Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02932018 2016-05-27
WO 2015/102601 PCT/1JS2013/078422
METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR TRANSPORTING, STORING AND DISPENSING
OILFIELD CHEMICALS
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present disclosure relates generally to oilfield equipment and in
particular to surface
equipment for supporting fracturing operations.
BACKGROUND
Well sitc locations for oil and gas wells have become increasingly congested,
particularly as
enhanced recovery techniques have been developed. After drilling operations
have finished and
during well completion operations, a well site may generally include a
wellhead, blowout
preventers, hydraulic fracturing and proppant systems, pumps, generators,
water storage, transfer
and treatment equipment, and chemical and proppant storage containers. Other
equipment
associated with drilling, completing, and/or producing wellbore may also be
provided at the well
site location.
Modern enhanced recovery techniques may result in multiple wellheads at a
single well site
and/or wellbores with multiple lateral branches. Hydraulic fracturing
operations utilized in
enhanced oil and gas recovery, for example, may generally include raw
materials for preparation
of fracturing fluid, a blender system, a pump system, as well as transfer
equipment. In the past, a
fracturing operation for a single well might take three to ten days, after
which, the fracturing
equipment was removed. However, now with multiple wellhead per well site or
multiple lateral
branches extending from a primary wellbore being more common, fracturing
equipment may
remain at a single location for multiple weeks. Accordingly, there is a
recognized need to reduce
the footprint of fracturing equipment at a well site.
The traditional method for transporting and storing liquid or dry chemicals on
location at a well
site is by conventional tractor/trailer, flatbed trailer, or bobtail truck.
Prior to delivery to a well site, large quantities of required liquid
chemicals are loaded into one or
more tanker trailers. In some cases, large volumes of liquid chemical are
supplied in
International Standards Organization "ISO'' specified tanks¨chemical tanks
contained inside a
CA 02932018 2016-05-27
WO 2015/102601 PCT/US2013/078422
20 ft. by 8 ft. by 8.5 ft. frame with standardized mounting locations. ISO
tanks are attached to a
semi-trailer specifically designed to accept ISO frames. Smaller volumes of
liquid chemicals are
typically loaded in totes and carried on flatbed trailers. The tanker trailers
and flatbed trailers are
then transported to the well site, where they remain parked for the duration
of the fracturing job
or until the tanks are emptied.
The liquid chemicals are typically dispensed directly from the tanker
trailers, ISO tanks, and
totes during the fracturing job. In large-volume chemical operations, the
chemical inventory is
typically monitored manually by dipstick, but in some cases, an electronic
fluid level device may
be available. In small-volume liquid chemical operations, the chemical
inventory is usually
monitored by dipstick, or in some instances, by weigh scales.
In the case of dry chemicals, large volumes of dry chemicals are traditionally
supplied in "big
bags"¨approximately 4 cubic foot bags with a bottom drawstring outlet. Big
bags are typically
transported from the supplier to the well site by a tractor-trailer. Small
volumes of dry chemicals
are commonly packaged in sacks or bags, for example 50 lb. bags. The bags are
transported to
the well site on flatbed trucks or tractor-trailers and stored there for the
duration of the fracturing
job or until the load is used up. Dry chemicals are susceptible to moisture
and must be covered
while stored in inclement weather.
To dispense, big bags are suspended by a crane over a screw feeder at ground
level, and the dry
chemical is gravity fed into the screw feeder hopper to be introduced into the
fracturing blender
system. Small bags are transferred manually from the truck or trailer to a
metering feeder on a
fracturing blender as required by the fluid system being mixed. In large or
small volume dry
chemical operations, the inventory is monitored by counting the bags of
chemical used.
Accordingly, if a particular job calls for 3000 gallons each of five different
liquid chemicals and
a large quantity of dry chemical, there would be five tanker tractor-trailers
and at least one van
tractor-trailer parked on location for the duration of the fracturing
operations, occupying at least
six 8 ft. by 60 ft. footprints of pad space, or 2880 sq. ft. Similarly, in the
case of smaller volume
liquid or dry chemicals, a flatbed trailer with totes or small bags of
chemicals occupies another
8 ft. by 60ft (320 sq. ft.) footprint of pad space. In addition to footprint
requirements, there is a
2
CA 02932018 2016-05-27
WO 2015/102601 PCT/US2013/078422
capital expense associated with tractor-trailers, flatbeds, and tandem axle
trucks being tied up
and idle for a substantial part if not the entire duration of a fracturing
operation.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Embodiments are described in detail hereinafter with reference to the
accompanying figures, in
which:
Figure 1 is an elevation view in partial cross section of a well site during
completion operations
that employs a hydraulic fracturing system, chemical storage units, and
associated systems and
equipment for supporting fracturing operations according to an embodiment;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of a chemical transportation, storage, and
dispensation system
according to one or more embodiments, showing a base designed to accommodate
either "roll
off" or "hook" portable container technologies adapted for carrying an
intermodal shipping
container on load cells;
Figure 3 is an elevation view of the chemical transportation, storage, and
dispensation system of
Figure 2, shown carrying a tank mounted within a shipping container frame;
Figure 4 is an elevation view of the chemical transportation, storage, and
dispensation system of
Figure 2, shown carrying a van container for storage of small volume dry
chemical bags;
Figure 5 is an elevation view of the chemical transportation, storage, and
dispensation system of
Figure 2, shown carrying a commercially available screw conveyor adapted with
comer castings
for dispensing large volumes of dry chemical;
Figure 6 is an enlarged exploded perspective diagram of a quick disconnect
connector system
according to an embodiment for use with the system of Figures 2-5;
Figure 7 is an enlarged perspective view of the quick disconnect connector
system of Figure 6,
showing a mount and connector of the base of Figure 2 received into an oval
hole of a corner
casting of an intermodal shipping container and oriented in an unlocked
position;
3
CA 02932018 2016-05-27
WO 2015/102601 PCT/US2013/078422
Figure 8 is an enlarged perspective view of the quick disconnect connector
system of Figure 7,
shown in a locked position; and
Figure 9 is a flow chart of a portion of a method for completing a wellbore
according to an
embodiment, demonstrating use of the chemical transportation, storage, and
dispensation system
of Figures 1-8.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The foregoing disclosure may repeat reference numerals and/or letters in the
various examples.
This repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and does not in
itself dictate a
relationship between the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed.
Further,
spatially relative terms, such as "beneath," "below," "lower," "above,"
"upper," "uphole,"
"downhole," "upstream," "downstream," and the like, may be used herein for
ease of description
to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or
feature(s) as illustrated
in the figures. The spatially relative terms are intended to encompass
different orientations of the
apparatus in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the
figures.
Figure 1 is an elevation view in partial cross-section of a well site 120
during well completion
operations according to an embodiment. Well site 120 may include a well head
124, which may
be fluidly connected to a hydraulic fracturing pumping system 126. According
to an
embodiment, well site 120 may include a chemical transportation, storage, and
dispensation
system 10, which may consist of one or more chemical handling apparatus 20,
30, for example.
Figure 2 is a perspective view of a chemical handling apparatus according to
one or more
embodiments, and in particular of a chemical transportation, storage, and
dispensation system 10.
Figure 3 is an elevation view of chemical transportation, storage, and
dispensation system 10,
shown carrying a tank mounted within a shipping container frame. Figure 4 is
an elevation view
of chemical transportation, storage, and dispensation system 10, shown
carrying a van container
for storage of small volume dry chemical bags. Referring to Figures 2-4,
chemical
transportation, storage, and dispensation system 10 provides a common platform
or base 12, with
mounts 14 and connectors 16 for enabling an intermodal shipping tank container
20 (Figure 3) or
van container 30 (Figure 4), for example, to be attached to the upper side 13
of platform 12. In
4
CA 02932018 2016-05-27
WO 2015/102601 PCT/US2013/078422
an embodiment, each mount 14 and connector 16 interfaces with a structural
receptacle 26
located at the bottom of containers 20, 30, typically at the corners.
In one or more embodiments, base 12, mounts 14, and connectors 16 are designed
and arranged
to carry standard 20 ft. ISO shipping containers, although base 12, mounts 14,
and connectors 16
may equally be designed to carry shipping containers conforming with other
standards and
having other dimensions or mounting arrangements, as appropriate. In some
embodiments, base
12 is no larger than 8 ft. by 60ft.
Base 12 is ideally designed to accommodate either the "roll off' or ''hooklift
hoist" technologies,
or both, which are associated with the refuse business and allow portable
containers to be loaded
and unloaded easily. A first end 17 of base 12 is carried by one or more
rollers 18, which allow
end 17 to be rolled on the ground as base 12 is loaded on or unloaded from a
transport vehicle
(not illustrated). "Roll-off' technology employs a truck or trailer with a
tiltable bed, and base 12
is winched on and off the tilted bed by connection to a pad eye 22 mounted to
a second end of
base 12, "Hooklift hoist" technology, on the other hand, employs a pivoting
hydraulic hooklift
hoist arm that engages an elevated hooklift hoist attachment 32 and lifts the
container onto a rack
that is attached to the truck or trailer frame. The underside 11 of base 12
may be reinforced with
ribs or track (not illustrated) to allow smooth and straight rolling of the
base 12 on the bed or
rack of the transport vehicle.
According to one or more embodiments, a "roll off' truck or trailer, or a
"hooklift" truck or
trailer is used only for the transportation of base 12 with its carried ISO
tank 20 or van container
30. Base 12 is unloaded at the well site and occupies a fraction of the
footprint required by the
traditional storage of a tractor-trailer on site. For example, for the above
requirement of five
3000 gallon liquid chemical tanks and one large quantity of dry chemical,
there need only be six
of 8 ft. by 20 ft. ISO containers on location, occupying approximately 1000
sq. ft. of pad
compared to the original 2880 sq. ft.
After unloading base 12, the transport truck then leaves the well site
location and is free to
retrieve another ISO tank or container as appropriate. Thus, a single
transport vehicle with "roll
off' or "hooklift" technology can support multiple ISO tanks or containers,
reducing the invested
5
CA 02932018 2016-05-27
WO 2015/102601 PCT/US2013/078422
capital by lowering the vehicle requirements to support the liquid and dry
chemical operations by
fifty percent or greater over prior art methods.
As shown in Figures 2 and 3, according to one or more embodiments, mounts 14
include or
incorporate weigh scales 50 that allow the gross weight of tank container 20
to be determined. In
particular, base 12 includes weight scales 50 between the ISO mounts and the
surface 13 of base
12. Scales 50 allow the operator to monitor the inventory of chemicals and
provide reduction-in-
weight measurement of chemicals as they are used. Scales 50 may be mechanical,
or electronic
using load cells, strain gauges, or the like. Scales 50 may provide
independent weight
measurements, or they may provide separate quality control checks to correlate
volumetric
metering devices.
Figure 4 is an elevation view of an arrangement for storage of small volume
dry chemicals, in
which a standard 20ft ISO van container is attached to base 12, allowing for
the weatherproof
storage of the sacked dry chemicals for future use. Scales 50 may be used for
inventory control
in addition to or in lieu of counting dry chemical sacks.
Figure 5 is an elevation view of an arrangement for handling of large volume
chemicals. Base
12 carries an industry-standard screw conveyor 60 that is outfitted with an
ISO frame or mounts
62 to transport, store, and meter large volume dry chemicals to a fracturing
blender mixer (not
illustrated) with minimal human and weather exposure. However, bulk material
devices other
than an auger may be used and carried atop base 12 as appropriate.
In an embodiment, screw conveyor 60 includes a conveyor body 64 and an
elongate auger
assembly 66. Conveyor body 64 may include a chemical storage compartment 67
with an
internal hopper 68 that feeds material into a lower end of auger assembly 66.
Auger assembly 66
includes a tube 70 that houses and engages a rotatable auger screw 72. A motor
74 selectively
rotates auger screw 72 within tube 70, thereby transferring the material that
falls from hopper 68
into the lower end of auger assembly to the upper end of auger assembly 66,
where the material
is dispensed through a chute 76. An actuator 78 may be included to selectively
control the tilt of
auger assembly 66.
6
CA 02932018 2016-05-27
WO 2015/102601 PCT/US2013/078422
Figure 6 is an exploded diagram in perspective view of a quick-disconnect
connector system
used with base 12, containers 20, 30, and screw conveyor 60 according to an
embodiment.
Figure 7 is a perspective view of the quick-disconnect connector system of
Figure 6 in a
connected but unlocked state. Figure 8 is a perspective view of the quick-
disconnect connector
system of Figure 6 in a connected and locked state. Referring to Figures 6-8,
in one or more
embodiments, the quick-disconnect connector system is an ISO twistlock
connector. Receptacle
26 forms the female part of the connector system and is structurally fitted to
the container frame
itself, typically at the corners. Accordingly, receptacle 26 is commonly known
as a corner
casting. Receptacle 26 has no moving parts, and it has an oval aperture 27
formed in the bottom.
Connectors 16 are fixed atop mounts 14 of base 12 (Figure 2). Each connector
16 has a fixed
stand or pedestal 24. A tapered crown 25 is fixed atop stand 24 so that it may
be rotated about an
axis 29 through connector 16 that is normal to base 14, as indicated by arrow
28 on Figure 6. To
carry a container atop base 12, crown 25 is oriented to align with the major
axis of oval aperture
27, and the container is lowered so that connector 16 is received within oval
aperture 27 as
shown in Figure 7. Next, crown 25 is rotated 90 degrees, so that it will no
longer pass through
oval aperture 27, thereby locking the container to mount 14, as shown in
Figure 8.
Figure 9 is a flow chart that details a portion of a method for completing a
well according to an
embodiment using chemical transportation, storage, and dispensation system 10
of Figures 1-8.
The portion of the method shown in Figure 9 is particularly useful when
hydraulic fracturing
operations are used.
At step 200, a shipping container, which may be an ISO tank 20 (Figure 3) or
van container 30
(Figure 4), for example, is provided. At step 202, the shipping container is
filled with a
chemical. At step 204, a base 12 (Figure 2), equipped with a roller at one end
and at least a
winching pad eye or a hook lift hoist attachment at the other end, is
provided. At step 206, the
shipping container is mounted atop the base. Although step 202, holding a
chemical within the
shipping container, is illustrated as occurring before the shipping container
is mounted to the
base, in an embodiment the shipping container may be filled with the chemical
after it has been
mounted to the base.
7
CA 02932018 2016-05-27
WO 2015/102601 PCT/US2013/078422
Next, at step 208, a transport vehicle is provided. The transport vehicle may
have a tiltable bed
and a winch or a rack and a hooklift hoist arm. At step 210, the base with
shipping container is
lifted on to the transport vehicle. In the case of the transport vehicle
having a tiltable bed, the
bed is first tilted, the winch is connected to the winching pad eye of the
base, the base is winched
atop said bed while the roller carries at least part of the weight of the base
for at least part of the
winching process, and finally the bed is lowered back to a level orientation.
In the case of the
transport vehicle having a hooklift hoist arm, the hooklift hoist arm is
connected to the hooklift
hoist attachment of the base and the base is hoisted atop the rack of the
transport vehicle by said
hooklift hoist arm while the roller carries at least part of the weight of the
base for part of the
hoisting process.
At step 212, the base with its mounted shipping container is moved by the
transport vehicle to
well site 120 (Figure 1). At step 214, the base and its shipping container are
unloading from the
transport vehicle by essentially reversing the loading process of step 210,
and the base and its
shipping container are placed on the ground at the well site.
The above process of Figure 9 may then be repeated until all the required
chemicals are located
at the well site. There, the chemicals held by the shipping containers are
readily available for
fracturing operations without requiring the larger footprint or capital
expense of multiple tractor-
trailers.
In summary, a chemical handling apparatus, a well completion system, and a
method for
handling chemicals have been described. Embodiments of the chemical handling
apparatus may
generally have: A generally planar base; a roller rotatively coupled to a
first end of the base; at
least one a winching pad eye or a hooklift hoist attachment mounted to a
second end of the base
opposite the first end; and a plurality of mounts coupled to the base and
arranged to securely
carry a shipping container atop the base. Embodiments of the well completion
system may
generally have: A wellhead atop a wellbore; a fracturing system disposed
adjacent to the
wellhead and fluidly coupled to the wellbore via the wellhead; and at least
one chemical
handling apparatus disposed in proximity to the fracturing system, each of the
at least one
chemical handling apparatus including a generally planar base, a roller
rotatively coupled to a
first end of the base, at least a winching pad eye or a hooklift hoist
attachment mounted to a
8
CA 02932018 2016-05-27
WO 2015/102601 PCT/US2013/078422
second end of the base opposite the first end, a plurality of mounts coupled
to the base, and a
shipping container carried atop the base and fixed to the base by the
plurality of mounts.
Embodiments of the method for handling chemicals may generally include:
Providing a
shipping container; holding a chemical within the shipping container;
providing a generally
planar base, a roller rotatively coupled to a first end of the base, and at
least a winching pad eye
or a hooklift hoist attachment mounted to a second end of the base opposite
the first end; and
mounting a the shipping container atop the base.
Any of the foregoing embodiments may include any one of the following elements
or
characteristics, alone or in combination with each other: The shipping
container is an intermodal
container that conforms to International Standards Organization
specifications; the plurality of
mounts is dimensioned to accept the shipping container; a connector carried
atop each of the
plurality of mounts for securing the shipping container to the base; a
twistlock connector carried
atop each of the plurality of mounts and arranged to be received in a corner
casting of the
shipping container for securing the shipping container to the base; a scale
coupled to the base and
arranged for measuring a weight of the shipping container when carried atop
the base; the scale
includes at least one of the group consisting of a strain gauge and a load
cell; the shipping
container connected to the mounts; the shipping container is a 20 foot ISO
tank container; the
shipping container is a 20 foot ISO van container; a bulk material conveying
device connected to
the mounts; a first of the at least one chemical handling apparatus, wherein
the first chemical
handling apparatus is characterized by a 20 foot ISO van container; a second
of the at least one
chemical handling apparatus, wherein the first chemical handling apparatus is
characterized by a
20 foot ISO tank container; a fracturing blender; a screw conveyer disposed in
proximity to the
fracturing blender so as to convey a quantity of a chemical into the
fracturing blender, the screw
conveyor being mounted atop a generally planar base, the base having a roller
rotatively coupled
to a first end of the base, at least one of the group consisting of a winching
pad eye and a hooklift
hoist attachment mounted to a second end of the base opposite the first end;
providing a transport
vehicle having a tiltable bed and a winch; tilting the bed of the transport
vehicle; coupling the
winch to the winching pad eye; winching the base carrying the shipping
container atop the bed;
providing a transport vehicle having a rack and a hooklift hoist arm; coupling
the hooklift hoist
arm to the hooklift hoist attachment; hoisting the base carrying the shipping
container atop the
rack by the hooklift hoist arm; providing a transport vehicle; lifting the
base carrying the
9
CA 02932018 2016-05-27
WO 2015/102601 PCT/US2013/078422
shipping container on to the vehicle, the roller carrying at least a part of
the weight of the base
and the shipping container while lifting; transporting the base and the
shipping container to a
well site; placing the base on the ground at the well site; placing the base
in proximity to a
fracturing system at the well site; removing a quantity of the chemical from
the shipping
container; introducing the quantity of the chemical into the fracturing
system; conducting
fracturing operations; providing a scale on the base; weighing the shipping
container with the
scale; determining an amount of the chemical dispensed from the shipping
container using the
scale; and determining an amount of the chemical present within the shipping
container using the
scale.
The Abstract of the disclosure is solely for providing the United States
Patent and Trademark
Office and the public at large with a way by which to determine quickly from a
cursory reading
the nature and gist of technical disclosure, and it represents solely one or
more embodiments.
While various embodiments have been illustrated in detail, the disclosure is
not limited to the
embodiments shown. Modifications and adaptations of the above embodiments may
occur to
those skilled in the art. Such modifications and adaptations are in the spirit
and scope of the
disclosure.
