Core’s patented and proprietary SPECTRACHEM ®  fracture diagnostic service continued to evolve with the introduction of the SPECTRACHEM ®  Plus service in early 2009. The SPECTRACHEM ®  Plus service is effective in determining the effectiveness and efficiency of the hydraulic fracture stimulation of long multistage horizontal wells in oil- and gas-shale plays throughout North America and with growing demand internationally as unconventional resource plays are developed globally. SPECTRACHEM ®  Plus data sets are used to determine how each frac stage is flowing. Frac stages with ineffective flows may warrant further stimulation, remedial actions and guide improvements on future frac designs. 

Our unique completion monitoring system, COMPLETION PROFILER ™ , helps to determine flow rates from reservoir zones after they have been hydraulically fractured. This provides our clients with a baseline of early production information and can be compared to subsequent production logs later in the life of the well to see if and where hydrocarbon production varies. 

Our FLOWPROFILER ™  service, a proprietary oil-based tracer technology, which is a further development of our patented SPECTRACHEM ®  technology and has been in use for more than four years, quantifies the hydrocarbon production from discrete segments in multi-stage horizontal well completions and stimulations in unconventional tight-oil plays. FLOWPROFILER ™  technology and the analytical methodology for identifying the oil-soluble tracers are the protected intellectual property of Core Lab. 

FLOWPROFILER ™  technology employs a unique oil-soluble tracer and water-soluble tracer introduced into specific and isolated stages via the stimulating proppant stream. The oil-soluble tracers are absorbed by the crude oil associated with each stage while the water-soluble tracer remains in the stimulation fluid. When the well is flowed, crude oil and water samples are collected and analyzed in the laboratory to identify and quantify oil flows from each stage and the cleanup of the stimulation fluid. Stages not at optimum flow rates can be identified, precipitating remedial efforts to increase flow and recovery rates, and to provide valuable insight for future wells. This service, which we first used more than four years ago, is being used to monitor offset well interference by sampling offset well oil and water production. The amount of tracer detected in offset wells is being used to help our clients optimize well spacing and the amount of fracturing fluids for each stage. 

We conduct dynamic flow tests of the reservoir fluids through the reservoir rock, at actual reservoir pressure and temperature, to realistically simulate the actual flooding of a producing zone. We use patented technologies, such as our Saturation Monitoring by the Attenuation of X-rays (SMAX ™ ), to help design the enhanced recovery project. After a field flood is initiated, we are often involved in monitoring the progress of the flood to ensure the maximum amount of incremental production is being achieved through the use of our SPECTRAFLOOD ™  technology, which we developed to optimize sweep efficiency during field floods. 

Our PACKSCAN ®  patented technology is used as a tool to evaluate gravel pack effectiveness in an unconsolidated reservoir. PACKSCAN ®  measures the density changes in the area around the tool and is designed to observe the changes within the gravel pack annulus to verify the completeness of the gravel pack protection of the wellbore without any additional rig time. 

In addition to our many patented reservoir analysis technologies, we have established ourselves as a global leader in the manufacture and distribution of high-performance perforating products. Our unique understanding of complex reservoirs supports our ability to supply perforating systems engineered to maximize well productivity by reducing, eliminating and overcoming formation damage caused during the drilling and completion of oil and gas wells. Our “systems” approach to the perforating of an oil or gas well has resulted in numerous patented products. Our HERO ®  (High Efficiency Reservoir Optimization), SUPERHERO ®  and SUPERHERO ®  Plus perforating systems have quickly become industry leaders in enhancing reservoir performance. The SUPERHERO ®  and SUPERHERO ® Plus perforating systems complement our successful HERO ®  line and are designed to optimize wellbore completions and stimulation programs in oil- and gas-shale reservoirs. Evolved from our HERO ®  charges, the SUPERHERO ®  and the SUPERHERO ®  Plus charges use a proprietary and patented design of powdered metal liners and explosives technology that results in a deeper and cleaner perforating tunnel into the oil- and gas-shale reservoir. This allows greater flow of hydrocarbons to the wellbore and helps to maximize hydrocar- bon recovery from the reservoir. Moreover, the deeper, near debris-free perforations enable lower fracture initiation pressures, reducing the amount of pressure-pumping horsepower required and its associated cost. SUPERHERO ®  and SUPERHERO ®  Plus charges can eliminate the ineffective perforations that would otherwise limit daily oil and natural gas production and hinder the optimal fracture stimulation programs needed for prolific production from the Bakken, Eagle Ford, Marcellus, Niobrara and similar oil- and gas-shale formations. The latest charge development, our HERO Hard Rock or HERO-HR ™ charges, are the deepest penetrating perforating charges on the market as certified by API testing. Our manufacturing operations in the United States and Canada continue to meet the global demand for our perforating systems through facility expansion in addition to gains in efficiency and productivity. 

