Services

Flowback Operations

Flow Back Operations – the process starts when a well is opened up after the drilling has finished and / or the well completion has begun. It involves allowing the well to flow back to surface either up the casing or tubing, through the wellhead and into the production separators that Alpha flowback provides. The Seperator is either 3 or 4 phase (water, oil, gas, sand) and is a pressure containment vessel (and its associated high pressure piping and valve manifolds) are designed to separate the phases of flow, determine the pressure of the well, composition and percentages of the different mediums that the well is producing (water, oil, gas, sand). This information helps determine the productivity and deliverability of the well.

Drill Out Operations

Drill Out Operations – occur most frequently when a ‘plug & perf (perforating)’ completion system is used and the plugs are drilled out with either coiled tubing or jointed pipe. This occurs after the well intervals (separated by the plugs) have been hydraulically fractured (frac’d). At this point of the operation, the well is flowing, a junk catcher is used to recover the plug material and the Separator is used as above in a Flow Back Operation. After the Drill Out Operation is completed, the Separation Package usually continues to be used to ‘clean up’ the well’s flow until it can be connected to permanent production facilities for the producing oil and / gas.

Frac Support Operations

Frac Operations – Alpha Flowback provides Separation Packages and highly trained personnel to provide ‘frac support’. Fracturing involves pumping nitrogen, water and / or sand - at high pressures and volumes - into a wellbore using specialized tools downhole designed to ‘fracture’ or break up the rock (reservoir) that contains the oil and / gas. This decreases the well’ resistance to flow (increasing the porosity of the rock) and increases its volume of production – essentially creating paths of least resistance for the reservior. As the well is being fractured, the Separation Package is used to flow back wells that have ‘screened out’ due to the limitations of the well to accept more sand / fluid. This allows the well to not become plugged and / or coiled tubing or jointed pipe to become stuck in the hole during fracturing or drilling out. The Separation Package is also used to equalize pressures or release pressures as operations are occurring, such as breaking connections on wellhead lubricators, to contain any pressure that may be harmful to workers or equipment, as well as to prohibit the release of uncontrolled pressure or to emit gasses or chemicals to the environment. This is often done by flowing back to tanks or burning gasses through a flare stack or incinerator.

Zero Emission (Green) Completions

Green Completions – further to notes above in Frac Operations, Green Completions are designed to not allow any fluids, gasses, sand or well bore contaminants to escape into the atmosphere, onto the ground or into any water – preserving and containing all mediums to preserve the air, land and water. Green Completions = No Environmental Impact