perforation optimization:
design, deployment & diagnostics
The 2026 Eastern Regional Meeting is proud to welcome Halliburton and DarkVision
who will be leading a half-day short course covering the design, testing, and optimization of perforating operations and associated completions optimization.
The course will be taught on Tuesday, October 6th. Refreshments will be provided.
Brenden Grove
Chief Technical Advisor - Perforating Technology
Mr. Grove is a globally-recognized leader in oilwell perforating technologies with more than 30 years of experience spanning the ballistics and upstream oil &gas industries, focusing on both technology development and technical management
In his role at Halliburton and in previous roles at both Schlumberger and General Dynamics, he has led, managed, and advised numerous R&D activities related to perforation optimization, design, modeling, and product development., ranging from advancing the industry’s fundamental understanding of perforated completions to optimizing perforating strategies for specific environments.
Mr Grove is an effective and accomplished researcher, inventor, and publisher., having authored or co-authored over 60 publications, including 6 peer-reviewed journal articles, spanning both the oilfield and ballistics industries. He is also the Co-Inventor on more than 30 patents and applications.
He holds a Bachelor's Degree from Florida University and a Master's Degree from the University of Houston, both in Mechanical Engineering, and currently resides in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metro Area.
Charles Bourgeois
Technical Sales Director - Completions Optimization, DarkVision
Mr. Bourgeois is an industry leader and subject matter expert in completions optimization, developing technologies and data analysis methodologies for in-situ perforation diagnostics and stimulation design performance.
In his current role as Technical Sales Director for DarkVision, Charles specializes in turning complex acoustic imaging data into optimized completion designs. With a career rooted in hands-on field experience in pervious roles at Baker Hughes, he now utilizes DarkVision’s 750,000+ perforation database to provide industry-leading trend analysis and performance insights.
Charles is an active contributor to the SPE technical community, serving as a Co-Chair for the Casing Deformation Workshop and as a committee member for both the Parent-Child and Near Wellbore Workshops.
He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Louisiana State University and resides in Houston.
COURSE Summary
This four-hour comprehensive course covers a myriad of topics from basics of well perforating to gun design, laboratory testing and perf evaluation. The course will be led by two industry experts:
Brenden Grove will take a scientific look at perf charges, how individual types of charges are designed and how they will perform under specific hole conditions in terms of pore and overburden pressure. He will cover best methods to determine characteristics for simulating flow and quantifying injectivity. Topics will also include laboratory testing methods and case studies which have led to more effective completions, topics also applicable to underground storage and CCUS.
Charles Bourgeois will introduce perforation analysis using high resolution downhole acoustic imaging as the in-situ measurement basis. He will cover perforation erosion theory, including Cramer’s erosion model, the supporting evidence behind it, and the implications for interpreting measured perforation geometry. The session then establishes the statistical framework for evaluating perforation data, comparing Volumetric Uniformity Index (VUI) and Proppant Distribution Efficiency (PDE): where the two metrics agree, where they diverge, and what alternative methodologies offer. With that foundation in place, the discussion turns to operational factors that drive measured results: depth control, plug isolation, perforation orientation versus gun orientation, and the mechanisms by which surface execution translates into downhole performance.
Attendees will leave able to read a perforation data set with confidence, connecting the measured geometry and statistical indices back to specific completion decisions and knowing what those numbers reveal about the treatment against design expectations.
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM Brenden Grove - Halliburton
• Perforating Fundamentals
• Perforating for Unconventionals
• Perforating for Productivity and Injectivity
• Laboratory Testing for Better Completions and Better Wells
2:30 PM - 2:45 PM Break
2:45 PM - 4:15 PM Charles Bourgeois - DarkVision
• Introduction to High Resolution Imaging Technology
• Perforation Erosion Theory
• Operations Effect on Completions
• Statistical Analysis
4:15 PM - 4:30 PM Break
4:30 PM - 5:00 PM Q&A and Closing Thoughts