A novel fluid additive that shows equivalent or lower viscosity and similar friction reduction as polyacrylamides has been tested to evaluate its suspension properties.

API RP13 rheology was measured with an automatic viscometer to compare vs. a commercial High Viscosity Friction Reducer (HVFR) and evaluate with settling testing if viscosity helps to improve sand proppant carrying capacity. Settling tests were conducted using Multiple Light Scattering technology, which makes simpler and more accurate follow up of settling processes in transparent, translucent, and opaque media, providing data on average particle size and hydrodynamic parameters such as velocity of a moving front of decanting particles.

As previous settling tests are considered in static mode, one additional Slot Test was performed using a 2.00 ppa of 40/70 mesh proppant sand and a concentration of 2.13 gpt of fluid additive, showing no settling or Dune effect with proppant “turning the corner” throughout the whole circuit.