North Dakota Oil & Gas Project Has Global Implications for Reducing Flare Gas
ORC Technology Utilizes Flare Gas to Generate Emission-Free Electricity
The Woodlands, September 18, 2015 (Newswire.com) - To help reduce flaring emissions, The Environmentally Friendly Drilling Systems (EFD), Gulf Coast Green Energy, and ElectraTherm, partnered with the HESS Corporation to test the ElectraTherm Power+ Generator™, a leading distributed waste-heat-to-power technology, at a North Dakota oil well to reduce oil and gas flaring. The project captures the natural gas that would otherwise be flared to generate emission-free electricity and reduce or eliminate onsite flaring by using the Power+ Generator™. Additionally, it successfully demonstrates an effective means of flare reduction, and changes the landscape for industries where flaring was previously believed to be the only solution. Funding for the project was provided to Gulf Coast Green Energy, distributor for the ElectraTherm Power+ Generator, by the Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA) program and the Houston Advanced Research Center’s (HARC) Environmentally Friendly Drilling Program. The goal of the project is to demonstrate the Power+ Generator as a solution to reducing flared gas. A short video on the project is available at https://youtu.be/_srTTY0J_E8.
North Dakota state regulations require that oil and gas companies significantly reduce the amount of natural gas that is burned in flares over the next several years or face steep penalties and potential curtailment of oil production for wells that do not meet the reductions. ElectraTherm’s Power+ Generator captures the waste heat and provides clean methane utilization without capital intensive gas clean-up, engine or micro turbine capital costs, and heavy maintenance associated.
Projects like this allow us to evaluate new technologies for the O&G industry and to find science based solutions to industry challenges which is our primary mission.
Dr. Rich Haut, Director, Environmentally Friendly Drilling Systems Program, HARC
Texas A&M University’s Agrilife Research Institute of Renewable Natural Resources is conducting emission monitoring and comparing emissions from direct flaring verses the Power+ solution. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) and North Dakota Department of Health Division of Air Quality (NDDOH Air Quality) approved methods are being used during a two-day monitoring event at the site. The results are forthcoming and it is believed that the Power+ solution will dramatically reduce emissions and provide a beneficial alternative to flaring for the O&G industry.
The Power+ Generator applies Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) and proprietary technologies to generate power from low temperature heat ranging from 170-252°F. At the oil well, natural gas that would otherwise be flared is instead used to fuel a low emission industrial boiler. The boiler heats water to run the Power+ Generator, and produces clean energy (as low as 9 ppm NOx) that is used for onsite processes, offsetting the cost of electricity from the grid or expensive diesel generators.
Environmentally Friendly Drilling Systems (EFD) is encouraged about the preliminary results of the demonstration. According to Dr. Rich Haut, Director of EFD, “Projects like this allow us to evaluate new technologies for the O&G industry and to find science based solutions to industry challenges which is our primary mission.”
“The emissions profile of the site is greatly improved, the power is consumed on site and the equipment is easy to install with very little maintenance,” said Loy Sneary, CEO, Gulf Coast Green Energy and Project Manager. “We are also appreciative of HARC and the EFD for selecting GCGE for this trial for without their support it would not have been possible” Sneary continued.
Gulf Coast Green Energy has been a distributor of ElectraTherm’s technology for over 8 years, helping to pioneer the use of waste heat-to-power technology in the oil and gas industry, geothermal, industrial internal combustion engines, and solar thermal applications as well as in flared gas from oil and gas wells and waste water treatment facilities, landfills, and processed water.
ElectraTherm’s Power+ Generators utilize waste heat on applications such as internal combustion engines, biomass and geothermal/co-produced fluids. ElectraTherm’s Power+ fleet of more than 50 global installations has accrued greater than 425,000 hours of runtime to date.
About The Environmentally Friendly Drilling Systems
The Environmentally Friendly Drilling Systems Program managed by HARC, provides unbiased science to address environmental aspects associated with petroleum drilling and production operations. The objective is to identify, develop, and transfer critical, cost effective technologies, from site selection through gas compression, in order to provide policy makers and industry with the ability to develop reserves in a safe and environmentally friendly manner. For more information, visit www.efdsystems.org.
About The Houston Advanced Research Center
A nonprofit organization based in The Woodlands, Texas, HARC is a research hub providing independent analysis on energy, air, and water issues to people seeking scientific answers. HARC is focused on building a sustainable future that helps people thrive and nature flourish. For more information, visit www.HARCresearch.org.
About Gulf Coast Green Energy
Gulf Coast Green Energy specializes in selling and installing waste heat-to-power energy efficiency technologies for oil and gas, geothermal, industrial internal combustion engines, and industrial solar thermal applications. GCGE is the first ElectraTherm distributor and helped pioneer the development of several economically and environmentally sound solutions for the Power+ Generator including the flare-to-power solution for the O&G, waste water treatment facilities and landfills. Visit www.gulfcoastgreenenergy.com
Additional Contacts
ElectraTherm: 775.398.4680, info@electratherm.com
