Liquid Frack or “Go Slow”

Fracking
 Liquid Frack Metis Technology: Mesh 325

High Velocity, High HP

Chemical Additives,
Gelling agents
Conventional Proppant Conventional Frack Spread

Low Velocity, Low HP

Pure Water

Metis mesh 325 proppant:

Perfect ceramic ball bearings Metis Frack Spread
 Mesh 325 Proppant: Good Quality, Unlimited Supply

Particle size distribution of the Fly Ash: Fly Ash: 20 million tone land fill:
40 μm average size > annual proppant consumption in
the USA
 Metis proppant: easy to pump
Stokes Law: Particle Settling Velocity

Metis Technology 325

100

40/70

30/50

20/40

V – settling velocity
d – particle diameter

The less the particle size the

less horsepower is needed to
0 5 10 15 20 25
keep proppant moving
Settling Velocity (ft/min)
 Propping Micro Fractures

Metis strategy:
• Connect micro-fractures
• Encourage leak-off Unpropped fracture are not
• Prop micro-fractures permeable

Naturally fractured shale Fracture Width Fracture

Inches Microns (µ) Permeability
Conventional HF
strategy: 0.002952 75 475.0 Darcies
• Grow main frack 0.001574 40 135.1 Darcies
• Fight leak-off
0.000984 25 52.8 Darcies
• Prop main fractures
0.000393 10 8.4 Darcies

Hydraulically fractured sandstone

 Proppant Distribution & Permeability
▪ The actual frack is characterized by having a proppant
bed with a very high perm ullage at its top, such that
▪ Proppant is delivered into the fractures in reservoir fluid flows vertically in the proppant bed to feed
a “duning” process the high perm ullage flowing back to the well bore

Ullage –
conductive
highway

Arch/ullage

What the models What you get

predict by N.R. Warpinsky
Results

Expected decline
Metis Liquid Frack Original conventional
curve frack

Re-frack @ 1/2 the

cost
Latest Results
 Summary
• Field trials have shown that micro-proppants have impressive results
on production and ultimate recovery (both gas and oil)
• Liquid Frack enables > 60% cost reduction on same size frack jobs
• Liquid Frack requires much less hydraulic horsepower and much
smaller foot print than conventional Frack
• Metis technology is very green: can use produced water for frack
jobs, no chemical additives
• Liquid Frack jobs can be done through tubing: perfect for re-fracking
• Technology is very forgiving: Frack job can be restarted after pause
for several hours