Customizable flow-channel fracturing technology

Creating high-conductivity fractures

Hydraulic fracturing is a traditionally carbon-intensive stimulation technique. Hiway Flex™ customizable flow-channel fracturing technology reduces the carbon intensity of these treatments. Building on the technique pioneered by SLB with HiWAY™ flow-channel fracturing technique, Hiway Flex technology provides a customized mix of premium proppant and sand based on well conditions. This improvement enables highly conductive fracture treatments and simultaneously reduces the cost and environmental impact of the treatments. New digital tools are available to aid with treatment design and conduct sensitivity analysis to determine the optimal combination of materials. With Hiway Flex technology, customers receive engineering designs tailored to the specific challenge of each operation.

Hiway Flex technology fundamentally changes the way proppant fractures generate conductivity. It creates open pathways inside the fracture, enabling hydrocarbons to flow through stable channels rather than through the proppant. This improvement optimizes connectivity between the reservoir and the wellbore, creating fractures with higher conductivity than traditional approaches.

Lowering carbon intensity by up to 25%

Hiway Flex technology significantly increases fracture conductivity while reducing proppant consumption. This means higher production, simpler logistics, reduced operational time and footprint, and lower carbon emissions. This technology is a member of our Transition Technologies™ portfolio that enables well and field developments with decreased carbon impact.

By using up to 40% less proppant, the fracturing technology significantly reduces carbon intensity. In fracturing operations, carbon emissions are mainly generated from proppant raw material sourcing, manufacturing, and transportation; water sourcing and transportation; the fracturing operation itself; and equipment and crew mobilization and demobilization. 

Hiway Flex technology reduces carbon emissions by up to 25% compared with the conventional fracturing technique considering only the emissions from resource transportation from the base to the location, equipment mobilization and demobilization, and the fracturing operation itself. The reduction is further enhanced if the proppant raw material sourcing, manufacturing, and transportation are also considered.

Reducing risk in operations

In a Hiway Flex technology operation, the risk of screenout is significantly minimized. The placement success rate is more than 99%—eliminating contingency cleanouts, repeat fracturing jobs, and the associated emissions and water consumption from those additional operations. This enables the technology to be deployed in deeper, hotter, higher-stress formations, which traditionally carry a higher risk of screenout during fracturing operations.

• Land and offshore
• Consolidated rock fracturing treatments
• Single-stage, multistage, vertical, horizontal, and refractured wells
• Oil and gas wells
• Producer and injector wells
• Formation temperatures from 140 degF [60 degC] to 325 degF [163 degC]

• Decreases proppant requirements by up to 40%
• Lowers carbon emissions and operational footprint from reduction in

• proppant and water transportation
• equipment mobilization and demobilization
• hydraulic horsepower requirements
• operating time

• Improves production through enhanced fracture conductivity and greater effective contact area
• Reduces screenout risk
• Simplifies logistics to enable remote operations
• Increases operational safety
• Enables faster completions and turnover to production
• Optimizes well completion time and cost
• Lowers cost per barrel
• Enhances return on investment

• Higher fracture conductivity vs. traditional designs
• Extremely low screenout risk
• Longer effective fracture half-length
• Enhanced postfracture recovery of fluid and polymer
• Less fracture face damage