#futureoffrac
Earlier this month, Evercore ISI, an investment banking market research group focused on oilfield services, equipment, and drilling, released a market exposé The Next Revolution in Frac.
The report acknowledges the strong industry demand for U.S. shale converting to “manufacturing mode” where operators are finding new ways to deliver low cost well site speed increases and engineering the labor component to a more reasonable figure.
Before the report, AFE was predicted to substantially clean up the volume of frac iron on-site and reduce the headcount required, all while speeding up setup and reaching previously un achievable staging goals. E&P firms in major shale basins in the US have touted continual percentage gains on both drilling and completion costs, as well as similar spud-to-production metric improvements since recovering from the downturn in 2017-18 to the present, and this is undeniably going to contribute to continued success.
The Evercore study estimates that the implementation of FracLock HWLA alone will result in a 24% reduction in legacy completion practices we see today. The study also estimates AFE can drive an additional 13% cost reduction if you factor in the reduction in the staff requirement caused by the 50% reduction in required equipment, which by estimation from Renegade works out to roughly an 85% reduction in scattered dumb iron. It will be interesting to see our clients’ investor update that harnesses the full Renegade product line and see the bolt-on efficiency take shape in their programs. For those of you on lease roads that may see us on location, circle back to that operators slide deck and see if you can find the updated (public) completion stats. We would be hard-pressed to believe Renegade Services wasn’t the major driver as the simplest changes can deliver some of the most quantifiable changes.
SAFETY
When less iron is required, a trickle-down effect of advantages emerge. Because AFE replaces the 90% of the iron connections, the risk of iron leaks on location and the risk of injuries during rig-up are greatly reduced. The report states that OSHA claims roughly 33% of reported injuries occur during the rig up/down process within hydraulic fracturing. With AFE, crews can start pressure pumping operations immediately after completing rig-up. Actual rig-up of AFE takes less than 6 hours (number of wells does not affect this time), compared to traditional rig-up of 36 hours-48 hours based on the number of wells being connected to.
WEAR AND TEAR
Across the AFE package, the frac fluid velocity is reduced by 20%, which doubles the lifespan compared to legacy equipment configurations. The maximum nominal flow rate is 130 barrels per minute so ‘made-time’ is not lost, nor does it come at an equipment opportunity cost because it is back at the shop.
WHY RENEGADE?
What Renegade is attempting to do by bringing products that are notably FRAC products, like AFE, is to consolidate disjointed services. We have achieved this by backing the development of products that created a synergy design and innovation of a specific segments of the completions side. We were the first. We have followed and been involved in the AFE project from R & D to investment, we will be the first in the field with AFE and all this means that no one knows this tool better than us.
CONCLUSION
We believe that regardless of available crews, regardless of DUC well increases, operators driven to optimize completion programs will find tremendous value in AFE™. The technology accompanied by entrepreneurial field hands and supporting cast is the reason why operators are excited to work with Renegade. As a company, we live in the technological frontier bound only by those resisting change who corrode the creative vision towards a better oilfield. For those who can see our mission, we as passionate about passing through value. There has never been a more exciting time in this gold-rush. Its a sure-shot at turnkey improvement.
Renegade has recently moved away from using the manufacturing names to identify equipment. The FracLock™ package is referred to globally as Automated Frac Equipment (AFE) to keep things easy to identify on-location. FracLock™ is the Hydraulic-Wellhead-Locking-Assembly (HWLA) that connects to the wellhead and creates a hands-free stabbing environment. FracLock™ can be used stand-alone.
DISCLAIMER: Renegade Services remains a neutral-party to all of other companies referenced in any blog post listed on our website. The opinions in any blog post do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or position of Renegade Services at any point beyond our current time of publishing.
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