Case Study: Devon Energy minimizes flowback completion damage with SLB AvantGuard services

Devon Energy Minimizes Flowback Completion Damage by Following the Recommended Secure Operating Envelope

Devon Energy worked with SLB to address flowback challenges in Permian Basin wells, where excessive sand flowback and near-wellbore fracture pinchout threatened to damage completions and reduce long-term well performance. The company needed a way to optimize poststimulation operations while preserving the connection between the hydraulic fractures and the wellbore.

SLB deployed AvantGuard advanced flowback services, including geomechanical modeling, data analysis, and real-time solids monitoring, to define a secure operating envelope and guide choke management. The approach identified unstable flow rates above about 2,000 bbl/d and helped Devon Energy adjust later wells so flowback stayed within the recommended range, cutting solids production to only trace sand at the start of flowback and none at the end while reducing the risk of proppant conductivity damage and fracture closure.

Devon Energy