Case Study 3

Case Study:  Remote oil field operations site.

General Location:  South Eastern New Mexico Remote oil field operations site.

Climatic and Site Conditions:  Semi arid environment, generally fair skies, generally moderate winds, no surface waters, low lying vegetation, loose sandy soils at ground surface.

Client Type:  Mid-size Environmental and Engineering Consulting Firm

End User Type:  Mid-size Pipeline Operating Company

Project Goals:  Recover Chloride contaminated water from aquifer. Remove greater than 1 gpm from a 2” extraction well at depths between 90 and 140 ft below ground surface. Reclaim better than 15% of extraction total and return at non contaminated background value to the aquifer. Or discharge to beneficial surface use not to exceed 250 ppm chloride.

Project Specification:  Develop technology to reliably, efficiently, and economically pump corrosive aqueos solutions from a 2” well at a range of depths and pumping speeds. Background at non-contaminated portion of site equaled 70 ppm. Recovery well chloride concentrations were determined to be approximately 1650 ppm. Generate electricity onsite to power all operations without interruption.

Technology Selected:  Mechanical down hole pump coupled to prototype wind and solar powered lift arm. Catalized Reverse Osmosis with site-specific pretreatment. Hybrid wind and solar DC power system, optimized for site conditions, linked to 2400 lb. battery bank for sustained operation during periods with insufficient energy supply.

Implementation of Technology:  Equipment was designed, assembled, tested, and packaged at the AMS, Inc. Houston facility. Equipment was mobilized to site and installed by a crew of four in three days. Site specific conditions and hazards were addressed. Field observation and testing preceded laboratory analyticals. Equipment was tuned to optimize production.

Results:  Sustained successful operations are ongoing. Extraction rate is set to match well recharge at 3 gpm. Average recovery is sixty percent treated water with chloride values between 40 and 70 ppm.

Findings:  We have found this technology in this application to be both practical and economically feasible, especially compared to conventional approaches to remote location power supply and TDS related treatment. The use of renewable resources for power supply coupled to the production of usable water from contaminated sources result in a net positive impact to the local ecology and environment.