"New recovery chemical under test. Sequoia Interests Corp., based in Richmond, Texas, has developed a ''new, cost-effective, environmentally friendly, inorganic compound trademarked DiamondFlo that has a unique ability to relieve surface tension.'' The chemical reportedly has the ability to displace oil from a solid, allowing embedded oil to flow. As it displaces the oil, it floats in the water, but does not emulsify with the water - similar to a lava lamp - allowing the oil to be extracted on a cost-effective, environmentally friendly basis.
The product is undergoing characterization analysis at the University of Houston's Chemistry Department. It is also being tested for other applications at an R&D organization in San Antonio, Texas, and EFIRD Corrosion International, Inc., in The Woodlands, Texas.
According to Daniel Efird, an independent chemical engineer, ''If what we suspect is true, it is a new class of polymeric material. Its primary use would be its ability to displace oil from a solid, and it seems to be very effective at low concentrations. It appears to actively seek out solid surfaces and displace oil from the rock as it absorbs onto the rock. It appears to be more efficient than many other chemical solutions being used to recover oil. It has a pretty high percentage of recovery - in the 80% range in the lab.''
If what initial testing indicates is proved in field tests, the new product could be a boon to the oil industry's marginal well segment. The Office of Fossil Energy states, ''There are nearly 500,000 of these wells in the US and, together, they produce about the same amount of oil as America imports from Saudi Arabia.'' It says further that, ''More than 60% of all known oil reserves in the US remain untapped because of difficulties in extraction from the ground.'' We look forward to more application reports on this exciting new product."
This is the article on SQNC from the July 2004 issue of World Oil Magazine.
News 
Market Data 
Discover 
AI
