Diverse Range of Services
Calfrac strives to improve its operations by investing in new technology in fracturing, coiled tubing, cementing and other well service materials.

“Each of these growing service lines offers new opportunities to add value through new, innovative technologies and equipment designs that improve operating efficiency, reduce environmental impact, lower finding costs for our clients and deliver results,” the company says.

“Every reservoir, every well and every company is unique in character, thus we create custom stimulation programs for every job. Our in-house software integrates the latest downhole fracturing technology, ensuring an effective treatment [when provided with] the unique parameters for any given well. Our aim is to increase [our clients’] hydrocarbon production.”

Unconventional Fracturing
Calfrac says the principal focus of its business is the provision of hydraulic fracturing services to oil and natural gas exploration and production companies. “The objective of hydraulic fracturing is to increase the conductivity of an oil or natural gas zone,” the company explains.

“Calfrac provides both conventional hydraulic fracturing and unconventional hydraulic fracturing to produce natural gas found in coal – also known as CBM fracturing. Deep fracturing is a technically and operationally challenging segment of the fracturing market that is currently experiencing strong growth worldwide,” it notes. Conventional hydraulic fracturing is achieved by pumping a viscous fluid with suspended proppant through the wellbore and into the reservoir zone being stimulated.

“The pumping pressure causes the zone to fracture and accept the fluid proppant suspended in the fracture,” Calfrac says. “A considerable amount of technology is incorporated into the design of the fracturing fluid. The final fluid can be gelled, emulsified or foamed, and can be preceded by acid.”

Calfrac says it has become “a leading service provider” in the deeper, more technical areas of northern Alberta, northeastern British Columbia, Colorado and Arkansas by offering “innovative equipment, technology solutions and highly trained personnel to execute these difficult projects.

“As a result of our extensive involvement in various pilot projects, evaluating the viability of CBM production in Western Canada – along with our customers – has developed an unconventional method of fracturing multi-zone CBM wells by pumping nitrogen gas through coiled tubing at very high rates without the use of proppant, fluid or chemicals.”

Advancements in Technology
“The importance of technology in delivering value-added solutions begins in our own operations with the ability to share ideas and best practices, support regional and global customers, improve productivity, increase efficiency, reduce environmental impact and drive continuing growth,” Calfrac says. “[We are] committed to continuing to invest in technology and engineering to maintain [our] leading market position and serve [our] customers in innovative and effective ways.”

“In our business, there are two areas that we’re focusing on for advancing technology,” Grisdale says. “One is in the equipment that we use to perform the treatments that we pump and the other is on the types of fluids that we use in our daily operations. We’re looking at equipment innovations that reduce costs and different products that create better performance for our customers.

“Reducing our customers’ costs and creating better well performance increases our customers’ financial performance,” he continues. “Calfrac believes this leads to more investment by its customers and higher activity levels for itself.”

The industry’s technologies are changing rapidly with advancements in drilling and completion techniques. Grisdale says service companies like Calfrac have to reinvest in research and development programs to be able to provide their customers the best value for the money they spend.
Always Innovative
Falling behind is never an option, Grisdale asserts, noting that Calfrac has proven itself capable of competing on the world stage with the most up-to-date research and development programs. He says this has brought the company “the success it has derived in the years since it was established.”

Calfrac sees further advances on the equipment side of its operations. “The newest technical advances are going to be made with the capability to pump very high-rate jobs with a minimal amount of equipment,” Grisdale says.

“So, we’re working on new equipment designs that will be capable of going to much higher rates than are conventionally being utilized. If we accomplish that, we can reduce the amount of equipment on the location. This will reduce our cost and our customers’ cost.”

Grisdale says Calfrac is working on methods to help it accomplish more stages of fracture treatments with a single set of equipment. Companies are going to be drilling multiple wells on a single location, he explains.

“What we’re focusing on is the capability to treat multiple wells on a single location without having to move the majority of the equipment at any given time. When we accomplish that, we can treat more zones in a single day.”

Calfrac’s customers are designing their locations to achieve this, he adds. “So, we’re trying to lower their costs by being more efficient in how we pump the jobs,” Grisdale notes. “It’s a win-win for both the customer and our company in terms of lowering costs and increasing efficiency. And, it’s certainly more environmentally friendly in that there is only one location vs. multiple locations. For example, in Colorado, our customers are drilling up to 22 wells from a single location now.”