Friction Reducer

In slickwater well stimulations, vast amounts of hydraulic fracturing fluid – anywhere from 60 to 100 barrels per minute – are pumped at extremely high pressure down a wellbore with the designed goal of hydraulically fracturing the underground rock where oil and natural gas are trapped. As you can imagine, pumping that much fluid down a wellbore – thousands of feet deep below the surface – presents many challenges to the team responsible for performing the well stimulation. One of the biggest challenges facing the team is friction.

Hydraulic Fracturing Fluid

Hydraulic fracturing fluid, also known as fracking fluid, comprises water that's mixed with sand and then topped off with a few additives that improve the performance of the fluid. The sand is known as proppant in the drilling world, and its job is to keep small fissures created by the hydraulic fracturing operation from collapsing when the oil well moves into the production phase. As you can imagine, pumping this mixture – or slurry, as it's better known – down the wellbore creates friction between the fracking fluid and the well's piping. This increased friction leads to more wear and tear on pumps and other drilling equipment. That's why friction reducer additives are so crucial to the whole well stimulation operation.