Application of electric drive fracturing equipment in shale gas reservoir stimulation

Fracturing equipment is the core device in shale gas reservoir stimulation. As domestic shale gas exploration and development steps into deep layers, the development of fracturing technology puts forward higher requirements for relevant equipment. Electric drive is an important development direction of fracturing equipment technology. In this paper, the technical progress of electric drive fracturing equipment in China and abroad was investigated. It is shown that a high-power frequency conversion system is the key technology to determine the performance of electric drive fracturing equipment. After the adaptability of the high-power frequency conversion technology to electric drive fracturing equipment was analyzed, based on the fracturing operation of Model 2500 electric drive fracturing trucks in the Weiyuan Block of the Sichuan Basin for shale gas reservoir stimulation, electric drive and diesel-driven fracturing equipment were comparatively analyzed from the aspects of economic and technical indicators. And the following research results were obtained. First, compared with a diesel-driven fracturing truck of the same power, an electric drive fracturing truck can realize a full power coverage and a continuous adjustment of output displacement, and can better meet the operation requirements of fracturing process for a precise control of the pumping displacement, while reducing the power cost by 68% and the equipment purchase cost by 10–20%. Second, compared with the skid mounted equipment, an electric drive fracturing truck has a better transport performance, being suitable for the fracturing well sites with poor road conditions, such as loess gullies, hills and mountains. It is suggested that the following development direction of the electric drive fracturing equipment should focus on the improvement of single machine power density. In addition, it is recommended to enhance the basic studies on high-pressure and high-power semiconductor devices and make a good plan for the power demand of shale gas platform construction in advance, so as to give a better play to the operating cost advantage of electric drive fracturing equipment.