Encana slashing fuel costs by drilling with natural gas

Half of Encana Corp.’s drilling rigs are running on natural gas, which will save the company $200,000 to $1.5 million in annual fuel costs, the company’s CEO said during a Houston conference Tuesday.

Speaking at World LNG Fuels 2014, Encana CEO Doug Suttles touted the Canadian oil and gas producer as a leader in using natural gas to power drilling rigs, hydraulic fracturing equipment, and even pickup trucks. About 30 percent of Encana’s pickup truck fleet run on natural gas, he said.

Encana can save between $1 million and $1.5 million in annual fuel costs by using natural gas tapped directly from wells, Suttles said. The company saves less — between $200,000 and $250,000 — if it powers its equipment with liquefied natural gas trucked to well sites from plants, he said.

“We are now seeing natural gas rig operations and frack spreads move right across the industry” Suttles said.

Encana’s decision to use natural gas to power oil field operations wasn’t based solely on the producer’s own interest in the fuel. Environmental regulations drove the company to pursue the option when developing a well in southern Wyoming, Suttles said.

“It started about meeting permit regulations, in particular (nitrous oxide) requirements that the (Bureau of Land Management) presented to us,” he said.

While Encana’s decision to use more natural gas is saving it money and lowering emissions, the fuel could cut costs for other industries a lot more, Suttles said.

The company is working with BNSF Railway and Canadian National Railway in their pursuit of natural gas as a fuel. Railways have shown strong interest in natural gas, and have begun testing locomotives that can run on the fuel.

Suttles estimated that North American railways could save a combined $1.8 billion annually in fuel costs if they switched from diesel to natural gas.

Portable LNG system could solve oil field refueling problems
http://fuelfix.com/blog/2014/01/21/no-lng-station-no-problem/

Some energy companies have started moving water and sand to oil fields on trucks powered by natural gas, but refueling them can sometimes be a challenge.

India-based INOXCVA has developed a solution: Truck in a tank of liquefied natural gas and hook it up to a portable refueling pump.

The systems, developed at the company’s plant in Baytown, could be ideal solutions for hydraulic fracturing operations, which require high volumes of truck deliveries in one area, before moving to other locations, said Tim Miller, president of INOXCVA’s North America division, which employs about 400 people in the Houston area.

The company showed off the system during a tour of INOXCVA plants in Baytown and Mont Belvieu as the World LNG Fuels 2014 conference kicked off at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston. The system is also on display at the conference.

If energy companies use the INOXCVA mobile refueling systems, they can set up portable refueling pumps that can be supplied by LNG trucks, Miller said.

Then, when the drilling operations move elsewhere, figuring out a refueling option at a new well site won’t be a problem, he said.

“They can take it with them,” Miller said.

given how much natural gas they’re flaring off in the Baaken —I would think it reasonable to switch every motor in that area to natural gas.

looks like that’s going to happen:

Or so says General Electric (NYSE: GE ) . Putting its money where its mouth is, GE developed a variety of natural gas related products. These include small-scale liquefied natural gas and compressed natural gas fueling stations, so called “LNG in a Box” and “CNG in a Box” products. The idea is these “in a box” stations are self-contained, easy to use, and inexpensive natural gas fueling stations amenable to rapid and widespread deployment.

One market that could quickly switch from diesel to natural gas is the natural gas and oil exploration industry. Currently, drillers use electricity from diesel generators. Last August, GE received so-called “mobile certification” from the U.S. EPA for its Waukesha line of natural gas burning generators. These generators can use natural gas directly from the well to produce on-site electricity — an attractive alternative to the practice of “flaring” or just burning off the gas. Devon Energy, for example, selected GE’s natural gas generators for its submersible pump operations.http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/01/20/will-2014-be-the-year-of-natural-gas.aspx

These include small-scale liquefied natural gas and compressed natural gas fueling stations, so called “LNG in a Box” and “CNG in a Box” products.

Both of those require what is still missing in much of the Bakken, natural gas gathering piping systems and processing plants. If those did exist, the flaring would not be an issue.

Both of those require what is still missing in much of the Bakken, natural gas gathering piping systems and processing plants. If those did exist, the flaring would not be an issue.
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True but in the next paragraph it says that GE has developed generators that can use natural gas directly from the wells. Granted, this won’t take a lot of the gas that’s currently being flared. But it is a way to use the gas coming up at the well head.
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