Deep Well Services (DWS) and CNX Resources Corp. (NYSE: CNX) announced a joint venture to launch AutoSep Technologies (AutoSep), a new oilfield service company providing step change improvement to conventional flowback operations. The new entity will benefit from the technological development capabilities of CNX and the service quality standard that DWS provides to the industry. As a standalone company operated by DWS, AutoSep will have the flexibility and autonomy to provide automated flowback solutions to the oil and gas industry.
As the first product offering, the partnership brings an automated flowback system for modern, high rate, and erosive unconventional shale wells. The new, highly compact system can be deployed in a fraction of the time and requires less labor, while reducing costs, improving safety, and lowering the environmental impact associated with conventional flowback operations.
The market potential for this product solution across domestic and international oil and gas basins is significant. Each year 20,000 wells are flowed back in the United States, and 60,000 wells are flowed back globally. Compared to the advancements in drilling and completion operations, flowback operations have remained largely unchanged as they continue to be costly, labor intensive, and prone to methane emissions. This joint venture aims to upend the status quo.
“Leveraging CNX`s proprietary and patent pending technology, AutoSep`s flowback solution simplifies and automates this early production phase significantly, reducing the footprint, hard iron connections, manpower required, and any inherent safety risks involved in performing such tasks”, commented David Mulvihill, Chief Strategy Officer of Deep Well Services. Mr. Mulvihill continued, “Additional benefits include remote operation and monitoring through SCADA and closed-circuit cameras that feed to a central control center located outside of safety red zones. This also automates data collection, allowing customers to access data in real-time through DWS`s industry leading BoreSite® system.”
AutoSep`s automated control unit allows for a fully sealed flowback that effectively eliminates methane emissions, including that of sand trap blowdowns. This is considered to be the market`s first readily available solution for capturing methane vapors, including during simultaneous operations. DWS and CNX believe the technology is applicable for drill out operations as well and intend to market the technology to operators across domestic and international oil and gas basins that seek to lower capital costs while reducing emissions.
Ravi Srivastava, President of CNX New Technologies commented, “CNX has been hard at work developing proprietary, game-changing technologies and processes to advance the state-of-the-art across the industry. With this collaboration, DWS and CNX are unlocking step change improvements in completions operations that check all the boxes – lower emissions, lower costs, and a safer process. Successful tests have been conducted on several recent CNX flowback operations, and we see enormous market potential for this solution and are excited to begin promoting the benefits of this new, innovative oilfield service across the U.S. and beyond.”
Officially launched in 2021, CNX New Technologies business unit develops proprietary technology for vertical and horizontal business growth that is rooted in the company`s extensive legacy asset base, intellectual assets, and innovative tradition. The group is focused on waste methane capture and abatement, as well as forging strategic partnerships for the use of low carbon intensity feedstocks and the creation of derivative products in transportation fuels, manufacturing processes, and other markets.
