Hydraulic fracturing operations are a coordinated effort, involving numerous valves, and stakeholders controlling those valves, at the rig site. These operations are process oriented and not very intuitive.

In North America, most hydraulic fracturing operations are done on multiwell pads where the operator is running simultaneous operations (SIMOPS). A common scenario is running wireline into the well at the same time a stage is being fractured in an adjacent well. This introduces risks when opening or closing valves, such as potentially cutting the wireline toolstring, shutting in on a frac stage, or sending frac fluid into the environment.

Process control can go a long way toward mitigating these risks; however, even with a good system in place, there’s still potential for human error. By leveraging digital and automation, many of the risks associated with manual tasks can be reduced or eliminated.