ExxonMobil Awards Alternate Path Technology License to Weatherford

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  • Alternate Path® technique ensures full gravel pack in cased and open-hole completion wells
  • Improves long-term reliability of sand control and reduces workovers
  • Developed and licensed by ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company has awarded Weatherford International Ltd. a limited international license for the company’s Alternate Path® technology patent portfolio for gravel packing cased and openhole completion wells.

Alternate Path is a patented technology developed by ExxonMobil to improve the reliability of wells completed in sand-prone reservoirs. Alternate Path provides alternate flow paths called shunt tubes in the downhole tool used for packing gravel in the producing sections of a well. The shunt tubes enable the Alternate Path packing operation to continue when sand prematurely blocks the well annulus, which would stop a conventional packing operation. The shunt tubes divert the gravel slurry around sand blockages and through distributed portholes to fill voids in the annulus until a complete pack is in place.

“Alternate Path technology is one of several sand control completion technologies developed by ExxonMobil to increase reliability and production uptime and improve economics of high-cost production wells,” said Sara N. Ortwein, president of ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company. “ExxonMobil is pleased to work with Weatherford to deploy this key technology in our operations.”

The Alternate Path license allows Weatherford to produce and deploy Alternate Path technology for ExxonMobil affiliates around the world and for ventures in which ExxonMobil participates.

“Alternate Path technology is a reliable technique to ensure a complete gravel pack is in place for sand control,” said Mark Hopmann, vice president, well completion technologies for Weatherford. “Alternate Path is field proven for long-interval and horizontal wells.”

About ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company

ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company is the upstream research affiliate of Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM), a leading global oil, natural gas, and petrochemicals company with operations in nearly 200 countries and territories worldwide. ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company is charged with developing an industry-leading array of proprietary technologies that support the Corporation's continued leadership position in exploration, development, production and gas commercialization.

About Weatherford International Ltd.

Weatherford (NYSE/Euronext Paris/SIX:WFT) is a Swiss-based, multinational oilfield service company. It is one of the largest global providers of innovative mechanical solutions, technology and services for the drilling and production sectors of the oil and gas industry. Weatherford operates in more than 100 countries and employs more than 70,000 people worldwide.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT: Statements in this release regarding future events or conditions are forward-looking statements. Actual future results, including the performance of new technology, could differ materially depending on geologic conditions, technical or operating factors, and other factors discussed under the heading "Factors Affecting Future Results" on the "Investors" section of our website at www.exxonmobil.com.

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Source: Exxon Mobil Corporation

Released August 27, 2013