SGS Speaker Series – Chemical Fluid Tracer Diagnostic Applications for Flow Assurance and Production Profiling in Open Hole Multilateral Wells – Cole Mombourquette
Chemical Fluid Tracer Diagnostic Applications for Flow Assurance and Production Profiling in Open Hole Multilateral Wells
The oil and gas industry continues to expand the use of unstimulated open hole horizontal multilateral wells as a development strategy in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB). Historically, reliably determining production contribution from each lateral leg has been challenging; however, an innovative diagnostic approach using established tracer technology now provides this capability.
As drilling concludes for each lateral, a unique oil soluble tracer—chemically bonded to a resin based solid carrier—is displaced out of the drill string as the bottom hole assembly is pulled from the wellbore. Tracers can be placed in one or several unique increments along each lateral leg, offering flexibility in monitoring contributions from toe, mid sections, or additional intervals. Hydrocarbon samples collected during production are analyzed to monitor tracer presence and evaluate relative flow contribution from each traced section. These tracers typically remain detectable for weeks to months, depending largely on production rates, allowing assessment of leg productivity and identification of integrity concerns over time.
Since 2020, this method has been deployed in more than 380 multilateral wells—averaging six legs per well, with designs ranging from two to more than ten—providing operators with a reliable means of evaluating individual lateral performance. Operators increasingly use these diagnostic insights to guide future development decisions by assessing production differences between geological layers, comparing multilateral design configurations, and integrating tracer results with drilling, subsurface, and production data.
Bio
Cole Mombourquette is a Regional Engineering Advisor at ProTechnics with over seven years of experience in tracer diagnostics. Since joining the team in 2018, he has focused on providing practical technical guidance and diagnostic solutions to support operators in making informed field development decisions. Cole has co-authored three white papers on tracer applications, reflecting his commitment to sharing knowledge and advancing best practices. He works closely with clients and internal teams to ensure data-driven insights are applied effectively to improve operational outcomes.
