Stage Profiles for Operations of Hydraulic Systems and Associated Methods

This is a continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 18/596,860, filed Mar. 6, 2024, titled “STAGE PROFILES FOR OPERATIONS OF HYDRAULIC SYSTEMS AND ASSOCIATED METHODS,” which is a continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 18/072,478, filed Nov. 30, 2022, titled “STAGE PROFILES FOR OPERATIONS OF HYDRAULIC SYSTEMS AND ASSOCIATED METHODS” now U.S. Pat. No. 11,952,878 issued Apr. 9, 2024, which is a continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 17/555,919, filed Dec. 20, 2021, titled “STAGE PROFILES FOR OPERATIONS OF HYDRAULIC SYSTEMS AND ASSOCIATED METHODS” now U.S. Pat. No. 11,598,188 issued Mar. 7, 2023 which is a continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 17/500,217, filed Oct. 13, 2021, titled “STAGE PROFILES FOR OPERATIONS OF HYDRAULIC SYSTEMS AND ASSOCIATED METHODS,” now U.S. Pat. No. 11,236,598, issued Feb. 1, 2022, which is continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 17/308,330, filed May 5, 2021, titled “STAGE PROFILES FOR OPERATIONS OF HYDRAULIC SYSTEMS AND ASSOCIATED METHODS,” now U.S. Pat. No. 11,208,879, issued Dec. 28, 2021, which is continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 17/182,489, filed Feb. 23, 2021, titled “STAGE PROFILES FOR OPERATIONS OF HYDRAULIC SYSTEMS AND ASSOCIATED METHODS,” now U.S. Pat. No. 11,028,677, issued Jun. 8, 2021, which claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/705,332, filed Jun. 22, 2020, titled “METHODS AND SYSTEMS TO ENHANCE OPERATION OF HYDRAULIC FRACTURING EQUIPMENT AT A HYDRAULIC FRACTURING WELLSITE BY HYDRAULIC FRACTURING STAGE PROFILES,” and U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/705,356, filed Jun. 23, 2020, titled “STAGE PROFILES FOR OPERATIONS OF HYDRAULIC SYSTEMS AND ASSOCIATED METHODS,” the disclosures of all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

The present disclosure relates to methods and systems for enhancing operation of hydraulic fracturing equipment at a hydraulic fracturing wellsite.

Hydrocarbon exploration and energy industries employ various systems and operations to accomplish activities including drilling, formation evaluation, stimulation and production. Hydraulic fracturing may be utilized to produce oil and gas economically from low permeability reservoir rocks or other formations, for example, shale, at a wellsite. During a hydraulic fracturing stage, slurry may be pumped, via hydraulic fracturing pumps, under high pressure to perforations, fractures, pores, faults, or other spaces in the reservoir rocks or formations. The slurry may be pumped at a rate faster than the reservoir rocks or formation may accept. As the pressure of the slurry builds, the reservoir rocks or formation may fail and begin to fracture further. As the pumping of the slurry continues, the fractures may expand and extend in different directions away from a well bore. Once the reservoir rocks or formations are fractured, the hydraulic fracturing pumps may remove the slurry. As the slurry is removed, proppants in the slurry may be left behind and may prop or keep open the newly formed fractures, thus preventing the newly formed fractures from closing or, at least, reducing contracture of the newly formed fractures. Further, after the slurry is removed and the proppants are left behind, production streams of hydrocarbons may be obtained from the reservoir rocks or formation.

For a wellsite, a plurality of hydraulic fracturing stages may be performed. Further, each hydraulic fracturing stage may require configuration of many and various hydraulic fracturing equipment. For example, prior to a next hydraulic fracturing stage, an operator or user may enter multiple data points for that next hydraulic fracturing stage for each piece of equipment, such as, for hydraulic fracturing pumps, a blender, a chemical additive unit, a hydration unit, a conveyor, and/or other hydraulic fracturing equipment located at the wellsite. As each hydraulic fracturing stage arises, data entry or other inputs at each piece of hydraulic fracturing equipment may not be performed efficiently and effectively; thus, such tasks may be considered time consuming and may result in user error.

Accordingly, Applicant has recognized a need for methods and system to enhance operation of hydraulic fracturing equipment at a hydraulic fracturing wellsite. The present disclosure may address one or more of the above-reference drawbacks, as well as other potential drawbacks.

Accordingly, Applicant has recognized a need for methods and system to enhance operation of hydraulic fracturing equipment at a hydraulic fracturing wellsite. The present disclosure may address one or more of the above-reference drawbacks, as well as other potential drawbacks.

As referenced above, due to a large number of hydraulic fracturing stages and the large number of hydraulic fracturing equipment associated with the hydraulic fracturing stages, setting hydraulic fracturing stage parameters may be difficult, complex, and time-consuming and may introduce error into the process. Further, the manual input of each data point for the hydraulic fracturing stages at each piece of the hydraulic fracturing equipment may result in longer periods of time between hydraulic fracturing stages, thus resulting in a longer overall period of time for entire hydraulic fracturing operations.

The present disclosure generally is directed to methods and systems for operating hydraulic fracturing equipment at a hydraulic fracturing wellsite. In some embodiments, the methods and systems may provide for efficient and enhanced operation of the hydraulic fracturing equipment, for example, during setup or as hydraulic fracturing equipment stages through various operations.

An embodiment of the disclosure provides a method of enhancing operation of hydraulic fracturing equipment at a hydraulic fracturing wellsite. The method may include determining if a previous hydraulic fracturing stage profile or one or more hydraulic fracturing stage profiles may be available for use in association with a controller for hydraulic fracturing equipment at a hydraulic fracturing wellsite. The one or more profiles may include hydraulic fracturing pumping stage parameters for a hydraulic fracturing fleet and a plurality of hydraulic fracturing pumping stages at a fracturing wellsite during hydrocarbon production. The method may include, in response to a determination that the previous hydraulic fracturing stage profile is available for use by the controller, prompting, at a display, a user to accept or amend the previous hydraulic fracturing stage profile as a current hydraulic fracturing stage profile for a hydraulic fracturing pumping stage. The method may further include, in response to a reception of an amendment of the previous hydraulic fracturing stage profile, prompting, at the display, the user to accept the amended previous hydraulic fracturing stage profile as the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile, and storing the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile in memory as another previous hydraulic fracturing stage profile for use in association with the controller. The method may further include, in response to a determination that the previous hydraulic fracturing stage profile is not available for use in association with the controller, prompting, at the display, a user to configure hydraulic fracturing pumping stage parameters for the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile, storing the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile in memory as the previous hydraulic fracturing stage profile for use in association with the controller, and verifying that the hydraulic fracturing pumping stage parameters in the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile are correct.

Another embodiment of the disclosure provides a method of enhancing operation of hydraulic fracturing equipment at a hydraulic fracturing wellsite. The method may include building a new or a first hydraulic fracturing stage profile for a new hydraulic fracturing stage at the hydraulic fracturing wellsite, based, at least, in part on one or more hydraulic fracturing stage profiles, data from a hydraulic fracturing fleet, and hydraulic fracturing fleet alarm history. The one or more hydraulic fracturing stage profiles may include hydraulic fracturing pumping stage parameters for the hydraulic fracturing fleet and a plurality of hydraulic fracturing pumping stages at the hydraulic fracturing wellsite during hydrocarbon production. The method may include, in response to completion of the new hydraulic fracturing stage profile, prompting, at a display, a user to accept or amend the new hydraulic fracturing stage profile as a current hydraulic fracturing stage profile for the new hydraulic fracturing pumping stage. The method may further include, in response to a reception of an amendment of the new hydraulic fracturing stage profile, prompting, at the display, the user to accept the amended new hydraulic fracturing stage profile as the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile, and storing the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile in memory as another previous hydraulic fracturing stage profile for use in association with the controller. The method may further include verifying that the hydraulic fracturing pumping stage parameters in the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile are correct.

According to another embodiment of the disclosure, a wellsite hydraulic fracturing system may include a plurality of hydraulic fracturing pumps. The plurality of hydraulic fracturing pumps, when positioned at a hydraulic fracturing wellsite, may be configured to provide a slurry to a wellhead in hydraulic fracturing pumping stages. The wellsite hydraulic fracturing system also may include a blender configured to provide a slurry to the plurality of hydraulic fracturing pumps. The slurry may include fluid, chemicals, and proppant. The wellsite hydraulic fracturing system also may include a hydration unit to provide fluid to the blender. The wellsite hydraulic fracturing system further may include a chemical additive unit to provide chemicals to the blender. The wellsite hydraulic fracturing system also may include a conveyor or auger, for example, to provide proppant to the blender. The wellsite hydraulic fracturing system further may include one or more controllers to control the hydraulic fracturing pumps, blender, hydration unit, chemical additive unit, and conveyor or auger. The one or more controllers may be positioned in signal communication with a terminal, a computing device, and sensors included on the plurality of hydraulic fracturing pumps, the blender, the hydration unit, the chemical additive unit, and the conveyor or auger. The one or more controllers may include a processor and a memory. The memory may store instructions or computer programs, as will be understood by those skilled in the art. The instructions or computer programs may be executed by the processor. The instructions, when executed, may determine if hydraulic fracturing stage profiles are available for use in the hydraulic fracturing pumping stages, and may, in response to a determination that the hydraulic fracturing stage profiles are not available for use, communicate a prompt at the terminal to enter hydraulic fracturing stage parameters for a current hydraulic fracturing stage profile and for a new or current hydraulic fracturing stage. The instructions, when executed, also may, in response to a determination that the hydraulic fracturing stage profiles are available for use, communicate a prompt at the terminal to utilize one of the hydraulic fracturing stage profiles or to amend one of the hydraulic fracturing stage profiles for the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile and may, in response to an entry or amendment of the hydraulic fracturing stage parameters for the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile at the terminal, store the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile to the computing device with an indicator. The indicator, for example, may indicate that the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile is associated with the current hydraulic fracturing pumping stage. Further, the instructions, when executed, may communicate a prompt to the terminal requesting acceptance of the use of the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile for the current hydraulic fracturing stage.

According to another embodiment of the disclosure, a controller for a hydraulic fracturing system may include a terminal input/output in signal communication with a terminal. The controller may be configured to, in relation to the terminal and in response to a determination that no hydraulic fracturing stage profiles are available for use, provide a prompt to the terminal to enter data for a hydraulic fracturing stage of a plurality of hydraulic fracturing stages into a first hydraulic fracturing stage profile. The controller, in relation to the terminal, also may be configured to receive the first hydraulic fracturing stage profile from the terminal. The controller, in relation to the terminal and in response to a determination that one or more hydraulic fracturing stage profiles are available, also may be configured to provide a prompt to the terminal requesting utilization or amendment of one of the hydraulic fracturing stage profiles for another hydraulic fracturing stage of the plurality of hydraulic fracturing stages. The controller may be configured to receive acceptance of the use of one of the hydraulic fracturing stage profiles for the another hydraulic fracturing stage. Further, the controller may be configured to receive an amended hydraulic fracturing stage profile of the hydraulic fracturing stage profiles for the another hydraulic fracturing stage. The controller may include a server input/output in signal communication with a server such that each hydraulic fracturing stage profile, including indicators of associated hydraulic fracturing stages, are communicated between the controller and the server. The controller may also include a first control output in signal communication with the plurality of hydraulic fracturing pumps such that the controller provides pump control signals based on a stage of the plurality of hydraulic fracturing stages and an associated hydraulic fracturing stage profile. The controller, for example, may be a supervisory controller, and each of the plurality of hydraulic fracturing pumps also may include a controller in signal communication with the supervisory controller as will be understood by those skilled in the art.

Still other aspects and advantages of these embodiments and other embodiments, are discussed in detail herein. Moreover, it is to be understood that both the foregoing information and the following detailed description provide merely illustrative examples of various aspects and embodiments, and are intended to provide an overview or framework for understanding the nature and character of the claimed aspects and embodiments. Accordingly, these and other objects, along with advantages and features of the present disclosure, will become apparent through reference to the following description and the accompanying drawings. Furthermore, it is to be understood that the features of the various embodiments described herein are not mutually exclusive and may exist in various combinations and permutations.

The present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to example embodiments thereof with reference to the drawings in which like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding elements in each of the several views. These example embodiments are described so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. Features from one embodiment or aspect may be combined with features from any other embodiment or aspect in any appropriate combination. For example, any individual or collective features of method aspects or embodiments may be applied to apparatus, product, or component aspects or embodiments and vice versa. The disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. As used in the specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” “the,” and the like include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In addition, while reference may be made herein to quantitative measures, values, geometric relationships or the like, unless otherwise stated, any one or more if not all of these may be absolute or approximate to account for acceptable variations that may occur, such as those due to manufacturing or engineering tolerances or the like.

The phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. As used herein, the term “plurality” refers to two or more items or components. The terms “comprising,” “including,” “carrying,” “having,” “containing,” and “involving,” whether in the written description or the claims and the like, are open-ended terms, i.e., to mean “including but not limited to,” unless otherwise stated. Thus, the use of such terms is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter, and equivalents thereof, as well as additional items. The transitional phrases “consisting of” and “consisting essentially of,” are closed or semi-closed transitional phrases, respectively, with respect to any claims. Use of ordinal terms such as “first,” “second,” “third,” and the like in the claims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote any priority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another or the temporal order in which acts of a method are performed, but are used merely as labels to distinguish one claim element having a certain name from another element having a same name (but for use of the ordinal term) to distinguish claim elements.

Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to methods and systems for enhancing operation of hydraulic fracturing equipment at a hydraulic fracturing wellsite. The methods and systems detailed herein may be executed on a controller which controls all equipment at the hydraulic fracturing wellsite and may provide prompts and requests to an operator in relation to utilizing and amending hydraulic fracturing stage profiles for hydraulic fracturing stages.

is a top-down schematic view of a wellsite hydraulic fracturing system, according to an embodiment. The wellsite hydraulic fracturing systemmay include a plurality of mobile power unitsto drive electrical generators. The electrical generatorsmay provide electrical power to the wellsite hydraulic fracturing system(in other words, to hydraulic fracturing equipment at the wellsite hydraulic fracturing system). In such examples, the mobile power unitsmay include an internal combustion engine. The internal combustion enginemay connect to a source of fuel. The internal combustion enginemay be a gas turbine engine (GTE) or a reciprocating-piston engine. In another embodiment, the electrical generatorsmay power the backside equipment.

In another embodiment, the GTEs may be dual-fuel or bi-fuel. In other words, the GTE may be operable using two or more different types of fuel, such as natural gas and diesel fuel, or other types of fuel. A dual-fuel or bi-fuel GTE may be operable using a first type of fuel, a second type of fuel, and/or a combination of the first type of fuel and the second type of fuel. For example, the fuel may include gaseous fuels, such as, compressed natural gas (CNG), natural gas, field gas, pipeline gas, methane, propane, butane, and/or liquid fuels, such as, diesel fuel (e.g., #2 diesel), bio-diesel fuel, bio-fuel, alcohol, gasoline, gasohol, aviation fuel, and other fuels. The gaseous fuels may be supplied by CNG bulk vessels, a gas compressor, a liquid natural gas vaporizer, line gas, and/or well-gas produced natural gas. Other types and associated fuel supply sources are contemplated. The one or more internal combustion enginesmay be operated to provide horsepower to drive the transmissionconnected to the electrical generators to provide electrical power to the hydraulic fracturing equipment at the wellsite hydraulic fracturing system.

The wellsite hydraulic fracturing systemmay also include a plurality of mobile power unitsto drive hydraulic fracturing pumps. In an embodiment, the mobile power unitmay be an internal combustion engine(e.g., a GTE or reciprocating-piston engine). In another embodiment, the hydraulic fracturing pumpsmay be a directly-driven turbine (DDT) hydraulic fracturing pumps. In such examples, the internal combustion enginemay connect to the DDT hydraulic fracturing pump via a transmissionconnected to a drive shaft, the drive shaft connected to an input flange of the DDT hydraulic fracturing pump. Other engine-to-pump connections may be utilized. In another embodiment, the mobile power unitsmay include auxiliary internal combustion engines, auxiliary electric generators, backup power sources, and/or some combination thereof.

In another embodiment, the hydraulic fracturing pumpsmay be positioned around a wellheadand may discharge, at a high pressure, slurry to a manifoldsuch that the high pressure slurry may be provided to the wellheadfor a hydraulic fracturing stage, as will be understood by those skilled in the art. In such examples, each of the hydraulic fracturing pumpsmay discharge the slurry through high-pressure discharge linesto flow lineson manifold. The flow linesmay connect to or combine at the manifold. The manifoldmay provide the slurry or combined slurry to a manifold assembly. The manifold assemblymay provide the slurry to the wellheador one or more wellheads. After a hydraulic fracturing stage is complete, some portion of the slurry may return to a flowback manifold (not shown). From the flowback manifold, the slurry may flow to a flowback tank (not shown).

In an embodiment, the slurry may refer to a mixture of fluid (such as water), proppants, and chemical additives. The proppants may be small granules, for example, sand, ceramics, gravel, other particulates, and/or some combination thereof. Further, the granules may be coated in resin. As noted above, once fractures are introduced in reservoir rocks or formations and the slurry is drained or pumped back, the proppants may remain and prop or keep open the newly formed fractures, thus preventing the newly formed fractures from closing or, at least, reducing contracture of the newly formed fractures. Further, chemicals may be added to the slurry. For example, the chemicals may be thickening agents, gels, dilute acids, biocides, breakers, corrosion inhibitors, friction reducers, potassium chloride, oxygen scavengers, pH adjusting agents, scale inhibitors, and/or surfactants. Other chemical additives may be utilized.

The wellsite hydraulic fracturing systemmay also include a blender unit, a hydration unit, a chemical additive unit, and a conveyor(one or more of which may be referred to as backside equipment). In an embodiment, for a hydraulic fracturing stage, the blender unitmay provide an amount of slurry at a specified flow rate to the hydraulic fracturing pumps, the slurry to be discharged by the hydraulic fracturing pumpsto the wellhead(as described above). The flow rate for slurry from the blender unitmay be determined by a sensor such as a flow meter (e.g., blender flow rate meter). Further, the conveyormay provide proppant to a mixerof the blender unit. The conveyormay include a conveyor belt, an auger, a chute (including a mechanism to allow passage of a specified amount of proppant), and/or other equipment to move or transfer proppant to the blender unit, as will be understood by those skilled in the art. Further still, the hydration unitmay provide a specified amount of fluid, from water tanks, and chemicals, from the chemical additive unit, to the mixerof the blender unit. The chemical additive unitmay provide a specified amount and type of chemicals to hydration unit. The mixerof the blender unitmay mix the fluid, proppant, and chemicals to create the slurry to be utilized by the hydraulic fracturing pumps. As noted above, the blender unitmay then pressurize and discharge the slurry from hoseto flow lineto the hydraulic fracturing pumps.

In another embodiment, the wellsite hydraulic fracturing system, or a portion of the wellsite hydraulic fracturing system, may be mobile or portable. Such mobility may allow for the wellsite hydraulic fracturing systemto be assembled or disassembled quickly. For example, a majority of the hydraulic fracturing equipment may be included on trailers attached to vehicles or on the vehicles. When a wellsite starts hydraulic fracturing stages, the hydraulic fracturing equipment may be brought to the wellsite, assembled, and utilized and when the hydraulic fracturing stages are completed, the hydraulic fracturing equipment may be disassembled and transported to another wellsite. In such examples, data or hydraulic fracturing stage parameters may be retained by a supervisory controlleror another computing device for later use.

The wellsite hydraulic fracturing systemmay also include a control unit, control center, data van, data center, controller, or supervisory controllerto monitor and control operations hydraulic fracturing equipment at the wellsite. In other words, the supervisory controllermay be in signal communication with the hydraulic fracturing equipment. The supervisory controllermay be in signal communication (to transmit and/or receive signals) with components, other controllers, and/or sensors included on or with the mobile power unitsdriving the electrical generators, the internal combustion engines, the mobile power unitsdriving the hydraulic fracturing pumps, the hydraulic fracturing pumps, the internal combustion engines, the manifold, the wellhead, the flow line, the hose, the backside equipment, other equipment at the wellsite, and/or some combination thereof. Further, other equipment may be included in the same location as the supervisory controller, such as a display or terminal, an input device, other computing devices, and/or other electronic devices.

As used herein, “signal communication” refers to electric communication such as hard wiring two components together or wireless communication, as will be understood by those skilled in the art. Wireless communication may be Wi-Fi®, Bluetooth®, ZigBee®, or forms of near field communications. In addition, signal communication may include one or more intermediate controllers or relays disposed between elements that are in signal communication with one another.

In another embodiment, the supervisory controllermay be in signal communication with a display, a terminal, and/or a computing device, as well as associated input devices. Further, the display may be included with a computing device. The computing device may include a user interface (the user interface to be displayed on the display). The user interface may be a graphical user interface (GUI). In another embodiment, the user interface may be an operating system. In such examples, the operating system may include various firmware, software, and/or drivers that allow a user to communicate or interface with, via input devices, the hardware of the computing device and, thus, with the supervisory controller. The computing device may include other peripherals or input devices, e.g., a mouse, a pointer device, a keyboard, and/or a touchscreen. The supervisory controllermay communicate, send or transmit prompts, requests, or notifications to the display through the computing device to the display. As used herein, “user” may refer an operator, a single operator, a person, or any personnel at, or remote from, the wellsite hydraulic fracturing system. In another embodiment, a user may send data, e.g., through data entry, via an input device, into a computing device associated with the display for a hydraulic fracturing stage profile, from the display to the supervisory controller. The user may send responses, e.g., through user selection of a prompt, via the input device, on the display, from the display to the supervisory controller.

In an embodiment, the supervisory controllermay be in signal communication with the backside equipmentto control the hydraulic fracturing stage parameters for a hydraulic fracturing stage. In other words, the supervisory controllermay communicate the hydraulic fracturing stage parameters to and control the backside equipmentfor a current hydraulic fracturing stage. Further, the supervisory controllermay communicate with controllers of the backside equipment. For example, the supervisory controllermay transmit, to controllerof the chemical additive unit, the amount and type of chemicals to be sent to the hydration unitfor the current hydraulic fracturing stage. The supervisory controllermay also transmit, through the signal communication, the amount of fluid, to the controllerof the hydration unit, to provide to the mixerof the blender unitfor the current hydraulic fracturing stage. Further, the supervisory controllermay also transmit, through the signal communication, the amount and type of proppant, to controllerof the conveyor, to provide to the mixerof the blender unitfor the current hydraulic fracturing stage. Further still, the supervisory controllermay transmit, through the signal communication, to a controllerof the blender unitthe flow rate of the slurry from the blender unitto a set of the hydraulic fracturing pumpsfor the current hydraulic fracturing stage. The supervisory controllermay also be in signal communication with the hydraulic fracturing pumpsand/or a controllerof the hydraulic fracturing pumpsto control or transmit the flow rate (minimum and/or maximum flow rate) of the discharge of the slurry from the set of the hydraulic fracturing pumps, the maximum pressure of the slurry, and/or the pressure rating (minimum and/or maximum pressure rate) of the slurry for the current hydraulic fracturing stage.

The supervisory controllermay also be in signal communication with various sensors, equipment, controllers and/or other components disposed around and on the hydraulic fracturing equipment at the wellsite hydraulic fracturing system. For example, the supervisory controllermay receive a measurement of pressure and flow rate of the slurry being delivered to the wellheadfrom a wellhead pressure transducer, the pressure and flow rate of the slurry at a manifold pressure transducer, the pressure of the slurry at a hydraulic fracturing pump output pressure transducer, and/or data related to each of the hydraulic fracturing pumpsfrom a hydraulic fracturing pump profiler. The wellhead pressure transducermay be disposed at the wellheadto measure a pressure of the fluid at the wellhead. While the manifold pressure transducermay be disposed at the end of the manifold(as shown in), it will be understood by those skilled in the art, that the pressure within the manifoldmay be substantially the same throughout the entire manifoldsuch that the manifold pressure transducermay be disposed anywhere within the manifoldto provide a pressure of the fluid being delivered to the wellhead. The hydraulic fracturing pump output pressure transducermay be disposed adjacent an output of one of the hydraulic fracturing pumps, which may be in fluid communication with the manifoldand thus, the fluid at the output of the hydraulic fracturing pumpsmay be at substantially the same pressure as the fluid in the manifoldand the fluid being provided to the wellhead. Each of the hydraulic fracturing pumpsmay include a hydraulic fracturing pump output pressure transducer, and the supervisory controllermay determine the fluid pressure provided to the wellheadas an average of the fluid pressure measured by each of the hydraulic fracturing pump output pressure transducers.

Each of the hydraulic fracturing pumpsmay include a hydraulic fracturing pump profiler. The hydraulic fracturing pump profiler may be instructions stored in a memory, executable by a processor, of a controller. In another embodiment, the hydraulic fracturing pump profiler may be another controller or other computing device. The controllermay be disposed on each of the one or more hydraulic fracturing pumps. The hydraulic fracturing pump profiler may provide various data points related to each of the one or more hydraulic fracturing pumpsto the supervisory controller, for example, the hydraulic fracturing pump profiler may provide data including hydraulic fracturing pump characteristics (minimum flow rate, maximum flow rate, harmonization rate, and/or hydraulic fracturing pump condition), maintenance data associated with the one or more hydraulic fracturing pumpsand mobile power units(e.g., health, maintenance schedules and/or histories associated with the hydraulic fracturing pumps, the internal combustion engine, and/or the transmission), operation data associated with the one or more hydraulic fracturing pumpsand mobile power units(e.g., historical data associated with horsepower, fluid pressures, fluid flow rates, etc., associated with operation of the hydraulic fracturing pumpsand mobile power units), data related to the transmissions(e.g., hours of operation, health, efficiency, and/or installation age), data related to the internal combustion engines(e.g., hours of operation, health, available power, and/or installation age), information related to the one or more hydraulic fracturing pumps(e.g., hours of operation, plunger and/or stroke size, maximum speed, efficiency, health, and/or installation age), and/or equipment alarm history (e.g., life reduction events, pump cavitation events, pump pulsation events, and/or emergency shutdown events).

are block diagrams of a supervisory controllerin communication with backside equipment(see), hydraulic fracturing pumps, a display, and a computing device, according to an embodiment. The supervisory controllermay include a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium (e.g., a memory) and processor. As used herein, a “machine-readable storage medium” may be any electronic, magnetic, optical, or other physical storage apparatus to contain or store information such as executable instructions, data, and the like. For example, any machine-readable storage medium described herein may be any of random access memory (RAM), volatile memory, non-volatile memory, flash memory, a storage drive (e.g., a hard drive), a solid state drive, any type of storage disc, and the like, or a combination thereof. As noted, the memorymay store or include instructions executable by the processor. As noted above, the supervisory controllermay utilize hydraulic fracturing stage profiles for hydraulic fracturing stages at the hydraulic fracture wellsite. In such embodiments, the hydraulic fracturing stage profile may include hydraulic fracturing stage parameters. For example, a hydraulic fracturing stage profile may include an amount of fluid for the hydration unitto provide to the mixerof the blender unit, an amount and type of chemicals for the chemical additive unitto provide to the hydration unit, an amount and type of proppant for the conveyorto provide to the mixerof the blender, a flow rate of the slurry sent from the blender unitto a set of the one or more hydraulic fracturing pumps, a flow rate for the set of the one or more hydraulic fracturing pumpsto indicate a flow rate from the hydraulic fracturing pumpsto the wellhead, a pressure rating for the set of the hydraulic fracturing pumpsto follow, and a maximum pressure for the set of the hydraulic fracturing pumpsto meet.

The supervisory controllermay include instructions stored in the memory, when executed by the processor, to determine whether previous hydraulic fracturing stage profiles are available for use in a current hydraulic fracturing stage profile. To determine that such previous hydraulic fracturing stage profiles exist, the supervisory controller(in other words, the instructions executed by the processor) may check a local memory or other machine-readable storage medium included with or attached to the supervisory controller, a computing device, or some other specified location. In such examples, the supervisory controllermay include previous hydraulic fracturing stage profiles in memory(as in, local memory), another machine-readable storage medium included in the supervisory controller, or a machine-readable storage medium connected or added to the supervisory controller(such as, a USB key or an external hard drive). In another embodiment, the supervisory controllermay be in signal communication with a computing device. The computing devicemay be a server, edge server, storage device, database, and/or personal computer (such as a desktop, laptop, workstation, tablet, or smart phone). The computing devicemay store previous hydraulic fracturing stage profiles. Further, the computing devicemay store previous hydraulic fracturing stage profilesfrom a separate or different hydraulic fracturing wellsite. In other words, a previous wellsite at which at least portions of the wellsite hydraulic fracturing systemwas used. As noted, the supervisory controllermay check the computing devicefor any previous hydraulic fracturing stage profiles. The supervisory controllermay determine whether previous hydraulic fracturing stage profiles may be used in a current hydraulic fracturing stage profile based on the equipment available, data from the hydraulic fracturing pump profiler, and/or other data related to the wellsite hydraulic fracturing system.

The supervisory controllermay include instructions stored in the memory, when executed by the processor, to build a new hydraulic fracturing stage profile for the current hydraulic fracturing stage and/or further hydraulic fracturing stages. The supervisory controllermay build the new hydraulic fracturing stage profile based, at least, in part on one or more previous hydraulic fracturing stage profiles, data from the hydraulic fracturing fleet, data from one or more previous wellsites that the hydraulic fracturing fleet may have been utilized at, the hydraulic fracturing fleets alarm history, data from the hydraulic fracturing pump profiler or profilers, and/or data from the controllerof the one or more hydraulic fracturing pumps. The supervisory controllermay consider, when building the new hydraulic fracturing stage profile, geological data of the current wellsite and, if available, geological data of previous wellsites. For example, based on the geological data of the current wellsite, the supervisory controllermay set a specific type and amount of proppant and chemicals to be added to a slurry, an amount of water to be added to the slurry, and a flow rate of the slurry from the blender unit. In another embodiment, based on geological data and/or available hydraulic fracturing pumps(availability which may be determined based on maintenance data, prior hydraulic fracturing stage completions, alerts/events, and/or other data described herein), the supervisory controllermay select which hydraulic fracturing pumpsmay be utilized for a specific hydraulic fracturing stage. Other equipment and/or aspects for a hydraulic fracturing stage may be determined by the supervisory controllerbased on other data described herein. After the new hydraulic fracturing stage profile is built, the supervisory controllermay prompt the user to utilize the new hydraulic fracturing stage profile for the current hydraulic fracturing stage. The supervisory controllermay build the new hydraulic fracturing stage profile by populating the new hydraulic fracturing stage profile with one or more hydraulic fracturing stage parameters, based on the data described above. Before selecting the new hydraulic fracturing stage profile, the user may amend new hydraulic fracturing stage profile.

The supervisory controllermay include instructions stored in the memorywhich, when executed by the processor, may, in response to a determination the previous hydraulic fracturing stage profiles are not available (as described above), send prompts to the displayrequesting that the user, for a current hydraulic fracturing stage, enter in, via an input device included with display(described above), new hydraulic fracturing stage job parameters for a new or current hydraulic fracturing stage profile and a new or current hydraulic fracturing stage. In such examples, the instructions, when executed by the processor, may communicate or send a data packet including text to include on the displayand a form or data fields. The form or data fields may accept a user's input and include text indicating the purpose of a specific box in the form or a specific data field. The form or data fields may match or include boxes for each of the hydraulic fracturing stage parameters. In other words, the supervisory controllermay send a form, list, or data fields corresponding to the hydraulic fracturing stage parameters, thus, allowing a user to enter or alter or amend the hydraulic fracturing stage parameters for the new or current hydraulic fracturing stage. The instructions, when executed by the processor, may include an interactive save field or button. The interactive save field or button may allow the user to save entered hydraulic fracturing stage parameters as a new or current hydraulic fracturing stage profile.

The supervisory controllermay include instructions stored in the memorywhich, when executed by the processor, may, in response to a determination the previous hydraulic fracturing stage profiles are available (as described above), communicate or send prompts to the displayrequesting that the user, for a current hydraulic fracturing stage, accept or amend, at an input device included with display(described above), one of the previous hydraulic fracturing stage profiles for the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile. In such examples, the instructions, when executed by the processor, may communicate or send a list of the previous hydraulic fracturing stage profiles. Each of the previous hydraulic fracturing stage profiles may be selectable by the user. In another embodiment, each of the previous hydraulic fracturing stage profiles may include two options, accept or amend.

The supervisory controllermay include instructions stored in the memorywhich, when executed by the processor, may, in response to a selection to amend a previous hydraulic fracturing stage profile, communicate or send a request that the user amend the selected hydraulic fracturing stage profile. In such examples, the instructions, when executed by the processor, may communicate or send a data packet including text to include on the displayand a form or data fields filled in with the data from the selected hydraulic fracturing stage parameters. In other words, the form or data fields may appear the same as described above, but may be pre-filled with the data from the selected hydraulic fracturing stage profile. Any form or data field may be updated or remain as is. As described above, a save button may be included.

The supervisory controllermay include instructions stored in the memorywhich, when executed by the processor, may prompt the user to accept the selected, new, or amended hydraulic fracturing stage profile as the current hydraulic stage profile for the current hydraulic stage profile. In such examples, the instructions, when executed by the processor) may communicate or send the prompt in response to an entry or amendment and save of a new hydraulic fracturing stage profile or amended selected hydraulic fracturing stage profile, respectively. In a further example, the instructions may communicate or send the prompt in response to a selection of a previous hydraulic fracturing stage profile.

The supervisory controllermay include instructions stored in the memorywhich, when executed by the processor, may, in response to a reception of an acceptance of the selected, new, or amended hydraulic fracturing stage profile, communicate or send the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile (in other words, the current hydraulic fracturing stage parameters) to the backside equipmentfor the current hydraulic fracturing stage. As noted above, the supervisory controllermay be in signal communication with the backside equipment. The connection between the supervisory controllerand backside equipmentmay be a representational state transfer (REST or RESTful) interface, a WebSocket® interface, or some other transmission control protocol (TCP) or QUIC based interface. In such examples, the current hydraulic fracturing stage parameters may be sent from the supervisory controllerto the backside equipmentover hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), hypertext transfer protocol secure (HTTPS), or other protocol.

After the supervisory controllercommunicates or sends the current hydraulic fracturing stage parameters to the backside equipment(blender unit, hydration unit, chemical additive unit, and conveyor) the supervisory controllermay wait for a confirmation of reception of the current hydraulic fracturing stage parameters. In response to a reception of the confirmation of reception of the current hydraulic fracturing stage parameters, the supervisory controllermay include instructions which, when executed by the processor, may determine a set of the hydraulic fracturing pumpsto be utilized based on the flow rate, pressure rate, maximum pressure, and hydraulic fracturing pumpsavailable for use.

In another embodiment, after the set of hydraulic fracturing pumpsare selected for the current hydraulic fracturing stage, the processorof the supervisory controllermay execute instructions included in the memoryto determine whether the set of the hydraulic fracturing pumpsmeet the pressure rate and/or maximum pressure of the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile. In another embodiment, the supervisory controllermay include instructions stored in the memorywhich, when executed by the processor, may, in response to a determination that not all of the sets of the hydraulic fracturing pumpsmeet the pressure rate and/or maximum pressure of the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile, notify the user which of the set of the hydraulic fracturing pumpsmay not meet the criteria of the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile and determine if any of the set of the hydraulic fracturing pumpsmeet a pressure rate utilization of between 50% to 98% (e.g., between 75% to 90%) of the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile. If one of the hydraulic fracturing pumpsdo not meet a pressure rate utilization of between 50% to 98% (e.g., between 75% to 90%) of the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile, the processorof the supervisory controllermay execute instructions to discount or remove the hydraulic fracturing pump from use in the current hydraulic fracturing stage. If one of the hydraulic fracturing pumpsdo meet a pressure rate utilization of between 50% to 98% (e.g., between 75% to 90%) of the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile, the processorof the supervisory controllermay execute instructions to send a prompt to the displaynotifying a user that the user may accept use of the hydraulic fracturing pump. If a user chooses to utilize the hydraulic fracturing pump, the processorof the supervisory controllermay execute instructions to prompt the user to enter an identification number to confirm an acceptance of the hydraulic fracturing pump.

In another embodiment, after the determination of whether to discount or remove any of the hydraulic fracturing pumpsdue to pressure rate utilization, the processorof the supervisory controllermay execute instructions included in the memoryto determine whether the set of the hydraulic fracturing pumpsmeet the flow rate of the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile. In another embodiment, the supervisory controllermay include instructions stored in the memorywhich, when executed by the processor, may, in response to a determination that not all of the sets of the hydraulic fracturing pumpsmeet the flow rate of the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile, notify the user which of the set of the hydraulic fracturing pumpsmay not meet the criteria of the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile and determine if any of the set of the hydraulic fracturing pumpsmeet a flow rate at between 50% to 98% (e.g., between 75% to 90%) of crank RPM rating of the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile. If one of the hydraulic fracturing pumpsdo not meet a flow rate at between 50% to 98% (e.g., between 75% to 90%) of crank RPM rating of the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile, the processorof the supervisory controllermay execute instructions to discount or remove the hydraulic fracturing pump from use in the current hydraulic fracturing stage. If one of the hydraulic fracturing pumpsdo meet a flow rate at between 50% to 98% (e.g., between 75% to 90%) of crank RPM rating of the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile, the processorof the supervisory controllermay execute instructions to communicate or send a prompt to the displaynotifying a user that the user may accept use of the hydraulic fracturing pump. If a user chooses to utilize the hydraulic fracturing pump, the processorof the supervisory controllermay execute instructions to prompt the user to enter an identification number to confirm an acceptance of the hydraulic fracturing pump.

In another embodiment, after the determination of whether to discount or remove any of the hydraulic fracturing pumpsdue to flow rate utilization, the processorof the supervisory controllermay execute instructions included in the memoryto determine whether the set of the hydraulic fracturing pumpsmeet a power utilization between 50% to 98% (e.g., between 75% to 80%) of maximum pressure for the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile. In another embodiment, the supervisory controllermay include instructions stored in the memorywhich, when executed by the processor, may, in response to a determination that not all of the sets of the hydraulic fracturing pumpsmeet the power utilization between 50% to 98% (e.g., between 75% to 80%) of maximum pressure for the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile, notify the user of the poor power utilization and prompt the operator to accept an increase in power utilization of the set of the hydraulic fracturing pumps. In response to an acceptance of the prompt to increase power utilization, the processormay execute instructions to move one of the poor power utilization hydraulic fracturing pumps offline (in other words, remove a hydraulic fracturing pump from the set of the hydraulic fracturing pumps) at a time, until a desired power utilization is met. In another embodiment, the processormay execute instructions to remove all of the poor power utilization hydraulic fracturing pumps offline or prompt the user to select which poor power utilization hydraulic fracturing pumps to move offline.

is a flowchart of example methodof utilizing and amending hydraulic fracturing stage profiles, according to an embodiment. The method is detailed with reference to the wellsite hydraulic fracturing systemand supervisory controller. Unless otherwise specified, the actions of methodmay be completed within the supervisory controller. Specifically, methodmay be included in one or more programs, protocols, or instructions loaded into the memoryof the supervisory controllerand executed on the processor. The order in which the operations are described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described blocks may be combined in any order and/or in parallel to implement the methods.

At block, the supervisory controllermay determine whether one or more previous hydraulic fracturing stage profilesare available for use with the hydraulic fracturing equipment at the hydraulic fracturing wellsite. In an example, the supervisory controllermay search all storage attached or connected to the supervisory controllerto determine whether a previous hydraulic fracturing stage profile is available. In another embodiment, the supervisory controllermay determine whether a previous hydraulic fracturing stage is available for use after receiving a prompt from a user (e.g., when a user starts a process at a terminal or displaywith an input device). In another embodiment, the supervisory controllermay perform the determination upon or without user intervention. For example, in response to a user opening or initiating an application, the supervisory controllermay initiate the determination. The supervisory controller, without intervention may initiate the determination after an event, e.g., the event being a completion of a previous hydraulic fracturing stage).

At block, supervisory controllermay prompt a user to accept or amend the previous hydraulic fracturing stage profile as a current hydraulic fracturing stage profile for a current hydraulic fracturing pumping stage, in response to the determination that previous hydraulic fracturing stage profiles are available for use. Stated another way, if hydraulic fracturing stage profiles are available, the supervisory controllermay prompt the user to accept or amend one of the available hydraulic fracturing stage profiles. In such examples, the supervisory controllermay list the available hydraulic fracturing stage profiles available for use. In such examples, a user may select one of the available hydraulic fracturing stage profiles for use in the next hydraulic fracturing stage. In another embodiment, supervisory controllermay prompt the user to select an available hydraulic fracturing stage profile while a hydraulic fracturing stage is occurring. In another embodiment, when a user selects a previous hydraulic fracturing stage to amend, the supervisory controllermay populate the displayor terminal with the hydraulic fracturing stage parameters of the selected hydraulic fracturing stage profile. The user may update or change any of the values populated on the display. In another embodiment, an interactive save field or button may populate the displayor terminal along with the hydraulic fracturing stage parameters of the selected hydraulic fracturing stage profile. After the user updates or changes the parameters, the user may save the changes or updates.

At block, in response to a reception of an amendment of a previous or available hydraulic fracturing stage, the supervisory controllermay prompt, at a displayor terminal, a user to accept the amended previous hydraulic fracturing stage profile as the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile. In other words, the amended previous hydraulic fracturing stage profile may be utilized, by the supervisory controller, as the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile for a current hydraulic fracturing stage.

At block, in response to either a selection or amendment of a previous hydraulic fracturing storage profile, the supervisory controllermay build another hydraulic fracturing stage profile based at least in part on the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile for a next hydraulic fracturing stage. The supervisory controllermay also base the new hydraulic fracturing stage profile on one or more previous hydraulic fracturing stage profiles, data from the hydraulic fracturing fleet, data from previous wellsites that the hydraulic fracturing fleet may have been utilized at, the hydraulic fracturing fleets alarm history, data from the hydraulic fracturing pump profiler, data from the controllerof the one or more hydraulic fracturing pumps, and/or other data relevant to a hydraulic fracturing stage, as will be understood by those skilled in the art. In other words, the supervisory controllermay populate the hydraulic fracturing stage parameters for the next hydraulic fracturing stage based on the data noted above. At a later time, the supervisory controllermay prompt a user to accept or amend the new hydraulic fracturing stage profile for the next hydraulic fracturing stage.

The supervisory controllermay also store the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile in memoryas another previous hydraulic fracturing stage profile or the new hydraulic fracturing stage profile (noted above) for the next hydraulic fracturing stage for use in association with the supervisory controller. In other words, the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile or the new hydraulic fracturing stage may be stored along with an indicator. In an example, the indicator may indicate which hydraulic fracturing stage the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile is to be used or utilized with. For example, a user may create, select, or amend n hydraulic fracturing stage profiles. Each of the n hydraulic fracturing stage profiles may be associated with a like numbered hydraulic fracturing stage (e.g., a n hydraulic fracturing stage profile may be associated with a n hydraulic fracturing stage, a n-1 hydraulic fracturing stage profile may be associated with a n-1 hydraulic fracturing stage, a n-2 hydraulic fracturing stage profile may be associated with a n-2 hydraulic fracturing stage, etc.). In an example, the indicator may be represented by an ID, number, letter, name, or some combination thereof. In another embodiment, a hydraulic fracturing stage may be saved as a JSON, BSON, XML, XLS, DB, or some other appropriate file type. In such examples, the name of the saved hydraulic fracturing stage profile may indicate the associated hydraulic fracturing stage.

At block, the supervisory controllermay prompt a user to configure hydraulic fracturing pumping stage parameters for the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile, in response to the determination that previous hydraulic fracturing stage profiles are not available for use. In such examples, the supervisory controllermay populate the displayor terminal with blank fields, including labels or texts to indicate the hydraulic fracturing stage parameters.

The supervisory controllermay store (as describe above) the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile in memoryas the previous hydraulic fracturing stage profile for use in association with the supervisory controller. In such examples, a previous hydraulic fracturing stage profile may not be available for use in either the supervisory controller'smemoryor at the computing device. In such examples, the supervisory controllermay store the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile as a previous hydraulic fracturing stage profile for potential use in a next or future hydraulic fracturing stage. As described above, the supervisory controllermay also builda new hydraulic fracturing stage profile for the next hydraulic fracturing stage based on the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile, as well as other data, as will be understood by those in the art.

At block, the supervisory controllermay prompt the user at the terminal to verify that the hydraulic fracturing stage parameters in the current hydraulic fracturing stage profile are correct. In other words, in response to a selection, amendment, or entry of a new hydraulic fracturing stage profile, the supervisory controllermay send a prompt to the terminal requesting verification that the new hydraulic fracturing stage contains the correct hydraulic fracturing stage parameters for the current hydraulic fracturing stage. In such examples, the supervisory controllermay include the hydraulic fracturing stage parameters in the prompt for verification, thus allowing for the user to visually confirm that the hydraulic fracturing stage parameters are correct of the current hydraulic fracturing stage.