OREANDA-NEWS. Gazprom Neft has performed its first eight-stage hydraulic fracturing on a newly commissioned horizontal well at Vyngapur field operated by Gazpromneft Noyabrskneftegaz . Until now, the highest number of hydraulic fracturing stages that the company would perform in a single horizontal well was six or seven. The depth of the new well is 4400 meters, the length of the horizontal section is about 1000 meters, and the flow rate obtained is 75 tons of oil per day.

Longer horizontal boreholes and more hydraulic fracturing stages allow wider coverage of the target area by raising the flow rate of wells drilled in low permeability horizons known as tight reserves. Multiple hydraulic fracturing on horizontal wells is one of the principal methods of hitting tight reserves. Gazprom Neft adopted a tight reserves program in 2012. The company plans to bring 60 million tons of tight reserves into production by 2015, and that figure should rise to 300 million tons by 2020.

“We are constantly applying and promoting new technologies across the company. Last year, the longest horizontal borehole we drilled was 800 meters, and the number of hydraulic fracturing stages increased from three to six. As of now, the length of horizontal boreholes has reached 1000 meters, and we are planning to bring the number of hydraulic fracturing stages up to nine or ten this year. Gazprom Neft is now using multiple hydraulic fracturing on a much larger geographical scale across its major fields. Last year we used it at three fields, and this year we are using it at seven fields,” said Gazprom Neft First Deputy CEO Vadim Yakovlev.