traceable Quality: Supporting frac plug test and evaluation equipment can detect key indicators such as pressure resistance and dissolution rate of stored products, accurately assessing product quality status, avoiding operational risks caused by performance degradation due to prolonged storage, and realizing visual and controllable risk management.
On-site service
