[ad_1]
Oil and natural gas producers are increasingly having their production certified as responsibly produced in an effort to highlight their environmental initiatives and open their production to markets seeking responsibly produced, low-carbon fuels.
Now, for the first time, an enhanced oil recovery technology has been certified as reducing carbon intensity and boosting production.
Certified gains:
According to the certification, oil and gas production companies utilizing just a single application of Locus’ AssurEOR STIM technology reap multiple benefits, including:
• Carbon intensity reduction: At least a 7% reduction in carbon intensity of oil and gas production based on the most conservative historical performance readings, going up to 20%+ at scale
• Cost: In Texas, an opportunity for a 50% reduction in the 4.6% excise taxes on all, not just incremental, oil produced with Locus’ EOR technology for 10 years
• Revenue: A minimum 10% production increase, which can result in $300K+ in additional annual revenue from an average 100-bpd well, excluding tax credits
Each oil and gas well that does not need to be fracked or drilled saves:
• Water: Reduction of 25 Olympic-sized swimming pools worth of water
• Diesel: Conserves enough diesel fuel to drive around the Earth’s equator more than 450 times
• Sand: Elimination of the mining and transportation of 8,500 tons of sand (the second most used resource on the planet)—the volume needed to build a half mile of freeway
• Chemicals: Exclusion of 50,000 gallons or more of chemicals
“First and foremost, our business has been to help operators increase production,” Marty Shumway, senior vice president at Locus Bio-Energy told the Reporter-Telegram of the company’s AssuEOR STIM biosurfactant technology that was just certified by SGS.
The certified treatments have a smaller micelle size and penetrate further into nanopores to mobilize oil other treatments can’t reach, reduces surface and interfacial tension lower and faster than chemical surfactants for higher efficacy at lower usage rates and have more active sites per molecule, resulting in better multifunctionality than chemical surfactants.
In terms of lower carbon intensity, the oil produced using the technology has a lower carbon footprint: The treatments can be applied using only one pump truck, which reduces the carbon footprint, chemical usage and cost, and conserves resources such as water, diesel and sand used in traditional re-fracs.
According to Shumway, the certification was based on actual historical performance data that is public record. The results spanned from 2017-2021. Two scenarios were reviewed:
The first scenario compared wells treated with an AssurEOR STIM treatment and those that weren’t. That scenario showed a 7% reduction in carbon intensity of production on a per barrel basis across 10 years, plus a 10% overall boost in production.
The second scenario looked at the carbon intensity reduction by pulling back on drilling and fracking while maintaining production. This scenario is more relevant overseas where production allocations are common. The treatments allow operators to produce the allocated target with less drilling. In this scenario, the estimated impact for each well not drilled and completed with hydraulic fracturing is a 20% reduction in carbon intensity per barrel, plus reductions in water, diesel, sand and chemical use.
“We’ve always focused on performance and price. This has the added benefit of both improved performance and the ability to have sustainable chemicals,” Shumway said during a telephone interview.
The treatments contain the company’s novel biosurfactants, which are biodegradable and made from renewable raw materials, such as fatty acids and sugar, as an ingredient.
“However, the real environmental impact is not the sustainability of that singular ingredient itself – it’s the full treatment’s ability to lower carbon intensity of oil production and conserve natural resources,” Shumway said.
Other products include biosurfactant technology for enhanced wellbore remediation with acid stimulation fluid systems and an ESG-friendly biosurfactant-based cleaner for midstream oil and gas cleaning. Shumway said all the company’s products are in use throughout the Permian Basin.
“Our chemistry does play nicely in higher total dissolved solids brines,” he said.
For now, he said the company’s near-term development focus is chemistry for enhanced oil recovery and hydraulic fracturing.
“Our research and development is always looking at needs,” he said. “We have a lot in the pipeline.”
[ad_2]
Source link
