Operational Considerations

Operational restrictions may impose limits on the hypothetically optimum

treatment. Operating conditions encountered offshore frequently impose
additional economical and unique logistical considerations on the fracturing
program design.
Surface Location
The size and shape of the surface location that is required for a fracturing
treatment is quite different from that needed to drill the well. Surface locations
used for drilling deep wells are generally large enough to accommodate all the
frac pumps and associated equipment. But the smaller sites that are
characteristic of shallow wells frequently impose severe space restrictions,
especially if the rig is still on location. Whenever practical, the rig should be
moved off the location to make more room during a frac treatment. Alternatively,
it should be shut down during the pumping operation for safety purposes.
Industry safety standards define the minimum distances to be maintained
between the wellhead and potential ignition sources. They specify that the
storage facilities for treating fluids should be located a safe distance from the
wellhead, and from potential ignition sources if the frac fluid is flammable. There
must be sufficient space available for spotting the blender, proppant storage
facilities, frac pumps, pumping manifold, and recording/command center, and still
enough room for personnel to move easily around the equipment. The equipment
that will be in operation during the treatment should be located upwind of the
well to further minimize fire hazards. The site should also have enough room for
logging equipment or other specialty equipment involved in the overall completion
program.
Sometimes it is necessary to enlarge the location prior to a fracturing treatment,
or to use space adjacent to the hard pad. The cost of any special preparations, as
well as other eventualities (such as pulling heavy equipment out of the mud
because the road or location was not adequately prepared), must be taken into
account when finalizing the treatment costs.
The injection rate for most fracturing treatments today ranges from 15 to 40
barrels per minute (bpm), with a maximum possible rate of about 150 bpm.
Higher-rate treatments are pumped down open casing, but most treatments are
directed down large-diameter tubing, or simultaneously through the casing and
tubing. The minimum pump rate for fracturing depends primarily on individual
formation characteristics and treating fluids. It is typically around five to eight
barrels per minute.

Because large-diameter tubing is frequently impractical for production purposes,

special "frac" strings are often used. When fracturing sensitive formations, this
practice should be delayed until after cleanup in order to return the fracturing
fluid as soon as possible and thereby minimize damage to the formation.
Treatments may be pumped through either the tubing or casing annulus, or
through both simultaneously, to minimize friction losses. When pumping through
both the tubing and the annulus, the rates having the same friction losses would
be combined to determine the total injection rate possible. If the treatment is
pumped down the annulus, the pressure limit on the casing must be considered.
When designing the production casing for a new well that has even a slight
chance of requiring fracture stimulation, the pressure rating should be high
enough to accommodate a typical frac treatment to be pumped via the annulus.
Tubing that has been used in rod pumping wells should never be used for
fracturing because of possible rod wear, which would reduce tubing strength. New
tubing should be cleaned with acid. Any old production tubing must be thoroughly
cleaned prior to use as a frac string because of the possible presence of scale or
paraffin deposits that could come loose and interfere with the frac. Tubing may be
conveniently cleaned in-place by scouring it with sand. A small volume of sandwater slurry circulated down the tubing and then reverse-circulated at a high rate
has been used very successfully to clean tubing.
Timing
A successful fracture treatment is the result of detailed planning and thorough
pretreatment organization. The key element is good communication between all
involved participants, including the service company, rig supervisor, trucking
contractors, downhole tool service company, suppliers of frac tanks, logging
company, and the company representative.
The time required for each facet of the operation depends on the jobs size and
complexity, and on local conditions. For example, transporting frac water to a
remote location may require up to two weeks, while the same size job in an
active region with many water trucks available may take only a day or two.
The freshly cleaned fluid storage tanks are the first pieces of equipment to be set
on location. They should be spotted by the fracturing supervisor in a level area of
the location that meets the company's safety standards and allows the proper
setup for the proppant and pumping equipment. They should be filled with the
type of fluid recommended by the fracturing service company representative,
making sure there is enough for an extra stage of flush or for other unplanned
contingencies.

For treatments involving large amounts of proppants, the storage facilities will be
large portable tanks that are filled after being set on the location. These may take
several hours or days to load, depending on the job size and remoteness of the
well location. On small treatments, the proppant is usually transported to the
location in trucks along with the pumping equipment, and poured from these
trucks directly into the blender for mixing. The pumping equipment is normally
brought to the location on the morning of the job and hooked up in a few hours
while the frac fluid premix is underway. Exceptionally large treatments or critical
operations may require an extra day to set up all the equipment. In certain areas,
it is recommended that the frac fluid be heated to formation temperature to
reduce paraffin formation and other damaging conditions.
The actual pumping operation may require only a few minutes or a few hours, but
preparing for a frac job may take several weeks.
Safety and Quality Control
Safety is of paramount importance throughout the fracture treatment. All service
companies have stringent standards for pumping operations that must be
adhered to by all site personnel. These standards may differ depending on the
type of fluid being pumped.
A fracturing treatment is normally pumped at high surface pressures. A maximum
treating pressure that will protect the tubular goods (and/or prevent fracture
growth through defined barriers) should be established prior to the treatment.
Because of the high complexity of the materials and equipment used in hydraulic
fracturing, quality control has emerged as a major issue. The role of quality
control is to ensure that all the fluids meet the design specifications. On-line
quality control involves, but is not restricted to, pH and viscosity measurements.