From Ferus:

Middle Montney well achieves top-tier 1,768 Boe/d production test results with largest CO₂ stimulation.

CALGARY, Alberta  – Ferus Inc. (Ferus), the leading provider of off-road cryogenic fluids for the energy industry, is proud to be a major service provider for Blackbird Energy Inc. (TSX VENTURE:BBI), the emerging Canadian Exploration and Production company that recently completed and achieved exceptional top-tier production test results on a well located in the Middle Montney formation. The well completion method, which contributed to the outstanding results, was an energized CO₂ foam frac using record-breaking volumes of CO₂.

Ferus was the sole provider of CO₂ and the associated logistics for the complex job. The integrated effort included Ferus demand planning staff and field supervisors managing on-site operations to safely pump the product and effectively implement the completion.

Production

The CO₂-based completion produced 1,768 Boe/d, exceeding Blackbird’s gas rate and total Boe/d type curve by 109% and 80% respectively. The Middle Montney well at Elmworth 2-20-70-7W6 was completed using sliding sleeve frac technology and an energized CO₂ foam fracture with 70 individual stages. A total of 10,531 m³ (88,317 Bbls) of load fluid and 9,226 m³ of CO₂ distributed an average of 31.75 tonnes of proppant per stage over the 70 stages.

“Only through working with Ferus were we able to implement this type of completion for our 2-20 well,” stated CEO of Blackbird Energy Inc., Garth Braun in his Executive Letter, January 2016. “One reason we chose to use CO₂ was its superior viscosity and therefore its ability to place sand more effectively. In addition, CO₂ has also been proven to carry proppant deeper into a reservoir, which leads potentially to lower decline rates, higher recovery rates and better productivity overall. Furthermore, the switch to CO₂ allowed us to demonstrate deliverability of the Middle Montney at an earlier stage than a slickwater frac would allow under a testing scenario.”

Based upon long-term forecasting of reserves recovery between slickwater and CO₂ foams (SPE 168632), Ferus estimates the incremental reserves of the well are approximately 25 to 30 percent higher than an equivalent slickwater well.

Water savings

Fracturing with CO₂ foam fluid also provides environmental benefits by significantly reducing the water volume needed to complete the fracturing treatment.

“We believe the estimated equivalent of slickwater usage, had the well been completed that way instead of with CO₂, would have been 30,000 m³,” said Murray Reynolds, Director of Technical Services at Ferus. “By fracturing the well with CO₂, not only did Blackbird achieve significantly higher production, it also reduced water usage by approximately two-thirds, which represents responsible resource stewardship. Furthermore, the use of CO₂ meant fewer pumpers required onsite and reduced land footprint due to less water storage needs.”

Additional benefits of CO_{2 w}ell stimulations

• Reduced truck traffic – Incremental total truck traffic reduction, at an estimated 21,500 m³ per truck, equates to 322 fewer trucks on the lease and on the highway.
• Reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
  • Less truck traffic reduces GHG emissions and community impacts.
  • Ferus sources its Canadian CO₂ from industrial waste stacks which would otherwise be emitted, and turns pollution into a commercial product.
  • Wells stimulated with energized fluids also require less horsepower to perform the hydraulic fracturing treatment; another source of decreased GHG emissions.

“Ferus is proud to be a partner on the well completions with an innovative company like Blackbird Energy,” said Tyler Dahlseide, VP Energized Fluids at Ferus. “The production test results of the 2-20 well demonstrate to the energy sector that CO₂ is an effective fracture fluid alternative that achieves both economic and environmental objectives.”