NCS Multistage, an independent company focused on technology for use in multistage completions, announced that four patents have recently been issued by authorities in the U.S., Canada, and Ukraine covering proprietary design features utilized in the company's downhole completion tools and proprietary methods, which are used to safely and efficiently perform multistage completions in oil and gas wells. The recently issued patents include:
• U.S. Patent 9,234,412 – Method for shifting a sliding sleeve
• Canadian Patent 2,766,026 – Method for delivering treatment fluid to a formation intersected by a wellbore using an abrasive-fluid perforation device
• U.S. Patent 9,303,486 – Equalization valve in a downhole tool assembly used for continuous equalization of hydraulic pressure across a sealing element during fracturing
• Ukrainian Patent 108664 – Completion tool for deployment within an oil, gas, or coalbed methane wellbore
“These latest patents make claims in connection with the technology underlying our Multistage Unlimited completion system, which combines our casing-installed sliding sleeves and our downhole completion tools to offer efficient and economical pinpoint stimulation in unconventional reservoirs,” said Marty Stromquist, Chief Executive Officer of NCS Multistage. “The total number of patents for this core technology has grown to 14, which is a testament to NCS’s leadership in multistage completion systems that enable operators to economically improve resource recovery,” he said.
The NCS Multistage Unlimited system has been used to complete more than 6,700 oil and gas wells worldwide since its introduction in 2006. NCS has worked with its customers to place more than 130,000 stages, including more than 100,000 stages utilizing its GripShift or MultiCycle frac sleeves. The Multistage Unlimited system offers precise, consistent placement of hydraulic fracturing treatments and acquires downhole data that can be utilized to optimize completion designs.
Demand for innovative completions technologies is growing rapidly as the oil and gas industry adjusts to a lower commodity price environment. Operators are partnering with services companies to implement new solutions that help lower costs, and increase well productivity.
“We are confident that NCS’s extensive and growing patent portfolio, combined with the continuous innovation of our technology will ensure that NCS Multistage continues to be the leader in multistage completions technology,” said John Ravensbergen, Vice President, Research and Development. “These patents are an important part of the intellectual property portfolio covering our proprietary frac sleeves and downhole completion tools and the unique methods that we utilize to deploy our technology. These and upcoming patents enable us to pursue enforcement against competitors who copy our technology without making the investments that we have in research and development."
Multistage Unlimited, MultiCycle and GripShift are trademarks of NCS Multistage, LLC.
