Environmental Benefits of Electric Powered Hydraulic Fracturing

Abstract

Abstract The electric well stimulation fleet has shown great advances in environmental responsibility. The use of electric equipment reduces refueling traffic and has eliminated over 400 diesel deliveries to date. Emissions are reduced by over 99%. Fire risk is significantly reduced with some fire hazards being completely eliminated. The average sound pressure is reduced by 69% on the site. Electric powered hydraulic fracturing is an important step towards conducting well stimulation in a more environmentally responsible manner. Traditional hydraulic fracturing fleets are powered by over twenty large diesel engines providing up to 2,500 BHP each. These environmental benefits are achieved by removing all diesel engines from a hydraulic fracturing site and replacing them with mobile turbine engine generator units. Then a fleet can be run completely on electric power. This technology was first deployed in 2014 in the Marcellus shale formation in West Virginia, and is the first fully electric, fully mobile well stimulation system completely fueled by natural gas. The fleet generates electric power with three natural-gas-fueled turbine engine generators at 13,800 volts (V). The power generated by the turbines then runs through switchgear and is stepped down to 600 V using transformers. At this point, the electric fleet is similar to a conventional hydraulic fracturing fleet, except that all the fleet's diesel engines and transmissions are replaced by electric motors and variable frequency drives. Pumps, blenders, hydration, data van, and sand equipment are also all completely electric powered.