During the process of fracturing or fracking an oil well,
some fluid slurry or water pumping is done into the well at required pressure
levels to enable fracturing of the formation that is producing the oil. The
process creates some flow paths for the hydrocarbons in the well.
The frac water is a mix of water, specialized chemicals, and
proppants that are blended and then allowed to flow through the well into the
formation. The super heating process prevents the refreezing of the water
before it enters the well's bore.
Earlier on, water used to be heated a night before if it was
to be used in the next morning. In order to take care of the heat loss during
the night, water used to be overheated by over 50 degrees. With millions of
gallons needed for several oil wells across the oil producing areas, there was
a huge waste of energy and the process was largely inefficient.
The new processes involve the use of specially designed
equipment that heats water rapidly in large quantities. Most companies involved
in frac water heating in Whitecourt use truck-mounted burner boxes that can
generate over 40 million Btus. The water that is stored in reservoirs, ponds,
and temporary pools is the circulated in the burner boxes and elevated to the
required temperature levels.
Most well managing firms rent tankers that come with temperature
controls to maintain the water at the required temperature for the job. The
technology known as continuous flow heating allows the operators to heat the
water on demand and reach the required temperatures fast without the need for a
large number of water storage tanks.
Several advantages come with the new heating technologies.
First, the technologies eliminate the need for overheating the water. This was
a major contributor to high energy bills. They also decrease the amount of time
used to complete operations that are done in multiple stages.
The heaters also provide temperature control for the fluids
avoiding the need to reheat the water again from the scratch, when needed,
which consumes more energy. Moreover, most burner boxes run on diesel, natural
gas, or propane. These energy choices are readily available and are cheap in
the oil fields. The systems also have a built-in redundancy that prevents the
water from freezing. Freezing water may cause a tubular contraction problem
down the well. This may in turn cause a casing failure.
Most of the frac water heating companies charge on a
performance basis. Thus, the client pays for heat used. The heat is calculated
by the temperature increase over a given volume of water. There is no need for
water pumps as companies in frac water heating in Whitecourt also incorporate
water pumping from the reservoirs to the burner boxes and into the heat ponds
or heat pits.
The new technologies are vital to the increased efficiency,
consistency, reliability, and precision of the fracking process. Frac water is
now available at any point of the process, and less heat is used to keep the
water at the right temperature.
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