Flowback Management & Drawdown Strategy

The Problem

Thanks to the drive for a more digitally advanced oilfield, the development of software tools to acquire and analyze real-time well data has become more widespread. This push to acquire data has sped up the need for productivity solutions to help engineering teams focus on data conclusions, rather than simply just acquiring and managing the data itself. As it stands, operators now hold an array of tools to not only visualize, but also analyze data during nearly all phases of the upstream life cycle. Unfortunately, one of the most important periods of an unconventional well’s life, the flowback or initial production period, has been left behind during the digital oilfield transition.

Revo was founded to introduce new solutions to both digitize flowback and give operators tools to analyze and better understand that initial production data. Optimizing well performance during initial production requires more frequent oversight than any other period post completion, and new solutions are needed to help engineers manage their wells efficiently.

Status Quo

One of the first chances an engineer has to evaluate reservoir responses and well performance is early time flowback data. Many in our industry fail to utilize this information to optimize both completions and well production. This underutilization has been driven by difficulties around digitalization, frequency, and quality of these data sets. This information is typically recorded manually via Excel and sent in an email or text message, making the process of both using and managing the data more difficult. Rarely do engineers have the time or expertise to devout hours, if not days, to assemble or analyze flowback data and enhance the choke and drawdown strategy. As an alternative many operators will institute simple guidelines such as drawdown limits, generic choke programs, or rate targets.

None of these methods truly account for the reservoir impact of each choke change. Fortunately, Revo has developed new, easy to use tools to solve this problem.

The Solution

The solution to these important problems can be solved with Revo Testing Technologies’ Revo iQ software suite. Revo iQ gives operators the tools they require to effectively and efficiently manage initial production during this crucial phase of the well’s life. Revo iQ gives users the ability to tailor their drawdown strategy to every well without spending days trying to analyze traditional flowback reports.

Intro to Revo Testing Technologies

Revo Testing Technologies was established in 2018, with the company’s primary focus being placed on diagnostic evaluation and choke management during flowback and initial production. Revo quickly realized that the processes and tools currently available during this phase of the well’s life were not designed for optimizing choke strategies or understanding well performance. Thus, Revo iQ was born.

Revo Testing Technologies is based in Houston, Texas with our Real Time Operations Center serving our customers throughout the world 24/7.

What Does Revo iQ Do?

Revo iQ was created in part because we found ourselves spending entirely too much time and energy trying to collect and organize flowback data as opposed to actually analyzing that data. With Revo iQ all your flowback data is streamed live from the field to a PC or mobile device providing the operator with instant visualizations, key performance indicators (KPIs), and well performance diagnostics.

The data can be acquired one of three ways:

1. An existing SCADA system,
2. Revo’s automated flowback equipment, or
3. A 3rd party flowback provider.

All well information is stored in the cloud and can be integrated into the operator’s own database or another software package. Revo iQ can even be configured with rule based alerts to automatically notify you of measurement issues, production milestones, well performance changes, or any other internal metric to help make managing a flowback simpler.

What’s Different?

Modernizing and simplifying how raw data is ingested is only the first part of harnessing the full potential of a flowback. To truly understand how well performance is changing hour by hour and with each choke change, continuous rate transient analysis needs to be performed. Revo has built a series of real-time BHP calculations and two new diagnostic tools, RAPD and APEX, to automate the analysis process during flowback and long-term production.

RAPD and APEX provide a real time understanding of well performance allowing the operator to flow their wells back as quickly as possible while maintaining completion effectiveness and reducing damage to the reservoir.

RAPD and APEX work by automatically matching analytical models in real time to production data. The results from each model match are compared to previous model matches to determine the magnitude of change in productivity. The magnitude of change is then presented in convenient colored histograms and gauges for easy interpretation within Revo iQ. RAPD compares performance in adjacent time periods and APEX compares performance to the maximum seen during the entire test.

These automated diagnostic tools give the operator a tailored solution to optimize their drawdown strategy for every well, helping minimize proppant production and damage to the completion as well as maximizing productivity.

Call to Action

Revo is excited to give our customers the power of Revo iQ in order to better help them quickly and easily manage the flowback on every well. Plenty of studies have shown the value in managing the drawdown of unconventional wells, however it can be very time consuming, and the value derived from drawdown optimization can be quickly eroded if asset teams have to devote significant time and resources to it. Let Revo iQ assess the health of your wells 24hrs a day and improve both short and long term production.

Visit our website or Storefront to schedule a free trial of our Revo iQ software. Below is a short video demonstration.