New frac pump designed for electric, gas turbine-driven applications
Upstream pumping equipment provider Weir Oil & Gas has introduced a new frac pump, the SPM® Quintuplex Extended Max (QEM) 5000 E-Frac Pump.
The frac pump is the industry’s first continuous duty 5,000-horsepower pump designed for electric or gas turbine-driven applications.
Demands at frac sites have increased over the past few years; lateral lengths are now 43% longer, the number of stages has increased by 94%, sand usage is up 85%, and horespower-hours per well have increased by an impressive 200%.
In addition to having to operate in increasingly complex environment, these factors have pushed conventional frac fleets to their limited with longer pumping hours and less frequent service intervals to increase daily stages.
This requires frac pumps to provide increasing durability and performance, however with the cost of diesel at over $3 per gallon, adding horsepower alone is not able to meet operators’ needs.
Weir’s new e-frac pump is compatible with non-standard drivers, including electric and natural gas turbines, which offers the flexibility of being able to use the electric grid, remote power generation, or a natural gas turbine generator.
This in turn reduces the amount of diesel fuel needed, limits emissions, and reduces the cost of assets on location and maintenance intervals.
Upfront investment is minimised with the frac pump, as it can reduce a fleet from 20 conventional pumps and 100 bores per site to just eight pumps and 40 bores per site.
The pump takes advantage of a fit-for-purpose gearbox and the industry’s largest bearing to operate continuously at full horsepower and higher torque applications.
“Five years from now, we anticipate frac sites will look different than they do today,” explained Paul Coppinger, president of Weir Oil & Gas. “We are proud to announce Weir’s new SPM® QEM 5000 E-Frac Pump [which] is designed with the future in mind, leveraging Weir’s unique engineering and SPM® QEM 3000 platform expertise to deliver customers a pump offering that lowers the total cost of ownership and environmental impact while also increasing sustainability.”
The frac pump is the industry’s first continuous duty 5,000-horsepower pump designed for electric or gas turbine-driven applications.
Demands at frac sites have increased over the past few years; lateral lengths are now 43% longer, the number of stages has increased by 94%, sand usage is up 85%, and horespower-hours per well have increased by an impressive 200%.
In addition to having to operate in increasingly complex environment, these factors have pushed conventional frac fleets to their limited with longer pumping hours and less frequent service intervals to increase daily stages.
This requires frac pumps to provide increasing durability and performance, however with the cost of diesel at over $3 per gallon, adding horsepower alone is not able to meet operators’ needs.
Weir’s new e-frac pump is compatible with non-standard drivers, including electric and natural gas turbines, which offers the flexibility of being able to use the electric grid, remote power generation, or a natural gas turbine generator.
This in turn reduces the amount of diesel fuel needed, limits emissions, and reduces the cost of assets on location and maintenance intervals.
Upfront investment is minimised with the frac pump, as it can reduce a fleet from 20 conventional pumps and 100 bores per site to just eight pumps and 40 bores per site.
The pump takes advantage of a fit-for-purpose gearbox and the industry’s largest bearing to operate continuously at full horsepower and higher torque applications.
“Five years from now, we anticipate frac sites will look different than they do today,” explained Paul Coppinger, president of Weir Oil & Gas. “We are proud to announce Weir’s new SPM® QEM 5000 E-Frac Pump [which] is designed with the future in mind, leveraging Weir’s unique engineering and SPM® QEM 3000 platform expertise to deliver customers a pump offering that lowers the total cost of ownership and environmental impact while also increasing sustainability.”
