Patent Publication Number: US-11655807-B2

Title: Distributed in-field powered pumping configuration

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The present disclosure relates generally to well treatment operations and, more particularly, to distributed in-field powered pumping configurations for performing well treatment operations. 
     Hydrocarbons, such as oil and gas, are commonly obtained from subterranean formations that may be located onshore or offshore. The development of subterranean operations and the processes involved in removing hydrocarbons from a subterranean formation are complex. Subterranean operations involve a number of different steps such as, for example, drilling a wellbore at a desired well site, treating and stimulating the wellbore to optimize production of hydrocarbons, and performing the necessary steps to produce and process the hydrocarbons from the subterranean formation. 
     Treating and stimulating a well bore can include, among other things, delivering various fluids (along with additives, proppants, polymers, gels, cement, etc.) to the wellbore under pressure and injecting those fluids into the wellbore. One example treatment and stimulation operation is a hydraulic fracturing operation in which the fluids are highly pressurized via pumping systems to create fractures in the subterranean formation. The pumping systems typically include high-pressure, reciprocating pumps driven through conventional transmissions by diesel engines, which are used due to their ability to provide high torque to the pumps. Over the course of a fracturing operation, however, the diesel engines may consume thousands of gallons of diesel fuel, which is expensive and can be difficult to supply in sufficient quantities in a well site. Electrically powered pumping systems are of increasing interest for well treatment operations. However, the potential to use an electrical grid to power well treatment operations is limited due to the cost associated with installing in-field grid infrastructure that can support the high horsepower pumping systems. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These drawings illustrate certain aspects of some of the embodiments of the present disclosure, and should not be used to limit or define the claims. 
         FIG.  1    is a schematic block diagram of a distributed pumping system having a slurry equipment spread and three clean equipment spreads distributed in series about four locations in a well field, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  2    is a schematic block diagram of a clean equipment spread, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  3    is a schematic block diagram of a slurry equipment spread, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  4    is a schematic block diagram of the distributed pumping system of  FIG.  1    having the slurry equipment spread exchanged with one of the clean equipment spreads, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  5    is a schematic block diagram of a distributed pumping system having a slurry equipment spread and a clean equipment spread at different locations in a well field, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  6    is a schematic block diagram of a distributed pumping system having slurry and clean equipment spreads distributed in parallel, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  7    is a schematic block diagram of a distributed pumping system having slurry and clean equipment spreads distributed about a central manifold, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  8    is a schematic block diagram of a distributed pumping system having slurry and clean equipment spreads distributed in a hybrid configuration, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  9    is a process flow diagram of a method for operating a distributed in-field powered pumping system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  10    is a schematic block diagram of a distributed pumping system having multiple slurry equipment spreads at different locations in a well field, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; and 
         FIG.  11    is a schematic block diagram of a distributed pumping system having a clean equipment spread and a slurry equipment spread at different locations each outputting pressurized fluid to a well at a third location, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     While embodiments of this disclosure have been depicted, such embodiments do not imply a limitation on the disclosure, and no such limitation should be inferred. The subject matter disclosed is capable of considerable modification, alteration, and equivalents in form and function, as will occur to those skilled in the pertinent art and having the benefit of this disclosure. The depicted and described embodiments of this disclosure are examples only, and not exhaustive of the scope of the disclosure. 
     DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN EMBODIMENTS 
     Illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail herein. In the interest of clarity, not all features of an actual implementation are described in this specification. It will of course be appreciated that in the development of any such actual embodiment, numerous implementation specific decisions must be made to achieve developers&#39; specific goals, such as compliance with system related and business related constraints, which will vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the present disclosure. Furthermore, in no way should the following examples be read to limit, or define, the scope of the disclosure. 
     The present disclosure is directed to distributed in-field powered systems and methods for performing well treatments. The term “distributed in-field powered” or “grid powered” refers to electrical power that is being distributed throughout a field in which the power is being used to power equipment, e.g., distributed pumping units. Such power may include remote utility grid power provided by a utility company or power that is generated on-site and distributed throughout the field. The “distributed in-field power” will be referred to generally as “grid power” throughout the present disclosure. The disclosed systems and methods distribute the pumping for a well treatment operation, which may be a stimulation operation, amongst multiple locations within a well region or field to reduce the cost of distributed in-field (e.g., grid) power infrastructure required at each location. The systems and methods involve pump units distributed at multiple locations and at least some of the pump units using grid power at their location to pump a well treatment to a singular well. This splits the power requirements for the pump units between the multiple locations. This allows for the power grid to be distributed throughout the field at power levels lower than that required if all treatment equipment were located at a single location. 
     The well treatment operation may be performed in a split flow manner with slurry blending and slurry pumping equipment located at one location, such as the location (i.e., well site or pad) of the well being treated and one or more clean pumps distributed amongst other location(s). In other embodiments, the well treatment operation may utilize clean pumping equipment located at the location (i.e., well site or pad) of the well being treated and at least one set of slurry blending and slurry pumping equipment at other location(s). In still other embodiments, slurry blending and slurry pumping equipment may be located at all the distributed pumping locations. In still further embodiments, only clean pumping equipment may be located at each of the distributed pumping locations. In some embodiments, the distributed pumping equipment spreads may each be located distant from the well being treated with their combined treatment fluid. 
     Placing the slurry equipment at the location of the well being treated may minimize high-pressure iron exposure to erosive slurries. In addition, using only clean fluid at locations remote from the location of the well being treated may allow for high fluid velocities with minimal high-pressure iron erosion. Using the disclosed distributed pumping systems, slurry blending and pumping equipment may be relocated to different distributed pumping locations between pumping operations. For example, slurry blending and pumping equipment may be relocated from an initial location once all wells at the location (e.g., all wells on a given pad) are treated. In other embodiments, the slurry blending and pumping equipment may remain stationary throughout pumping operations. The clean pump units may only need to be relocated when they are being displaced by slurry equipment. In other embodiments, the clean pump units may remain stationary throughout pumping operations. 
     The disclosed grid powered distributed pumping systems and methods may enable well treatments to be completed across a well region. The systems and methods facilitate fully grid powered well treatment operations (including well stimulations) without requiring large amounts of power (e.g., 30,000 kW) to be delivered to each location. Since less power is required to be delivered to each location using the disclosed distributed pumping systems, the grid infrastructure may include smaller power lines run to one or more locations than would be needed to power a full stimulation operation at one location. Since a smaller amount of power is delivered to one or more locations in the region, the same grid infrastructure may be used at a given well location throughout the different stages of well development. For example, the grid infrastructure used for the distributed pumping systems may also be used to power drilling equipment used to drill the well, cementing equipment used to cement the well, production equipment used to produce the well, or a combination thereof. As such, there is no need to replace power lines at different points during the life cycle of a given well, and the grid infrastructure may be a permanent one-time installation. Thus, a permanent one-time installation of grid infrastructure at a region may provide power to operate components used throughout the full life of a well, including drilling, cementing, well treatments (e.g., stimulation), and production, reducing capital cost of infield grid power and/or grid infrastructure on location. 
     The grid powered distributed pumping systems and methods may expand the use of grid power in well stimulation operations. This may reduce fuel costs since Diesel powered pump units can be eliminated at one or more locations. In addition, the use of grid power may provide increased reliability while requiring less maintenance compared to systems that generate electrical power via a turbine generator at a fracturing spread. In addition, instead of concentrating equipment at a singular power source, the equipment is distributed among multiple power sources to better match power demand with available power at each location. 
     Turning now to the drawings,  FIG.  1    illustrates a grid powered distributed pumping system  100  in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The pumping system  100  of  FIG.  1    is distributed about four different locations  102 A,  102 B,  102 C, and  102 D within a region  104  where well treatment operation(s) are performed. In the illustrated embodiment, each location  102  is a well pad or wellsite. That is, at least one subterranean wellbore  106  is formed at each location  102 . In other embodiments, at least one of the locations  102  in which the distributed pumping system  100  is provided may not include a subterranean wellbore. Such locations  102  having no wellbores may include an infield utility station, a gas compressor station, an oil or water tank battery site, a field equipment service area, an electrical substation, or another site. 
     The distributed pumping system  100  may include at least one slurry pumping equipment spread  108  and at least one clean pumping equipment spread  110 , the slurry pumping equipment spread  108  and clean pumping equipment spread  110  being disposed at different locations  102 . The illustrated embodiment includes, for example, one slurry equipment spread  108  disposed at location  102 A and three clean pumping equipment spreads  110  disposed one at each of locations  102 B,  102 C, and  102 D. However, in other embodiments, different numbers and combinations of slurry pumping equipment spreads  108  and/or clean pumping equipment spreads  110  may be provided at locations  102  throughout the region  104 . In some embodiments, the distributed pumping system  100  may include a single slurry pumping equipment spread  108 , while all other pumping equipment spreads in the distributed pumping system  100  are clean pumping equipment spreads  110 . In other embodiments, the distributed pumping system  100  may include multiple slurry pumping equipment spreads  108  for redundancy. In still other embodiments, the distributed pumping system  100  may include all slurry pumping equipment spreads  108  distributed throughout the field without any clean pumping equipment spreads  110 . 
     The slurry pumping equipment spread  108  may include, among other things, at least one slurry pump unit, while the clean pumping equipment spread  110  may include, among other things, at least one clean pump unit. The distributed pumping system  100  may be entirely grid operated. As such, each location  102  in which the pump units are distributed may include grid infrastructure (e.g., a grid power supply)  112  electrically coupled to the associated pumping equipment spread ( 108  or  110 ) at the location  102 . As such, at the location  102 A the slurry pumping equipment spread  108  may be powered by grid power from the grid infrastructure  112  at the location  102 A. Similarly, the clean pumping equipment spreads  110  at each of the locations  102 B,  102 C, and  102 D may be powered by grid power from the grid infrastructure  112  at the locations  102 B,  102 C, and  102 D, respectively. In other embodiments, the distributed pumping system  100  may be powered by a combination of grid infrastructure  112  and power generated at the site by a diesel engine, a turbine generator, a dual-fuel powered system, fuel cells, or a combination thereof. For example, one or more locations may be equipped with grid infrastructure  112  to provide grid power for operating the pumping equipment spread(s) at the locations, while one or more other locations may be equipped with power generation equipment for operating the pumping equipment spread(s) at those other locations. 
     The term slurry pumping equipment spread  108  refers to equipment used to at least pressurize a slurry of at least one base fluid mixed with solids and/or polymers. Such equipment includes at least one pump unit (also referred to as a “slurry pump unit”). In some embodiments, the slurry pumping equipment spread  108  may also include equipment used to generate the slurry. Such equipment may include, for example, solid material handling equipment (e.g., proppant handling equipment), fluid handling equipment, polymer handling equipment, a blender, and so forth. The slurry pumping equipment spread  108  may be coupled to at least one wellbore  106  at the location  102  thereof via a high-pressure manifold  114  (or high-pressure iron). The high-pressure manifold  114  forms at least a portion of a flow path from the slurry pumping equipment spread  108  to the at least one wellbore  106 . In other embodiments, as discussed below, the slurry pumping equipment spread  108  may be coupled to at least one wellbore  106  at a different location in the region  104  via a flow path. 
     The term clean pumping equipment spread  110  refers to equipment used to at least pressurize a “clean” fluid, meaning a fluid containing minimal or no solids. In some embodiments, the “clean” fluid may contain polymers, for example, such as friction reducers. In other embodiments, the “clean” fluid may contain minimal or no polymers as well as minimal or no solids. The clean pumping equipment spread includes at least one pump unit (also referred to as a “clean pump unit”). In some embodiments, the clean pumping equipment spread  110  may also include one or more of a clean fluid source, a chemical injection equipment, and so forth. Each clean pumping equipment spread  110  and/or slurry pumping equipment spread  108  may tie into a piping network  116  distributed throughout the region  104 . This piping network  116  may include one or more flow paths used to route clean fluid from one or more of the clean pumping equipment spreads  110  to a well site (e.g., location  102 A) within the region  104 . The piping network  116  may fluidly connect each location  102 B,  102 C, and  102 D having clean pumping equipment spreads  110  to the location  102 A having the slurry pumping equipment spread  108 . In some embodiments, the piping network  116  may fluidly connect each clean pumping equipment spread  110  to every location  102 A,  102 B,  102 C, and  102 D with a subterranean wellbore  106 . That way, the clean pumping equipment spreads  110  may tie into the piping network  116  that can route clean fluid to any well sites within the distributed pumping system  100 . 
     The piping network  116  may include a network of lengths of pipe (or flow paths)  118  connecting the clean pumping equipment spreads  110  to other locations in the region  104 . In some embodiments, the piping network  116  may also include one or more flow paths  118  connecting one or more slurry equipment spreads  108  to other locations in the region  104 . Each length of pipe  118  may include valving thereon that facilitates flow in either direction or both directions through the piping network  116 . For example, each length of pipe  118  may be equipped with valving that is controllable to selectively allow flow through the length of pipe  118  in a first direction, a second direction opposite the first direction, or in either direction depending on fluid pressures in the piping network  116 . The valving in the piping network  116  may enable any one of the lengths of pipe  118  to be closed off without interrupting pumping. This may be useful for isolating a length of pipe  118  for leak repair or other maintenance throughout pumping operations. In other embodiments, one or more lengths of pipe  118  may not include valving thereon, but rather simply enable bidirectional flow depending on fluid pressures in the piping network  16 . 
     In the illustrated embodiment of  FIG.  1   , the distributed pumping system  100  is spread amongst four locations  102  in the region  104 . However, the distributed pumping system  100  may be spread amongst any number of locations  102  totaling two or more. For example, the distributed pumping system  100  may include pumping equipment spread amongst two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, or more locations  102  in the region  104 . The number of locations  102  in which the distributed pump units are disposed may be selected based on the power needs for different operations being performed at the well sites within the region  104 . The locations  102  may be separate and spread apart from each other. The locations  102  at which the different pump units are disposed may each be spaced a distance apart from each other location  102 . For example, each locations  102  may be a distance of between approximately 50 yards and approximately 5 miles from each other location  102 , and more particularly a distance of between approximately 100 yards and 2 miles from each other location  102 . 
     To perform well treatments, the slurry pumping equipment spread  108  pressurizes a slurry including a fluid base with particles of solid and/or polymer disposed therein and outputs the pressurized slurry flow to one or more wellbores  106  at the location  102 A. At the same time, one or more clean pumping spreads  110  may be used to pressurize clean fluid from the remote locations  102 B,  102 C, and/or  102 D, and the piping network  116  may route the pressurized clean fluid to the location (e.g., location  102 A) at which the well(s) are being treated. The pressurized clean fluid flow(s) are combined with the pressurized slurry at the location of the well(s) to form a well treatment fluid that is pumped down the well bore(s)  106 . In some embodiments, the combined well treatment fluid may be pumped down multiple well bores simultaneously. The clean pump unit(s) of the clean pumping spreads  110  function to supply dilution fluid that increases the overall fluid rate and decreases the concentration of solids in the slurry to form the desired treatment fluid communicated downhole. 
     The disclosed distributed pumping system  100  may be used to perform well treatments (e.g., stimulation operations) at a plurality of well sites (e.g., locations  102 ) in the region  104  with minimal movement of pumping equipment. The distributed configuration of pump equipment in the region  104  may enable easy switching from performing treatments on one well site (e.g., location  102 A) to another (e.g., location  102 B). During well treatment operations, the slurry pumping equipment spread  108  may be disposed at a location  102  local to the wellbore being treated. For example, in the configuration of  FIG.  1   , the slurry pumping equipment spread  108  is located at location  102 A as one or more wellbores  106  disposed at or proximate the location  102 A are being treated. That way, exposure of piping to the abrasive slurry is limited to the high-pressure manifold  114  at the location  102 A. The equipment of the distributed pumping system  100  may remain in this configuration until all wells disposed at or proximate the location  102 A are treated and/or completed. After this, the slurry pumping equipment spread  108  may be traded with one of the clean pumping equipment spreads  110  to facilitate treatment operations at another location  102  in the region  104 . In other embodiments, only a portion of the slurry pumping equipment spread  108  (e.g., solids handling equipment, gel handling equipment, blender equipment, etc.) may be moved from one site to another, while the pump units stay at their original locations. In such embodiments, fewer pieces of equipment would need to be moved when switching between different sites for well treatment. 
     The compositions discharged by the pump unit(s) of the slurry pumping equipment spread  108  may include one or more components, including without limitation one or more base fluids, one or more gasses, one or more liquids, one or more solids, and any combination thereof that may be used in accordance with the methods of the present disclosure. The pump unit(s) of the slurry pumping equipment spread  108  may intake and discharge compositions including solids, or abrasive or corrosive materials, such that these pump unit(s) may experience more wear and tear than the pump unit(s) of the clean pumping equipment spread(s)  110  and may therefore require protective coatings that prevent and resist abrasion, erosion, and corrosion. 
     The pump unit(s) of the clean pumping equipment spread(s)  110  may not be exposed to the same components and may not require protective coatings and may experience less wear and tear. Similarly, the pump unit(s) of the clean pumping equipment spread(s)  110  may be replaced less frequently than the pump unit(s) of the slurry pumping equipment spread  108 , resulting in lower costs and less down time. Accordingly, the pump unit(s) of the clean pumping equipment spread(s)  110  may require less maintenance or may cost less than the pump unit(s) of the slurry pumping equipment spread  108 , which may save costs and enable more efficient and effective operations. 
     In addition, since the clean pumping equipment spread(s)  110  are used to pump clean fluid having few or no abrasive components therein, it is possible to locate the clean pumping equipment spread(s)  110  away from the slurry pumping equipment spread  108 . The clean pumping equipment spread(s)  110  can effectively and efficiently pump the clean fluid over longer distances through the piping network  116  than may be possible if they were pumping slurry. In addition, the requirements of the junctions throughout the piping network  116  may not require protective coatings or specific designs to minimize wear and tear since only clean fluid is being pumped therethrough. Accordingly, the piping network  116  coupling the pump unit(s) of the clean pumping equipment spread(s)  110  to the location of the slurry pumping equipment spread  108  (as shown in  FIG.  1   ) may save costs and enable more efficient and effective operations. 
     The distributed pumping system  100  disclosed herein may include a control system  120  including one or more controllers, wherein each of the controllers may include one or more of hardware elements and software elements. The controller(s) may include consumer off-the-shelf (COTS) computer systems, including hardware and software. The controller(s) may further include specialized hardware and software. The controller(s) may include specialized hardware and software for communicating with one or more of sensors, pumps, blenders, solid storage systems, fluid storage systems, valves, and other elements of the distributed pumping system  100  to monitor (including but not limited to detecting and recording data) and control (including but not limited to regulating, managing, and directing) one or more of the delivery of one or more compositions and one or more treatment fluids for treatment of one or more wells, either independently, simultaneously, or both. The controller(s) may automatically monitor and control the treatment of one or more wells based at least in part on one or more of a reservoir model, a hydraulic fracture model, and programmed fracturing stages. The controller(s) may display or otherwise notify users, including, for example, operations personnel including but not limited to an operator in a control van, regarding the controller&#39;s monitoring and controlling of one or more compositions and one or more treatment fluids for treating one or more wells. The controller(s) may receive one or more inputs from personnel to monitor and control one or more of the delivery of one or more compositions and one or more treatment fluids for treating of one or more wells, either independently, simultaneously, or both. One of ordinary skill in the art will further recognize that, as described herein, the one or more compositions and one or more treatment fluids distributed to the well bore  106  at any location  102  (e.g., location  102 A) may be distributed to one or more wells at the location  102 . As noted herein, the combination of one or more slurry compositions and/or one or more clean fluids to create the one or more treatment fluids may occur prior to delivery to the well bore(s)  106 , at the surface of the well bore(s)  106 , below ground level after the one or more compositions/fluids are pumped into well bore(s)  106 , and any combination thereof. 
     In some embodiments, the control system  120  of the distributed pumping system  100  may include a master controller  122 , pump controllers (not shown), and one or more sensors distributed throughout the pumping system for providing data to the controllers (not shown). The master controller  122  may coordinate some or all elements of the distributed pumping system  100 , including without limitation one or more of monitoring and controlling other controllers, pumps, blender(s), fluid storage equipment, solid handling equipment, and gel handling equipment. 
     The master controller  122  may monitor and communicate with one or more pump controllers to control the pump unit(s) of the slurry pumping equipment spread  108  and the clean pumping equipment spread(s)  110 . The pump controllers may be located local to their corresponding pump units. As noted above, the pump controllers may include one or more ordinary computer systems, one or more specialized computer systems, and any combination thereof including hardware and software. In some embodiment, the master controller  122  and pump controllers may be replaced by a distributed control system without a master controller in which each controller coordinates with all other controllers to coordinate the performance of the distributed pumping system  100 . In other embodiments, the control system  120  may include a single centralized controller that is communicatively coupled to the distributed pumping equipment and performs the functions of both the master controller  122  and each of the pump controllers from a centralized location or from a location proximate the well treatment location (e.g.,  102 A in  FIG.  1   ). In still other embodiments, the control system  120  may include one or more controllers located remote from the region  104  in which the distributed pumping system  100  is operating and communicatively coupled to the distributed pumping equipment to perform the functions of both the master controller  122  and each of the pump controllers from the remote location. 
     The master controller  122  may monitor and control one or more of the types and concentration of components introduced into a blender of the slurry pumping equipment spread  108  to produce one or more compositions, as well as the component concentration and flow rate of composition from the blender. The master controller  122  may also monitor and control one or more of the types, flow rates, pressure, and output power of fluids pumped by the pump units of the clean pumping equipment spread(s)  110 . The master controller  122  may control valving, pumping systems, and other systems related to the clean pump units. The master controller  122  may monitor and/or control solid storage, fluid storage, and solid handling systems to ensure sufficient component material and fluids are available for the pumping equipment spreads  108  and  110 . Further, the pump controllers may monitor and control the mixing of compositions to control the production of one or more treatment fluids based on data from one or more pumps, sensors, and other elements of the distributed pumping system. 
     The master controller  122  may monitor and control the output flow rates or pumping pressures of each pump unit within the slurry pumping equipment spread  108  and the clean pumping equipment spread(s)  110 . The master controller  122  may control the operation of each pump unit within the slurry pumping equipment spread  108  and the clean pumping equipment spread(s)  110 . For example, the master controller  122  may output signals to turn on certain pump units and turn off other pump units to output the desired treatment fluid at a desired concentration and pressure to the well(s) being treated. The master controller  122  may modify the operation of any pump units in the slurry or clean pumping equipment spreads  108 ,  110  to dynamically control the treatment of the well(s). In some embodiments, the master controller  122  may determine which pump units in the region  104  to operate at the same time to provide the desired well treatment based on the power available through grid infrastructure or other power sources at the locations  102  throughout the region  104 . In this way, the master controller  122  may operate different pump units of the slurry pumping equipment spread  108  and the clean pumping equipment spread(s)  110  at different times to balance the power used at the different locations  102  in the region  104 . In some embodiments, the master controller  122  may determine which pump units in the region  104  to operate at the same time to provide the desired well treatment based on a pump maintenance schedule or sensor feedback indicating that maintenance is needed at one or more pump units. For example, when maintenance is scheduled or needed for one or more pump units at one location  102 , the master controller  122  may change operation of the pump unit(s) so that the pump unit(s) needing maintenance are taken offline and pump unit(s) at the same location or another location are brought online as needed to satisfy the well treatment pumping requirements. 
     One or more pump controllers may interact with sensors associated with their associated pump units. Sensors may be integrated into one or more pump units of the slurry or clean pumping equipment spreads  108 ,  110  or may be separate devices. The sensors may provide data including but not limited to the injection pressure, injection rate, flow rate, composition, temperature, and density of slurry or fluid discharged by a pump. The pump controllers may monitor sensor data from their associated pump units. The pump controllers may also control their associated pumps based at least in part on the monitored sensor data and may communicate sensor data and control data to the master controller  122 . Similarly, the master controller  122  may monitor sensor data provided by the pump controllers and may provide instructions to the pump controllers based at least in part on sensor data and control data to control one or more of the injection pressure, injection rate, flow rate, and composition of treatment fluid handled by the pump units. The master controller  122  may also monitor one or more of the time rate of change and integrated value of sensor data and control parameters. 
     In one or more embodiments, the master controller  122  may monitor and provide notifications to personnel when one or more sensors indicate significant wear and tear to equipment to ensure equipment is replaced before a significant reduction in performance of the equipment occurs. 
     The disclosed distributed pumping system  100  may provide several advantages, including a reduction in stimulation pad size at each site (e.g., well site) in the region  104 . Since the pumping equipment spreads  108 ,  110  are spread out among different locations  102 , a smaller number of pump units are required at each location  102  compared to equipment spreads that are not distributed. Accordingly, the footprint of each equipment spread  108 ,  110  is less than a footprint of a non-distributed pumping equipment spread. In addition, in embodiments where the distributed pumping system  100  use grid power at each location  102  to operate the pump units, there is no need for large power generation equipment (e.g., turbine generator) at the locations  102 . This further reduces the footprint of the pumping equipment spreads  108 ,  110  compared to other pumping systems that run on electrical power. 
     Having described the general layout of a distributed pumping system  100  in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, a more detailed description of the equipment that makes up a clean pumping equipment spread  110  will now be provided.  FIG.  2    illustrates an embodiment of the equipment that may be disposed at a clean location  200 . The term “clean location”  200  refers to any location (e.g.,  102 B,  102 C, and  102 D of  FIG.  1   ) at which a clean pumping equipment spread  110  is currently located. As any of the clean pumping equipment spread(s)  110  may be moved throughout the course of treating wells at different locations throughout a region, the location itself may later become a “slurry location” and/or a well treatment location in which a well at the location is being treated. Although the clean pumping equipment spread  110  may be moved from the location, the corresponding grid infrastructure  112  will remain in place at the location. 
     As shown in  FIG.  2   , the clean location  200  may include, among other things, the clean equipment spread  110  and a grid power supply  112 . In some embodiments, the clean location  200  may also include one or more subterranean wellbores  106  as well. In other embodiments, though, the clean location  200  may be at a location other than a wellsite in the region. For example, the clean location  200  may be at a utility station or anywhere else in the well region (e.g.,  104  of  FIG.  1   ) without a wellbore. The clean equipment spread  110  may include, among other things, fluid handling equipment  202 , at least one pump unit  204 , and a manifold  206  coupling the fluid source  202  and pumps  204  to the piping network  116 . The at least one pump unit  204  may run on electrical power, e.g., from the grid infrastructure  112 . In some embodiments, the clean equipment spread  110  may also include chemical injection equipment  208 . In some embodiments, the fluid handling equipment  202  may not be movable with the rest of the clean equipment spread  110  but instead remain at the same location throughout different distributed pumping operations. 
     The grid power supply  112  may include power lines or another connection to an infield power grid or a remote power grid. The term “infield power grid” refers to a power grid that transmits power that is generated in the well region (e.g.,  104  of  FIG.  1   ) having the clean location  200 . A power generation plant may be built in the region in which several wells are to be drilled, completed, and produced during initial development of the field. Grid infrastructure  112  such as, for example, power transmission lines, are built out from the regional power plant to the various locations (e.g.,  102  of  FIG.  1   ) in which pumping and/or other operations are to be performed, including the clean location  200  of  FIG.  2   , thus forming an infield power grid. The term “remote power grid” refers to a power grid that transmits power that is generated outside of the well region having the clean location  200 . For example, during initial development of the well region (e.g.,  104  of  FIG.  1   ), the grid power supply  112  on location may be built out from a pre-existing utility power grid that transmits power generated outside the well region. 
     The grid power supply  112  at the location  200  may supply electrical power sufficient to operate one or more components of the clean equipment spread  110 . For example, the amount of power transmitted via the grid power supply  112  may be greater than or equal to an amount sufficient to power one pump unit  204  and less than a total amount of power required to perform the entire well treatment. The amount of power needed to operate one pump unit  204  may be in a range of approximately 1,000 kW to 5,000 kW. A total amount of power required to perform the well treatment may be in a range of approximately 10,000 kW to approximately 40,000 kW. As such, the amount of power provided to the location via the grid power supply  112  may be in a range of greater than 1,000 kW to less than 40,000 kW. In some embodiments, the amount of power transmitted to the clean location  200  via the grid power supply  112  may be an amount in a range of approximately ⅕ to ¼ of the power required to perform the well treatment. As such, the amount of power provided to the location via the grid power supply  112  may be in a range of approximately 2,000 kW to 10,000 kW. In embodiments where the clean location  200  has at least one wellbore  106 , the amount of power transmitted to the clean location  200  via the grid power supply  112  may be an amount of electrical power needed for performing other operations at the well, such as drilling operations or production operations. For example, the amount of electrical power sufficient to perform well drilling may be less than approximately 7,500 kW. Less than full grid power is generally sufficient to perform production operations such as powering submersible pumps, compressors, and the like. As such, the amount of power supplied to the location via the grid infrastructure may be in a range of approximately 1,000 kW to 7,500 kW. 
     Turning now to components of the clean equipment spread  110 , the fluid handling equipment  202  may include one or more of a fluid storage system, a fluid communication system, and/or a fluid treatment system. A fluid storage system may include one or more fluid sources in the form of, for example, portable tanks, a ground water source, a pond, or some other fluid retention system. On-location fluid sources may not be movable along with the portable equipment of the clean equipment spread  110 . A fluid communication system may include a conduit connecting a remote fluid source to the clean location  200 , a conduit connecting the fluid source at the location  200  to the manifold  206 , or a combination thereof. A fluid treatment system may include one or more components configured to treat the fluid from a fluid source prior to the fluid entering the one or more pump units  204 . Such fluid treatments may include cleaning or removing certain material from the source fluid, and/or mixing one or more additives into the source fluid to produce a clean fluid with a desired fluid characteristic. Other components such as, for example, a boost pump (e.g., centrifugal pump that increases pressure of fluid entering the pump unit inlet) may be included in the fluid handling equipment  202  as will be apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art. The fluid handling equipment  202  outputs a clean fluid to the manifold  206 . 
     The clean equipment spread  110  may include at least one electrically powered pump unit  204 . In the illustrated embodiment, the clean equipment spread  110  includes four electrically powered pumps units  204  manifolded together via the manifold  206 . However, other numbers (e.g., one, two, three, five, six, seven, eight, etc.) and arrangements of pump units  204  may be used in other embodiments of the clean equipment spread  110 . As illustrated, all the pump units  204  of the clean equipment spread  110  may be electrically powered. It should be noted that, in other embodiments, one or more of the pump units  204  may receive at least part of their operating power from sources other than electrical power or electric grid power. For example, one or more of the pump units  204  may be diesel-, natural gas-, or dual fuel-powered. These pump units  204  operated by non-grid power may be on location and used as back-ups and/or to augment the output of the clean pumping equipment if the grid power is not sufficient to run all of the pumping equipment. 
     The pump units  204  may each include an electrically powered prime mover  210  and a pump  212 . The pump units  204  may each also include a drive train  214 . An electrically powered prime mover  210  may include any device or assembly that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy to drive the pump  212 . For example, the prime mover  210  may be an electric motor. During pumping operations, the pump  212  may require between approximately 100 hp and 10,000 hp, more particularly between approximately 500 hp and 5,000 hp, from the prime mover  210 . In embodiments where one or more pump units  204  at the location are non-grid powered, the one or more non-grid powered pump units  204  may include a prime mover that is powered, for example, by a Diesel, natural gas, or dual-fuel engine to operate a pump. 
     In some embodiments, the pump  212  may include a reciprocating pump. Reciprocating pumps are often employed for high pressure oilfield pumping applications such as hydraulic fracturing and other treatment operations. Such pumps are sometimes also referred to as plunger pumps or positive displacement pumps. Reciprocating pumps generally include one or more plungers driven by a crankshaft toward and away from a chamber in a pressure housing (referred to as a “fluid end”) to create pressure oscillations of high and low pressures in the chamber. These oscillations allow the pump to receive fluid at a low pressure and discharge the fluid at a high pressure via one way valves. In other embodiments, the pump may include a multistage centrifugal pump. Multistage centrifugal pumps generally include an intake pipe that receives fluid at a low pressure, a cylindrical pipe or barrel having a series of impellers or rotors that propel the received fluid, and a discharge pipe that discharges the fluid at a high pressure after the fluid passes through the impellers. As the fluid is propelled by each successive impeller, it gains pressure until it exits the pump at a higher pressure than it entered. 
     In some embodiments, the pump units  204  of the clean equipment spread  110  may include the same type of pumps (e.g., reciprocating pumps) as used in the slurry equipment spread. In other embodiments, the pump units  204  of the clean equipment spread  110  may include different types of pumps (e.g., multistage centrifugal pumps) as those used in the slurry equipment spread (e.g., reciprocating pumps). The components of multistage centrifugal pumps are subject to generally consistent pressures throughout the operation of the pumps, and therefore are subject to less fatigue and have a longer life expectancy than reciprocating pumps. As such, it may be desirable to use multistage centrifugal pumps in the clean equipment spread(s)  110  of a region having the distributed pumping system, as this may reduce the amount of maintenance needed for the distributed pumping system. 
     The drive train  214  may be coupled to the prime mover  210  and the pump  212  through one or more drive shafts (not shown), and may include a hydraulic or mechanical transmission that transmits energy from the prime mover  210  to the pump  212 . For instance, to the extent the pump  212  is a reciprocating pump, the transmitted energy may include torque that drives the pump  212 . In other embodiments, the pump  212  may use a hydraulic transmission such that hydraulic fluid cycles hydraulic cylinders to actuate each plunger in the pump  212 . 
     The fluid handling system  202  may be in fluid communication with the one or more pump units  204  through the manifold  206 . The manifold  206  may provide fluid communication between the pump units  204  and the piping network  116  that communicates the pressurized fluid toward the location of the well treatment. Upon the fluid handling system  202  generating a clean fluid, the manifold  206  communicates the clean fluid to the pump units  204  and outputs the pressurized clean fluid from the pump units  204  to the piping network  116 . The piping network  116  may direct the pressurized flow of clean fluid from the clean equipment spread  110  toward the location where the treated well bore is located. The pressurized flow of clean fluid may be combined with other pressurized clean fluid flows from other clean equipment spreads in some embodiments. Ultimately, pressurized clean fluid flow(s) from one or more clean equipment spreads is combined with a slurry at the wellsite being treated, enabling the pressurized well treatment operation to be performed on one or more wells at the wellsite. In some embodiments, the slurry may be generated at the wellsite being treated. In other embodiments, the slurry may be pumped from another location to the wellsite being treated, where it is combined with one or more pressurized clean fluid flows. 
     The manifold  206 , connections to the piping network  116 , and any other fluid lines included in the clean equipment spread  110  may include valving and one or more sensors for control and monitoring of the flow of clean fluid during distributed pumping operations. A control system of the distributed pumping system may receive signals from sensors and/or output control signals to the valving to control the clean fluid flow output from the system. In some embodiments, the valving may be configured or controlled to facilitate combination of the clean fluid flow output via the manifold  206  with another clean fluid flow being communicated through the piping network from another clean equipment spread in the region. In some embodiments, the valving may be controlled to selectively change the direction in which fluid output from the manifold  206  flows through the piping network  116 . In other embodiments, the piping network may extend in only one direction from the manifold  206  such that no valve is needed to direct the flow in a particular direction. 
     In some embodiments, the clean equipment spread  110  may include chemical injection equipment  208 . The chemical injection equipment  208  may be separate from the fluid handling equipment  202  in some embodiments. For example, as illustrated, the chemical injection equipment  208  may inject certain chemical additives (e.g., friction reducers, surfactants, polymers, polymer breakers, diversion additives, corrosion inhibitors, scale inhibitors, clay control agents, pH control additives, and so forth) into the fluid being output from the manifold  206 . In other embodiments, the chemical injection equipment  208  may inject one or more chemical additives into the fluid as it enters the manifold  206  or as it is moving through the manifold  206 . In other embodiments, the chemical injection equipment  208  may be part of the fluid handling system  202  such that it injects one or more chemical additives into source fluid to generate the fluid output from the fluid handling system  202 . Injecting the clean fluid with one or more friction reducers may enable easier communication of the pressurized clean fluid from the clean location  200  to the well treatment location via the piping network  116 , particularly in cases where the piping network communicates the clean fluid over relatively long distances across the region. 
     As illustrated, each of the pump units  204  may be equipped with pump controllers  216  as described above with reference to  FIG.  1   . These pump controllers  216  may communicate with a master controller (e.g.,  122  of  FIG.  1   ) of the distributed pumping system  100 . In other embodiments, the pump controllers  216  of the clean equipment spread(s) and slurry equipment spread(s) may themselves function as a distributed control system for the distributed pumping system  100 . 
     One or more components of the clean equipment spread  110  described herein may be mounted on a vehicle or trailer, or may be configured for ground deployment. A trailer may include one or more elements of the clean equipment spread  110 , including one or more sensors, valves, pump units  204 , components of fluid handling equipment  202 , the manifold  206 , components of chemical injection equipment  208 , and any other elements included in the clean equipment spread  110 . In other embodiments, the one or more sensors, valves, pump units  204 , components of fluid handling equipment  202 , manifold  206 , components of chemical injection equipment  208 , and any other elements in the clean equipment spread  110  may be distributed across many trailers. Vehicle-mounted configurations may be beneficial if components of the clean equipment spread  110  need to be quickly replaced as it enables other vehicles to quickly replace worn or damaged equipment. Vehicle-mounted configurations may also be beneficial if the clean equipment spread  110  needs to be quickly moved from one location in the well region to another, for example, such as when the clean equipment spread  110  is being traded out for a slurry equipment spread to pump well treatments to the well  106  at the location. 
     Each clean equipment spread  110  includes a smaller number of pump units  204  than the total number of pump units within the distributed pumping system (e.g.,  100  of  FIG.  1   ). As such, the clean equipment spread  110  takes up a smaller footprint at its location  200  than is necessary to contain all the pump units performing the well treatment pumping operations. Since the location  200  features a smaller well pad, this reduces the environmental impact on the location throughout the distributed pumping operations, as compared to systems where the entire pumping system is disposed at a single location. 
     A more detailed description of the equipment that makes up a slurry equipment spread  108  will now be provided.  FIG.  3    illustrates an embodiment of the equipment disposed at a slurry location  300 . The term “slurry location”  300  refers to any location (e.g.,  102 A of  FIG.  1   ;  102 B of  FIG.  4   ) at which a slurry equipment spread  108  is currently located. The term “well treatment location” refers to any location (e.g.,  102 A of  FIG.  1   ;  102 B of  FIG.  4   ) in which a well bore is being treated. This may or may not be the same location where a slurry equipment spread  108  is located, as discussed below. As one or more components of the slurry equipment spread  108  may be moved throughout the course of treating wells at different locations throughout a region, the location itself may later become a clean location in which clean equipment provides pumping for a remote well treatment operation. Although the slurry equipment spread  108  may be moved from the location, any corresponding grid infrastructure  112  will remain in place at the location. 
     As shown in  FIG.  3   , the slurry location  300  may include, among other things, the slurry equipment spread  108  and the grid power supply  112 . In some embodiments, the slurry location  300  may also include one or more subterranean wellbores  106 . In other embodiments, the slurry location  300  may not include a subterranean wellbore  106  but instead may be used to remotely provide and pump slurry to a well treatment location separate from the slurry location  300 . The slurry equipment spread  108  may include, among other things, fluid handling equipment  302 , at least one slurry pump unit  304  (or pump unit  304 ) that runs on electrical power, solids handling equipment  306 , gel handling equipment  308 , and a blender  310 . In embodiments where one or more wellbores  106  are located at the slurry location  300 , the slurry equipment spread  108  may also include a high pressure manifold  114  coupling the pump(s)  304  to the one or more wellbores  106  at the location  300 , and a fluid injection point  314  through which the piping network  116  injects pressurized clean fluid into the slurry generated by the blender  310 . In some embodiments, the fluid handling equipment  302  may not be movable with the rest of the slurry equipment spread  108  but instead remains at the same location throughout different distributed pumping operations. The pump unit(s)  304  may be disposed at the slurry location  300  proximate a wellbore  106 , as shown. In other embodiments, the pump unit(s)  304  may be disposed at a slurry location that is remote from one or more wellbores to which the slurry will be pumped. 
     The grid power supply  112  may include power lines or another connection to an infield power grid or a remote power grid, similar to the grid infrastructure described above with reference to  FIG.  2   . The grid power supply  112  at the location  300  may supply electrical power sufficient to operate components of the slurry equipment spread  108 . For example, the amount of power transmitted via the grid power supply  112  may be greater than or equal to an amount sufficient to power one pump unit  304  and less than a total amount of power required to perform the entire well treatment. The amount of power provided via the grid power supply  112  at the slurry location  300  may be similar to or approximately equal to the amount of power transmitted via grid infrastructure  112  at the clean location  200 . In some embodiments, the amount of power provided via grid power supply  112  at each location of the distributed power system may be approximately the same. 
     Turning now to components of the slurry equipment spread  108 , the fluid handling equipment  302  may include one or more of a fluid storage system, a fluid communication system, and/or a fluid treatment system. A fluid storage system may include one or more fluid sources in the form of, for example, portable tanks, a ground water source, a pond, or some other fluid retention system. On-location fluid sources may not be movable along with portable equipment of the slurry equipment spread  108 . A fluid communication system may include a conduit connecting a remote fluid source to the slurry location  300 , a conduit connecting the fluid source at the location  300  to the manifold  114 , or a combination thereof. A fluid treatment system may include one or more components configured to treat the fluid from a fluid source prior to the fluid entering the pump units  304 . Such fluid treatments may include cleaning or removing certain material from the source fluid, and/or mixing one or more additives into the source fluid to produce a treatment fluid with a desired fluid characteristic. Other components may be included in the fluid handling equipment  302  as will be apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art. The fluid handling equipment  302  outputs a fluid to the blender  310 . 
     The slurry equipment spread  108  may include at least one electrically powered pump unit  304 . In the illustrated embodiment, the slurry equipment spread  108  includes four electrically powered pumps units  304  manifolded together via the manifold  114 . However, other numbers (e.g., one, two, three, five, six, seven, eight, etc.) and arrangements of pump units  304  may be used in other embodiments of the slurry equipment spread  108 . As illustrated, all the pump units  304  of the slurry equipment spread  108  may be electrically powered. It should be noted that, in some embodiments, one or more of the slurry pump units  304  may receive at least part of their operating power from sources other than electrical power or electric grid power. For example, one or more of the pump units  304  may be diesel-, natural gas-, or dual fuel-powered. These pump units  304  operated by non-grid power may be on location and used as back-ups and/or to augment the output of the other slurry pumping equipment if the grid power is not sufficient to run all of the pumping equipment. In some embodiments, all of the pump units  304  may receive their operating power from non-grid power sources. In addition, one or more of the non-pump equipment components of the slurry equipment spread  108  may be diesel-, natural gas-, or dual fuel-powered. This equipment may include, for example, a blender, solids handling equipment, fluid handling equipment, and so forth. 
     The pump units  304  may each include an electrically powered prime mover  316  and a pump  318 . The pump units  304  may each also include a drive train  320 . An electrically powered prime mover  316  may include any device or assembly that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy to drive the pump  318 . For example, the prime mover  316  may be an electric motor. During pumping operations, the pump  318  may require between approximately 100 hp and 10,000 hp, more particularly between approximately 500 hp and 5,000 hp, from the prime mover  316 . In embodiments where one or more pump units  304  at the location are non-grid powered, the one or more non-grid powered pump units  304  may include a prime mover that is powered, for example, by a Diesel, natural gas, or dual-fuel engine to operate a pump. 
     In some embodiments, the pump  318  may include a reciprocating pump, as defined above with respect to  FIG.  2   . As mentioned above, the pump units  304  of the slurry equipment spread  108  may include the same type of pumps as used in the clean equipment spread. In other embodiments, the pump units  304  of the slurry equipment spread  108  may include different types of pumps as those used in the clean equipment spread. The drive train  320  may be coupled to the prime mover  316  and the pump  318  through one or more drive shafts (not shown), and may include a hydraulic or mechanical transmission that transmits energy from the prime mover  316  to the pump  318 . For instance, to the extent the pump  318  is a reciprocating pump, the transmitted energy may include torque that drives the pump  318 . In other embodiments, the pump  318  may use a hydraulic transmission such that hydraulic fluid cycles hydraulic cylinders to actuate each plunger in the pump  318 . 
     The solids handling equipment  306  may include one or more components for managing the receiving, handling, movement, and output of solid materials that will be mixed into a fluid to form a well treatment fluid. These one or more components may include, for example, tanks, silos, portable containers, hoppers, conveyors, sand screws, chutes, valves, metering gates, dust management systems, platforms, and so forth configured to facilitate a controlled output of solids such as bulk material or solid additives used in the formation of the well treatment fluid. The solids handling equipment  306  may output solids to the blender  310 . The polymer handling equipment  308  may include one or more components for generating and outputting a polymer (e.g., such as a gel or a friction reducer) to the blender  310 . 
     The blender  310  may include one or more blenders for producing one or more slurry compositions. The slurry compositions produced by the blender  310  may include one or more components, including without limitation one or more base fluids, one or more gases, one or more liquids, one or more solids, one or more polymers, and any combination thereof that may be used in the well treatment fluid. In some embodiments, the slurry composition may include one or more of water from any source, proppant, cement, gelling agents, breakers, surfactants, crosslinkers, viscosity altering chemicals, PH buffers, modifiers, stabilizers, friction reducers, and diverting agents. As illustrated, the blender  310  may be communicatively coupled to outputs of the fluid handling equipment  302 , the solids handling equipment  306 , and/or the polymer handling equipment  308  for receiving one or more fluids, solids, and/or polymers and mixing these components to form the slurry composition. The blender  310  may in turn be in fluid communication with the one or more pump units  304  through a low pressure manifold. In some embodiments, the low pressure manifold may be included in a manifold trailer that also includes the high pressure manifold  114 , as will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. 
     In embodiments where the slurry equipment spread  108  is at the same location as one or more wellbores  106  to be treated, the slurry equipment spread  108  may include the high pressure manifold  114 . The high pressure manifold  114  may provide fluid communication between the pump units  304  and one or more wellbores  106  at the slurry location  300 . The high pressure manifold  114  may be a high pressure iron configured to communicate abrasive slurry at high pressures for treating a wellbore  106 . In some embodiments, the slurry equipment spread  108  may also include a fluid injection point  314  positioned along the communication flow path between the pump unit(s)  304  and the wellbore  106 . The injection point  314  may be incorporated into or integral with the high pressure manifold  114 . In other embodiments, the injection point  314  may be located at the wellhead above the wellbore  106  such that the pressurized clean fluid from the piping network bypasses the high pressure manifold  114 . 
     The fluid injection point  314  represents a point in which a flow path of the piping network  116  carrying the pressurized clean fluid intersects a flow path carrying pressurized slurry output via the slurry equipment spread  108 . The pressurized clean fluid pumped from one or more clean locations (e.g.,  102 B,  102 C, and  102 D of  FIG.  1   ;  200  of  FIG.  2   ) is injected a flow path from the slurry equipment spread  108  to further increase the flow rate of and dilute the slurry to form the final treatment fluid being pumped to the wellbore  106  (which may be at the same or a different location than the slurry location  300 ). 
     In embodiments where the slurry equipment spread  108  is at a different location than one or more wellbores  106  to be treated, the slurry equipment spread  108  may include a high pressure manifold  114  that combines the flow of pressurized slurry from multiple pump units  304  and outputs the slurry through a flow path toward a remote location. In such embodiments, the fluid injection point  314  at which the slurry and clean fluids are combined may be located at the remote location where the one or more well bore(s) being treated are located. 
     A well treatment operation comprising a stimulation operation using the disclosed slurry equipment spread  108  will now be described. The blender  310  may receive fluid from the fluid handling equipment  302  and mix the fluid with a proppant, such as sand, or another granular material from the solids handling equipment  306  (and possibly a polymer from the polymer handling equipment  308 ) to produce a slurry that is directed to the pump unit(s)  304 . The pump unit(s)  304  may pressurize the slurry to generate pressurized slurry that is output via the high pressure manifold  114  toward one or more wellbore(s). In some embodiments, a portion of the flow path downstream of the high pressure manifold  114  may simultaneously receive pressurized clean fluid communicated from the piping network  116  to the injection point  314 . The pressurized clean fluid mixes with the pressurized slurry to form a final treatment fluid either before or at the wellbore  106 , and the pressurized treatment fluid is pumped downhole to generate fractures within a formation in fluid communication with the wellbore  106 . 
     The high pressure manifold  114 , injection point  314 , any other connections to the piping network  116 , and any other fluid lines included in or coupled to the slurry equipment spread  108  may include valving and one or more sensors for control and monitoring of the flow of slurry (or final treatment fluid) during distributed pumping operations. A control system of the distributed pumping system may receive signals from sensors and/or output control signals to the valving to control the final treatment fluid output from the system. As illustrated, each of the pump units  304  may be equipped with pump controllers  216  as described above with reference to  FIGS.  1  and  2   . 
     One or more components of the slurry equipment spread  108  described herein may be mounted on a vehicle or trailer, or may be configured for ground deployment. A trailer may include one or more elements of the slurry equipment spread  108 , including one or more sensors, valves, pump units  304 , components of fluid handling equipment  302 , solids handling equipment  306 , polymer handling equipment  308 , the blender  310 , the high pressure manifold  114 , the injection point  314 , and any other elements that may be included in the slurry equipment spread  108 . In other embodiments, the one or more sensors, valves, pump units  304 , components of fluid handling equipment  302 , solids handling equipment  306 , polymer handling equipment  308 , the blender  310 , the high pressure manifold  114 , the injection point  314 , and any other elements that may be included in the slurry equipment spread  108  may be distributed across many trailers. Vehicle-mounted configurations may be beneficial if components of the slurry equipment spread  108  need to be quickly replaced as it enables other vehicles to quickly replace worn or damaged equipment. Vehicle-mounted configurations may also be beneficial if the slurry equipment spread  108  needs to be quickly moved from one location in the well region to another, for example, such as when the slurry equipment spread  108  is being traded out for a clean equipment spread to pump well treatments at a different location. 
     Each slurry equipment spread  108  includes a smaller number of pump units  304  than the total number of pump units within the distributed pumping system (e.g.,  100  of  FIG.  1   ). As such, the slurry equipment spread  108  takes up a smaller footprint at its location  300  than is necessary to contain all the pump units performing the well treatment pumping operations. Since the location  300  features a smaller well pad, this reduces the environmental impact on the location throughout the distributed pumping operations, as compared to systems where the entire pumping system is disposed at a single location. 
     Turning back to  FIG.  1   , the distributed pumping system  100  may operate to provide a well treatment to the wellbore  106  at location  102 A by operating one or more pumps at one or more of the clean equipment spreads  110  in the region  104  to output pressurized clean fluid through the piping network  116  toward the location  102 A. The clean fluid is then combined with a slurry generated at the location  102 A via the slurry equipment spread  108  to form the pressurized final treatment fluid used to treat the wellbore  106  at the location  102 A. This process may be repeated until all wells at the location  102 A are treated. 
     After stimulating the wellbore(s)  106  at this location  102 A, it may be desirable to stimulate a wellbore  106  at a different location (e.g.,  102 B) in the region  104 . To accomplish this, the slurry equipment spread  108  at location  102 A may be exchanged with the clean equipment spread  110  at location  102 B. This interchanging of the slurry equipment spread  108  and clean equipment spread  110  is illustrated in  FIG.  4   . During this swap, the clean equipment spreads on locations  102 C and  102 D may remain in their original locations. Pumping may resume from the slurry equipment spread  108  and one or more of the clean equipment spreads  110  until all wells  106  located at location  102 B are treated. 
     This process of swapping equipment spreads of two different locations and operating the distributed pumping system  100  to perform well treatments on wells may be repeated for each remaining location (e.g.,  102 C and  102 D) having wellbores  106  until all wells in the region  104  are completed. By swapping the slurry equipment spread  108  with clean equipment spreads  110 , the distributed pumping method may minimize the exposure of the equipment to abrasive slurries. That is because only the equipment (e.g., high pressure manifold  114 /flow path and pump units) of the slurry equipment spread  108  are exposed to the abrasive slurries. In addition, exchanging the slurry equipment spread  108  for one clean equipment spread  110  at a time whenever a new wellsite is to be completed requires moving fewer pieces than if all components of the pumping system were disposed at the same location. This leads to mobilization cost savings and increases efficiency of completing wells in a field since there is less equipment to move and rig up each time the slurry equipment transitions to a new location. The clean equipment spreads  110  may stay at each site longer than they would in a non-distributed well treatment system. This makes installation of additional infrastructure (e.g., for maintenance, automation, or remote operation) more economically feasible. 
     As illustrated, the piping network  116  of  FIGS.  1  and  4    is such that all locations  102  in the region  104  are fluidly connected in series. That is, the piping network  116  includes flow paths  118  that directly couple the first location  102 A to the second location  102 B, the second location  102 B to the third location  102 C, the third location  102 C to the fourth location  102 D, and the fourth location  102 D to the first location  102 A. This allows the clean fluid to be pumped in either direction from each of the clean locations toward the slurry location. In addition, this series configuration means that switching the slurry location only requires exchanging at least a portion of the slurry equipment spread  108  for one of the clean equipment spreads  110 , without changing the flow paths  118  of the piping network  116 . Other configurations of the piping network  116  may be used in other embodiments, as described below. 
     It should be noted that any number of locations or well sites may be present in a region  104  in which the distributed pumping system  100  is used. For example, as shown in  FIG.  5   , the region  104  may have as few as two locations  102  in which the pumping system  100  is distributed. As illustrated in  FIG.  5   , the distributed pumping system  100  may include a single slurry equipment spread  108  and a single clean equipment spread  110  that are connected across their different locations  102 A and  102 B, respectively, via a piping network  116  including a single flow path. 
     In other embodiments, there may be different numbers of clean equipment spreads  110  operating with one or more slurry equipment spreads  108  to perform well treatments. For example, the distributed pumping system  100  may include two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, or any other desired number of clean equipment spreads  110  disposed at different locations  102  within the region  104  and connected via a piping network  116 . In addition, different numbers of slurry equipment spreads  108  may be operated with or without clean equipment spread(s)  110  to perform well treatments. For example, the distributed pumping system  100  may include two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, or any other desired number of slurry equipment spreads  108  disposed at different locations  102  within the region  104  and connected via a piping network  116 . 
     The exact number of locations  102  about which the distributed pumping system  100  is disposed may be selected or adjusted to match the total power requirements for the treatment (e.g., stimulation) operations with the power available via the grid infrastructure  112  (and/or other available power sources) at each location  102 . The number of pump units (e.g.,  204  and  304 ) that are included in each clean equipment spread  110  and/or slurry equipment spread  108  may be selected based on the hydraulic horsepower required by the well  106  being treated, the percent capacity at which it is desired to run the pumps, and the amount of proppant desired to be pumped. 
     In certain embodiments, the distributed pumping system  100  may include multiple slurry equipment spreads  108  or even entirely slurry equipment spreads  108  without any clean equipment spreads  110 . For example,  FIG.  10    illustrates an embodiment in which all locations  102  are equipped with slurry equipment spreads  108  having the associated equipment that is able to handle slurry. 
     As discussed above, the disclosed distributed pumping system  100  may have a configuration for fluidly connecting the various locations  102  that is different from the series connection of  FIGS.  1  and  4   . For example,  FIG.  6    illustrates a configuration of the distributed pumping system  100  having parallel connections between the clean locations  102 B,  102 C,  102 D and a well treatment location  102 A. In the embodiment of  FIG.  6   , the slurry equipment is located at the well treatment location  102 A. In this configuration, the piping network  116  may include multiple individual flow paths  118  extending one from each of the locations  102 B,  102 C, and  102 D directly to the location  102 A. The high pressure manifold  114  or the wellhead at location  102 A may be configured to receive each individual flow of pressurized clean fluid from the locations  102 B,  102 C, and  102 D to combine with the slurry and treat the well  106  at location  102 A. In this configuration, any valving in the piping network  116  may be controlled to allow one-way communication of fluid from each of the clean locations  102 B,  102 C, and  102 D to the well treatment location  102 A. 
     When it is desired to move at least a portion of the slurry equipment spread  108  from one location  102 A to another (e.g.,  102 B), a portion of the piping network  116  may need to be moved as well to maintain a parallel connection between the clean locations  102 A,  102 C, and  102 D and the new well treatment location  102 B. For example, the shorter length of pipe  118 A between locations  102 A and  102 C may be moved so that it then extends between locations  102 B and  102 D, and the longer length of pipe  118 B between locations  102 A and  102 D may be moved so that it then extends between locations  102 B and  102 C. In other embodiments, the elongated lengths of pipe  118  may be kept in their original locations, but plumbing may be added at location  102 A to connect the flowlines such that the flow paths  118 A and  118 B feed into flow path  118 C. At the same time, the plumbing at or near the high pressure manifold  114  may be adjusted so that a single injection point is provided for the flow path  118 C to feed clean fluid into the slurry equipment flow path. 
     In other embodiments, as shown in  FIG.  7   , the distributed pumping system  100  may have a hybrid configuration in which all the clean equipment spreads  110  at locations  102 B,  102 C,  102 D pump clean fluid to a central hub  700 , and one additional clean line  702  is installed coupling the central hub  700  to the treated well bore location  102 A. This allows for parallel pumping while requiring less plumbing to move as compared to the parallel pumping arrangement of  FIG.  6   . The central hub  700  may include a fluid manifold that combines the flows from each flow path  118  into a single flow through the clean line  702 . An end of the clean line  702  may be moved each time the slurry equipment spread  108  is moved, but no other lines  118  need to be rearranged and no additional plumbing is added or removed from the high pressure manifold  114  of the slurry equipment spread  108 . 
     In still other embodiments, any combination of the different configuration of the piping network  116  may be used.  FIG.  8    illustrates an embodiment of the distributed pumping system  100  having a combination of different piping network configurations therein. Selecting which configuration (series, parallel, hybrid, etc.) of piping network  116  to use for connecting several locations  102  in a region  104  may depend on the relative spacing between the locations  102 . It may be desirable to select a configuration of the piping network  116  that minimizes the total length of pipeline needed or the number of moves of pipelines needed to swap the treatment locations. 
     As shown in  FIG.  8   , not all locations  102  in which the clean equipment spreads  110  are disposed need to include a wellbore  106 . For example, the location  102 D in  FIG.  8    does not include a well, since the location  102 D is not at a well site. Instead, the location  102 D is at an infield site where grid power is available. In other embodiments, one or more clean equipment spreads  110  may be located at a near field site (e.g., just outside the region  104 ) where grid power in available. 
       FIG.  11    illustrates an embodiment of the distributed pumping system  100  in which multiple flows of fluid are pumped to and combined at a well treatment location  102 A in which no equipment spreads are located. For example,  FIG.  11    shows the well treatment location  102 A having a well bore  106  and a fluid injection point  314  at which pressurized clean fluid is combined with pressurized slurry to form the well treatment fluid. A manifold  1100  may also be located at the well treatment location  102 A and coupled to the well bore  106  to combine the different pressurized fluid flows. As illustrated, a flow path  1102  may couple a separate slurry location  102 B in which the slurry equipment spread  108  is located to the well treatment location  102 A, while a flow path  1104  may couple a separate clean location  102 C in which the clean equipment spread  110  is located to the well treatment location  102 A. The flow path  1102  leading from the slurry location  102 B to the well treatment location  102 A may be configured specifically to handle the corrosive pressurized slurry flowing therethrough. If it is desired to switch from treating the well bore  106  at the remote well treatment location  102 A to treating a well bore  106  at the slurry location  102 B, the high pressure manifold  114  may simply be reconfigured to direct pressurized slurry directly to the well bore  106  at the location  102 B instead of to the flow path  1102 , and the flow path  1104  may be moved to fluidly couple the clean location  102 C to the slurry location  102 B for injection at the location  102 B. 
     The control system described above may control operation of the pumps of the slurry equipment spread  108  and clean equipment spreads  110  in various ways to meet the well treatment requirements while improving maintenance and other operations at the various locations  102 . For example, in some embodiments, the control system may control the pumps such that any available pumps that are not currently being used for pumping are distributed among all sites. This may lower the amount of grid power required at each location  102  to support the well treatment operations. In other embodiments, the control system may control the pumps such that all the pumps at one location  102  are not operating. This facilitates easier maintenance because there are no red zones at the non-operational location  102 , so maintenance can be performed on all pumps at that location quickly and easily. In addition, if a problem or potential hazard is detected in one or more pumps at one of the locations  102 , all pumps may be shut off at the affected location and replaced by other pumps coming online at other locations to continue well treatment operations. As such, the disclosed distributed pumping system  100  increases flexibility in managing equipment assets at the various locations  102  throughout pumping operations. 
       FIG.  9    is a process flow diagram of a method  900  for providing grid powered operations at a well region in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method  900  may include providing (block  902 ) power for drilling a well bore  106  via a first grid power supply  112  prior to performing completion operations at the well. The method  900  then includes performing (block  904 ) a well treatment on the well using power from the first grid power supply  112  and a second grid power supply  112  at another location. The well treatment  904  includes providing (block  906 ) power to a slurry pump unit  304  via the first grid power supply  112 , wherein the slurry pump unit  304  and the grid power supply  112  are disposed at a first location proximate a first well bore  106 . The well treatment  904  also includes providing (block  908 ) power to a clean pump unit  204  via a second grid power supply  112 , wherein the pump unit  204  and the second grid power supply  112  are disposed at a second location. The well treatment  904  also includes transporting (block  910 ) clean fluid pressurized by the pump unit  204  to the first location via a flow path  118  fluidly connecting the pump unit  204  to the first location. In some embodiments, the slurry pump unit  304  may be operated entirely via the power provided from the first grid power supply  112 , and the pump unit  204  may be operated entirely via the power provided from the second grid power supply  112 . In some embodiments, the method  900  may further includes allowing (block  912 ) the slurry pump unit  304  and the pump unit  204  to be interchanged with each other between the first and second locations, thus enabling treatment of one or more wells at the second location. The method  900  may further includes providing (block  914 ) power for production operations at the first well bore  106  via the first grid power supply  112  after treating the well. 
     As such, the disclosed embodiments may include a distributed in-field powered pumping system that includes at least two pump units, at least one of these pump units being a slurry pump unit, disposed at different locations. For example, the first pump unit (which may be a clean pump unit or a slurry pump unit) is disposed at a first location, while the second pump unit (which may be a slurry pump unit) is disposed at a second location. The first pump unit and the second pump unit may each receive power at a prime mover to operate their associated pump, as described above. The first pump unit receives operational power from a first power supply, while the second pump unit receives operational power from a second power supply. 
     The first power supply may be an electrical, mechanical, or hydraulic power supply, and the second power supply may similarly be an electrical, mechanical, or hydraulic power supply. For example, the first power supply may include a grid power supply providing electrical power to a motor which acts as the prime mover on the first pump unit. In some embodiments, the first power supply may be another type of electrical power supply (e.g., a generator or battery) that provides electrical power to an electrical motor on the first pump unit. In some embodiments, the first power supply may include an engine (e.g., Diesel engine, natural gas engine, or dual-fuel engine) that burns fuel to directly generate mechanical energy at the prime mover of the first pump unit. In some embodiments, the second power supply may include a grid power supply providing electrical power to a motor which acts as the prime mover on the second pump unit. In some embodiments, the second power supply may be another type of electrical power supply (e.g., a generator or battery) that provides electrical power to an electrical motor on the second pump unit. In some embodiments, the second power supply may include an engine (e.g., Diesel engine, natural gas engine, or dual-fuel engine) that burns fuel to directly generate mechanical energy at the prime mover of the second pump unit. 
     In the disclosed embodiments, at least one of the first power supply and the second power supply is a grid power supply. As described above, the term “grid power supply” refers to any type of infrastructure that transmits or distributes electrical power about the region in which the first location and/or second location are located. This may include grid infrastructure that is built out from a remote utility grid to transmit power from the utility grid to the region, as well as grid infrastructure that distributes power generated at the in-field region. In some embodiments, the pump unit at the first location may be powered by a first grid power supply disposed at the first location, and the slurry pump unit at the second location may be powered by a second grid power supply at the second location. In other embodiments, only one of the pump unit at the first location and the slurry pump unit at the second location may be powered by a grid power supply disposed at its respective location, while the other may be mechanically, electrically, or hydraulically powered by another type of power supply disposed at its respective location. The above described layout of a pump unit and a slurry pump unit disposed at first and second locations, respectively in the region and powered by respective first and second power supplies can be extended to any desired number of pumps including at least one slurry pump in the region. For example, the system may also include a second pump unit disposed at a third location and powered by a third power supply (which is similar to the first/second power supplies) disposed at the third location. Each element depicted in the system may comprise one or more of each element. 
     For example, each pump described herein may comprise one or more pumps, each blender may comprise one or more blenders, and the storage systems may comprise one or more tanks and containers for storing material as well as systems for distributing and receiving additional storage material. Further, as described herein, a blender or blending system may further comprise one or more boost pumps. Additionally, the power source of the split flow pumping system may comprise one or more power sources, wherein the power sources may comprise electric sources, gas sources, diesel sources, natural gas sources, and any combination thereof. 
     As described herein, computers may comprise any suitable machine or network of machines capable of communicating with other network equipped devices including without limitation on-site equipment, notification devices, control devices, network devices, storage devices, and resources. Computers may comprise a processor or central processing unit configured for executing instructions, program instructions, process data, or any combination thereof. The processor may be configured to interpret and execute program instructions, software, or other data retrieved and stored in memory, including without limitation read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), solid state memory, or disk-based memory. 
     Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to computers without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Any suitable configurations of components may be used. For example, components of computers may be implemented either as physical or logical components. Furthermore, in one or more embodiments, functionality associated with computers may be implemented in special purpose circuits or components. In one or more embodiments, functionality associated with components of computers may be implemented in configurable general-purpose circuit or components, such as configured computer program instructions. 
     In any embodiment, computers may include a non-transitory computer readable medium that stores one or more instructions where the one or more instructions when executed cause the processor to perform certain actions. As used herein, a computer may include any instrumentality or aggregate of instrumentalities operable to compute, classify, process, transmit, receive, retrieve, originate, switch, store, display, manifest, detect, record, reproduce, handle, or utilize any form of information, intelligence, or data for business, scientific, control, or other purposes. 
     While the present disclosure has been described in connection with one or more embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that it is not intended to limit the disclosure to those embodiments. It is therefore contemplated that various alternative embodiments and modifications may be made to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof. In particular, with regards to the methods disclosed, one or more steps may not be required in all embodiments of the methods and the steps disclosed in the methods may be performed in a different order than was described. The indefinite articles “a” or “an,” as used in the claims, are defined herein to mean one or more than one of the element that that a particular article introduces; and subsequent use of the definite article “the” is not intended to negate that meaning. Further, embodiments described herein involving two elements contemplate applications involving two or more of the same element. 
     An embodiment of the present disclosure is a system including: a pump unit disposed at a first location, a slurry pump unit disposed at a second location, and at least one grid power supply. At least one of the pump unit and the slurry pump unit is powered by the at least one grid power supply. The system also includes a first flow path fluidly connected to the pump unit at the first location and configured to fluidly connect the pump unit to a well bore to be treated; and a second flow path fluidly connected to the slurry pump unit at the second location and configured to fluidly connect the slurry pump unit to the well bore to be treated. 
     In one or more embodiments described in the preceding paragraph, a first grid power supply is disposed at the first location, wherein the first grid power supply provides electrical power to the pump unit. In one or more embodiments described in the preceding paragraph, a second grid power supply is disposed at the second location, wherein the second grid power supply provides electrical power to the slurry unit. In one or more embodiments described in the preceding paragraph, the at least one grid power supply provides power transmitted from an infield power generation system located in a region in which the first location and the second location are located. In one or more embodiments described in the preceding paragraph, the at least one grid power supply provides power transmitted from a remote power generation system located away from a region in which the first location and the second location are located. In one or more embodiments described in the preceding paragraph, the first flow path includes at least one pipeline, and wherein the flow path is configured to provide bidirectional fluid flow. In one or more embodiments described in the preceding paragraph, the system further includes a blender disposed at the second location, wherein the blender is fluidly coupled to the slurry pump unit. In one or more embodiments described in the preceding paragraph, the slurry pump unit is disposed proximate a well bore at the second location; the first flow path connects the first location to the second location; and the second flow path includes a high pressure manifold disposed at the second location. In one or more embodiments described in the preceding paragraph, the first flow path connects the pump unit to an injection point either at the well bore or between the high pressure manifold and the well bore. In one or more embodiments described in the preceding paragraph, the pump unit is disposed at the first location proximate a second well bore. In one or more embodiments described in the preceding paragraph, the system further includes a second pump unit disposed at a third location; and a third flow path configured to fluidly connect the second pump unit to the well bore. In one or more embodiments described in the preceding paragraph, the third power supply is a third grid power supply is disposed at the third location, wherein the third grid power supply provides electrical power to the second pump unit. In one or more embodiments described in the preceding paragraph, wherein the pump unit at the first location is a slurry pump unit. 
     Another embodiment of the present disclosure is a system including: a first clean pump unit disposed at a first location and coupled to a first clean fluid source; a first grid power supply disposed at the first location, wherein the first grid power supply provides power to the first clean pump unit; a first flow path fluidly connected to the first clean pump unit to output pressurized clean fluid from the first clean pump unit toward a well bore; a slurry pump unit disposed at a second location; and a second flow path fluidly connected to the slurry pump unit to output pressurized slurry from the slurry pump unit toward the well bore. 
     In one or more embodiments described in the preceding paragraph, the system further includes: a second clean pump unit disposed at a third location and coupled to a second clean fluid source; a second grid power supply disposed at the third location, wherein the second grid power supply provides power to the second clean pump unit; and a third flow path fluidly connected to the second clean pump unit to output pressurized clean fluid from the second clean pump unit toward the well bore. In one or more embodiments described in the preceding paragraph, the first flow path directly connects the first location to the second location, and wherein the third flow path directly connects the third location to the first location. In one or more embodiments described in the preceding paragraph, the first flow path directly connects the first location to the second location, and wherein the third flow path directly connects the third location to the second location. In one or more embodiments described in the preceding paragraph, the system further includes a centralized hub coupled to the second location, wherein the first flow path directly connects the first location to the centralized hub, and wherein the third flow path directly connects the third location to the centralized hub. 
     Another embodiment of the present disclosure is a method including: providing a pump unit disposed at a first location; providing a slurry pump unit disposed at a second location; powering at least one of the pump unit and the slurry pump unit via at least one grid power supply; transporting fluid pressurized by the pump unit toward a well bore via a first flow path; and transporting slurry pressurized by the slurry pump unit toward the well bore via a second flow path. 
     In one or more embodiments described in the preceding paragraph, the pump unit is powered by a first grid power supply disposed at the first location and the slurry unit is powered by a second grid power supply disposed at the second location, and the method further includes: operating the pump unit entirely via the power provided from the first grid power supply; and operating the slurry pump unit entirely via the power provided from the second grid power supply. 
     Therefore, the present disclosure is well adapted to attain the ends and advantages mentioned as well as those that are inherent therein. The particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only, as the present disclosure may be modified and practiced in different but equivalent manners apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings herein. While numerous changes may be made by those skilled in the art, such changes are encompassed within the spirit of the subject matter defined by the appended claims. Furthermore, no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown, other than as described in the claims below. It is therefore evident that the particular illustrative embodiments disclosed above may be altered or modified and all such variations are considered within the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. In particular, every range of values (e.g., “from about a to about b,” or, equivalently, “from approximately a to b,” or, equivalently, “from approximately a-b”) disclosed herein is to be understood as referring to the power set (the set of all subsets) of the respective range of values. The terms in the claims have their plain, ordinary meaning unless otherwise explicitly and clearly defined by the patentee.