LNG FOR EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION – FRAC OPERATIONS

Stabilis provided the very first LNG and equipment solution for oil & gas frac operations in 2013 working with a major, integrated oil company in the Eagle Ford shale basin. Stabilis has experience supplying vaporized LNG to a 100% gas-powered turbine frac solution, as well as supplying more conventional pressure-pumping units powered by dual fuel reciprocating engines. Since 2013, we have supplied LNG and turnkey services to more than 10 different frac crews across North America without incident and with 100% LNG on-time supply performance and equipment on-stream factors in excess of 99.8%.

Challenge:

Stabilis custom-designed the first packaged LNG solution for fracturing operations, consisting of an LNG ISO container paired with a gas-fired, water/glycol bath vaporizer. The first two systems were deployed to a large Midcon operator in early 2014. A third unit was deployed in mid-2014 to the subject operator’s D-J operations. The systems are self-powered and require no external utilities. Initial operations on all three (3) of the units were smooth, reliable and without incident. These systems are also deployed in high-flow pipeline applications.

STABILIS Solution:

Stabilis provided a turnkey LNG solution to meet the peak demand needs of the utility. The equipment solution supplied 5,400 dth of LNG storage (approximately 1.5 days of storage at peak demand) and a gas-fired vaporizer solution capable of 280,000 scfh of natural gas supply. Stabilis provided the equipment, labor, and LNG supply to meet the on demand peak needs of the utility. The system operated from November to March during periods of peak demand. Stabilis and the utility worked closely on a weekly basis to ensure the system was dispatched according to the weather forecast. The mobile temporary solution provided a flexible source of natural gas supply to help the utility balance its supply portfolio and to meet the needs of its growing customer base.

Results:

During those periods that these systems have historically been required to supply gas, they have been on stream in excess of 99.9% of the time. As frac services providers move to all-gas, all-electric frac solutions, LNG will play an even more critical role to supply very large volumes of gas until field gas solutions are in place, and then provide critical back-up and complimentary blended fuel solutions longer term.

LNG FOR EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION – DRILLING OPERATIONS

Use of gas in drilling actually began several years before (2010) use of gas in frac operations (2013). The scope of a rig retrofit with three (3) engines vs. 12-20 engines on a frac spread is one major reason why drilling innovated with natural gas before frac operations. At one time (mid-2014) there were over 100 drilling rigs employing natural gas either in a dual fuel configuration with existing diesel engines or with all gas engines. It is noteworthy that current dual fuel diesel engines will not meet EPA Tier IV off-road emissions requirements without the addition of scrubbing or exhaust gas recirculation equipment which tends to reduce output and efficiency of the base diesel engine design. A 100% dedicated gas rig will meet these guidelines and produces 70% less NOx and 95% less particulate matter than current diesel technology. Since late 2010, Stabilis Energy has supplied LNG and turnkey services to 52 different drill rigs, with over 1510 wells drilled utilizing LNG…and without incident.

Challenge:

The client is a major operator in the Marcellus and Utica Shale basins and has been a clear leader in the adoption of natural gas for drilling and fracturing operations. In early 2013, the client contracted for 13 new 100% gas drilling rigs to be deployed in the Marcellus/Utica region. To focus its full effort in this region, the client dropped all of its diesel rigs and pulled out of the Rocky Mountains entirely. All 13 rigs were equipped with new “rich-burn” engines that could run on either vaporized LNG or, ultimately, field gas, even when the field gas was “wet” (high in heating value (up to 1,450 Btu/scf)). The challenge was that all rigs initially ran on vaporized LNG until the field gas infrastructure was developed. In addition, LNG supply and equipment reliability had to be ultra-high, as these rigs were truly 100% gas-fueled (1).

STABILIS Solution:

Fortunately, as the leader in supplying gas to drill rigs, Stabilis had already deployed 100% LNG solutions for drilling contractors and operators in the Denver, Gulf Coast, Haynesville Shale, Marcellus Shale, Powder River, Uinta, and Ventura basins (2). As such, Stabilis had designed a third-generation mobile LNG storage/vaporization solution and had placed a large, multi-unit order that largely coincided with the rig deployment schedule of the Marcellus/Utica operator. Rolling out so many units over a short period was a significant challenge.

Results:

Stabilis began deploying equipment and labor in July of 2013 and at one time (early 2014) was supplying LNG, equipment and labor to 10 dedicated gas rigs simultaneously in the Marcellus/Utica basins. For the subject operator, over three years of operation (2013-2015), Stabilis never allowed even one of its LNG tanks to run empty. We continuously operated our equipment and improved its on-stream reliability, with rates of 99.17%, 99.76% and 99.83% for each of the respective calendar years.

(1) Other drill rig designs typically utilized two gas engines with a third diesel engine as backup.
(2) Stabilis was the first company to supply gas to a dedicated gas rig, working with Encana in the Haynesville Shale basin beginning in August of 2010.