Expandable liner and new composite plugs restore integrity and enable completions in horizontal wells. Since 2008 more than 150,000 horizontal wells have been drilled and hydraulically fractured in North America. A large portion of these wells were either understimulated using early fracturing techniques or are underperforming because of declining production. In most unconventional shale and tight oil reservoirs significant hydrocarbons remain in place and could be recovered through infill drilling or by refracturing existing wells. Although drilling additional wells is a good option in plays with shallow reservoirs and low well construction costs, restimulating existing wells in deeper, higher cost basins is a potentially better alternative.
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