A nice article with some applicability for the Bakken?
Wow, it was a very, very long time when we last talked about using natural gas instead of diesel for fracking operations. This was
posted about a year ago, but never seemed to be an issue.
Now today:
Rigzone is reporting:
Advances in hydraulic fracturing that unlocked potential shale gas
resources in the United States are being successfully applied to
Canadian shale gas resources. With seven shale plays in Alberta estimated to hold resources of 3,424 trillion cubic feet of natural gas
– along with shale resources such as the Horn River Basin in British
Columbia, Canada's shale gas potential has vaulted the country into a
position as a potential LNG exporter. This shale gas play has also
created opportunities for exploration and production (E&P) operators
in Western Canada to switch from diesel to natural gas in their
operations, a trend that is also occurring in the United States with
operators such as Apache Corp., which has switched to using natural gas in its hydraulic fracturing operations.
Some data points from the article:
- US oil and gas experience for both fracs and drilling rigs converting to
natural gas are experiencing up to 55 to 60 percent substitution
- Encana, Apache, EQT, and Noble are using natural gas to power drill rigs present day
- All of the major diesel engine manufactures are introducing bi-fuel
options, third-party bi-fuel systems continue to improve and be a viable
option. Caterpillar and GE are also focused on improving their
100-percent Natural Gas engines that are very well suited to the Western
Canadian drilling and fracking operations.
