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In the United States, drillers are constantly seeking to reduce costs while seeking to increase margins and profits. Those who are focused on oil production are also looking for a useful application for natural gas associated with crude, instead of just burning it to unsustainable levels.
A new technology to feed the fracturing fleets could solve both problems for upstream companies, but for fracture fleet providers, petroleum service companies, the move to equipment executives say.
Exploration and production (E & P) companies have begun to use new technology to fuel fracturing fleets: electric fracking in which diesel engines are replaced by gas turbines producing fuel. electricity to power hydraulic fracturing operations.
The e-frac technology, also known as technology, can save up to $ 350,000 on the cost of fracturing a well between $ 6 and $ 8 million, according to the analysts.
Add to that the reduction in emissions, because natural gas burns in the electric fracturing unit compared to diesel in the traditional fracking fleet, and upstream companies can consider e-frac technology as a way to reduce the carbon footprint of their operations.
Overall, the oil and gas industry does not benefit from electric fracturing fleets. Those who do not see savings – on the contrary, they see very steep entry barriers – are many service providers, analysts and oil executives, told Reuters reporter Liz Hampton.
Baker Hughes, which earlier this year launched its Permian electric fracking gas turbine, is an exception and one of the most important oilfield service providers. Baker Hughes said his electric fracking technology reduces diesel maintenance and maintenance costs by millions of dollars a year, while consuming the associated gas that would otherwise be burned. Related: the United States briefly overtaken Saudi Arabia in crude oil exports
But Halliburton, whose key market is fracking in the United States, does not think the numbers add up.
Converting 500 frac fleets into electric fracking would require a $ 30 billion capital, said Halliburton General Manager Jeff Miller at the Energy Brokers Conference at Barclays, which was held earlier this month -this.
"I do not see that happening. When I think of electricity, we do not know where it will go with time, "Miller said.
The manager also recently told an oil company that electric fracking fleets "work for you, but not for us".
Patterson-UTI also said earlier this month that it had not planned to invest in electric fracking machines because of the high costs and oversupply in the machinery fleet. fracturing.
"I'll tell you today, the calculations are not working," Andy Hendricks, CEO of Patterson-UTI, told Reuters' Barclays Energy-Power conference.
According to Jesus Ozuna, Cost and Technology Analyst at IHS Markit, the main disadvantage of electric fracking is the high cost of seizure. It costs about $ 60 million for the equivalent of a fleet of 45,000 horsepower, he said in a podcast this week.
"So it's a significant increase in costs compared to other technologies that make it possible to use natural gas, such as blending dual-fuel or dynamic fuels, for which conversion costs only $ 3 million," he said. said Ozuna.
The high cost of conversion is a barrier for large oilfield service companies with huge fleets, but some smaller suppliers have signed contracts with major oil companies for their electronic cargo fleets.
US well services – with a total of five electric fleets – signed a long-term contract in May for Shell's permafrost fleet of up to four years. Related: Are oil and gas stocks on the eve of an eruption?
Evolution Well Services, the sole supplier of pure e-frac fleets, announced in June the signing of a three-year contract with CNX Resources Corporation for an electric fracking system for natural gas fracking operations in Canada. the schists of Marcellus.
CNX has saved about $ 900,000 in diesel fuel costs from the first three fissured wells with the e-frac fleet, and expects to save $ 12 to $ 13 million in fracturing costs a year, Pittsburgh reporter Paul J. said. Business Times Gough writes.
Evolution Well Services, which owns six electronic product parks, wants to create more electronic product parks without firm contracts with customers "but in this market, it's hard to justify," Ben Bodishbaugh, CEO, told Reuters.
Oil service providers are under pressure with the slowdown in the American shale deposit, making expensive investments in electronic smash fleets less attractive. Despite the benefits of fracking operations to electricity compared to diesel-powered fleets, the massive absorption of electrical fracturing will depend on the future markets for drilling services and oil fields.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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