Innovative Thinkers

Growing up financially underprivileged in the Houston suburb of Tomball, Texas, Duke VanLue, founder and CEO of Downhole Technology, LLC, was never a stranger to hard work and perseverance. “I grew up really, really poor,” explained VanLue. “That definitely made me a realist, and it made me learn to appreciate money and hard work.”

To support himself, VanLue joined the oil and gas industry in 1999, when he was hired as a draftsman at Logan Oil Tools. He quickly realized that he had a knack for technology design and accepted a position as a composite designer at BJ Services. After more than five years, he moved to Halliburton, where he served as senior designer of composites.

VanLue says that it wasn’t until he became a father in 2008 that he started to take his aspirations more seriously, and sought to independently produce a frac plug that would surpass the capabilities of any other on the market.

“We started this company with nothing. We had no money,” VanLue said. He and a few friends, several of whom are now business partners with shares in the company, began experimenting with chemicals and various frac plug designs in his garage. He bought his first composite winder on eBay, using investment money he received from friends who believed in his vision.

With nothing but an idea, and the support of his friends and family, VanLue set out to build his company from the ground up. Using his comprehensive knowledge of the equipment and procedures, as well as his understanding of the processes behind hydraulic fracturing, VanLue re-engineered the industry’s conventional frac plug to create a reliable composite plug—dubbed the Boss Hog plug—that was overtly unique to the market.

With a simplified, much smaller design that employs less than half of the parts used to manufacture competing plugs, Boss Hog plugs are more easily handled and produce significantly less cuttings during drillout. Its compact design demonstrates substantial cost savings for both single- and multi-well applications.

Other features of the frac plug include a 900+ft/min. pumpdown speed; a 7-to-12-min. drillout time without short trips, resulting in less bit wear and fewer returns; carbide-free buttons, which eliminate casing damage; a composite tapered nose, which allows swift maneuvering in convoluted wells; and the need for 40% less water volume for pumpdown, resulting in less flowback and less disposal. VanLue says that these features can result in cost savings of twice the cost of the plugs. In addition to the significant cost savings, the reduced NPT and drill-out time elicits earlier production. In some cases, it meant the start of production as early as five days sooner.

In a low-price environment, a low cost of operations is critical. VanLue’s Boss Hog plugs emphasize this need for cost savings through not only the use of fewer parts, but also through faster running speeds, less debris and smaller cuttings. Additionally, the company’s in-house manufacturing eliminates third-party engagement, streamlining the time to market. “What sets us apart, too, is that we’re the designer, the manufacturer and, many times, the service provider. We do it all right here,” VanLue said.

As the manufacturer, VanLue says that he makes quality control a top priority at Downhole Technology. The company uses its own lab and downhole simulator to ensure the quality of each plug that it produces. According to VanLue, the core from every composite billet is assessed and documented. Every component to every plug must pass rigorous inspection, prior to assembly. He said, “Failure is not an option when you’re talking about this much money. We manufacture nothing short of the highest quality.”