Method of Delivering, Storing, Unloading, and Using Proppant at a Well Site

摘要

A proppant discharge system has a container with an outlet formed at a bottom thereof and a gate slidably affixed at the outlet so as to be movable between a first position covering the outlet to second position opening the outlet, and a support structure having an actuator thereon. The container is removably positioned on the top surface of the support structure. The actuator is engageable with gate so as to move the gate from the first position to the second position. A conveyor underlies the container so as to receive proppant as discharged from the container through the outlet. The container is a ten foot ISO container.

主权项

1. A method of handling fracking proppant at a well site, the method comprising:
removing a first single proppant containers that contain fracking proppant from a trailer of transport road vehicle that has only a first single proppant container positioned thereon and when the trailer is positioned adjacent a well site at a location where hydraulic fracking is to be performed, the first single proppant container being modular and the removing being performed by a forklift; sequentially removing a second single proppant container that contains fracking proppant from a trailer of a transport road vehicle that has only a second single proppant container positioned thereon after removing the first single proppant container, the second single proppant container also being modular and the removing thereof also being performed by a forklift so that the first and second single proppant containers provide a plurality of proppant containers that contain fracking proppant to the well site, each of the plurality of proppant containers having an outlet positioned at a bottom thereof with slanted lower inner wall portions positioned to direct the fracking proppant toward the outlet, each of the plurality of proppant containers having a closed and substantially rectangular upper proppant containing portion, the slanted lower inner wall portions being positioned to underlie the upper proppant containing portion and having proppant also positioned therein, a pair of vertically-extending end walls and a pair of vertically-extending side walls defining the closed and substantially rectangular upper proppant containing portion, a frame including a plurality of structural support members positioned along end portions of the end walls and side walls to enhance support of the end walls and the side walls when the proppant container is full of fracking proppant; transferring, after removal from the trailer of the one or more transport road vehicles, each of the plurality of proppant containers to a support structure positioned at the well site so that each of the plurality of proppant containers is positioned to discharge by gravity feed the fracking proppant therefrom, the support structure including a plurality of side-by-side arranged cradles positioned in a substantially horizontally extending direction that correspond to the plurality of proppant containers being positioned in a side-by-side arrangement when transferred thereto and when positioned on the support structure; discharging by gravity feed the fracking proppant contained within each of the plurality of proppant containers when positioned on the support structure and within the plurality of cradles from the outlet positioned at a bottom of each of the plurality of proppant containers so that the fracking proppant passes a blender hopper; and controlling the flow of fracking proppant from each of the plurality of containers with one or more flow gates positioned adjacent the plurality of proppant containers when positioned on the support structure, the one or more flow gates configured to move between closed and open positions.