New Logic Research, Inc., the maker of VSEP, a vibratory membrane filtration system, announced today the sale of a VSEP system to create steam quality water from oilfield produced brine at a BreitBurn Energy facility in Santa Barbara, County, California. BreitBurn is a subsidiary of Provident Energy Ltd., a Canadian energy trust.
The VSEP system, which employs both nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membranes, is fed process water used in the oil production process. The VSEP product water (permeate) is cleaner than drinking water, and will be reused as the plant’s boiler feed water.
“We’re very proud to be BreitBurn’s choice for produced water recycling technology,” said New Logic CEO Greg Johnson. “BreitBurn has always distinguished itself from its competitors by embracing cutting-edge technologies. Adding VSEP to their existing infrastructure is a logical extension of that ideal.”
In evaluating the process options for water recycling at the plant, BreitBurn’s engineers considered other membrane-based technologies, as well as traditional approaches to produced water cleanup. After on-site trials were completed, however, BreitBurn determined that the VSEP system provided the most elegant, cost-effective solution capable of removing the contaminants and providing the needed boiler feed water, thus eliminating the need for expensive pretreatment and chemical usage.
“BreitBurn has always excelled at deriving maximum value from its oilfield assets while practicing good environmental stewardship. By using the VSEP technology to clean up oilfield brine instead of using fresher and scarcer ground water, we are able to simultaneously reduce our operating costs and our impact on the water resources of Santa Barbara County,” said Michael Tolbert, Project Manager for Steam Operations at BreitBurn.
According to New Logic CTO Dr. Brad Culkin, “New Logic has always seen tremendous potential in VSEP for produced water treatment – both onshore and offshore – due to VSEP’s unique capabilities for high recovery and high tolerance of hydrocarbons. After many years of research and pilot testing on produced water in locations including California, the North Sea, Latin America and Alberta’s Oil Sands, we see the BreitBurn project as the first in a long line of successful produced water installations worldwide.”
BreitBurn’s VSEP system is currently being built at New Logic’s Emeryville, CA facility, and will be commissioned this autumn.
About New Logic Research, Inc.
Headquartered in Emeryville, California, New Logic Research is the leading provider of high-performance membrane filtration systems used in a wide variety of applications from pure water and wastewater treatment to chemical process clarifications. Founded in 1987, New Logic has grown to meet the needs of its ever-expanding customer base, which includes major corporations from around the world. Today, New Logic provides a breadth of products and services for pure water and wastewater treatment, industrial and chemical processing, power, pulp and paper, oil and gas production and processing, paint and pigments and electronics industries. For more information, please visit New Logic’s Web site at http://www.vsep.com.
Sample VSEP system photos located here:
High Res. CMYK: https://www.vsep.com/images/vsep_4x5_300dpi.eps
Web Res. JPG: https://www.vsep.com/images/vsep_clouds.jpg
New Logic Research, Inc. Logo located here:
