A large oilfield service company needs to measure the density of the sand carrying fluid injected into the reservoir by the hydraulic fracturing fluid delivery system during the hydraulic fracturing process.
What is hydraulic fracturing?
Hydraulic fracturing, also known as hydraulic fracturing, refers to the method of injecting liquids and other materials into shale layers under high pressure, causing small cracks in dense rocks and thereby increasing oil and gas production. Hydraulic fracturing is carried out after the drilling process is completed and the drilling rig and wellhead have been removed from the site. The fracturing process usually takes 3 to 5 days from the beginning to the end. After the operation is completed, the oil and gas well can be put into safe production, starting the oil and gas production stage that can last for several years or even decades.
In the fracturing operation of this oil service company, the sand carrying fluid is prepared at the front end of the process and then injected into the wellbore at a pressure of up to 15000 PSI. The density of sand carrying fluid is crucial for efficient completion of operations. In the process of searching for reliable density measurement solutions, the company found VEGA, which has a long history and rich experience in non-contact isotope density measurement.
Full of challenges
The drilling site requires close cooperation from all parties during the operation, and the construction process operates uninterrupted 24/7. In the case of the company, each operation on the drilling site usually lasts for 3 hours, with only a 30 minute interval between each stage. Due to the extremely high pressure during the injection of fracturing fluid, it is not possible to approach the optimal measurement position of the instrument during the fracturing process. This means that regardless of the type of measuring instrument being installed, the installation time is very tight – only 30 minutes between work intervals.
MiniTrac 32 is very suitable for strong vibration conditions
The vibration of oil and gas wells during fracturing is very severe, so the instruments used must be able to accurately measure values without being affected by vibration. VEGA has extensive experience in providing density measurement instruments for oilfield applications, including sand mixer trucks and widely used 3-4 inch high-pressure hard pipelines, where vibrations are equally strong.
Therefore, VEGA’s measurement experts immediately know which measuring instrument is capable of performing this task: the MiniTrac 32 isotope instrument, a very suitable measuring instrument for severe vibration conditions.
Smart solutions for strong vibration applications
VEGA’s MiniTrac 32 is a very sturdy density measuring instrument designed specifically for applications with severe vibrations. For this purpose, the instrument is equipped with dual protection electronic components and reinforced scintillators. However, the company values not only the anti vibration performance of the instruments – the MiniTrac 32 also comes with Bluetooth function, allowing for easy wireless debugging and display of measured values. This means that even if the instrument itself cannot be approached during the injection of fracturing fluid, users can still view the measurement results at any time.
Due to the limited time required for installing and debugging instruments, pre planning and testing play a crucial role in ensuring successful installation. Before installing MiniTrac 32 on the fracturing fluid delivery system, VEGA’s measurement experts accompanied the user to complete the trial installation and operation of the instrument.
In order to verify the measurement results, VEGA engineers opened a laptop in the instrument car and remotely recorded the measurement data curve using PACTware software, using the built-in Bluetooth function of MiniTrac 32.
The test shows that the sand carrying liquid density measured by MiniTrac 32 meets expectations
In the above figure, it can be seen that the blue curve (the amount of sand added to the sand carrying fluid) and the green curve (the amount of sand added to the sand carrying fluid measured by the VEGA instrument) correspond to each other, indicating that the density of the sand carrying fluid measured by MiniTrac 32 meets expectations. After careful planning and successful testing, the VEGA team completed the installation, wiring, and mechanical reinforcement of the instrument on the system within the scheduled 30 minutes.
The guarantee of long-term success
To this day, this oilfield service company is still using the MiniTrac 32 measurement system and has also purchased other VEGA instruments for on-site operations. By choosing VEGA, the company not only obtained a reliable measurement instrument supplier, but also had a long-term partner who helped them achieve success in process measurement.
MiniTrac 32 meets the company’s requirements for measuring instruments with its anti vibration performance and Bluetooth function. VEGA’s excellent service network is also the key to the company’s repeated choice of it: from on-site service engineers, to 24-hour service hotlines, and then to the myVEGA online platform, VEGA does its best to provide solid support for users’ efficient operations.