Crosslinkers

Crosslinkers consist of a mixture of salts and guar gel slurry to provide viscosity used for proppant transport in stimulation applications or cleaning treatments in pipelines. IOS offers a range of borate surface crosslinkers and delayed borate crosslinkers specifically designed for immediate or delayed viscosity.

VisLink™ 200

Our VisLink 200 can effectively crosslink ultra-low loadings of guar base gels. Typical gel loadings used for the VisLink system range from 8 to 15 ppt. The resulting crosslinked fluid is specifically designed to complement slick water fracturing, providing friction reduction in high-rate applications, and enhancing fracture growth and proppant transport while decreasing polymer damage.

VisLink is the industry’s first fluid system that combines the advantages of slickwater and guar-based systems in hydraulic fracturing.

For decades, companies have pursued chemical technologies to help maximize production and reduce costs. Slickwater fracs were reintroduced as a less expensive, less damaging alternative to conventional crosslinked gel treatments. Now, hybrid fracs (slickwater/guar) are used to improve proppant transport over slickwater. VisLink accomplishes both in a single chemistry.

Holders of many pivotal industry patents, IOS veteran chemists developed the VisLink system for a South Texas customer seeking a more effective crosslinker system—one that would maintain proppant transports while lowering guar loadings to help decrease polymer damage and reduce costs.

When properly formulated, VisLink is proven to provide a host of advantages, including:

• Fewer chemicals needed for equal results
• Controls friction pressure for high-rate applications
• Enhances fracture width development and growth
• Excellent proppant transport; better proppant carry capacity than slickwater
• Less damaging than conventional cross-linked fracturing fluid