CARBO Introduces KRYPTOSPHERE: A New Proppant Technology

CARBO Ceramics Inc. will recently unveil KRYPTOSPHERE, an ultra-conductive, ultra-high strength proppant technology engineered to maximize and sustain hydrocarbon flow at high closure stresses for the life of the well, at the 2013 SPE Annual Technical Conference & Exhibition in New Orleans, Louisiana. The product will be introduced by CARBO’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Gary Kolstad.

Developed in response to a request from a major operator in the Gulf of Mexico, KRYPTOSPHERE is able to deliver more than twice the baseline conductivity of bauxite-based, high-strength proppants at 20,000 psi closure stresses.

“KRYPTOSPHERE will significantly improve overall fracture conductivity or space to flow resulting in more production, increased recoverable reserves and greater returns for the operator,” said Don Conkle, Vice President, Marketing and Sales. “CARBO’s expertise within materials science and manufacturing has enabled our team to develop this more conductive and more durable proppant technology, which is expected to be significantly less erosive to downhole tools and assets during pumping.”

Unlike other proppants that have imperfections and irregular shapes and sizes which reduce conductivity and strength, KRYPTOSPHERE’s precision-engineered microstructure translates into a stronger, more spherical, more uniform and smoother proppant that creates more space in the fracture for hydrocarbon flow as well as a more uniform flow path.

“Throughout the years, the properties of man-made proppants have improved incrementally,” said Kolstad. “However, KRYPTOSPHERE is the result of a significant long-term investment that delivers a technological step-change for the oil and gas industry in fractured wells. CARBO is pleased to offer this technology with unparalleled levels of conductivity, strength and durability to our clients. It is well-suited for the production enhancement demands of deep-water lower-tertiary, high-stress wells and other wells with these stringent conditions.”

About CARBO
CARBO is an oilfield services technology company providing industry-leading products and services for:

• Production Enhancement Solutions – increasing production and reserves (EUR), by integrating technologies and intellectual capital to design, build and optimize the frac
• Environmental Spill Prevention and Containment

The Company enhances oil and natural gas well production and recovery by providing technology products and services to design, build, and optimize fracs. The Company has the industry-leading fracture simulation software, is the world’s largest producer of ceramic proppant, has proprietary technology it applies to proppant to aid in fracture diagnostics and production assurance, and provides consulting services for fracture and completion optimization. The Company also provides a range of technology solutions for spill prevention and containment.