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Tag: Zinc Free Formate Free Fluids

A Versatile, Sustainable Alternative to Cesium Formate Fluids

Posted on by Richard Hay | Vice President of Completion Fluids & Services

One of the biggest challenges facing operators in the North Sea and other deepwater regions is finding a sustainable alternative to cesium formate brines. Since the 1990s, cesium formate has become the necessary choice among operators because it’s relatively benign to the environment and can be formulated for the high densities and temperatures needed for deepwater operations—but it’s also very expensive and is a finite resource available from a few deposits. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, in 2022 the price for 25 grams of 98% cesium formate averaged $46.10.[1] You don’t have to be a drilling engineer to know that 25 grams is only a drop in a barrel—and it takes hundreds of barrels of fluid to drill and complete a well.

Problem Solved

Fortunately, there is an alternative: TETRA Neptune multi-use fluid. Unique in the industry, the fluid is super versatile, formate-free, and can be formulated at densities from 11.6 lb/gal to 17.5 lb/gal with lower operating temperatures than standard brines. The fluid has a stable alkaline pH with no risk of producing corrosive formic acid, and it’s thermally stable, with true and pressurized crystallization temperatures (TCT and PCT) that can hold up to the harsh conditions of deepwater operations without crystallization.

The table here shows six formulations of both divalent and monovalent TETRA Neptune fluid in densities ranging from 11.6 to 17.5 lb/gal.

CHEMISTRY VALENCY DENSITY lb/gal
CaBr2 Divalent 14.5–14.9
High-Density CaCl2 Divalent 11.6–12.0
High-Density NaBr Monovalent 12.5–13.1
High-Density CaBr2 Divalent 14.5–15.4
Extra-High-Density NaBr Monovalent 12.5–15.4
Extra-High-Density CaBr2 Divalent 14.5–17.5

Versatility

TETRA Neptune multi-use fluid can be used as a completion fluid, a reservoir drill-in fluid, a barrier fluid, a packer fluid, a suspension fluid, a base for pills and slugs, in the brine phase of non-aqueous fluids in workovers, and for use as a control line/pad fluid and other tasks. What other fluid can do that? This versatility makes Neptune very cost-efficient, enabling the use of a single batch for different operations, which not only reduces costs but also simplifies logistics and handling needs.

The fluid’s versatility and effectiveness are field proven. Introduced in 2015, TETRA Neptune has been used in the Gulf of Mexico as a completion brine, packer fluid, and the base for wellbore treatment pills with tremendous success.

Recently, the fluid saw its first use in an intervention and abandonment operation in the North Sea, in waters 80 meters deep at a true vertical depth of more than 4,000 meters. The job included a blowout preventer test at 10,000 psi with a true crystallization temperature below −30.5ºC. Showcasing its versatility, the 14.7-lb/gal clear brine fluid doubled as suspension fluid and the bases for wellbore displacement and viscosified pills, performing flawlessly with zero HSE incidents.

TETRA Neptune fluid is ideal for use as a reservoir drill-in fluid as well. Pairing the high-density monovalent formulation with 50 pounds-per-barrel of ground marble can yield a fluid density of 15.8 lb/gal.[2] The customized fluid reduces the potential for reservoir damage, and afterward it can be converted to clear brine for reuse in the completion phase, thereby reducing cost, time, and logistics.

The unique TETRA fluid can also be used in the formulation of solids-free invert emulsions, when non-aqueous fluids are needed and the presence of solid weighting agents are undesirable. Substituting 17.5-lb/gal Neptune for calcium bromide, for example, can yield an emulsion with a density as high as 12.9 lb/gal.

So, as one can see, TETRA Neptune multi-use fluid may not be a suitable dessert topping or floor wax (don’t try that at home!), but it is super versatile for the drilling and completion of oil and gas wells—and this versatility means cost-efficiency and high performance.

Sustainability

TETRA Neptune also fills the need for a sustainable alternative. With a smaller carbon footprint than other high-density fluids, its ingredients are regionally sources, plentiful, and environmentally safe. It delivers simplified logistics as well. To formulate it for the specific needs of your applications requires no special mixing, handling, or storage at rig sites or aboard marine vessels, nor does it require zero-discharge equipment. The proprietary fluid has environmental approval for use in the North Sea, and it can be reclaimed for subsequent reuse.

What Are You Waiting For?

The time for using TETRA Neptune fluid in your operations has come. Consider its versatile applications and beneficial features:

Applications

  • Completion fluid
  • Reservoir drill-in fluid
  • Packer fluid
  • Suspension fluid
  • Base for wellbore treatment pills
  • Pad/control line applications
  • Base for non-aqueous invert emulsions

Beneficial Features

  • Densities ranging from 11.6 to 17.5 lb/gal
  • Thermally stable with excellent TCT and PCT
  • Divalent and monovalent formulations
  • Stable alkaline pH
  • No risk of forming corrosive formic acid
  • More versatile than cesium formate and other brines
  • Lower cost than cesium formate
  • Environmentally friendly
  • More sustainable than other brines

Whether you’re operating in the North Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, the South Atlantic, or onshore, this versatile fluid is a sustainable alternative to cesium formate that will deliver economic and operational value.

Endnotes

[1] See “MCS2023-Cesium” at the USGS website. The 2022 price reflects an 8% increase over $42.60 in 2021. Cesium is not rare in the absolute sense, but it is sourced from very few mines around the world—primarily a single mine in Canada—and its reactive nature complicates extraction, purification, and storage. The element is an alkali metal that is highly reactive and would melt in hand if it did not first react with ambient moisture and ignite.

[2] Both monovalent and divalent fluids can be used for reservoir drill-in, but the latter have limitations. A divalent brine’s cations can react with the formation water’s anions to create insoluble solids capable of clogging reservoir pores, and monovalent brines are more amenable to the starches and polysaccharides added to increase viscosity for fluid-loss control.

Brine Reclamation Is Smart Business

Posted on by Phillip Vincent | Research & Development Advisor

Restoring Used Clear Brine Fluids for Optimal Reuse

The evaluation, selection, and validation of a completion brine before it is delivered to the rig is arguably the most important part of designing a well. Often overlooked in the overall lifecycle of a completion brine, however, is evaluation of the fluid after it’s been used on a job.

Fortunately, the capability to reclaim and reuse completion brines is a core component of TETRA’s oilfield operations. By repurposing previously used fluids, our brine blending and manufacturing operations can maintain the capacity to supply the vast quantities of completion brines that customers require to complete their wells.

One challenge is that many reclamation jobs are not simply a case of taking fluids back to our facilities and immediately having them ready to load out for a new job. Often, returned completion brines are contaminated and not in a suitable condition for future jobs. As a result, we previously had more and more unusable fluids being returned to our brine plants.

While some might think reclamation is as simple as filtering out contaminants from the fluid using traditional filter systems, like a diatomaceous earth filter press system, the reality is that reclamation requires quite a bit more science.

This challenge led the TETRA Innovation Group (TIG) to look for ways to remove the contaminants from these returned fluids so they could be reused rather than just sit in tanks as ‘dead inventory’. So, we initiated a plan of action to challenge the team at the TIG with not only identifying the contaminants, but more crucially, providing the solutions that would allow for reclamation of the dead inventory.

Heavy Metal Overload

One common contaminant in returned completion brines is a high concentration of dissolved iron. Elevated iron levels in completion brines generally drop the pH of those fluids, turning them more acidic. The acidification of the fluids increases the rate at which the metal tubing and casings that come into contact with the completion brine corrode. This increased corrosion rate then results in more iron being pulled into the completion brine, continuing a vicious cycle.

Sticky Situations

Another common contaminant in returned completion brines is unbroken polymer. Often, completion brines are made viscous with polymer so that the fluid can either carry solids down into a wellbore or carry solids out of a wellbore. In either case, when the fluid returns from its trip into the well, the polymer used to thicken the fluid has not broken down completely. Fluid in this state cannot be filtered to remove the solids or other contaminants carried out the wellbore. Sometimes, the fluid can be so thick that it cannot be easily pumped, which then leads to other potential operational problems.

Grime & Slime

The third set of common contaminants in returned completion brines is solids, oil, and other organic matter. These contaminants are commonly encountered when fluids are pushed downhole through the well. Significant quantities of more than 0.5% by volume are enough to cause filtration problems. Slowing the filtration process limits the rate at which the fluid can be repumped down the well, which then slows the whole operation. Moreover, the presence of solids, oil, and organic materials negatively impact the visual appearance of the fluid, imparting turbidity and color.

Rejuvenating Waters

Through a close collaboration between the TIG and TETRA’s Operations teams in both the Gulf of Mexico and the Eastern Hemisphere, we developed treatment protocols for completion brines contaminated with iron, polymers, oil, and organic contaminants. These treatment protocols were all designed to maintain the density of the fluids, as well as minimize the amount of fluid lost during the reclamation process so that the value of the brines is preserved. Most importantly, these treatment protocols were designed to be performed safely.

Case Study 1: A Gulf Above the Competition

From 2013 to 2018, 16,000 barrels of ‘dead’ returned fluid inventory from the Gulf of Mexico were treated by TETRA, along with an additional 20,000 barrels of new returned fluid from subsequent jobs. The value of the 36,000 barrels treated during this span was approximately $10 million. Fully 97% of the volume was recovered as usable inventory, which greatly reduced the manufacturing burden on our brine blending plants. Of the 36,000 barrels treated, 16,000 barrels were fluids belonging to customers. TETRA brine reclamation ended up saving these customers approximately $5 million. Additionally, TETRA’s large brine storage capabilities enable the processing and treatment of enormous volumes of returned fluid, providing exceptional value to customers.

Gulf of Mexico Brine Reclamation Chart

Case Study 2: Beasts of the East

Not to be outdone, TETRA’s Eastern Hemisphere team based in Aberdeen, Scotland, performed over 70 reclamation jobs in the U.K. from 2016 to 2020. These treatments reclaimed nearly 52,000 barrels of fluid, also achieving 97% recovery efficiency. In fact, in 2019 alone more than 14,000 barrels of fluid were treated with 97% efficiency. A major factor in the Company’s success in reclaiming fluids in the Eastern Hemisphere is that our brine storage capabilities Northeast of Scotland are by far the region’s largest, with over 36,000 barrels of storage capacity available across three different locations. This gives TETRA the ability to take on reclamation jobs that our competitors simply can’t undertake.

UK Brine Reclamation Chart

Specialized Solutions

The role of TETRA specialty chemicals is a key component in our brine reclamation process—without them the amount of fluid recovered during the reclamation process would be significantly less. TETRA’s range of flocculation chemicals includes a highly effective flocculant for facilitating efficient solids removal and extending the life of the DE press. Additionally, TETRA’s oil absorbent filter aid, TETRA O-Lok C, enhances oil removal and is easily incorporated into DE press filtration.

As recently as August 2021, TETRA successfully used TETRA O-Lok C as part of a high-profile reclamation job, receiving 692 barrels of TETRA CS Neptune® high-density monovalent completion brine that analysis showed contained oil and solids. Using a single press package consisting of a 600-squarefoot filter press, a slurry tank, and a twin-vessel cartridge unit dressed with nominal 25 micron and absolute 10-micron cartridges, just one pass removed all traces of oil and solids in the fluid, with over 90% of the fluid reclaimed.

Constant Vigilance – Continuous Improvement

Brine reclamation is smart business, delivering tremendous value to oil and gas operators. Moving forward, TETRA will continue to evaluate returned fluids for reclamation and reuse, while at the same time continuously refining our reclamation techniques, looking for ways to improve the efficiency of removing contaminants and preserving fluids. Collaboration is the key to innovation and a competitive edge. The close collaboration between the TIG and the operations teams in the U.S. and the U.K. has enabled TETRA to build a brine reclamation infrastructure that distinguishes us from competitors in terms of both the volumes of fluid we can reclaim and the quality of the resulting fluids.

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The Art of Judicious Invention

Posted on by Judy Guy-Caffey | TETRA Innovation Group Manager

“The introduction of noble inventions seems to hold by far the most excellent place among human actions.” 
— Francis Bacon, 1561–1626

Invention as a Fundament of Civilization

Civilization is driven by technological innovation. From the invention of writing to the printing press to today’s internet and smart devices, the things we invent change not only our world but how we conceptualize the world and solve problems. Consider, for example, how the advent of the personal computer has shaped how we talk about the brain, memory, and neurological circuits. Even logical reasoning is the product of combining two inventions in antiquity: divination and writing.1

The esteemed science historian James Burke defines invention as the art of “bringing ideas or objects together in a novel way to create something that did not exist before.”2 Invention is not only the life-blood of technology, it’s also vital to the advancement of problem-solving and finding better ways to perform crucial tasks. In other words, while we tend to associate invention with the things we use, it also applies to the ways we work, like the Japanese 5S method, for example.3

Portfolio Expansion through Invention

TETRA was founded in 1981 to serve the completion fluids market by addressing each customer’s unique challenges with tailored solutions—a principle based on judicious research, development, and invention. Our portfolio has since expanded and now includes not only completion fluids and additives but also various products and services for water management, flowback, production testing, filtration, wellbore cleanout, brine reclamation, and diverse grades of calcium chloride for applications in the energy, agricultural, road construction, dust-control, and food & beverage industries.

Addressing customer challenges with targeted research, development, and technological invention is the domain of our TETRA Innovation Group (TIG), a team of Ph.D. scientists and technicians. And while creativity at TETRA is certainly not confined to the TIG, it is this group that is perhaps most guided by the art of judicious invention.

State-of-the-Art Laboratories and Technical Support

Home for the TIG is our 26,000-square-foot research and development laboratory and technology center in Conroe, Texas, which TETRA established in 1996, as well as a second laboratory in Aberdeen, Scotland. Both facilities are outfitted with state-of-the-art lab equipment and support the Company’s many domestic and international service centers.

Every day, TIG personnel provide an enormous range of technical services, from completion and specialized fluid testing and frac-water analysis to analytical tests like GC-mass spectrometry, particle-size analysis, ion chromatography, and scores of other specialized procedures in support of fluid formulation, wellbore cleanout, brine reclamation, water management, filtration, and production testing.

Pioneering Industry Firsts

In addition to providing daily technical support, the TIG boasts an impressive record of industry firsts, key patents, and product innovations that have won awards and become benchmarks for performance, efficiency, sustainability, and environmental protection. Among just a few of its pioneering innovations are:

Forging the Future

Looking ahead amid the accelerating pace of the global transition to more renewable sources of energy, TETRA is now embarking on commercialization of its latest product, PureFlow high-purity zinc bromide for use in zinc-bromine flow batteries. TETRA PureFlow ZnBr2 clear brine fluid is produced using our patented process originally developed for formulating halide brines, but further refined to yield a high-purity ZnBr2 that is ideal for the exacting standards of zinc-bromine flow batteries. Our TIG personnel are also exploring carbon-capture technologies.

As the world heads to the halfway mark of the twenty-first century, freighted with both optimism and uncertainty about the technologies that will power the future, one certainty that remains solid is the TETRA commitment to innovating through the art of judicious invention. We don’t just follow the technology; we help pioneer and lead with it.

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[1] See Giovanni Manetti (1993), Theories of the Sign in Classical Antiquity, as well as Walter Ong (1958) Ramus, Method, and the Decay of Dialogue: From the Art of Discourse to the Art of Reason, and Ong (1982), Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word.
[2] James Burke, “Invention,” Britannica (website).
[3] The 5S method is a means of organizing a work space for maximum efficiency and effectiveness; 5S stands for: seiri (整理), seiton (整頓), seisō (清掃), seiketsu (清潔), and shitsuke (躾), translated as sort, set in order, shine, standardize, and sustain.

Understanding the Full Spectrum of Fluid Work in Deepwater Well Operations

Posted on by Gary Poole | Account Manager/Technical Advisor

Do your service providers, operations personnel, and engineers understand the many variables impacting fluid performance across the entire spectrum of well operations? Do they recognize the profound impact a completion brine can have on cost, performance, safety, and the environment? Based on feedback from the frontline, we have identified a need for greater awareness of the overall impact of a completion brine.

The HSEQ Perspective

Let us begin with a look at the factors impacting health, safety, environment, and quality (HSEQ), because most of us would agree that safeguarding both personnel and the environment is paramount.

A Novel Alternative to Zinc-based Fluids

Forgoing the use of zinc-based fluids should now be the norm given their hazards to personnel and the current environmental restrictions on the use of zinc in practically every offshore field. In the Gulf of Mexico, where modest use of zinc is still permitted, it is reasonable to expect restrictions will grow even more stringent in the years ahead.

Fortunately, TETRA has pioneered a very effective high-density alternative to zinc-based brines—the family of TETRA CS Neptune® completion fluids. These innovative fluids are zinc-free and formate-free, made with readily available, environmentally benign ingredients, and can be formulated as either monovalent or divalent with densities up to 15.7 and 17.5 lb./gal., respectively. Moreover, the fluids can also be used as working, packer, and reservoir drill-in fluids, so they provide unprecedented versatility compared to other high-density brines on the market.

The TETRA CS Neptune fluids won a Hart Energy Special Meritorious Engineering Innovation Award in 2020, and they are revolutionizing the industry as more and more operators recognize their many benefits.

More Efficient Displacement for Cleaner Results

Today, TETRA offers displacement spacer systems that are formulated specifically for a given well’s conditions, because targeted treatment ensures more thorough hole cleanout and surface preparation. But why has this approach not been widely adopted for cleaning fluid storage pits? In most cases, thousands of barrels of wastewater and detergents are used to clean their surfaces, all without first testing the chemistry of the wash on the synthetic-based mud it is meant to clean away—a textbook example of inefficiency.

The TETRA Advanced Displacement System (TADS) can address this problem. TADS is a 3-phase displacement system designed for optimal wellbore cleaning because it’s tailored to the specific application.

As reported in a number of cases, use of TADS has yielded:

  • Significant reduction of filtration time and interface volume losses (down to as little as 3–10 barrels), which cut rig time in half;
  • 10-month displacement of zinc bromide down to the seabed wellhead (for a temporary abandonment) with no fill at total depth.
  • Brine so clean (35 NTUs), rather than return it for reclamation, the operator kept it for a backup working fluid.

Ultimately, TADS delivers exceptional value because it facilitates brine reclamation and is very effective in reducing disposal and environmental impact.

API Q2 Certification

TETRA is API Q2 certified. We provide behavioral-based training for every rig and service crew member. On a TETRA jobsite, all personnel perform their duties safely and consistently based on approved documented practices. Personnel involved in handling completion brines and additives are outfitted with appropriate personal protection equipment and acid-resistant clothing.

Our commitment to safety and proper procedures pays off: In one recent completion project spanning 12 months and 688,000 work hours, TETRA logged zero HSEQ incidents.

The Operational Perspective

Now let us turn to the operational aspects that impact the efficiency and results of your well operations. Below is a checklist that TETRA can help fulfill.

A Checklist for Success

  • Use the appropriate TETRA brines with third-party verification to prevent stress cracking of alloy 125 casing, like our CaBr2 and ZnBr2 brines;
  • Use a TETRA corrosion-inhibition package with third-party verification that is compatible with commonly used polymers, like our ZnBr2 brine;
  • Identify any buoyancy issues with ball-drop operations;
  • Carefully monitor the circulation rate of viscous, high-density brines and never deviate from the designed rate;
  • Properly time running brines through the work string and tubing for maximum efficiency;
  • Use TETRA pills, like the TETRAFlex™ cross-lined pill, that are formulated specifically for the downhole equipment and reservoir characteristics to minimize loss of completion fluid;
  • Optimize every brine’s pH, crystallization, and salt content, and avoid adding dry powder buffer compounds;
  • Use a clay-inhibitor that is based on well mineralogy and will safeguard the porosity of the pay zone;
  • Chart filtration data to determine the most prolific ‘signature’ event of the operational phase;
  • Carefully manage flowback to collect samples for chemical analysis and for potential reclamation of fluids.
  • Adhere to TETRA’s documented pit-cleaning standards to ensure thorough cleaning for uncontaminated fluids;
  • Consult TETRA for proper shaker-screen sizes for the different operational phases, from drilling to completion;
  • Define procedural mandates and responsible parties for the outside rig station;
  • Record and share lessons learned.

TETRA Technologies was founded in 1981 to provide the highest quality completion fluids in the oil and gas services industry. Our portfolio has since expanded to include a wide range of products and services for well operations and hydraulic fracturing, but completion fluids and additives remain one of our core offerings. We stand at the forefront of completion fluid technology, and we stand behind the quality of our products and services and commitment to work safely and deliver the most value to our clients.

Our team is happy to answer your questions or provide detailed information, please email us here.

Innovative Solids-Free Fluids that Meet the Demands of Today’s Deepwater Completions

Posted on by Samy Helmy | Vice President, Fluids & Completion Services

The selection and validation of a competent completion/packer fluid is a critical activity during the planning of deepwater, high pressure/high temperature (HP/HT) projects.

Solids-laden fluids are known to invade reservoir pore throats resulting in substantial decreases in reservoir productivity. This reservoir damage is usually very costly and in the worst cases impossible to repair. Solids within a completion fluid can also infiltrate completion equipment and tools causing malfunctions. Hence solids-free completion fluids are always recommended.

Bitter Crystals & Legacy Brines

The density of most solids-free oilfield brines can be increased above their usual supply density by simply adding more dry brine salt. However, this increase in density is always accompanied by an increase in brine crystallization temperature. Crystallization of brines within a wellbore can lead to issues with well control and/or substantial operational delays. The crystallization temperature of most high-density brines (i.e., those above their eutectic density) rises with increases in wellbore pressure. Deepwater projects pose an elevated risk of crystallization problems as brine at the bottom of the riser (at the seafloor) will experience both low temperatures and high pressures. Hence, completion fluids for deepwater projects should be solids-free and exhibit a pressurized crystallization temperature below that expected within the wellbore during all anticipated operations such as blowout preventer tests.

Historically, zinc bromide and cesium formate have often been specified as completion fluids for deepwater HP/HT projects. Although these fluids have been used successfully, both fluids pose significant issues. Zinc bromide is now classified as a marine pollutant due to its toxicity to marine species, thus its use is banned or restricted in many areas. Cesium formate is considered environmentally acceptable, but it is expensive, supplies are limited, and a number of major international oil companies have determined that formate brines are unsuitable for use, in some applications, as a packer fluid due to the risk of catastrophic tubing failure resulting from hydrogen-induced cracking.

Crystal Blue Persuasion

TETRA Technologies has developed a range of high-density, low-crystallization temperature completion fluids that are environmentally acceptable, cost effective, readily available and are viable alternatives to zinc-bromide and cesium formate fluids. These fluids are marketed under the name TETRA CS Neptune® and are ideally suited as completion fluids for deepwater and high pressure projects. TETRA CS Neptune fluids are available in monovalent and divalent forms up to 15.7 lb/gal and 17.5 lb/gal respectively. Each of the TETRA CS Neptune fluids exhibits neutral to slightly alkaline pH, stability at the temperatures anticipated within most of the HP/HT projects, and consist of readily available or renewable materials. No specialized rig equipment is required to mix, store, or use TETRA CS Neptune fluids.

The development of our original TETRA CS Neptune fluids began in 2014 and continues today as we seek to develop additional fluids with even higher density and greater temperature stability as shown in Table 1. Our continued development of the TETRA CS Neptune family of fluids will not compromise our original goals for the environmental and operational acceptability of these fluids.

Innovative Solids-Free FluidsTABLE 1 – Summary of TETRA CS Neptune Divalent and Monovalent Fluids

Success in Waves

The original TETRA CS Neptune fluid has now been successfully used in a number of ultra-deepwater wells as an alternative to cesium formate and zinc bromide brines. The first use of the fluid took place in the Gulf of Mexico in 2015. Completion and packer fluids with densities ranging from 14.4–14.9 lb/gal were required. The project’s water depth exceeded 7,000 ft, mudline temperature was 40°F, and the bottom-hole temperature was 265°F. The TETRA CS Neptune fluid designed for this project was tested extensively before use to verify its stability and its compatibility with downhole equipment and the reservoir. The fluid’s performance was exemplary during the testing phase and has continued at that level in each subsequent field application.

Completion Fluid Versatility & Setting an Industry Standard

Although developed primarily as a completion/packer fluid, TETRA CS Neptune fluids can also be used as the base brine for high-density, low-solids reservoir drill-in fluids or as carrier fluids for filter-cake breakers.

Since its introduction in 2014, the range of TETRA CS Neptune fluids has delivered exceptional operational results and has established itself as the optimal completion fluid chemistry for deepwater HP/HT projects. In 2020, we were proud to be awarded Hart’s Meritorious Engineering Award for our TETRA CS Neptune fluids.

Our team is happy to answer your questions or provide detailed information, please email us here.

Better Serving Clients with Vertical Integration and Strong Manufacturing Capabilities

Posted on by Gary Poole | Account Manager/Technical Advisor

Driving Efficiency with Tailored Fluids and Dependable Supply

When you need completion fluids for unique applications, TETRA has your back. With in-house chemistry, chemical supply, and manufacturing capabilities, we can develop a high-quality completion fluid specialized to your well environment and deliver the volumes you need quickly while maintaining cost efficiency. We can do this because TETRA is the only vertically integrated manufacturer-service company supplying completion fluids to the oil and gas industry.

Vertical Integration = Greater Efficiency, Cost Effectiveness

Vertical integration begins with our comprehensive Completion Fluids & Products Division, specifically our in-house technical support of innovating completion fluids and additives to meet customer needs, sourcing the ingredients through our in-house Chemicals business, manufacturing and blending the fluids at our facilities, and maintaining well-stocked inventories of base fluids and additives in our Gulf Coast facilities, supplying operators with the fluids they need when they need them.

Our completion fluid development begins with a precise understanding of the client’s needs:

  • the fluid’s target function and efficiency;
  • compatibility with the formation and connate fluids;
  • target specifications like density, valency, and crystallization temperature;
  • production facility protection and flowback reaction;
  • environmental concerns like being zinc-free, and;
  • cost effectiveness — always a foremost concern but greatly amplified during market downturns.

On this last point, using cesium to increase fluid density, for example, is now quite expensive, so TETRA developed a suite of lower-cost high-density fluids for use in deepwater and ultra-deepwater environments.

Strong Manufacturing Capacity for Dependable Supply

In support of our broad fluids portfolio, TETRA makes calcium chloride, calcium bromide, zinc bromide, zinc-calcium bromide, and sodium bromide. For calcium chloride, we have eight manufacturing plants — four in the United States and four in Europe, with a massive per-year production capacity that ensures dependable supplies. Our manufacturing capabilities enable us to maintain inventories at the ready and quickly fulfill customer needs for completion fluids and calcium chloride.

Unwavering Commitment to R&D

Innovating customized fluids requires research and development, and our TETRA Innovation Group (TIG) scientists have pioneered several game-changing fluids and additives, including the family of TETRA CS Neptune® completion fluids that is setting a new industry standard. Using samples from the client’s wellbore, our scientists can develop a customized fluid system that meets or exceeds specifications and performs as designed with excellent efficiency. With a more in-depth understanding of the formation’s composition and connate fluids, TETRA fluid chemistry is formulated to be compatible with the application environment. And our zinc-free fluids enable client production engineers to safeguard their flowback facilities and avoid reaction-plate corrosion.

By blending different completion fluids and various additives, TETRA can tailor fluid composition, density, and crystallization temperature specifically for each client’s needs for a more precise and efficient outcome. To deliver even more value, TETRA can also reclaim and restore fluids for subsequent reuse, vastly reducing costly waste and environmental impact. Moreover, our vertical integration of completion fluid development and provision insulates us from the supply-chain disruptions that can occur following natural disasters, like hurricanes and global pandemics. TETRA is far less dependent on third-party chemical suppliers than most of its competitors.

Vertical Integration in Action: Responding to an Urgent Client Need

Illustrating the value of our vertical integration is a situation that recently arose for a deepwater operator in the Gulf of Mexico. A competing provider under contract with the operator had neither adequate supplies of high-density zinc bromide spike fluid nor blended calcium and zinc bromides to replace brine lost due to a downhole equipment failure.

Faced with these shortages during a critical operation, the operator turned to TETRA, citing our (1) ample inventory, (2) rapid turnaround of a specialized brine blend, (3) skilled personnel enabling the emergency relief vessel to rapidly take on brines and depart to the wellsite — functioning like a marine ambulance of sorts — and (4) relationships with both the operator and the competing provider, which assured them TETRA could match the specialty blend and seamlessly transition to the new system. By quickly providing the necessary brines, the operator was able to resume its well completion operation with minimal time and productivity lost.

When All Is Said and Done

The situation described above is just one among many instances when TETRA has engineered a specialized fluid and delivered the necessary volumes to the client, enabling the job to remain on track and realizing valuable efficiency. Today, with some supply chains breaking down and many service providers scaling back R&D, TETRA remains steadfast in its commitment to the industry, doing our part to ensure operators facing mounting obstacles get the completion fluids they need for their applications.

Our team is happy to answer your questions or provide detailed information, please email us here.