The process of using clean-burning natural gas can displace up to 70% of the diesel fuel traditionally used to operate fracturing equipment. Use of dual fuel technology, where the engines operate on a mixture of natural gas and a small portion of diesel, provides several benefits:

• Reduced air emissions due to a reduction in diesel usage;
• Reduced truck traffic when field gas at or near the well site is used due to a reduction in the transportation of diesel fuel to site; and
• Reduced costs, as natural gas can be a less expensive fuel option than diesel.

We are already converting our vehicle fleet and currently have a drilling rig using natural gas as well, so the next step is to utilize the technology on a hydraulic fracturing site.

—Dan O. Dinges, Chairman, President and CEO for Cabot

In order to operate using natural gas, FTSI’s mobile pressure pumping unit at the site was retrofitted with a Dynamic Gas Blending (DGB) kit from Caterpillar. The system enables substitution of diesel fuel with natural gas during high pressure pumping operations and is compatible with field gas, compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG).

FTS International is a leading provider of well completion services for the oil and gas industry. Caterpillar Global Petroleum is Caterpillar Inc.’s oil and gas division with headquarters in Houston, Texas. Since the 1930s, Caterpillar has manufactured engines for the oilfield and today provides power solutions with outputs from 31 to 16,000 kW.