Gradiant Energy Services (GES) recently completed a successful evaporative disposal pilot project for an unnamed supermajor in the Permian Basin. 

In a Dec. 17 release, the Denver-based service provider addressing water challenges facing the industry said its patented carrier gas concentration (CGC) technology had been successfully showcased for multiple members of the supermajor’s senior management and the Latin American operational teams in the Permian.

“Disposal constraints are becoming a major concern for operators in the Permian. ... This Permian evaporation project proves the economics of our value proposition to our client,” Kushal Seth, vice president of technology and engineering at GES said in a statement.

The CGC technology was successfully utilized to evaporate 1,000 barrels per day of produced water in the Permian Basin over a 25-day period using natural gas as a fuel source, which would have been otherwise flared. The treatment pilot consisted of H2S pre-treatment via oxidation and volume reduction through a CGC unit.

GES’s CGC technology operates on the principle of humidification of a carrier gas via a multistage bubble column. Waste heat is used to heat produced water prior to entering the bubble column where it contacts carrier gas bubbles and transfers freshwater vapor to the carrier gas. This continuous process results in clean water vapor released into the atmosphere and concentration of the dissolved solids in produced water to make a concentrated brine.

GES said the concentrated brine from the pilot project was sent to the operator where it was used for workover operations, but it could also be used for drilling and completions, or simply as a means of reducing disposal volumes.

The CGC technology is projected by GES to be used during the exploratory phase for unconventional development, where it will be evaporating the produced and flowback water, during the third quarter of 2020, according to the company release.

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