Services

Ely and Associates is pleased to be one of the foremost authorities on hydraulic fracturing, both in design, and implementation. Currently, the group consists of 40 full time technical employees and 15 contract employees. Each full time employee has years of experience in the industry, and prior to their joining Ely and Associates, members have been involved in the development, field introduction, and support of stimulation fluids and systems for nearly every major service company. Ely and Associates is pleased to have 15 contract employees that are assigned to specific projects, or that command special skills not available within the core group.

Primary Services

• Stimulation Design, Supervision, Evaluation and Quality Control
• Formation Evaluation using Pressure Transient Well Tests, Well Logs, and Core Data
• Well Performance Analysis Including Projections of Producing Rates and Determination of Reserves and Ultimate Recoveries
• Field Consulting Services for Completions and Workovers, Including Deep Gas Wells and Coalbed Methane Wells
• Expert Witness Testimony in all Phases of Petroleum Engineering
• Due Diligence Work for Potential Producing Property Acquisitions
• Petroleum Engineering Short Courses in Hydraulic Fracture Treatment Design, Evaluation and Quality Control
• Water Fracturing

Areas of Specialization

Water Fracturing

Ely and Associates' engineers excel at Hydraulic Fracturing supervision and consulting. Fracturing experts may be retained to oversee service company operations. This ensures that the job proceeds smoothly, and according to the design. Problems that arise will be solved and the fracturing design may be adjusted to correct for the interruption. The engineer on location will also ensure that quality control procedures are followed and that the service company performs well.

Pre-Stimulation Evaluation

Ely and Associates' engineers perform a detailed formation evaluation prior to the design of a stimulation treatment. Well test data, logs, core data, etc. are all evaluated and considered in the design of an optimized stimulation treatment. Ely and Associates' engineers also make completion recommendations for optimizing stimulation. Such completion recommendations include casing and cementing programs, perforation placement and breakdown/ bailout procedures.

Stimulation Design

Utilizing information evaluated in the pre-stimulation formation evaluation, Ely and Associates uses sophisticated fracture design software to design a stimulation treatment. Ely and Associates personnel also stay updated on the latest technology in fluid and proppant selection. This helps to assure that the client receives the best available fluid, additives, and proppant for their application.

Stimulation Supervision and Quality Control

Ely and Associates' personnel have over 800 years of combined experience in field supervision and quality control of stimulation treatments. Detailed supervision, which includes quality control of fracturing fluids and additives, is essential for the success of all hydraulic fracture treatments. Basic quality control procedures, such as monitoring fluid viscosity and conducting pre- and post-treatment inventories, are performed on every treatment Ely and Associates supervises. Additionally, Ely and Associates can provide intense quality control, which includes the prejob analysis of fluid viscosity on site at in-situ conditions, to determine gel stability and proper breaker loadings. After the frac treatment, Ely's engineers provide recommendations for flow back of the well to maximize frac fluid cleanup and minimize damage to the fracture.

Post Stimulation Evaluation

Ely and Associates' personnel can also design, conduct and analyze post-stimulation pressure transient tests along with the analysis of production history to evaluate the effectiveness of the stimulation treatment.

Coalbed Methane Projects

Ely and Associates have been involved in numerous coalbed methane projects in Alabama, New Mexico, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Kansas, as well as Europe and Australia. New fracturing techniques and fluid systems have been developed by our firm for these areas. In most cases, due to relatively low bottom hole temperatures and pressures of coalbed methane deposits, quality control on these wells is critical to their success.

"Frac Pack" Stimulation Treatments

Ely and Associates' personnel have been been in the forefront of high permeability fracturing in the Gulf of Mexico, the North Slope and throughout the world. On-site diagnostics and optimization of tip screenout treatments for near wellbore damage removal as well as quality control of gravel pack operations are services supplied since the inception of the company.

On-Site Quality Control of Critical Cementing Treatments

Ely and Associates' personnel have a tremendous amound of experience in design and optimization of critical cement jobs for onshore and offshore operations.

Short Courses

Mr. John Ely, the founder of Ely and Associates, has earned much praise in the industry for his courses on hydraulic fracturing techniques. He teaches courses at locations all over the US, as well as internationally. Mr. Ely brings humor to the classroom, and shares his genuine love of the industry with students, regardless of age. Occasionally, courses are also taught by Michael McCoy, a partner at Ely and Associates, and a technical specialist with over 20 years of diversified engineering experience. His areas of specialization include well performance evaluation and completion design, along with stimulation design and quality control supervision. Both instructors are experts in the field of water fracturing.

Courses Offered

Hydraulic Fracture Treatment Design and Quality Control

This course offers insight into the theory and practice of hydraulic fracture treatment design. Topics covered include pre-fracture formation evaluation, well completion for stimulation, fracture design models, and selection of fluids, fluid additives, and proppants. Onsite fracture monitoring and quality control are also discussed in detail.

Hydraulic Fracture Treatment Evaluation

This course describes analytical techniques which can be used in the evaluation of hydraulic fracture treatments. Topics covered include post-fracture pressure transient test analysis, predicting performance and estimating ultimate recovery from fractured wells, fracture treatment optimization and the effect of non-ideal conditions susuch as fracture closure, variable fracture conductivity, fracture damage, and non-Darcy flow on post-fracture well performance. Because of its importance to post-fracture analysis, pre-fracture formation evaluation and test analysis are also discussed. This course is designed for reservoir and production engineering responsible for evaluating the results of hydraulic fracture treatments and predicting post-fracture well performance. It is our ideal follow-up to the Hydraulic Fracture Treatment Design and QualityControl short course.

Upcoming Courses

Frac School Houston: November 14-18, 2011

Water Frac School Pittsburg: December 6-8, 2011

Frac School Houston: February 27-March 2, 2012

Frac School Europe: March 12-16, 2012

Frac School Branson, Missouri: July 25-29, 2012

The Backbone of Hydraulic Fracturing

The proppant samples pictured to the right may look simple, but they are the backbone of all hydraulic fracturing treatments. Without proppants to keep the fractures open, the conductive pathways generated during the treatment would simply close. Every engineer, technician, or consultant who has ever designed a fracturing treatment has an opinion on proppant selection and distribution, but all agree that it is necessary. Proppant is classified into several different categories based on material, coating, size, and density.

Once proppant has been chosen, it is mixed into a fluid, usually water thickened with guar or a guar derivative, a crosslinker; and the suspended proppant is pumped downhole and into the newly generated fractures. The proppant laden fluid contains internal breaker that will cause the fluid to "break," or return to the original non-viscose state. Once the fluid breaks and the proppant is deposited, the fluid may be flowed back out of the now-propped fractures without bringing the proppant with it.

A rapidly growing number of fracture treatments today use only water, small proppant and drag reducing chemicals.  Ely and Associates has been on the forefront of design and implementation of this type of treatment which functions radically different from conventional viscous fluids.  Ely’s utilization of the “Waterfrac Sweep” process has found success in both conventional and unconventional reservoirs throughout the world.

Developing New Techniques Every Day

Hydraulic fracturing has come a very long way since the days of pumping war surplus napalm downhole. The oilfield has changed from an industry that borrows technology from other disciplines into one that creates new techniques and tools on nearly a daily basis. Necessity is the mother of invention, and hydraulic fracturing owes its popularity to need rather than fashion. Much of the low hanging fruit has been plucked in the majority of oil reservoirs all over the world. The Source Rock Shale presently being developed are just another example of how technology has allowed for economic production of reserves previously thought non-recoverable.