14.

6 FRACTURING MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT 453

14.6.3 FRACTURING EQUIPMENT

The implementation of a hydraulic fracturing treatment requires an array of specialized equipment. In
this section, the equipment necessary to carry out typical hydraulic fracture operations will be
described. The equipment required to perform a hydraulic fracturing treatment includes high-pressure
pumps, blenders, fluid storage tanks, chemical tanks, proppant storage units, monitor and control equip-
ment, and ancillary equipment such as hoses, pipes, valves, and manifolds, etc. A combination of all
the equipment that is capable to implement a typical fracture treatment often called as a “frac spread”
or a “frac fleet”. Fig. 14.32 shows the schematic of equipment layout for a typical fracturing treatment.

14.6.3.1 Wellhead equipment

The pressure rating of the production wellhead equipment or Christmas tree is often less than the
pressure required to pump a high-pressure fracturing treatment. Frac stacks are used to temporarily
replace the production wellhead for protecting it from the effects of high-pressure and abrasion dur-
ing fracturing operations. Frac stacks are temporary wellhead equipment composed of high-
pressure flange, flow tee, and hydraulic and manual valves, etc. Frac stacks rated for 15,000 psi or
higher are commonly used in horizontal well applications for unconventional development.
Tree savers are another type of wellhead isolation tools that can protect a Christmas tree at the
wellhead during fracturing operations. The tree saver is mounted on the existing Christmas tree.
A mandrel is extended through the valves on the tree and into the tubing. The mandrel has a rubber
cup assembly that seals to the walls of the tubing and prevents fluid or pressure from directly
reaching the tree. Once set, a tree saver can extend the working pressure of a wellhead up to
20,000 psi. Due to the smaller ID (inner diameter) of the mandrel, tree savers are not used often in
high-rate horizontal well applications as they dramatically restrict rates and interfere with the oper-
ation of pumping down perforation guns and plugs.

FIGURE 14.32
Schematic of equipment layout for a typical fracturing treatment.
454 CHAPTER 14 HYDRAULIC FRACTURING

14.6.3.2 High-pressure pumps

Pumps used to pressurize the fracturing fluid system in hydraulic fracturing applications are
designed to withstand high-pressure conditions. For that reason, these pumps are often called high-
pressure pumps or frac pumps to distinguish with other types of pumps used in oilfield applications.
As the heart of any fracturing treatment, high-pressure pumps are one of the most important pieces
of fracturing equipment as they provide the horsepower necessary to break down the formation and
to transmit the fluid and proppant into the fracture. Reciprocating plunger pumps have been used
for decades to propel fracturing fluid, proppant and chemicals into a well at pressures as high as
20,000 psi. High-pressure pumps generally come in two types, triplex and quintuplex, and are able
to provide hydraulic horsepower up to 3000 hhp. Several or many pumps are used for a typical
treatment, and the number of pumps required is determined by the anticipated pumping rates and
pressures. The low-pressure suction end of a frac pump pulls the fluid from the blender. The high-
pressure discharge end of a frac pump sends the fluid to the wellhead via a high-pressure treating
line. Isolation and bleed-off valves are installed and tied into the high-pressure treating line to facil-
itate taking the pump offline and making minor repairs during pumping operations. High-pressure
pumps for onshore hydraulic fracturing applications are typically mounted on trucks. Typically
there are always a couple of backup frac pumps on location to ensure enough horsepower is avail-
able in case some pumps fail during a treatment.
Shale fracturing treatments have stretched the abilities of legacy pumping systems to the
extremes of their performance envelope. Newer equipment has emerged to handle extreme condi-
tions, provide better longer-term performance and reduce NPT (nonproductive time). Fig. 14.33
shows the photo of a high-pressure pump typically used for shale fracturing applications.

14.6.3.3 Blenders
There are three important components associated with a blender: suction pump, mixing tub and dis-
charge pump. The suction and discharge pumps are of the centrifugal type. The blending system is

FIGURE 14.33
Photo of a typical high-pressure pump.
Image Courtesy of Halliburton.
 14.6 FRACTURING MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT 455

a low pressure unit. Blenders take water from the fluid tanks with a suction pump, which sends the
water to a mixing tub. The mixing tub mixes the water with proppant that is delivered by sand
screws. Additional chemicals can also be delivered to the mixing tub. Dry chemicals are delivered
by a dry additive system mounted on the blender. Liquid additives are delivered by a liquid addi-
tive system either mounted on-board or off-board the blender. A discharge pump pulls the mixture
from the mixing tub and discharges it to the discharge manifold on the blender. From the discharge
manifold, the mixture is sent to the manifold trailer and is transferred to the frac pumps, which dis-
charge the mixture under pressure to the wellhead. Modern blenders are computer controlled,
enabling the flow of chemicals and ingredients to be efficiently metered and to achieve good con-
trol over the blend quality and delivery rate. Typically, there is one primary blender and one
backup blender on location, as the dependability of the blender is critical to the fracturing opera-
tion. Fig. 14.34 shows the photo of a typical blender used in hydraulic fracturing treatments.

14.6.3.4 Manifolds
The manifold, often called “missile,” is an arrangement of flow lines, fittings and valves that con-
nect all fracturing equipment to the wellhead. It has both a low-pressure side tied to the blender
and a high-pressure side tied to the wellhead, with all the high-pressure pumps in between to pres-
surize the fluid system. A modular and flexible manifold trailer is often used to help organize both
the low-pressure suction hookup and the high-pressure discharge hookup. Fig. 14.35 shows the
photo of a typical manifold trailer.
The number of suction hoses between the blender and the high-pressure pumps is determined
by the pump rate. As a part of the manifold system, the high-pressure flow line that transmits the
fluid discharged from the high-pressure pumps to the wellhead is often called “treating iron” as it
is made of metal pipe. The size of the high-pressure pipe is determined by both the anticipated
pumping rates and pressures. Lines with smaller sizes (both IDs and ODs) have higher pressure
ratings than those with larger ones. The treating iron and associated connections are machined from
single pieces of metal without welded seams to withstand the harsh conditions caused by high pres-
sures, abrasive fluids, vibration, and wear and tear.

FIGURE 14.34
Photo of a typical blender.
Image Courtesy of Halliburton.
456 CHAPTER 14 HYDRAULIC FRACTURING

FIGURE 14.35
Photo of a typical manifold trailer.
Image Courtesy of Liberty Oilfield Services.

14.6.3.5 Data van

The data van is specialized piece of mobile equipment installed with computer programs, larger-
screen monitors and control switches on a mobile van for frac engineers to monitor and control a
fracturing treatment at the well site. During the treatment, pumping rates, treating pressures, density
of the fluid and the slurry, chemical additive rates, etc. are constantly monitored and collected. All
aspects of the treatment, from the changing of the pumping rate, to the blending of the fluid and prop-
pant, and to the shutting down of the pumps, and so on, are also controlled on the van. A mobile fluid
lab is often installed on the data van. Fig. 14.36 shows an outside photo of a typical data van.

14.6.3.6 Material storage units

For hydraulic fracturing treatments in conventional reservoirs, fluids are brought to location by trucks
and stored in fluid tanks at the treatment site. For unconventional developments, multiple horizontal
wells are drilled and stimulated by hydraulic fracturing on a single well pad. Due to the tremendous
amount of water required to stimulate these horizontal wells, a temporary water pond is commonly
constructed to store water from various sources including ground water, river water or municipal water.
A single water pond is often built to provide water for fracturing treatments on multiple well pads.
Similarly, for fracturing applications in conventional reservoirs, a sufficient amount of prop-
pants is brought to location prior to the treatment and stored in proppant storage units, often called
“proppant silos,” at the well site. However, for unconventional fracturing treatments, there might
not be enough proppant storage units or space at the well site to store all the proppant for the treat-
ment, and the proppant may be brought in by trucks to the treatment site from a nearby proppant
distribution center continuously during a multiwell fracturing treatment that could last for weeks.
Regardless of treatment sizes, storage tanks for chemicals are generally located at the well site.
Fracturing horizontal wells in unconventional reservoirs is material intensive. Storage of fracturing
materials can occupy large amounts of space at well sites. Fig. 14.37 shows one type of proppant silo
that is positioned horizontally during transportation but can be oriented vertically on location to save
space. This unit has a total working volume of 2500 sacks (250,000 lb). A typical fracture treatment
 14.6 FRACTURING MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT 457

FIGURE 14.36
Photo of a typical data van.
Image Courtesy of Liberty Oilfield Services.

FIGURE 14.37
Proppant silos.
Image Courtesy of Halliburton.
458 CHAPTER 14 HYDRAULIC FRACTURING

FIGURE 14.38
Photo of fracturing equipment layout at well site.
Image Courtesy of Halliburton.

FIGURE 14.39
Up close view of fracturing equipment layout at well site.
Image Courtesy of Halliburton.

for horizontal well completion in unconventional reservoirs calls for 200,000300,000 lb of proppant
per stage. There are typically 20 to 30 stages in each horizontal well. The amount of proppants required
to fracture a single horizontal well will require 20 to 30 silos of this type fully loaded with proppants.
Fig. 14.38 shows a bird’s-eye view of the fracturing equipment and wellsite during fracture
operations. Fracturing horizontal wells in unconventional reservoirs is also equipment intensive.
Fig. 14.39 shows an up-close view of high-pressure pumps, blender, manifolds, and chemical units.