FalconRidge is an oil and gas enhancement company that is revolutionizing how we think about drilling. In the oilfield, the payzone is the rock in which petroleum products are found in quantities worth drilling for. When it comes to the payzone, “dead” or low performing wells are a cost which many have come to think of as an inevitable, but FalconRidge’s Terra Slicing Technology is here to change that.
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FalconRidge’s patented technology is redefining how we approach the payzone, by enabling companies to revitalize and enhance existing wells in a safe, efficient and cost-effective manner. FalconRidge’s Terra Technology has gained widespread industry attention recently for its promising, low-impact approach to drilling. Mark Pellicane, the president of FalconRidge, gave us an inside look into the innovation everyone is talking about.
It has become commonplace for seemingly dead or ineffective wells to be abandoned with a substantial portion of the well reserve remaining untouched and out of reach below the surface. Anyone in the industry knows that the cost and effort associated with creating new wells are substantial, which makes the notion of leaving behind such vast volumes of a well reserve seem unthinkable. The reality is that until today, companies simply had no choice as, apart from fracking, the technology to reach these lucrative reserves was nonexistent. This is where FalconRidge comes in. “When a well is ‘dead’ or low-performing, often, the oil is still in the ground and the question is just how to get it out, and that’s what we can offer: a solution,” Mr. Pellicane explains.
FalconRidge’s Terra Slicing Technology (sometimes called TST) is a type of abrasive hydro-jetting technology which is used to enhance pre-existing wells. More safely than a frac, TST cuts through damaged and underperforming areas of rock and increases the permeability allowing for easier extraction. TST provides unparalleled benefits from not only a returns standpoint, but in terms of cost-saving and environmental efficiency.
From Canada and the U.S. to South East Asia and the Middle East, FalconRidge’s approach is gaining speed in nearly every major resource market on earth. FalconRidge’s tools and techniques are extremely flexible in terms of the well environment and can be applied to both onshore and offshore projects, as well as in horizontal and vertical wells.
In any industry the bottom line matters, but in today’s oil sector, the cost-benefit of oil extraction approaches has never been more important. FalconRidge’s technology offers clients not only economic gains, but a substantially lower impact solution compared to other options on the market. These benefits cannot be underestimated in an increasingly environmentally focused sector.
The Terra Slicing approach, which has been around since the seventies, has been endorsed by the likes of Shell for its safety, predictability and economic potential. “The technology is a win-win for everybody. It’s a viable, safe technology and, for companies that use it, they make money. So why not?”
The engineering company that created the patented TST technology operates under the umbrella of FalconRidge. Although there are other applications of abrasive hydro jetting, FalconRidge’s Terra Slicing Technology is a leader in terms of use and functionality.
FalconRidge Oil’s patented approach is the first in the world with a tool that uses hydro jetting technology to slice continuously, through the entire payzone. Terra Slicing uses high-pressure water to jet into the payzone, cutting through the pipe, casing and cement. The excavation can double or even triple the diameter of the well, creating a tremendous increase in hydrocarbon flow. By increasing the surface area of absorption, the porosity of the well is improved, returning dead wells to a working capacity and enhancing the value of low-performing wells. In other words, this technology opens up the payzone of an oil reserve, thereby increasing the overall production and value of the well.
Aside from the obvious economic benefits of the technology itself, FalconRidge’s approach is inherently more cost effective in terms of labor expenditure when compared to other enhancement techniques. Unlike many other oil service companies, FalconRidge provides a service that operates on a project-cost basis. Many ancillary resource providers require continuous contracts, on-going attention and flexible timelines. The approach at FalconRidge, however, is to get in, get out and get the well back into operation after one deployment of the technology.
Once Terra Slicing is employed, the benefits occur almost immediately, and, as a result, the price of ongoing labor and the complications of continuous care are removed. In this way, FalconRidge delivers a cost-benefit that other oil enhancement with which companies simply cannot compete.
With the current drop in global oil prices, Terra Slicing is gaining massive attention for its cost efficiency. Aside from the side benefits of creating a more porous, larger diameter well, Terra Slicing provides direct cost benefits to resource firms.
Terra Slicing’s ultimate benefit is the predictability of its return, by allowing firms to develop their existing resources further. The expenses and risks associated with drilling fresh wells are completely removed.
The low impact benefit of this technology is one of its most promising features. Oil wells often face issues of blockages or logistical complications during a punch, but this technology eliminates all of that by slicing directly into the payzone. Terra Slicing bypasses the physical problems of traditional methods by increasing not only the porosity, but the ability for oil to flow. By improving the pressure gradient and creating a cleaner, more efficient cut which goes right through any existing completion damage in the well, the traditional concerns of oil and gas works are avoided.
Exploration risk is often the most costly process of major drilling works. Despite geologic studies, surveying and every other exploration method, major oil and gas companies are often faced with the reality that any new well has the potential to fail. Whether it is a failed drill attempt, or a perfectly punched well which turns out to produce less than expected, the uncertaintly involved in creating new wells is a potential financial risk for any major project.
As the oil industry faces significant economic changes, the promise of technology that provides efficient and affordable approaches to well enhancement could not have come at a better time. Bringing dead wells back to life was once thought to be an impossible feat, but the people at FalconRidge have found that it may have just been the one thing that the industry has been missing.
The company recently announced a major project in Southeast Asia, and there are several more exciting works in the pipeline. “Once the company implements this technology, there is more business than we could even handle. There are tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of wells which are depleted and are candidates for Terra Slicing,” according to Pellicane.
Publically traded on the OPTCQB venture marketplace, FalconRidge’s economic footprint is expanding rapidly. Pellicane promises that the recent successes are only the tip of the iceberg for FalconRidge. “We are working very hard, and we are excited for the prospects in the future. There’s a lot ahead for us.”
As the oil industry continues to reach for more efficient, affordable and safe solutions to drilling, FalconRidge’s technology is an obvious choice, making this company one to watch, as the oil industry enters a new era.
