Advanced Magmeter for Slurries

A group of TECO slurry magmeters ready to be shipped.

Custom magnetic flowmeter manufacturer, Thompson Equipment (TECO), offers a line of magnetic flowmeters with erosion and abrasion resistance. Their designs are capable of withstanding a variety of highly corrosive applications and erosive slurries and are targeted for applications in the mining, dredging, and fracking industries.

The TECO SAM slurry magmeter provides a reliable and accurate flow measurement solution in applications where fluids contain sand, large solids, ore, or pulp. They use a combination of advanced technologies to prevent wear and signal loss. These include liners made from specialty materials, custom electrodes, exotic tube constructions, and specialty coatings.

The TECO SAM

By incorporating these advanced features, the TECO SAM Slurry Magnetic Flowmeter helps businesses in these industries overcome significant maintenance issues revolving around magnetic flowmeter wear. The advanced abrasion and erosion resistance reduces downtime and lowers repair and change-out cost.  Businesses in the mining, dredging, and fracking achieve greater operational results and optimize the utilization of resources.

For more information visit this TECO web page, or call them at 800-528-8997 for immediate service.

Fracing vs. Fracking: Winning the Grammar Battle and Losing the Search Engine War

Hydraulic fracturing is the drilling process where layers of bedrock are cracked and spilt using hydraulic fluids to free up and extract oil and natural gas trapped within. TECO is a manufacturer of severe service magnetic flowmeters designed specifically for the hydraulic fracturing industry.

We at TECO believe its important to fully understand an industry's unique processes, challenges, and terminology. By doing so we gain a deep industry knowledge. This knowledge facilitates better communication. Better communication increases understanding and reduces mistakes and errors.

There are very few situations where this isn't the best track to follow. But we found one.

We always tried to do our best by being clear, accurate, and following industry standards. But sometimes you just have to know when to give up. Such is the case with the never-ending "fracing vs. fracking" debate.

This isn't the first essay on the subject, and it won't be the last. It's just that, we here at TECO, have decided to change our online communications approach, based upon some pretty strong data.

While the Oil and Gas industry prefer leaving that lower case "k" out, it's become quite clear that Mr. Google and Mr. Webster decided the "k" needs to be there. And when you're a company making great flow meters, and trying to let people know how good they are, it's makes a world of difference in getting found on the search engines.

It's no secret that Oil and Gas industry people clearly prefer the use of frac or fracing. There are quite a few instances where industry leaders have strongly argued that frac or fracing are the only acceptable spellings. TECO too, decided the industry preferred version was the way to go, and decided that all of our efforts in online marketing and communications would follow suit. We were sure that by sticking to the use of the industry preferred spelling, we'd be in a perfect position to be seen by all the industry professionals searching for "fracing flow meters".

But that didn't happen. Mr. Google wasn't buying it. Search engine results were disappointing. We needed to find out what we were doing wrong.

After careful review of our online content, and use of keywords, we determined it was that lousy lowercase "k". Turns out it makes an insane amount of difference when people use a search engine.

For example, in one test, using a generic keyword tracking tool, we found that the term "fracing" returns a total of 1187 searches, while the term "fracking" returns an astounding 87,836 searches! That means "fracking" is searched for 74 times more than "fracing". You can't ignore that.

Additionally, when you review the Google Trends graph below,  you see a vivid illustration of the usage (and trends) for the terms Frac, Frack, Fracing and Fracking (it's pretty clear that Fracking is the winner).

Click for larger view.

But this graph also reveals another important geographic clue. You'll note that the term Frac is used in the specific states where the actual drilling is happening, which makes sense because that's where the fracing industry professionals are. And we want to make sure we reach them. So, our conclusion and online marketing plan may not surprise you.

We'll use both. 😀

Flow Measurement for Hydraulic Fracturing and the Production of Shale Gas

Figure 1. Illustration of the fracing (fracking) process.
(Image courtesy of EPA.gov)

A “conventional” gas reservoir is produced from sands and carbonates (such as limestone). In the conventional reservoir, the gas is in interconnected pore spaces, much like a kitchen sponge, that allow easier flow to a well.  In an "unconventional" gas reservoir, such as shale, the reservoir must be mechanically “stimulated” to create additional permeability and free the gas for collection.  Permeability refers to the capacity of a porous, sediment, soil – or rock in this case – to transmit a fluid. Unconventional reservoirs include tight gas (low-porosity sandstones and carbonate reservoirs) and coal bed methane (CBM – gas produced from coal seams).

For shale gas, hydraulic fracturing (known as "fracing" or "fracking") of a reservoir is the preferred stimulation method (figure 1). This typically involves injecting pressurized fluids to stimulate or fracture shale formations and release the natural gas. Sand pumped in with the fluids (often water) helps to keep the fractures open. The type, composition and volume of fluids used depend largely on the geologic structure, formation pressure and the specific geologic formation and target for a well. If water is used as the pressurized fluid, as much as 20 percent can return to the surface via the well (known as flow back). This water can be treated and reused – in fact, reuse of flow back fluids for subsequent hydraulic fracture treatments can significantly reduce the volume of wastewater generated by hydraulic fracturing. 

The hydraulic fracturing process was used in conventional limestone and sandstone reservoirs for decades before the onset of the shale revolution. But it was not until the 1970s that significant attempts to apply the technology to gas shale were made, pioneered by DOE research and demonstration project cost-sharing with industry in such ventures as the Eastern Gas Shales Project (1976-92).

Another major technology often employed in producing natural gas from shale is horizontal drilling. The shallow section of shale wells are drilled vertically (much like a traditional conventional gas well). Just above the target depth – the place where the shale gas formation exists – the well deviates and becomes horizontal. At this location, horizontal wells can be oriented in a direction that maximizes the number of natural fractures intersected in the shale. These fractures can provide additional pathways for the gas that is locked away in the shale, once the hydraulic fracturing operation takes place.

Accurate flow measurement is important in fracking applications and required for reliable data reporting to supervisory agencies. The preferred technology for measuring flow in fracking applications are magnetic flowmeters (magmeters), primarily for their non-obstructive flow path, accuracy and reasonable cost. There are caveats associated with applying magmeters in fracking applications and selection of specialized flow meter components is required. Fracking sand is very erosive and chemicals mixed with the fracking water can be erosive. Any flow meter used in fracking applications must be rugged enough to withstand these harsh conditions. 

Flow meter designed for fracking
applications (as well as for other
abrasive slurries) by TECO.

An excellent solution that provides all the the virtues of magnetic flowmeters and overcomes performance and longevity issues referred to as "severe service flowmeters" or "slurry flow meters" designed with components matched specifically to withstand the mechanical and chemical abuse they will see. Their modifications include: 

• A ceramic sleeved liner made of magnesia partially stabilized zirconia. This ceramic can handle the abrasion and chemical attack with very little degradation.
• Highly polished, ultra-smooth Tungsten electrodes. The Tungsten provides outstanding wear resistance while the high-polish reduces electrical noise introduced in the electrode circuitry.
• Special coatings, or paints, to provide exterior protection.

For more information on fracking (or fracing) magnetic flow meters, contact Thompson Equipment Company (TECO) by calling 800-528-8997 or visit https://teco-inc.com.

Source: How is Shale Gas Produced? https://www.energy.gov/fe/shale-gas-101