Three new technologies developed by ChampionX to address the oil and gas industry’s drive toward net-zero goals have delivered substantial results for its customers in its first year following the merger of Ecolab Inc.’s ChampionX upstream business with Apergy Corp., while also reducing Champion X's carbon emissions, the company announced Aug. 25.
The combined business, which employs more than 6,600 personnel globally—including 400 scientists and technologists in 60 countries—is a provider of upstream and midstream oilfield technology solutions, digital offerings, chemistry programs and services.
The success of ChampionX’s remote technical support center, TEAMS (Technical Excellence & Account Management Support) Center and its new DREAM (Digital Remote Expert Access Manager) monitoring app, its upgraded XSPOCTM production optimization software, and a portfolio of environmentally acceptable corrosion inhibitors reflect the organization’s increased capabilities following last summer’s merger.
Developed in-house, the company’s remote-access TEAMS Center and DREAM mobile app connect ChampionX’s in-field personnel with technical experts anywhere in the world via traditional audio-visual tools and the latest augmented reality technology. These tools have substantially reduced the need for personnel to travel to the site to problem solve, which has directly improved safety, minimized risk and increased efficiency for both its clients and the business. In the past twelve months, these capabilities have helped reduce ChampionX’s carbon emissions by 372.5 metric tons of CO2.
The business also released the latest version of its XSPOC production optimization software earlier this year to deliver greater efficiencies in wells on artificial lift. Used by several supermajors, the software employs AI to remotely analyze well data and provide greater insight into the effectiveness of artificial lift systems. This delivers greater production, reserves recovery and efficiency while reducing energy consumption. During a recent project, one operator was able to reduce the number of cycles on more than 100 rod lift wells by 50%, avoiding associated failures and deferred production.
Earlier this year, the business secured two contracts worth a combined $3.9 million to deliver a range of its next-generation, non-toxic chemicals to two major North Sea operators. A new environmentally acceptable corrosion inhibitor product line was developed to enable E&P organizations to economically extend the life of their assets in a sustainable way, without sacrificing efficiency. The new chemicals deliver effective corrosion prevention to ensure assets can operate safely for years to come, with a reduced environmental impact.
Soma Somasundaram, president and CEO of ChampionX, said: “Our combined strength as ChampionX to develop game-changing products demonstrates our commitment to delivering smart, sustainable solutions, which actively address industry challenges. The energy transition is real, and we see the changes happening in the oil and gas industry as part of the solution to deliver a lower-carbon future. I’m exceptionally proud of our team working together to provide these latest innovations, which are playing an important role in operators’ carbon emission reduction strategies around the world, as well as creating safer and more efficient operations.
“Looking ahead, we plan to leverage our proven digital capabilities to further expand our base of new digital revenue streams, which are natural extensions to our production optimization expertise. This includes monitoring, modeling, failure analysis, and analytical services. When it comes to sustainability, continuous improvement is at the heart of our business, and ChampionX will continue to push boundaries to support the sector’s climate promises.”
Following the merger, ChampionX recognized the opportunity to establish its operating principles and business models with sustainability at the center and developed an internal methodology to calculate the carbon footprint for its chemical offerings. The approach calculates the associated carbon emissions produced across all stages of its chemical products, from manufacturing to logistics, while also calculating the positive impact the products have on production processes. This system enables ChampionX to quantify the total lifecycle impact of its programs and understand how to reduce this effectively.
With the goal of helping customers achieve their emissions reduction targets, ChampionX also recently announced its acquisition of Scientific Aviation, Inc., a provider of site-specific and regional methane emissions monitoring solutions for continuous and periodic monitoring applications.