Rate and Power Games

Sometimes I feel as an industry we make incredible progress. The improvements made during two decades of shale revolution are unbelievable in scale.

Are they? With a little reflection and context, Mother Nature easily outscores us.

Iguazu Falls, the world’s largest system of waterfalls at the border of Argentina and Brazil (80% in Argentina), has an average flow rate of 1.7 million liters per second (450,000 gal/s), or in frac terms, 650,000 barrels per minute (bpm). With 275 individual falls, that’s a helluva limited entry job.

In the US, 200 frac fleets pumping 50% of all time at about 100 bpm per fleet only do an average of 10,000 bpm. 65x less. One gooaaalll! for soccer World Champion Argentina!

However, this water is creating its awesome power by dropping about 250 ft - which would be equivalent to creating a pressure column of a measly 100 psi. We collectively pump at an average pressure of 9,000 psi. 90x more, and a US beat on (rate x pressure =) power.

Also, these falls only power our respect for nature’s brute force. Shale frac’ing powers all primary energy needs for an equivalent of 200 million Americans and an increasing number of nimby Europeans and thrifty Asians.

Two gooooaaalllll!!s⚽️⚽️ for US🇺🇸 Frac’rs. Argentinian🇦🇷 Frac’rs, however, are a force of nature and are catching up fast.