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US 12,752,247 B1Granted
Direct high pressure slurry injection fracturing system and method
OwnerJorge O. Arribauinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A dual chamber assembly for injecting high pressure slurry into a wellhead by displacing it from chambers with pressurized clean fluid from frac pumps, while reducing the number of high-pressure pumps exposed to abrasive slurries.
Claims15
Apparatus for pressurizing and intermixing sand and fluid using a blender and frac pumps for discharge into a wellhead, comprising:
- at least one pair of pressure chambers, each of first and second chambers adapted for vertical or semi-horizontal orientation;
- at least one inlet line secured at a first end of each of said first chamber and said second chamber and in fluid communication with the blender;
- at least one high pressure outlet line secured at said first end of each of said first chamber and said second chamber and in fluid communication with the wellhead;
- at least one clean fluid outlet line secured to a second end of each said first chamber and said second chamber;
- at least one high pressure clean fluid inlet line secured to said second end of each of said first and said second chamber and to a slurry displacing frac pump;
- first valve members operatively connected to each of said inlet lines and each of said high pressure outlet lines proximal to said first end of each of said first chamber and said second chamber;
- second valve members operatively connected to each of said outlet lines and each of said high pressure inlet lines proximal to said second end of each of said first chamber and said second chamber;
- and
- flow meters mechanically connected to each of said second end outlet lines and operatively connected to a logic control unit including at least one valve actuator,
- wherein the slurry displacing frac pump is configured to deliver pressurized clean fluid into the second end of the first chamber or the second chamber to volumetrically displace slurry from the first end of the first chamber or the second chamber through the at least one high pressure outlet line to the wellhead;
- and
- wherein the slurry displacing frac pump discharges clean fluid into a clean fluid frac pump that is in fluid communication with a high pressure slurry line joining with the at least one high pressure outlet line.
9 more elements
A system for injecting pressurized slurry into a wellhead, the apparatus having a blender unit and at least one fracturing pump, the system comprising:
- dual elongated vertically or semi-vertically oriented chambers having upper and lower cap ends sealing each of the chambers;
- at least one outlet and at least one high-pressure inlet proximal to an upper end of each of said dual chambers;
- at least one inlet and at least one-high pressure outlet proximal to a lower end of each of said dual chambers;
- the at least one high-pressure inlet circulating clean fluid from a slurry displacing frac pump to each of the dual chambers;
- the at least one outlet circulating fluid from each of the dual chambers to a clean fluid storage tank;
- each of the upper end inlets and outlets having corresponding valve members and each of the lower end inlets and outlets having corresponding valve members;
- each of the valve members having a corresponding actuator with valve actuator arms and a logic control member operatively connected to flow meters, the valve members and the actuator,
- wherein pressurized clean fluid delivered by the slurry displacing frac pump into an upper end of a selected one of the dual chambers volumetrically displaces slurry from a lower end of the selected chamber through the at least one-high pressure outlet to the wellhead;
- and
- wherein the slurry displacing frac pump discharges clean fluid into a clean fluid frac pump that is in fluid communication with a high pressure slurry line joining with the at least one high pressure outlet.
7 more elements
A method of pressurizing and discharging slurry into a wellhead, the steps comprising:
- filling a first vertical or semi-vertical chamber, a second vertical or semi-vertical chamber and at least one frac pump with clean fluid;
- injecting slurry sequentially into a lower portion of the first chamber and the second chamber and sequentially displacing clean fluid from the first and second chamber away from the first and second chamber for downstream clean fluid handling;
- measuring the flow of displaced clean fluid from the first and second chamber with a flow meter;
- injecting pressurized clean fluid from the at least one frac pump into the first and second chamber to directly displace slurry from the chambers;
- injecting clean fluid from a slurry displacing frac pump to a clean fluid frac pump;
- and
- discharging slurry sequentially from a lower portion of the first and second chamber through a high pressure slurry line into a wellhead.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.